20 Jun 2025 23:11:59
Remember this narrative " what does richard hughes do? ", " does he actually do anything! ", " what is the point in richard hughes! ". well we won the league, bought frimpong, wirtz, kerkez with more to come . and actively selling fringe players . lay off him and have some patience or we will be working with schmadke again!
21 Jun 2025 01:09:53
He's doing what he's paid to do at last. The holiday is over, about time he done something.
21 Jun 2025 01:59:05
Preaching to the choir with me @Hailstones.
21 Jun 2025 02:55:06
I just ignore those guys. They’ll moan all the way to the trophy lift.
20 Jun 2025 23:35:59
You want to borrow my step ladder to get off your high horse?
21 Jun 2025 00:17:05
I remember when me and some of my fellow posters had hatched an elaborate and detailed plan to kill him with gardening tools at one point.
Ah. Memories! Fun times.
21 Jun 2025 00:26:48
You forgot about the turtle necks, hailstones.
21 Jun 2025 00:30:03
Schmadke rebuilt our midfield (Macca, Szobo, Grav, Endo) so let's try and keep that in mind.
21 Jun 2025 05:18:20
Hailstones . so what was he actually doing last year . did we pay him for nothing. serious question . he's done well this year with the signings but they all did want to come here.
21 Jun 2025 06:22:24
Right Storm.
They all wanted to come and it makes all the more easier. (relatively)
21 Jun 2025 06:37:28
It looks like the plan has been for Slot to assess the squad and keep the powder dry until now. Chiesa looks like a bit of a fail. Have to wait and see on Mamadashvilli. Frimpong had a release clause so not sure how much credit Hughes gets for that. Kerkez family indicating Hughes had a lot of influence on that signing and hopefully he turns out to be a great signing. Wirtz so far the real coup of the window and sounds like Hughes has put the work in since May for that one and Slot got it over the line with a convincing presentation. Time will tell on this summers business but it is certainly an exciting one.
21 Jun 2025 08:10:13
Trying to justify the criticism of Hughes over the last year is more than a little strange to me.
He appointed Slot and we won the league without spending hardly anything across two transfer windows.
He’s now managed to sign Wirtz who many thought we had no chance of signing and has brought in solutions for the right and left back issues quickly and for reasonable prices.
Those suggesting he’s done nothing for a year surely can’t be serious.
I’m no expert but talks to acquire players must take time and I’d have thought were taking place throughout the year.
21 Jun 2025 08:19:04
It's astonishing that there is a slight tinge of negativity towards Hughes within this thread.
The 'higher ups' provide the tools while remaining invisible. This is exactly what Hughes is doing at the moment.
Hughes needed to evaluate the club/ squad before making his moves, just the same as Slot.
@red. Chiesa may not have contributed much on the pitch but why do so many fans absolutely adore him? We bought him for next to nothing, and we will make a very healthy profit on him.
21 Jun 2025 08:37:30
Wirtz is real deal.
As he said to Bayern. This is like a top player saying no to domestic gaints and opting for us.
Kerkez, though it is all Hughes who brought him to Bournemoth, and potentially here.
Kerkez is good friends with Szoboszlai and it is one of the main reason along with joining a league winning team.
50% credit to Hughes and other 50% shared as above.
If Szoboszlai is sidelined to accomidate Writz, we will have to see how Kerkez pans out.
? on this signing still on.
21 Jun 2025 09:27:16
It's ok if you can't bring yourself to give Hughes any credit for us winning the League with a head coach he helped appoint, working on the new contracts for Salah and van Dijk, getting some decent money for the likes of Carvalho and van den Berg and making 'dream' signings like Wirtz because it was 'easy' but I remember some of you wanted the 'clown' sacked after a few months in the job.
Wouldn't it just be easier to say nothing rather than hang on to the same old criticims and move the goalposts by concocting new ones about 'easy' signings when signings were what you wanted from him in the first place?
21 Jun 2025 10:42:13
Some people would rather win the transfer window than win trophies it seems.
That’s why they were giving Hughes so much criticism last summer because he didn’t give them their transfer fix. In reality Hughes is there to make and keep the team competitive and we won the league so he did his job regardless of what you think.
This summer he’s overseeing a mini overhaul of the squad whilst trying to keep the main players in the title winning team together and adding quality and youth where needed. He’s had a year to assess and along with Slot has pinpointed areas where we can improve. Now he’s making his moves early and getting the players we need.
We really have nothing to complain about.
21 Jun 2025 10:47:56
The signings of Mo and virg was easy they was desperate to stay it was only money negotiations, wirtz looks like he only wanted us don’t know who gets credit for that but the list will be long. Frimpong wanted to sign for us before he went to city as a youngster it was travel that stopped him. Kerkez he will need crediting for that due to his connections, So yes the transfers were easy whoever made that statement. You can keep hold of my stepladder mate would you like to borrow my “told you so” badge?
21 Jun 2025 12:16:21
There was a lot of moaning about Salah and van Dijk last season if it was only easy money negotiations and they were desperate to re-sign, scousejohn. Why?
I don't know about Wirtz, Frimpong and Kerkez only wanting to join us, either. I've read that on here but I put it down to the goalposts moving that has been very clear recently.
Maybe they only wanted us because of the work Hughes and his team put in.
Wirtz name-dropped "Richard" yesterday. I don't think they would sign for us if Hughes and his team didn't want to sign them.
But we are buying quality players when lots on here doubted their ability to do it. If it is so 'easy' why the doubts and why not mention it before?
Something that was mentioned that Wirtz was likely to go to City. He was out of reach but when he is signed it was 'easy'.
Do you need your stepladder to move those goalposts again?
21 Jun 2025 12:24:34
This Hughes negativity is getting tiresome and a tad pathetic, if I may say. I've stopped wearing my "I told you so" badge and I'm a little saddle sore from riding my high horse, if it's any consolation.
For gawd sake be happy. There really hasn't been a better time to support us.
21 Jun 2025 12:59:22
And to follow the negative narrative, I can't wait to sign a player who doesn't want to sign for us! What an utter load of absolute tosh.
21 Jun 2025 16:28:48
It is not Hughes criticism, it is thr over the top praise for his work this year and crticizing anyone who said anything about him last year.
21 Jun 2025 18:03:18
@samikewell: exactly.
21 Jun 2025 18:39:17
Sami, it's the line that he's had it easy because Wirtz and Frimpong wanted to join us is utter garbage.
The slagging off he had last season was unjustified, because the inactivity has led to us smashing our transfer record and we still haven't finished. I'm not suggesting we have a statue built for him, but he deserves credit for what he's done so far, in addition to his involvement in the appointment of Slot.
It's the nature of some of our support whereby they need someone to have a pop at, ie Lijnders last season. Let's just cherish what we have, cus it won't last forever.
21 Jun 2025 19:20:46
Rome if a player wants to come to I’m talking wirtz here as it looked like he did well he wants too his club want the sale it’s got to be easy to sort really I’d say. As for frimpong go look at his interviews he tells us he wanted to sign for us years ago but he couldn’t drive so he went to city and we never went back for him till now. Last seasons bashing was justified at the time. It’s the fans saying told you so now about him who’ve dragged it back up. You’s can’t hack it. He’s helped sign a couple of players you’d think he invented the wheel.