Let’s be fair, he came in as one of the best squads this club has ever had came to the end of its time. Even if we’d had perfect continuity with Edwards at the helm for near on a decade that is a huge job.
I’m not saying he’s done a great job but it’s not nearly as bad as some make out. And plenty of people got what they wanted which was for us to spend more and bring in top talent and yet they’re still not happy with the outcome.
So you think it’s just him making all the decisions?
Isak was the second best striker in the league. We know they’re looking for certainty so based on age, experience, consistency and the fact he was PL proven then Isak was probably viewed as less risky than Ekitike.
About 50% of all transfers work out no matter what you spend. So you can go buy four £25m players and hope you get two half decent players or you go for someone you genuinely think is going to be a game changer.
A more balanced approach to quality and quantity was needed for sure but people talk like this was Hughes playing Football Manager and wasn’t all backed by data, insights and scouting and input from a range of people including the manager.
Goal
Mamardashvili
Brughmans
Jaros/Woodmann
Rightback
Bradley
Frimpong
Leftback
Kerkez
Centerback
Jacquet
Leoni
Ndukwe?
Central Midfield
MacAllister (2028)
Szoboszlai
Gravenberch
Nyoni
Attacking Midfield
Wirtz
Koumas
Wide Attack
Muñoz
Gakpo
Ngumoha
Barcola
Center Forwards
Isak
Ekitike
N’Guessan?
Maybe I should’ve put this in another thread - or maybe not?!
As things stand this is our squad for the start of next summer - when Hughes’ contract originally was set to expire.
I’ve left out Chiesa and Elliott because they have no future here.
Looks like we’re going to need a (backup) Leftback, 2 CBs, we failed to sign a new midfielder this summer and might even need two if MacAllister leaves, we failed to sign another natural wide player.
How do we feel about that squad? Is Hughes leaving now because he knows how shit things are going to look once again? Transition year all over again?
Where is the Greek Scouser?
Contract expires. Same with Alisson, Virgil, Endo and Gomez.
I think it’s a squad with a good core. There will always be things to do, there’s always moving parts, but I don’t think it needs that much work. Maybe we do something in January, it wouldn’t be a big surprise if we follow up on the interest in Camara and Minteh.
The right back situation might be a bit of a headache, depending on Bradley, and then there’s possibly a need to bring in a couple of CB replacements, depending on what happens with the expiring contracts. It could be as ‘simple’ as letting Virgil and Gomez go, using the buy-back for Quansah and the option on Araujo, and that’s it. But things are rarely that straightforward.
One thing we know from experience is that Liverpool often have something up their sleeve. Suddenly there’s a Jacquet or a Diaz coming in. And I’m very confident about them being on top of the possibility of losing both Ali and Virgil, that’s the two key decisions for next summer.
The criticism is quite strange IMO.
We have almost every key position covered. Both for the immediate period as well as the longer term.
Following their daddy Richie to Saudi.
Hughes work is a mixed bag for sure and has the distinct flavour of being an unfinished dish, which makes his decision to clear off to Saudi even more baffling. If you were really committed to the project from the beginning, wouldn’t you want to at least see it through to the end. To see the final result and be able to put your stamp on it? Baffling career choice.
Guess it depends on more than just whether or not you think, or care, if the job is done. Ultimately no squad is ever complete, there’s always something to improve, an opportunity to explore or the next couple windows to plan for.
No doubt he’s getting a huge whack. That may be all it comes down to. Maybe the writing was on the wall for him, or he felt some kind of loyalty towards Edwards and him being marginalised didn’t sit well. Perhaps he knows an ownership change is coming or maybe even he just decided the job was too big for him.
I doubt we ever find out and it probably doesn’t really matter. It’s now just another hole that needs filling.
I don’t know how you can describe Hughes performance as anything but horrible.
What would you rate his performance in contract renewals?
1 out of 5? Look, for the ones he did complete… Gravenberch on £280K per week is absurd. The number of players who left on a free?
What about in getting good value for purchases in the transfer window?
2 out of 5? We can talk about players eventually coming good (I believe some will… but with the money spent there shouldn’t be question marks more than 12 months in).
Providing the manager with a squad that could compete?
2 out of 5 again? He number of holes and lack of depth in the squad is astounding considering the money spent.
What about getting cash for aging players the manager doesn’t use like Chiesa, Endo?
Maybe you can focus on what he did do well. Managerial appointments… that part looks good. What else?
He united almost all of the fanbase (albeit against him)
Has anyone given any thought to the possibility that we’ll have new owners in a year and it’s been made clear to Hughes that they will be looking to appoint their own person?
What are the holes in the squad?
He was on his way even before the latest round of investment though. The club bent over backwards for him and Edwards and got shanked in return. Those two really are a self-entitled pairing.
Occam’s Razor - 
Defenitely need to bring in a LB.
CB possibly need 1, but with Aroujo coming in on loan, with the option to buy, that might cover the need to bring in a CB if he does well. If if stinks the place up, then we can send him back to Barcelona in 12 months and find an alternative option to partner Jacquet, or act as back up to Jacquet and Leoni depending on how Leoni recovers from his knee surgery.
But so many of these things are opposed to one another. Annoyed he secured Grav on a new deal but annoyed Konate left for nothing and got a much bigger contract elsewhere. I’m sure if we’d given Konate a £300k a week deal last summer and then watched his performances last season we’d all be giving Hughes pelters for it.
Moan about holes in the squad and I don’t disagree but then moan about a couple experienced heads still being here.
I don’t really care about getting good value in the market unless whatever we don’t spend on someone by driving a hard bargain then gets spent on someone else. That doesn’t really seem to be the case. The club generally seems to want to avoid investing lots of money into players that won’t play more often than not. That’s a club approach that precedes Hughes’ time here.
Again, not saying he’s done a good job but you can’t deny there’s an incredibly exciting core of young players that have come in. Ultimately I care more about getting some enjoyment from watching us play than what our balance sheet looks like. The manager who couldn’t get a tune out of those players has gone and we now look like we’ve a manager who’ll be a better fit for the squad we have.
Time to get excited by the season ahead, not lament the past.
??? Um… not opposed to one another. We could do what we used to do or what other clubs have done and sell many of them if they won’t sign but keep salaries manageable. And then replace them with someone priced reasonable to value on the market.
We are known to give incentive based salaries but Capology has our base salaries a very close 2nd to Man City and with a huge distance more than 3rd on that list.
Not opposed again… the players (Chiesa, Endo) filled no holes.
These were players the manager never used and we kept as our core depth. Needless to say the manager kept course and didn’t use them the following season and they are here yet again to see whether our new manager will use them.
This is only half true. We don’t necessarily pivot to our second choice in the market but we’ve previously maintained a certain level of depth that was completely missing last season and has partially been addressed this season.
Talks about Camara next season… would also not happen. It is clear we are a little financially restrained.
Ah yes, he should be given credit for Ndukwe, Ndiaye and Adekoya. I missed giving him credit for that. Better would have been to have also targeted a similar level of young player in other positions though. But props none the less (although someone on here mentioned someone else is responsible).
I’m excited to see how some of the young players will develop this year… don’t get me wrong. I just think that his mismanagement has left us short of challenging yet again despite how costly our squad is.
Agree on the contract renewals, but for the balance of the squad, we became champions the year after he came in. If he has any merit, it’s to have maintained the same squad for Slot’s title-winning season. But what he did afterwards was reckless to say the least.