Hughton held in high esteem after ‘unfair’ axing that sparked Toon revolt
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WHEN Newcastle United were put up for sale in the summer of 2009 and Alan Shearer was left in the dark about whether he should continue as boss during an ill-fated campaign in the Premier League, even Chris Hughton did not expect to be told he would be thrust into the dugout as caretaker manager.
Hughton had turned up for work at Benton expecting to assist either a new manager or Shearer again, but was soon told he would be handed the reins on a temporary basis. Amid all the uncertainty and chaos caused by Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias, this was a move that actually got the approval of some of the players.
Former Newcastle star Kevin Nolan emerged down the tunnel at Shamrock in a pre-season friendly in Dublin and told me: “We want somebody to make a decision – it’s unfair on the players and the staff. “Chris and Colin Calderwood have come in and done a fantastic job. It is a weird situation for them. “It is a week-to-week thing, but we hope it will all be sorted, whether it’s somebody coming in and taking over or Mike Ashley offers them the job there needs to be a decision for the sake of the playing staff.”
Only a year earlier, Hughton had been drafted in to help Kevin Keegan as a coach with the former Tottenham Hotspur coach enjoying a new challenge. He said back then that he and his family were loving the North East and it was a great new challenge for him after 11 years on the backroom staff at White Hart Lane. Hughton’s stock wasn’t exactly high on Tyneside after relegation and his spell as assistant to Joe Kinnear after Keegan had quit. He’d remained on the staff under Shearer but was pushed backwards with Iain Dowie coming in as number two.
Nevertheless, the season started in earnest in 2009 with Newcastle a Coca-cola Championship club, Ashley had failed to find a buyer and Hughton was left in charge after a strange pre-season that included a 6-1 mauling at the hands of Leyton Orient.
It was in the away dressing room at Brisbane Road that senior players stood up and warned any players who weren’t up for the fight they needed to hand in a transfer request and go. Given the squad, after Shamrock had been arguably too vocal about the mess Newcastle were in, Hughton gagged the players after Orient and then telephoned me the next day and said: “I can tell you now what the players will tell you.
“The reason I made this decision (for the players not to talk to journalists) was because the players are incredibly disappointed with the performance and result.
“For anybody who asks what’s going on off the park, then it hasn’t affected anything so far, and I don’t think it had an effect on what you saw at Orient.
“It was a performance you want to forget. These things happen. It’s a pre-season of ups and downs.”
The season could not start quick enough for Hughton and after a 1-1 draw away to West Brom a couple of player departures followed with Damien Duff and Sebastien Bassong leaving. Bassong had essentially refused to play to win a move to Spurs, while Duff headed to Fulham.
Without them, Newcastle went on a five-game winning streak and were top of the table.
Soon after, Ashley took Newcastle off the market and handed Hughton an 18-month deal. A club statement read: “Newcastle has been withdrawn from sale and is no longer on the market. The club had been trying to broker a deal with a number of prospective buyers in recent months; however, none of those deals came to fruition.”
Hughton kept Newcastle at the top of the table and won four manager of the month awards. His popularity was growing with supporters and after a 3-0 loss at Derby County in February, Newcastle did not lose again all season to clock up an impressive 102 points.
They were promoted by Easter with Andy Carroll grabbing 19 goals and Kevin Nolan not far behind him
with 17. Hughton had worked with barely any spending money and nurtured youngsters like Andy Carroll and Tim Krul during a tough season.
When the Championship title win was confirmed at Plymouth Argyle with a 2-0 win, even a bus journey home from Devon, with the team flight cancelled due to Eyjafjallajokull erupting in Iceland, could not dampen spirits.
It was a party bus all the way back north as players enjoyed their achievements under Hughton. For all those who questioned Hughton, he’d answered them emphatically with a mix of good coaching, man-management and calmness during some testing times.
At the end of the season, in the 2-2 home draw against Ipswich, a banner emerged at the Gallowgate End simply reading: “Hughton is a Geordie.” Hughton said in 2022: “I don’t look back on my time at Newcastle – because it’s always there with me, once you’ve been part of the club it never goes away.”
For all Hughton’s efforts in guiding a doomed Newcastle side back to the Premier League at the first attempt, owner Ashley managed to upset supporters again by harshly sacking Hughton six months after promotion.
Despite a decent start that included an impressive 6-0 win over Aston Villa and victories at West Ham and Arsenal, Hughton was shown the door with United sitting in 11th place. The Toon squad revolted against
Ashley and Llambias and demanded a meeting with the managing director before angry players hit out at Newcastle’s top brass.
Sol Campbell said at the time: “The players admired him and liked him and won’t be happy now he’s gone like this.
“It makes no sense. Here is a guy who has done an unbelievable job. He got the club back into the Premier League and any manager would have been rewarded for that with a new contract, but Chris wasn’t.”
Hughton said later: “Was my sacking unfair? Yes, of course, because we were going well, but I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t see it coming.”
For Hughton’s future had been speculated about for some time in the build-up and links with Alan Pardew after Newcastle games had been rife. Pardew actually managed to finish lower than Hughton in his first season but guided United up to fifth place by 2012.
Hughton’s position in Geordie folklore was by then set in stone. And he remains a popular figure with Toon fans.
It is always there with me, once you’ve been part of the club (Newcastle) it never goes away Chris Hughton