Our series of articles focussing on moves within the domestic game continues with a look at the new man in charge at Norwich, Chris Hughton. The former Birmingham City boss arrives at Carrow Road on a three-year contract after the two clubs agreed a £2m compensation deal for his services and takes the reins following the shock departure of Paul Lambert to Aston Villa.
Lambert’s somewhat acrimonious exit was swiftly swept under the carpet as the Canaries wasted little time in appointing Hughton to the hotseat a mere 24 hours after the former manager was officially unveiled at Villa Park. Although the club were linked with the likes of Malky Mackay and Neil Lennon, Norwich chief executive revealed Hughton was the stand-out contender:
We looked at the UK and international market, and had a detailed look at who was available and who wasn’t and we wanted to try to find the person who could take us forward. We thought it was key to have top-league experience, preferably in the Premier League and at the end of it all we looked at the names and Chris stood out as number one candidate. We recognised that unanimously.
The History
Following his retirement at the age of 34, Hughton spent several years as a member of the Tottenham coaching staff and worked under as many as 10 different managers at White Hart Lane. His spell at the north London outfit lasted 14 years, with stints as a coach in charge of the youth team, under 21 side and as assistant manager. His tenure came to an end back in 2007 when he was sacked along with then-manager Martin Jol, though Hughton wasn’t out of work for too long – only four months later he was appointed as first-team coach at Newcastle.
The managerial departures racked up at St James’ Park but, despite a couple of trial runs as caretaker boss, Mike Ashley remained unconvinced. Following the club’s relegation to the Championship under Alan Shearer, Hughton was eventually handed the role on a permanent basis in 2009-10, though, after a strong start to the season earned him three Manager of the Month awards between August and November. Hughton continued to impress and guided the club back to the top-flight at the first attempt in a campaign that saw the Magpies unbeaten at home all season. Life in the Premier League wasn’t so kind, however, and Hughton lasted just half a season before biting the dust, with Alan Pardew drafted in as his replacement.
His wealth of coaching experience meant Hughton didn’t have to wait much longer for his next challenge, as Birmingham came calling in June 2011 following their relegation to the Championship. Once again, the club’s strong home form was essential to their season, with the Blues losing just one of their 23 matches at St Andrews. Hughton guided them to the fifth round of the FA Cup and Group Stages of the Europa Cup but Birmingham stumbled in the Championship play-offs against Blackpool, going down 3-2 on aggregate after finishing fourth in the table, 12 points off automatic promotion.
The Previous Regime
Hughton has a tough task on his hands if he is to mirror the success of Paul Lambert. After guiding the Canaries to back-to-back promotions, the Scot steered them to 12th last term, with the Carrow Road outfit finishing on 47 points, 11 clear of the drop zone. The former boss had a tendency to utilise much of his squad, regularly changing both tactics and personnel, which ultimately proved frustrating for Fantasy managers and diminished their assets’ reliability – only two players, John Ruddy and Russell Martin, started more than 30 games last time out.
Lambert’s side were offensively strong and racked up 52 goals over the 2011/12 campaign – only the top six managed more. At the back, however, Hughton has plenty room for improvement – Norwich registered a mere three clean sheets all last season and conceded in all 19 games on the road.
The Season Ahead
There’s no denying that Lambert has left a considerable shadow for Hughton to kick start his Norfolk career under. Many will be sceptical the new boss can further the progress or replicate the success produced by the previous regime but players and media alike have been queuing up to pay compliment to Hughton’s abilities. Former charges such as Peter Lovenkrands has described him as “a players’ man”, while Colin Tattum, chief sports writer for the Birmingham Mail, revealed the Blues players were hugely impressed by every aspect of his approach – in essence, then, this bodes well for the team spirit fostered under Lambert that was integral to the Canaries’ recent revival.
In terms of tactics and what sort of shape we can expect Norwich to take next season, an interview with Hughton back in November last year sums up his approach to the game. A few months into the Birmingham job, he revealed:
I am still open to playing a tactical game that tries to get you a result. That’s in the formation you set yourself up in. But generally it’s about winning games and how you win games. My preferred formation is 4-4-2 or a form of 4-4-2, 4-4-1-1, with one playing a little bit more off the front, because I think that gives you a little bit more in the opposition half, it allows you to keep the ball more in their half. But I am open to change. Certainly what I want to do is play as much as possible a passing game, look to what your strengths are.
Hughton’s major concern surrounds the future of skipper Grant Holt. The forward was a cut-price gem last time round; starting at 5.5, he harvested 138 points and was Norwich’s best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) performer by some distance but question marks hang over whether he remain at Carrow Road next season after submitting a transfer request. The new manager’s penchant for wide men could well boost the prospects of Anthony Pilkington; the winger scored eight goals in just 23 starts in 2011/12 and, if he can benefit from more consistency of selection, may well be promoted in our thoughts.
Only two other players – Steve Morison and Wes Hoolahan – broke the 100 point mark in FPL last term. Hughton will be tasked with reigniting the former’s potential – Morison was a superb cut-price option in the first half of the campaign but tailed off dramatically, returning just one goal from Gameweek 22 onwards. Hoolahan is another who would well be boosted if he can nail down a regular role; he ended on a high after producing attacking points in five of his last seven starts and clearly has the potential to thrive – a possible role in “the hole” could be intriguing.
Without question, work has to be done at the back. Norwich conceded 66 goals under Lambert – only the three relegated teams shipped more. Just how much tightening up in defence will curtail Norwich’s attacking potential remains to be seen but if the clean sheets can flow with a little more regularity, the Canaries defensive assets could be worth considering – last season’s stats suggest Ruddy, Martin and co will remain as budget backline options. Already, Hughton has moved to address the vacancy at right-back following Kyle Naughton’s loan return to Spurs by signing Steven Whittaker from Glasgow Rangers on a free transfer.
Despite claiming he is happy with his side’s opening schedule, Hughton has just two generous matches over his first eight Gameweeks in charge, however. QPR and West Ham both roll up to Carrow Road and offer the prospect of points but trips to (ful, tot, new, che) in addition to home clashes against Liverpool and Arsenal, hold no appeal – Fantasy managers seem set to steer well clear of the Canaries, then, until their fixtures begin to look a little more favourable later on in the campaign.
