A lot has been made about Mark Hughes handing in his resignation on Thursday. Unfortunately from a Fulham fan’s perspective, a lot of the coverage has been eclipsed by the vacant managerial spot at Villa Park and once again the little West London club has taken a seat by the band amongst all of the rumours and speculation. Contract talks had stalled between Fulham and Hughes, with the Welshman taking an almighty gamble leaving a club where he had such strong backing from the board even during the first half of the season where the Cottagers were flirting with the prospect of potential relegation since the side were lacking in offensive options.
Craven Cottage is a very friendly home ground, a destination many take their children and families for a game of football on the weekends. With this in mind, it would have been an understatement to have said that the atmosphere was hostile. Sitting in the Johnny Haynes stand, the fans were calling for Mark Hughes’ head, Carlton Cole had picked that day to turn up, putting a hat trick past Mark Schwarzer and proving too much of a handful for the Fulham back four. The last straw was Hughes bringing on the young American Eddie Johnson to try and salvage the game. Tempers were flaring amongst the spectators. It appeared that the Welshman’s tactical incompetence was being brutally exposed. Although Fulham were not realistically going to be challenging for major honours, a position in the top flight of English football was definitely not being taken for granted and it was with this anxious tension that the fans rained down abuse.
Six months later, a more contrasting position could not have been imagined. Hughes had steered Fulham to their second highest Premier League finish without Bobby Zamora for half a season and fans and players alike were looking forward to another Europa League adventure in the coming season through the granting of a place through the fair play rules. Everything was looking up, it appeared to only be a matter of time for a new contract to be offered and accepted. Next thing you know, the position vacated by Roy Hodgson a season ago was once again empty.
The media coverage has been mainly centred around management jobs and contracts. Hughes’ has tried very emphatically to highlight the fact this decision was not a result of an outside influence from another club. The gamble is a massive one. By walking out on Fulham with no real destination in mind, his reputation has taken a hit with many discussing his ‘nomadic’ approach to management, jumping from club to club. Perhaps it would be easy to suggest that this all came down to money and he was just not completely happy with the deal he was being offered.
After all, the clause in the contract was implemented since Fulham were not willing to fully meet his wage demands having arrived from the Man City job. The fact that Kia Joorabchian is his agent does not help his position, if Hughes wishes to claim that money was not the main decision driver in his resignation, those words will fall delicately on deaf ears.
Although not all is lost for Fulham. Hughes’ tenure at Craven Cottage was indeed very successful. If Hodgson crafted the team into a defensively astute and organized unit, Hughes was able to bring an extra attacking dimension through a combination of signings and allowing the midfield to explore a more offensive mindset.
The signing of Steve Sidwell from Aston Villa was a fundamental part of the new look side. His command of the midfield, passing ability and enthusiasm in hunting down the ball has been a major contribution to the team. Brede Hangeland is without doubt a world class centre half and his presence both as a defender and as a towering threat during set pieces has been vital.