Yogi: I wasn't a failure

[Part/Time Supporter]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2011/03/06/playing-golf-has-kept-me-sane-but-i-d-love-return-to-football-says-ex-hibs-boss-john-hughes-86908-22970522/

Skipping all the guff about him playing golf ad nauseum...


"In the last two years I've taken two clubs to Europe, been to a Scottish Cup Final - and I'm sitting out of a job. That's football. You have to laugh, you can't carry bitterness around with you. There's more to life.

"I've been very close to a couple of things down south. I've got the right people working for me and things just haven't transpired.

"But I've built up some good relationships down there with chairmen because I spent so much time going up and down there when I was at Falkirk looking for players.

"Their clubs are doing too well just now though! If the jobs ever come up? It's just about being in the right place at the right time.

"I'd like to think my CV stands up though. I don't look back on my time at Hibs and say I was a failure. I'll put my hands up and say it wasn't all snow white.

"But being there a year, getting them into Europe, getting 50 goals from the strikers, making them money in sales, getting into Europe without Fletcher and Jones who were sold, getting Stokes in and out for the profit they made - it was a good time.

"It's all still swirling about in my head, what I would do differently? I still think I could have brought real success to that club but you have to move on.

"And to be fair to Hibs, they were different class the way they did their business when my time was up. You respect that."

[1two]

Unfortunately John, you were a failure where it mattered, but I wish you every success wherever you end up.

One of our own

[lucky]

The article sums up what went wrong for him. He believed his was always right and had no plan B. That and the fact his signings were poor to very poor.. Edwin De Graffe--I rest my case

[Andy74]

The article sums up what went wrong for him. He believed his was always right and had no plan B. That and the fact his signings were poor to very poor.. Edwin De Graffe--I rest my case

Where do Stack, Brown, Dickoh, Miller and Stokes sit in the poor to very poor range?

[Liberal Hibby]

Seems fair enough to me. We all accentuate the positives on our CV - and that's all Hughes is doing.

[Arch Stanton]

Where do Stack, Brown, Dickoh, Miller and Stokes sit in the poor to very poor range?

Indeed, these signings were definitely not poor - anyone who could read their CVs on Wikipedia would have been able to tell you that from the outset.

The trouble is you can't fill a team with proven players even with Rod willing to let you go over budget.

[J-C]

Where do Stack, Brown, Dickoh, Miller and Stokes sit in the poor to very poor range?

Stack when fit
Dickoh only now coming into his own, took a while tho
Miller, still not convinced, plays only when he can be ersed
Stokes, one good season but caused oh so many problems behind the scenes, not exactly tearing it up at Darkheid is he.

[Hibs90]

Stack when fit
Dickoh only now coming into his own, took a while tho
Miller, still not convinced, plays only when he can be ersed
Stokes, one good season but caused oh so many problems behind the scenes, not exactly tearing it up at Darkheid is he.

Cos he's no getting a chance. Lennons a bawbag.

[Hibercelona]

Cos he's no getting a chance. Lennons a bawbag.

Has he not been featured in most of their games recently? :confused:

[Dunbar Hibee]

Cos he's no getting a chance. Lennons a bawbag.

Yes he is. Just not against Rangers.

[blackpoolhibs]

Europe apparently is not good enough for hibs these days? He never got the credit he deserved when things were going right, and when that turned there were some who never liked him far too willing to put the knife in. For me he was never given a fair chance by some.

I hope CC wins something very soon, as 4th place is not success down easter road way these days, god forbid he fails to get that next season.

[LeithBoozy]

Im still recovering from Yogi's spell in charge, his worst mistake while in charge?. It's not very often we get into europe, so to leave Stokes and Deek out in the away leg when an away goal means everything said it all to me. Imo we would have went down if he had been kept. :rolleyes:

[Arch Stanton]

Europe apparently is not good enough for hibs these days? He never got the credit he deserved when things were going right, and when that turned there were some who never liked him far too willing to put the knife in. For me he was never given a fair chance by some.

I hope CC wins something very soon, as 4th place is not success down easter road way these days, god forbid he fails to get that next season.

Decent cup runs are far in away more valuable to Hibs than 4th place - just saying.

[truehibernian]

Europe apparently is not good enough for hibs these days? He never got the credit he deserved when things were going right, and when that turned there were some who never liked him far too willing to put the knife in. For me he was never given a fair chance by some.

I hope CC wins something very soon, as 4th place is not success down easter road way these days, god forbid he fails to get that next season.

CC has won the one thing Hughes would never get at Hibs BH......the respect of the full squad of players. Absolutely crucial to the future success of the football club.

The whole article for me sums up John Hughes. Opening paragraph (I am not bitter).....master of contradiction (why mention Europe, 4th, etc in that case).

Not employed by any other club as yet, but "been close". Meeting lots of chairmen etc. The football world is an insular community and I have no doubt there are many reasons why he remains out of a mangerial post.

The last bit about respect for Hibs they way they handled his departure. Why in that case go on BBC and Sky and tell viewers watching that the board have to back CC and in a veiled way say they never backed him.

The truth of the matter is he got Falkirk to a Scottish Cup Final, however had to wait until the final game of a 38 game season to see if they remained in the SPL. Never got them beyond the bottom 6 too. We let 3rd slip away and had to rely on other results to keep 4th. We were dumped out of both cups when we had home advantage in both. Our dressing room would have well have been in the Open All Mic's studio for all the bust-ups they had.

Hughes got plenty plaudits from the media during the unbeaten run, plenty. The BBC and Richard Gordon were falling over themselves one day at Tynecastle to lavish the man in praise. He was "good copy", media friendly, always had a quip for them. The cheeky chappy of management.

Hibs were god awful since Irvine Meadow, and when the football demise snowballed, he dd not have a clue. I personally won't forgive his comments about "faceless fans" and only "fitba people know what is going on". People on this forum spend a hell of a lot of money to watch Hibs home and away, and are passionate about the club......for some it is what they really look forward to. He certainly didn't want to face the large travelling "fans with faces" at McDiarmid Park when we were beaten 2-0, no subs, and he literally hid in his dugout at the end of the game.

Well well well shot of the man IMHO.

[blackpoolhibs]

Im still recovering from Yogi's spell in charge, his worst mistake while in charge?. It's not very often we get into europe, so to leave Stokes and Deek out in the away leg when an away goal means everything said it all to me. Imo we would have went down if he had been kept. :rolleyes:

:agree: Very true, :wink: as for leaving them out, i have said this before. We were in a hotel on the morning of the game, and the guy who covered the game told us the team, his name escapes me, and out of the 10 or so folk sitting having a drink, most could understand why he had done it.

Only one was dead against the decision. Hindsight eh? Imo we wouldnt have gone down, its easy this prediction lark when it can never be proved one way or another eh? :wink:

[Hillsidehibby]

If he wasn't a failure that must mean he was a success.

Successful managers dont get sacked.

[blackpoolhibs]

CC has won the one thing Hughes would never get at Hibs BH......the respect of the full squad of players. Absolutely crucial to the future success of the football club.

The whole article for me sums up John Hughes. Opening paragraph (I am not bitter).....master of contradiction (why mention Europe, 4th, etc in that case).

Not employed by any other club as yet, but "been close". Meeting lots of chairmen etc. The football world is an insular community and I have no doubt there are many reasons why he remains out of a mangerial post.

The last bit about respect for Hibs they way they handled his departure. Why in that case go on BBC and Sky and tell viewers watching that the board have to back CC and in a veiled way say they never backed him.

The truth of the matter is he got Falkirk to a Scottish Cup Final, however had to wait until the final game of a 38 game season to see if they remained in the SPL. Never got them beyond the bottom 6 too. We let 3rd slip away and had to rely on other results to keep 4th. We were dumped out of both cups when we had home advantage in both. Our dressing room would have well have been in the Open All Mic's studio for all the bust-ups they had.

Hughes got plenty plaudits from the media during the unbeaten run, plenty. The BBC and Richard Gordon were falling over themselves one day at Tynecastle to lavish the man in praise. He was "good copy", media friendly, always had a quip for them. The cheeky chappy of management.

Hibs were god awful since Irvine Meadow, and when the football demise snowballed, he dd not have a clue. I personally won't forgive his comments about "faceless fans" and only "fitba people know what is going on". People on this forum spend a hell of a lot of money to watch Hibs home and away, and are passionate about the club......for some it is what they really look forward to. He certainly didn't want to face the large travelling "fans with faces" at McDiarmid Park when we were beaten 2-0, no subs, and he literally hid in his dugout at the end of the game.

Well well well shot of the man IMHO.

I agree with a lot of that, and i do believe he had to go when he did. What i still dont understand is why he was never given the credit by all the fans for 4th place? And its just not right we only qualified because of others.

We finished 4th because we accumulated enough points, did Rangers win the league relying on others?

We do have a support thats firmly behind the team now, the 12th man are doing a tremendous job galvanising the support, yes there are a few who think they sing the wrong song now and again, but in the main we as a support have changed from a supporting support from a right bunch of misereable *******s only content on slatting the players.

I wish we'd been able to do this only one year ago, and perhaps we might not have slipped so badly as we did.

Anyway its over now, and we now have CC and the signs are good, the problems only start arising when the results start to dip, and they will. We as a support need to keep our nerve, and keep backing them, and CC needs to be able to address it better than Yogi did. :pray:

[WindyMiller]

I agree with a lot of that, and i do believe he had to go when he did. What i still dont understand is why he was never given the credit by all the fans for 4th place? And its just not right we only qualified because of others.

We finished 4th because we accumulated enough points, did Rangers win the league relying on others?

We do have a support thats firmly behind the team now, the 12th man are doing a tremendous job galvanising the support, yes there are a few who think they sing the wrong song now and again, but in the main we as a support have changed from a supporting support from a right bunch of misereable *******s only content on slatting the players.

I wish we'd been able to do this only one year ago, and perhaps we might not have slipped so badly as we did.

Anyway its over now, and we now have CC and the signs are good, the problems only start arising when the results start to dip, and they will. We as a support need to keep our nerve, and keep backing them, and CC needs to be able to address it better than Yogi did. :pray:


I feel that CC's use and timing of substitutions is the biggest difference between them.

[--------]

CC has won the one thing Hughes would never get at Hibs BH......the respect of the full squad of players. Absolutely crucial to the future success of the football club.

The whole article for me sums up John Hughes. Opening paragraph (I am not bitter).....master of contradiction (why mention Europe, 4th, etc in that case).

Not employed by any other club as yet, but "been close". Meeting lots of chairmen etc. The football world is an insular community and I have no doubt there are many reasons why he remains out of a mangerial post.

The last bit about respect for Hibs they way they handled his departure. Why in that case go on BBC and Sky and tell viewers watching that the board have to back CC and in a veiled way say they never backed him.

The truth of the matter is he got Falkirk to a Scottish Cup Final, however had to wait until the final game of a 38 game season to see if they remained in the SPL. Never got them beyond the bottom 6 too. We let 3rd slip away and had to rely on other results to keep 4th. We were dumped out of both cups when we had home advantage in both. Our dressing room would have well have been in the Open All Mic's studio for all the bust-ups they had.

Hughes got plenty plaudits from the media during the unbeaten run, plenty. The BBC and Richard Gordon were falling over themselves one day at Tynecastle to lavish the man in praise. He was "good copy", media friendly, always had a quip for them. The cheeky chappy of management.

Hibs were god awful since Irvine Meadow, and when the football demise snowballed, he dd not have a clue. I personally won't forgive his comments about "faceless fans" and only "fitba people know what is going on". People on this forum spend a hell of a lot of money to watch Hibs home and away, and are passionate about the club......for some it is what they really look forward to. He certainly didn't want to face the large travelling "fans with faces" at McDiarmid Park when we were beaten 2-0, no subs, and he literally hid in his dugout at the end of the game.

Well well well shot of the man IMHO.


:agree::agree::agree:


:cgwa:cgwa::cgwa:cgwa:cgwa:cgwa:cgwa

[Borderhibbie76]

Ok my 1st ever post on Hibs.Net so here goes...

Yogi in my opinion got plenty of credit for getting us into Europe but it's all to easy to forget just where we were at Xmas last year prior to losing 4-1 to the Currant Buns at Easter Road. I honestly believe we threw away 3rd place last season and the main reason for this was Yogi's inability to turn things around. All that saved his skin was the win at Tannadice against D Utd reserves on the last day of the season. I think most of us knew what was gonna happen at the start of this season and sadly it did...
Likeable guy and wish him every success in the future but a few decent signings apart I don't think many of us will remember his time at Hibs that fondly

:cgwa

[Cropley10]

CC has won the one thing Hughes would never get at Hibs BH......the respect of the full squad of players. Absolutely crucial to the future success of the football club.

The whole article for me sums up John Hughes. Opening paragraph (I am not bitter).....master of contradiction (why mention Europe, 4th, etc in that case).

Not employed by any other club as yet, but "been close". Meeting lots of chairmen etc. The football world is an insular community and I have no doubt there are many reasons why he remains out of a mangerial post.

The last bit about respect for Hibs they way they handled his departure. Why in that case go on BBC and Sky and tell viewers watching that the board have to back CC and in a veiled way say they never backed him.

The truth of the matter is he got Falkirk to a Scottish Cup Final, however had to wait until the final game of a 38 game season to see if they remained in the SPL. Never got them beyond the bottom 6 too. We let 3rd slip away and had to rely on other results to keep 4th. We were dumped out of both cups when we had home advantage in both. Our dressing room would have well have been in the Open All Mic's studio for all the bust-ups they had.

Hughes got plenty plaudits from the media during the unbeaten run, plenty. The BBC and Richard Gordon were falling over themselves one day at Tynecastle to lavish the man in praise. He was "good copy", media friendly, always had a quip for them. The cheeky chappy of management.

Hibs were god awful since Irvine Meadow, and when the football demise snowballed, he dd not have a clue. I personally won't forgive his comments about "faceless fans" and only "fitba people know what is going on". People on this forum spend a hell of a lot of money to watch Hibs home and away, and are passionate about the club......for some it is what they really look forward to. He certainly didn't want to face the large travelling "fans with faces" at McDiarmid Park when we were beaten 2-0, no subs, and he literally hid in his dugout at the end of the game.

Well well well shot of the man IMHO.

/\ This.

All this travelling up and down to England to watch players netted us Michael Hart. Edwin was off the back of a DVD. He certainly can't have watched either this time last year.

[blackpoolhibs]

I feel that CC's use and timing of substitutions is the biggest difference between them.

I personally think its a better players thats made the difference at this minute in time. We now have players in the midfield who actually make a tackle and can play the ball to a green shirt, rather than just run alongside their player.

Both full backs are much much better than the previous ones, and Having a centre forward thats still limited, but has the ability to stay horizontal and chip in with the odd goal, and bring the midfield into the game too.

Substitutions are much easier to make when you are bringing on lesser players into a winning side playing with confidence. There was no mention of this when we were loosing every week under Calderwood.

[Part/Time Supporter]

I personally think its a better players thats made the difference at this minute in time. We now have players in the midfield who actually make a tackle and can play the ball to a green shirt, rather than just run alongside their player.

Both full backs are much much better than the previous ones, and Having a centre forward thats still limited, but has the ability to stay horizontal and chip in with the odd goal, and bring the midfield into the game too.

Substitutions are much easier to make when you are bringing on lesser players into a winning side playing with confidence. There was no mention of this when we were loosing every week under Calderwood.

There was nothing to stop Yogi doing that in the summer. De Graaf (in particular) sunk him.

[Kaiser1962]

/\ This.

All this travelling up and down to England to watch players netted us Michael Hart. Edwin was off the back of a DVD. He certainly can't have watched either this time last year.

Never been one to give manager's a kicking but Hughes should shut up. We pursued both De Graff and Hart pretty vigorously and they have both been very disappointing. While we can say that we finished fourth and so on the reality is that after a blistering start we barely flopped into fourth and, as already stated, Yogi had no plan B and hid in the dugout at St.J.
Fast forward a few months and we have a manager who made changes to try to get something out the game.
As for giving Yogi praise for signing Dickoh it has to be said that he has only come into his own since CC was appointed as Yogi barely played him, along with Hanlon in at CH when Yogi used him as a LB.

The positives on his CV are there and on record, the list of negatives are endless.

[LeithBoozy]

#15 BH,
I take it the only guy who was dead against Yogi's decision that day, was the guy that was driving. :wink:

[blackpoolhibs]

There was nothing to stop Yogi doing that in the summer. De Graaf (in particular) sunk him.

I agree, a couple of the players he bought were poor, none more so than Hart and De Graff. :agree:

[rubber mal]

He achieved four wins in his last 28 games. I'm sorry Yogi but that's pathetic.

Since he was sacked he's done nothing but mouth off to anyone who'll listen about how good he is. Good managers don't have to do that.

[allezsauzee]

Stack when fit
Dickoh only now coming into his own, took a while tho
Miller, still not convinced, plays only when he can be ersed
Stokes, one good season but caused oh so many problems behind the scenes, not exactly tearing it up at Darkheid is he.

So is it another Stokes that is currently the joint 2nd top scorer in the SPL? :confused:

[Stevie Reid]

Stack when fit
Dickoh only now coming into his own, took a while tho
Miller, still not convinced, plays only when he can be ersed
Stokes, one good season but caused oh so many problems behind the scenes, not exactly tearing it up at Darkheid is he.

You being serious, you don't think Stokes was a good signing?! Of all the things that could be levelled at Hughes, please don't deprive him of credit for his best move in the transfer market by a country mile.

And as for "not exactly tearing it up at Parkhead" - he's their top scorer with 17 goals in 20 starts.

[StevieC]

You being serious, you don't think Stokes was a good signing?!

I think what he's getting at is that despite the excellent season Sokes had on the pitch his off-field antics may well have had a significant bearing on the demise of the team as a whole.

Not much good in an individual doing particularly well if it's at the expense of the overall performances and results.

It reminds a little of Newcastle when they signed Asprilla. Fantastic player to watch (and chipped in a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Barcelona), however, I still think that he cost Newcastle the league title that season.

[Gus Fring]

Stokes may have caused a lot of problems off the pitch if rumours are to be believed but he played a huge part in us getting 4th.

I've lost track of how many interviews etc Yogi's been in since he left. He's developed a very bad habit of skewing the facts to fit his story. He alluded on Sportscentre that he had very little say in the stokes outward deal but now hes taking credit for it? He also only seems to mention his decent signings, of which there are a few, but there are a few awful ones as well. Last season he did well, lets not take that away from him, but from Europe onwards the team was awful.

I personally think he tried to hard to be "one of the boys" and banged on and on about the "culture" he wanted to create.

[Just Jimmy]

I think what he's getting at is that despite the excellent season Sokes had on the pitch his off-field antics may well have had a significant bearing on the demise of the team as a whole.

Not much good in an individual doing particularly well if it's at the expense of the overall performances and results.

It reminds a little of Newcastle when they signed Asprilla. Fantastic player to watch (and chipped in a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Barcelona), however, I still think that he cost Newcastle the league title that season.

I think Batty coming in for Lee (IIRC) cost us the title. Batty couldn't pass a ball through a defence like Rob Lee and as a result we created less chances. I don't buy the arguement that Tino cost Newcastle the title. we bottled a 16 point lead that's all.

[Stevie Reid]

I think what he's getting at is that despite the excellent season Sokes had on the pitch his off-field antics may well have had a significant bearing on the demise of the team as a whole.

Not much good in an individual doing particularly well if it's at the expense of the overall performances and results.

It reminds a little of Newcastle when they signed Asprilla. Fantastic player to watch (and chipped in a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Barcelona), however, I still think that he cost Newcastle the league title that season.

Not really the same. Newcastle were 12 points clear in the league, then signed Asprilla and Batty and changed their system to accommodate both.

I find the idea that a striker that scored 24 goals in a season was somehow detrimental to the teams progress rather amusing tbh. Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole hated each other, but they still managed to perform well together.

[steakbake]

He achieved four wins in his last 28 games. I'm sorry Yogi but that's pathetic.

Since he was sacked he's done nothing but mouth off to anyone who'll listen about how good he is. Good managers don't have to do that.

Football people know whit's goin' on.

[Baldy Foghorn]

The man is delusional...

[--------]

Not really the same. Newcastle were 12 points clear in the league, then signed Asprilla and Batty and changed their system to accommodate both.

I find the idea that a striker that scored 24 goals in a season was somehow detrimental to the teams progress rather amusing tbh. Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole hated each other, but they still managed to perform well together.


Is either of these a drunk? :rolleyes:

[truehibernian]

There is a composure, a calmness and a more honest appraisal of games from Calderwood which is in complete contrast to anything Hughes came out with. The calm approach, the actual thought process CC has, the demeanour, transmits to the players.......it is so obvious from the sidelines. The players respect him, they play for him, they want to please him. They don't argue on the pitch, when we score 11 players and subs celebrate, and there exists a real team ethic. He also takes time to explain things he does during a game.....explains the reasons for substitutions, why this player was taken off and put on. CC also admits mistakes, but more importantly there is no panic buttons being pressed.

He plays players in their best position, he acknowledges leaders on the pitch, he strengthens areas that needed strengthened quickly but with minimal fuss. You can also tell that he talks to the players as opposed to shouts at them. And he has very very quickly released, loaned out, or dropped players that we all, as a collective group of fans, have said are weakening the side. He has also brought on players like Hanlon and Wotherspoon because he has introduced players that are in the same age bracket and want to progress at the same time.

Comparing CC with John Hughes, for me, is like comparing a fine red wine to vinegar. They are poles apart and we have undoubtedly got a fine fine manager in Calderwood. CC has actually achieved promotions and results with all of the teams he has managed, and also achieved more as a player. There lies the difference in CV's. That is why we are so much better off without Hughes at the helm.

[Stevie Reid]

Is either of these a drunk? :rolleyes:

Don't really see how relevant that would be with regards to the point I made about Sheringham and Cole, but for what it's worth: -

UEFA Euro 1996

"Unfortunately, the England squad were also criticised heavily in the media for their part in several off the field incidents during the lead up to the tournament, where Sheringham, McManaman and Gascoigne were photographed drinking heavily and playing "dentist chair" drinking games as well as destroying the first class cabin of a Cathay Pacific (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay_Pacific) flight,[43] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Sheringham#cite_note-42) which went down poorly with the public."

1997 June
Signs for Manchester United for £3.5million. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1997/08/11/sfgtot11.html) 1998 Wins nothing in his first season at Old Trafford.
Selected for England's World Cup squad but a national newspaper prints pictures of him smoking and drinking at 6.45am in a Portuguese nightclub. Apologises for his conduct. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1998/06/06/swwin06.html)

[BryanV]

I am very pleased with the way things have been turned around under Calderwood but some people are going over the top on the back of a good month. Fine wine, a bit early to say. Hughes started well but our decline was alarming. Stokes in footballing terms, as well as monetary, was a good signind and to suggest otherwise is to seek to deny Hughes any credit at all, which I find to be a bit churlish.

[Hibiza]

Best wishes Yogi.

[basehibby]

I think those posters trying to belittle the impact of Stokes are making themselves look rather foolish, falling over themselves as they are in their efforts to deny Hughes even the slightest bit of credit for his time at Hibs.

History will show that Hughes managed at length to steer the club into 4th place and a crack at Europe. Stokes' goals played a massive part in that achievement and that's all to Hughes' credit. He also managed the long overdue recruitment of a couple of decent goalies - a point often ignored by his detractors.

History will also show however that he presided over one of the worst runs of form in the club's history - and that's why he eventually had to go. When the excrement was hitting the motorised cooling device Hughes just couldn't seem to find a way to turn it round, despite having a full summer transfer window in which to work on it.

So, he's probably entirely justified in saying he wasn't a failure at Hibs - the finishing league position was undeniably an improvement on previous seasons and we'll never know for sure if he could have turned things around - but at the same time it was very hard to argue against the board's decision to make a change. It's history now and we've moved on under Calderwood - perhaps Hughes will do the same once he's fixed himself up with another job - I wish him all the best of good fortune in doing so.

[--------]

Don't really see how relevant that would be with regards to the point I made about Sheringham and Cole, but for what it's worth: -

UEFA Euro 1996

"Unfortunately, the England squad were also criticised heavily in the media for their part in several off the field incidents during the lead up to the tournament, where Sheringham, McManaman and Gascoigne were photographed drinking heavily and playing "dentist chair" drinking games as well as destroying the first class cabin of a Cathay Pacific (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay_Pacific) flight,[43] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Sheringham#cite_note-42) which went down poorly with the public."

1997 June
Signs for Manchester United for £3.5million. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1997/08/11/sfgtot11.html) 1998 Wins nothing in his first season at Old Trafford.
Selected for England's World Cup squad but a national newspaper prints pictures of him smoking and drinking at 6.45am in a Portuguese nightclub. Apologises for his conduct. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1998/06/06/swwin06.html)


Right, at least one of them was. :rolleyes:

But you're absolutely right - this isn't really relevant to the point you made.

Stokes' goals were unquestionably decisive in our qualification for Eorope last season; however, I do think his off-field activities WERE disruptive and I'm convinced he was using us as nothing more than a stepping-stone to Celtic Park. Sheringham and Cole were able to put their personal feelings aside for the good of the team. I reckon Stokes was much more concerned with his own personal ambitions and agenda than with helping Hibs to go forward as a club.

For all his goals, I'm not really sorry he's gone.

[Stevie Reid]

Right, at least one of them was. :rolleyes:

But you're absolutely right - this isn't really relevant to the point you made.

Stokes' goals were unquestionably decisive in our qualification for Eorope last season; however, I do think his off-field activities WERE disruptive and I'm convinced he was using us as nothing more than a stepping-stone to Celtic Park. He fitted right in to a dressing-room culture that may have suited Hughes but which wasn't going to be in any way positive in the long run.

For all his goals, I'm not really sorry he's gone.

Fair enough Doddie.

For what it's worth, Stokes has been superb for Celtic every time I've seen him, including playing wide right in one match. For the reported £800k-£1.2M that they paid, they're getting a bargain IMO, regardless of any off field shananigans.

[IWasThere2016]

History will also show however that he presided over one of the worst runs of form in the club's history - and that's why he eventually had to go.

The worst ever home run.

[IWasThere2016]

There is a composure, a calmness and a more honest appraisal of games from Calderwood which is in complete contrast to anything Hughes came out with. The calm approach, the actual thought process CC has, the demeanour, transmits to the players.......it is so obvious from the sidelines. The players respect him, they play for him, they want to please him. They don't argue on the pitch, when we score 11 players and subs celebrate, and there exists a real team ethic. He also takes time to explain things he does during a game.....explains the reasons for substitutions, why this player was taken off and put on. CC also admits mistakes, but more importantly there is no panic buttons being pressed.

He plays players in their best position, he acknowledges leaders on the pitch, he strengthens areas that needed strengthened quickly but with minimal fuss. You can also tell that he talks to the players as opposed to shouts at them. And he has very very quickly released, loaned out, or dropped players that we all, as a collective group of fans, have said are weakening the side. He has also brought on players like Hanlon and Wotherspoon because he has introduced players that are in the same age bracket and want to progress at the same time.

Comparing CC with John Hughes, for me, is like comparing a fine red wine to vinegar. They are poles apart and we have undoubtedly got a fine fine manager in Calderwood. CC has actually achieved promotions and results with all of the teams he has managed, and also achieved more as a player. There lies the difference in CV's. That is why we are so much better off without Hughes at the helm.


CC has won the one thing Hughes would never get at Hibs BH......the respect of the full squad of players. Absolutely crucial to the future success of the football club.

Hibs were god awful since Irvine Meadow, and when the football demise snowballed, he dd not have a clue. I personally won't forgive his comments about "faceless fans" and only "fitba people know what is going on". People on this forum spend a hell of a lot of money to watch Hibs home and away, and are passionate about the club......for some it is what they really look forward to. He certainly didn't want to face the large travelling "fans with faces" at McDiarmid Park when we were beaten 2-0, no subs, and he literally hid in his dugout at the end of the game.

Well well well shot of the man IMHO.

:top marks

Forget Hughes - MON THE CC :thumbsup:

[CRAZYHIBBY]

Yogi wasnt a failure, he just wasnt good enough for the job

[Arch Stanton]

I think those posters trying to belittle the impact of Stokes are making themselves look rather foolish, falling over themselves as they are in their efforts to deny Hughes even the slightest bit of credit for his time at Hibs.
........




That raises an interesting question though, was it Hughes or Stokes that got us the 4th spot?

For me it was Stokes.

[Cropley10]

I am very pleased with the way things have been turned around under Calderwood but some people are going over the top on the back of a good month. Fine wine, a bit early to say. Hughes started well but our decline was alarming. Stokes in footballing terms, as well as monetary, was a good signind and to suggest otherwise is to seek to deny Hughes any credit at all, which I find to be a bit churlish.

:agree: - different styles that's for sure. An improvement definitely. Medium to long term I'm very positive about Calderwood. But we should remember we've beaten St Murn twice, and Hamilton, as well as Killie and ICT. We're back to having a tough run and can we compete with Celtc or Hertz? I think we can - but we need to see the upward trend continuing.

As an aside - still think the strength of this team is finally balanced, and a lot depends on who we re-sign (or don't) and whether we can keep Towell and I hope increase Palsson's length of contract. Would be nice if Vaz te came good and we have first dibs...

:flag:

[Andy74]

That raises an interesting question though, was it Hughes or Stokes that got us the 4th spot?

For me it was Stokes.

So a manager doesn't get credit now for signing a good player and then getting the best out of him? Or just not if it's Hughes?

[Arch Stanton]

So a manager doesn't get credit now for signing a good player and then getting the best out of him? Or just not if it's Hughes?

You tell me.

How much credit are you going to heap on Lennon?

[blackpoolhibs]

So a manager doesn't get credit now for signing a good player and then getting the best out of him? Or just not if it's Hughes?

Hughes did not sign any good players apparently, Dickoh is the perfect example.

[Andy74]

You tell me.

How much credit are you going to heap on Lennon?

Sorry, what do you want me to tell you? And what's Lennon got to do with it?

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

Would like to see the interviewer being a bit of a sharper tack. Why, when so much of Hughes philosophy is buit on attacking full backs, did he not go and get one and worse, why did he put the one we had beyond use?

[Phil D. Rolls]

I'm sure Yogi's CV, his relationship with top people in the game, and his willingness to learn from his mistakes means he won't be out of a job much longer.

[--------]

Fair enough Doddie.

For what it's worth, Stokes has been superb for Celtic every time I've seen him, including playing wide right in one match. For the reported £800k-£1.2M that they paid, they're getting a bargain IMO, regardless of any off field shananigans.

If Stokes were actually switched on to play for Hibs, his talents might very well offset his off-field behaviour, provided we had a manager in place who could deal with him and the rest of the squad and make sure his nonsense didn't affect the general team performance. Stein did this in regard to one or two of HIS players at ER back in the 60's, and in regard to a number of his players at Parkhead later on.

By the beginning of this season I reckon Stokes knew he was moving on and had more or less disengaged from us. Once that happens, he's better gone.

Pity Hughes didn't get the Celtic job when it was vacant....

[BEEJ]

I think those posters trying to belittle the impact of Stokes are making themselves look rather foolish, falling over themselves as they are in their efforts to deny Hughes even the slightest bit of credit for his time at Hibs.

History will show that Hughes managed at length to steer the club into 4th place and a crack at Europe. Stokes' goals played a massive part in that achievement and that's all to Hughes' credit. He also managed the long overdue recruitment of a couple of decent goalies - a point often ignored by his detractors.

History will also show however that he presided over one of the worst runs of form in the club's history - and that's why he eventually had to go. When the excrement was hitting the motorised cooling device Hughes just couldn't seem to find a way to turn it round, despite having a full summer transfer window in which to work on it.

So, he's probably entirely justified in saying he wasn't a failure at Hibs - the finishing league position was undeniably an improvement on previous seasons and we'll never know for sure if he could have turned things around - but at the same time it was very hard to argue against the board's decision to make a change. It's history now and we've moved on under Calderwood - perhaps Hughes will do the same once he's fixed himself up with another job - I wish him all the best of good fortune in doing so.
:top marks Well structured and balanced post.

We were all delighted / amazed on here when it was announced that Stokes was signing and I doubt he would have signed for any other manager in the SPL (outside Celtic, who were not interested at the time). So credit where it's due to Yogi for that.

Interesting to ponder though where we would have ended up in the SPL last season had Hughes failed to sign Stokes and instead he had recruited, say, Daryl Duffy.

[The Harp Awakes]

The parting of ways between Hibs and Yogi came at the right time as we were on a downward spiral that would have taken us to the 1st division.

That said, Yogi gave the Hibs job his best shot and did some things right and some things wrong during his tenure. He is an honest guy and has done enough as a Manager to deserve another crack of the whip with another Club.

All the best Yogi.

[matty_f]

/\ This.

All this travelling up and down to England to watch players netted us Michael Hart. Edwin was off the back of a DVD. He certainly can't have watched either this time last year.

Sorry, but I think that's bollocks.

From this article about his signing: http://sport.scotsman.com/sport/-Hibs-win-Graaf-battle.6364687.jp

HIBS' first summer signing, Dutch star Edwin de Graaf, spurned offers to move to Germany, England and the United States to agree a two-year deal at Easter Road, it was revealed today.

Alerted by the fact the 30-year-old's contract at NAC Breda was expiring this summer alerted a host of clubs both in Holland and abroad – including Hibs boss John Hughes.

And it was Hughes, who felt "an instant rapport" with the midfield ace, who



won the tug-of-war to land a player with more than 200 appearances in the Eredivisie to go with five outings with the Dutch B team.

Today, Hughes promised the Easter Road support their patience in waiting for transfer news will be well worth it, predicting the fans will take to de Graaf's all-action style.

He said: "We have really good contacts in Holland and we had a look at him a few times. I obviously spoke to him, told him about how we want to play football and I felt we took to each other, an instant rapport.

"But I found I couldn't tell him too much because he'd been doing some intensive research of his own on Hibs to see what he'd be coming to – he's quite a clever cookie.

"Edwin had a right few clubs after him, in Holland, Germany, England and America so it was nice to get someone of his calibre as the first one in this summer."

At 6ft 1in and a career which has included spells with RBC Roosendaal, Feyenoord, Den Haag and Breda – where he was captain – De Graaf will bring some of the physical presence and experience which Hughes has repeatedly stated he needs within his young squad.

The Hibs manager said: "Edwin certainly has leadership qualities, he knows how the game should be played and, trust me, the fans will enjoy him. He can play off the front, right wing, right or left midfield, as the sitting midfielder but he can also go and score a goal.

"He's always played at a high level since starting as a young boy and he has a good physical presence. He'll bring all that experience of the Eredivisie and of playing in the UEFA Cup over the past couple of seasons.

"Edwin is a powerful box-to-box player who'll be a great asset.

De Graaf, who will report along with the rest of Hughes' squad for pre-season training on 1 July before returning to his homeland as Hibs prepare for the new season with a ten-day trip to Holland encompassing four games, said: "

It was not a hard decision.When I spoke to the manager and the chairman (Rod Petrie] I immediately had a good feeling, I knew right away I wanted to play for Hibs."

There was a lot wrong with Yogi's time at the club, and there are plenty of sticks to beat him with - there's no need to invent stuff.

[heidtheba]

I really wanted it all to work out for Yogi. He seemed to have the passion, drive and connection to the club. I haven't attended a game for a long time but pre-season 09/10 up to December was, to me anyway, a really exciting time to 'follow' the team (only from on here and on TV). That period when we were seeming to win everything, were bringing in exciting players and the Hertz were being pumped out of Europe was one which I really enjoyed.
Sadly that all went pete tong and the way in which it did was one of the lowest points I can remember (even when I had a season ticket for the Duffy days). It was a real 'highs and lows' year - from signing Stokes and Miller and winning games, to sitting watching the last few minutes of that game at Motherwell, through my fingers as I held my head in my hands knowing, as some said on here at the time, that a three goal lead with only a few minutes left didn't fill me with any confidence that we were going to get a result. That was by far the lowest point in my Hibs supporting life - even worse that game with Wayne Foster.
Highs and lows and I really wanted it to work for him but it didn't. Thanks for the good times but CC has my vote now.
Just wish he'd supported Hogg better - that was unforgivable.

[Arch Stanton]

So a manager doesn't get credit now for signing a good player and then getting the best out of him? Or just not if it's Hughes?

You tell me.
How much credit are you going to heap on Lennon?

Sorry, what do you want me to tell you? And what's Lennon got to do with it?

The thing is, I don't give Hughes any credit for signing Stokes as it was an easy signing. For the same reason I don't give Lennon any credit for signing Stokes.

So, if you give credit to Hughes for signing Stokes then Lennon deserves equal credit. This all goes to prove that crediting either of them is a nonsense.

[IWasThere2016]

Today, Hughes promised the Easter Road support their patience in waiting for transfer news will be well worth it, predicting the fans will take to de Graaf's all-action style.

"Edwin is a powerful box-to-box player who'll be a great asset.

There was a lot wrong with Yogi's time at the club, and there are plenty of sticks to beat him with - there's no need to invent stuff.

There's no need to invent stuff when Yogi's got an imagination like that :faf:

[Danderhall Hibs]

I think those posters trying to belittle the impact of Stokes are making themselves look rather foolish, falling over themselves as they are in their efforts to deny Hughes even the slightest bit of credit for his time at Hibs.

History will show that Hughes managed at length to steer the club into 4th place and a crack at Europe. Stokes' goals played a massive part in that achievement and that's all to Hughes' credit. He also managed the long overdue recruitment of a couple of decent goalies - a point often ignored by his detractors.

History will also show however that he presided over one of the worst runs of form in the club's history - and that's why he eventually had to go. When the excrement was hitting the motorised cooling device Hughes just couldn't seem to find a way to turn it round, despite having a full summer transfer window in which to work on it.

So, he's probably entirely justified in saying he wasn't a failure at Hibs - the finishing league position was undeniably an improvement on previous seasons and we'll never know for sure if he could have turned things around - but at the same time it was very hard to argue against the board's decision to make a change. It's history now and we've moved on under Calderwood - perhaps Hughes will do the same once he's fixed himself up with another job - I wish him all the best of good fortune in doing so.


Good post.


Fair enough Doddie.

For what it's worth, Stokes has been superb for Celtic every time I've seen him, including playing wide right in one match. For the reported £800k-£1.2M that they paid, they're getting a bargain IMO, regardless of any off field shananigans.

:agree: We got a pittance for him. Enough folk have spread the rumour about the off-field stuff now that it's become FACT.

[Jack]

Good post.



:agree: We got a pittance for him. Enough folk have spread the rumour about the off-field stuff now that it's become FACT.

But it was fact then too, as witnessed by many who tread these boards.

Hughes would have been a great Hibs manager but he wasn't.

He wasn’t able to contemplate that his way may not have been the best so was unable to consider alternatives.

His personality traits that he got away with at Falkirk just didn’t transfer when running a club like Hibs.

Good luck to him away from Scotland.

[Andy74]

The thing is, I don't give Hughes any credit for signing Stokes as it was an easy signing. For the same reason I don't give Lennon any credit for signing Stokes.

So, if you give credit to Hughes for signing Stokes then Lennon deserves equal credit. This all goes to prove that crediting either of them is a nonsense.

Not sure where to start that with that nonsense so I won't bother.

[Arch Stanton]

Not sure where to start that with that nonsense so I won't bother.

But then you bothered enough to post a sneeky wee 'nonsense'. :agree:

But fair enough - if you really do think Hughes is the only person who realised that Stokes would be a good signing then it's only right you should think so much of him.

Personally I can't see how anyone would consider Stokes not to be a good signing, in the SPL at least.

[Danderhall Hibs]

But it was fact then too, as witnessed by many who tread these boards.


There are loads of FACTs posted on here that turn out to be (in the main) pish and a lot of them were witnessed by folk who tread these boards...

Yogi red wine over Petrie
Brellier to Hibs
Miller to Hearts
Tomorrow's team x loads

[Viva_Palmeiras]

If he wasn't a failure that must mean he was a success.

Successful managers dont get sacked.

Although Burley would be quite rightly miffed at his hertz dismissal

[Jack]

There are loads of FACTs posted on here that turn out to be (in the main) pish and a lot of them were witnessed by folk who tread these boards...

Yogi red wine over Petrie
Brellier to Hibs
Miller to Hearts
Tomorrow's team x loads

Agreed. That’s why its important to be able to cut the wheat from the chaff when deciding who or what to believe or not. I might also add that what I heard from folk, other than on this board and some with no vested interest, only added to the credibility of the rumours on here.

A very tactful ‘moved on for non-footballing reasons’ statement by the club added at least some weight to rumours of his poor attitude and extra curricular activities.

[Baader]

Yogi overall had a good first season, although the run from Christmas on was worrying. Statistics speak for themself and our form before Yogi's sacking was simply shocking. There was not even the slighest of signs he had enough to turn this around. Throughout 2010, things were not improving under him, they were deteriorating and at an alarming rate.

I've no doubt if Yogi were still managing us we'd be in serious, serious trouble.

A shame as I really wanted him to succeed but despite his best intentions, he just didn't have what it takes.

[blackpoolhibs]

Yogi overall had a good first season, although the run from Christmas on was worrying. Statistics speak for themself and our form before Yogi's sacking was simply shocking. There was not even the slighest of signs he had enough to turn this around. Throughout 2010, things were not improving under him, they were deteriorating and at an alarming rate.

I've no doubt if Yogi were still managing us we'd be in serious, serious trouble.

A shame as I really wanted him to succeed but despite his best intentions, he just didn't have what it takes.

Was it not the middle of April when things went pear shaped?

[lapsedhibee]

A very tactful ‘moved on for non-footballing reasons’ statement by the club added at least some weight to rumours of his poor attitude and extra curricular activities.
:agree: A penchant for huge curries contributed to his downfall, fact.

[--------]

Was it not the middle of April when things went pear shaped?

Earlier than that. The cracks were beginning to show around New Year. At the point when I certainly would have expected the team to begin to gel and performances to improve was the point at which it began to be clear to me that there wasn't going to be any improvement. Emphatically the reverse, in fact.

[Bad Martini]

Yogi had nae plan B.

Yogi signed Stokes and this was a good signing.

Yogi was in charge for a few great wins.

Yogi was in charge for lots of **** loses.

Over the piece, Yogi didn't take us forward and at best, we stalled.

These are the facts of Yogi. Not really disputable as results, goals and games prove what was good and bad, in the main. So, there it is. Balanced, I'm glad he's no longer managing Hibs. Don't think he's a bad guy tho. Wish him well.

Err, ENDOF for me.

[BSEJVT]

As I understand it ,the words "I wasnt a failure........" are Hughes own words.

IMO anyone who begins a sentence like that clearly thinks they were, and is then going on to try to justify, as much to themselves, as anyone else why they were not.

If Hughes wasn't a failure at Hibs I would like to congratulate him on a splendid impersonation of one.

AFAIK there are not many people who he didnt deceive into thinking, towards the end at least, that he was an abject failure.

Credit where its due.

Well Done Yogi

[blackpoolhibs]

Earlier than that. The cracks were beginning to show around New Year. At the point when I certainly would have expected the team to begin to gel and performances to improve was the point at which it began to be clear to me that there wasn't going to be any improvement. Emphatically the reverse, in fact.

The run was the exact words used by Baader Doddie, not form or cracks. The run. It was mid february when it actually started to go tits up. I just made up the middle of april, as i think its quite fair to add a couple of months on, if people are willing to take a couple off. :wink:

[Kato]

We had four or five good months under Yogi then it all went wrong. The reason he probably doesn't get any credit for finishing fourth is because of that collapse. If he was any good we could have split the OF and should have had finished third at a canter. The reason we didn't is that other teams sussed out his only tactic (get the ba' to Stokesy) and once they did there was nothing of any substance to see us handle that Even in the good patch we had a weak midfield and little appetite off the ball.

Fourth looks great as a bottom line but we all know that the second half of last season was awful as was the start of this one. That's why he gets little credit for that bright spell of results (notice I say results and not performances ).

His record in the Cups with us is just abysmal.

I honestly wouldn't wish him on any club unless the enjoy watching players with zero confidence running alongside their opponents when they should be tackling and Stanley Unwinesque Press Conferences.

[Speedway]

There are loads of FACTs posted on here that turn out to be (in the main) pish and a lot of them were witnessed by folk who tread these boards...

Yogi red wine over Petrie
Brellier to Hibs
Miller to Hearts
Tomorrow's team x loads

Who have we got tomorrow?

[--------]

The run was the exact words used by Baader Doddie, not form or cracks. The run. It was mid february when it actually started to go tits up. I just made up the middle of april, as i think its quite fair to add a couple of months on, if people are willing to take a couple off. :wink:


What I'm saying is that while we were managing to keep a few results coming in through January, the performances were far from impressive. The Irvine Meadow game (top-half SPL against a Junior team) hardly inspired confidence, did it?

Then, as you and Baader say, in mid-February the luck ran out and 'the run' began - the worst run of results in my memory for at least 35 years.

From New Year the ship was sinking - it just wasn't obvious to people in the January - and from some of the posts here, some folks still haven't wakened up and smelled the coffee.

I welcomed Hughes as manager, and supported him throughout the whole of last season. I withdrew my support when I found out a number of things about how he was dealing with the players - in particular the younger ones. This would be during the last pre-season and the opening weeks of this season. In the end I wanted him GONE - there was no way IMO we could prosper with him in charge of the team.

He had to go, and thankfully, he's gone. But I cannot fathom how his record at Hibs could be construed as anything other than failure - he may have squeaked us into Europe (by the skin of our teeth), but we sank without trace - disgracefully without even showing a spark of fighting spirit in the process - when we got there.

[Danderhall Hibs]

Agreed. That’s why its important to be able to cut the wheat from the chaff when deciding who or what to believe or not. I might also add that what I heard from folk, other than on this board and some with no vested interest, only added to the credibility of the rumours on here.

A very tactful ‘moved on for non-footballing reasons’ statement by the club added at least some weight to rumours of his poor attitude and extra curricular activities.

I read on here from the usual reliable sources that he was in similar difficulties at Celtic and it was all about to blow up in their faces. That was before Christmas.

[blackpoolhibs]

What I'm saying is that while we were managing to keep a few results coming in through January, the performances were far from impressive. The Irvine Meadow game (top-half SPL against a Junior team) hardly inspired confidence, did it?

Then, as you and Baader say, in mid-February the luck ran out and 'the run' began - the worst run of results in my memory for at least 35 years.

From New Year the ship was sinking - it just wasn't obvious to people in the January - and from some of the posts here, some folks still haven't wakened up and smelled the coffee.

I welcomed Hughes as manager, and supported him throughout the whole of last season. I withdrew my support when I found out a number of things about how he was dealing with the players - in particular the younger ones. This would be during the last pre-season and the opening weeks of this season. In the end I wanted him GONE - there was no way IMO we could prosper with him in charge of the team.

He had to go, and thankfully, he's gone. But I cannot fathom how his record at Hibs could be construed as anything other than failure - he may have squeaked us into Europe (by the skin of our teeth), but we sank without trace - disgracefully without even showing a spark of fighting spirit in the process - when we got there.

I dont see how we could be lucky all season, yet when we win 4 games with 2 draws and one defeat from new year the cracks were beginning to show? His record for me shows he got that team into europe, that equals success, unless we dont class that as success these days. The last 4 months was a failure.

[StevieC]

I dont see how we could be lucky all season

Even in the first half of the season I can remember saying on a few occassions "we rode our luck a bit there, but I'll take the win".

Results were good but the same could not always be said about performances .. and obviously a poor performance is soon forgotten about on the back of a victory.

[blackpoolhibs]

Even in the first half of the season I can remember saying on a few occassions "we rode our luck a bit there, but I'll take the win".

Results were good but the same could not always be said about performances .. and obviously a poor performance is soon forgotten about on the back of a victory.

Stevie did we ride our luck on saturday? I was not there, but from the highlights that certainly seemed the case, but apparently it was a great point.

During Yogi's early tenure, we did win the odd game by the odd goal, but apart from Aberdeen away, i dont remember many games were we picked up wins where we didnt when you sat down and thought about it afterward deserved the win.

I suppose someone will say Sy Johnstone at home, yet we won that 3-0.

Even if we say there were a few, all teams get that, its not something we are privileged with. How many times have we said we should have won that when we've not?

Yogi had success with a 4th place finish, those who wont admit that are the ones who say he was a failure, which he ultimately was in the end. But to deny his 4th place finish is just plain silly imo.

[Kato]

Yogi had success with a 4th place finish, those who wont admit that are the ones who say he was a failure, which he ultimately was in the end. But to deny his 4th place finish is just plain silly imo.

No-one can deny him his 4th place finish. Its in the record books in black and white. What you can do is be left scratching your head at the collapse after jan (whenever). You can be left raging that in a year when a non-OF team won the Cup we got knocked out by Ross County.

A season of two halfs - in the first half the one trick pony (pony) tactics work then in the second they are found out. As for his attempts to win games this season the least said the better.