Steve Hitchen

[Shotgunofmichalebrow]

I would beg to differ.

Say Hi

Do you see how this works....

 

[Paul Gascoigne]

So back to Hitchen, how does he keep his job ?
Apparently he was told he had to scout Toney and he went to Twickenham!

 

[Airfixx]

Also added extra pressure when everything was falling apart. What idiot decided when a manager who managed a team for 5 years was sacked they would bring in the cameras and record everything.

What the hell you talking about?

......The doc was already half underway when that happened.

:contefacepalm2:

 

[Guido 🇺🇦]

nah don't think he was shit. The period he covered Jan when he got injured he was fine.

He did really well but were a fucking excellently balanced team then. Pressing the fuck out of every oppo we faced, which lead to little possession by oppo and little opportunity for them to attack, we conceded the least shot on goal in that season and conceded the fewest goals.

ergo it was a system thing, not an individual thing, he was and still is crap.

 

[Kane's left]

Unfortunately I am not at all convinced about his replacement. Not at all.

Why?

 

[Matt1882]

Why?

Because after a month of fucking around in January, he just went back to his old club for a favour.
And last summer he pursued a RWB all summer long then changed his mind and got a RB who isn't up to it. And a Spanish kid who isn't up to it. And a terrible coach who wasn't up to it. And a keeper who isn't up to it.
Hasn't really done much to put on his annual performance review.

 

[Kane's left]

This is the kinda shit thay happens when Hitchen leaves. Brucey was waiting in the wings until Conte's inevitable departure, waiting for the delightful moment when Hitchens begs him to join us over the phone.

This is what happens when you cunts think the grass is greener on the other side!!!!

West Brom hold talks with Bruce

West Brom hold talks with former Newcastle boss Steve Bruce over their vacant managerial role.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Guido 🇺🇦]

This isn't just a product of pressing by the team. When a team is in the form we were in back then, probably 16 premier league teams will turn up to defend and hope for the best. Once that form drops, as it has now, teams will fancy their chances more and more until eventually you get the likes of Norwich turn up and play like Barcelona (and get twatted for it, but fair play to them for trying)

But you are explaining what happened to the team, from high-pressing to low block. This happened as a direct result of but in no particular order 1) Midfield shot to bits with Dembele unable to play, Wanyamma unable to play 2) recruiting Tripps who was completely the wrong profile of player to play FB 3) Rose declining 4) The above having an effect of us controlling/dominating games & not being able to press 5) Kane being overplayed International-Spurs-International-Spurs for almost 3 straight seasons 6) Compensating player positions to now fill these issues 7) Sacking a manager 8) Hiring the king of the low/mid-block who intern then is given the keys to the transfer kitty hiring his profile of players after waiting 1.5 seasons be fraudulently telling everyone he had changed and was no longer a low block cunt but had no idea how to play as a high-pressing team 9) Sacking him and hiring another low/mid-block king.

But all this happened as a slow death (which also started under Poch but I will always wonder what would be had Poch was allowed the time to rebuild around Ndombele for instance).

I also think this is why Conte is perfect hire not only for the short term (now) but for the future to, he's a great track record of building teams, so when he leaves there's no implosion. I also think we've hired some exciting young players that fit the profile that could be used in a more progressive playing style a new manager (I'm assuming Conte leaves after 2-3yrs) could get to grips with.

 

[Kane's left]

Because after a month of fucking around in January, he just went back to hi old club for a favour.
And last summer he perused a RWB all summer long then changed his mind and got a RB who isn't up to it. And a Spanish kid who isn't up to it. And a terrible coach who wasn't up to it. And a keeper who isn't up to it.
Hasn't really done much to put on his annual performance review.

Sorry, is your name poch's coat ? Pretty rude to eaves drop on our conversation like that.

Regarding your issue with his signings, of course I understand your discontent toward some of them, but players like Bryan from the big bang theory is just an example of the sort of compromise we make to save money. Instead of going for a proven player for double the price we spend half of it on a player with potential. I still think there's alot going for him, he just needs a good run of games. I'm not happy with the fact that he's not been loaned out to a English club, but hey ho.

Romero was a bit of an exception to the rule with how he run things and I don't think we would of got him without Paratici. Gollini has indeed had a bit of a shocker, I also think all is not lost with him turning things round. He's had to move to a new country and try and fill the boots of a world Cup winner who's been the number 1 at this club for donkeys years. Do I think he can replace Lloris? No. But I think he can perform a hell of a lot better than he has and be a decent backup in time.

The signing of Emerson is just very strange to me, even a right back should be able to beat his man and put in a decent cross when required. It's like the scouts never actually saw him play.

 

[CollyQC]

I actually think he was ahead of his time - since he said what he said about January, many of us have come to hate it too.

I suspect if you added a few lines to what he said, such as "I hate January because clueless idiots on forums think it's easy to go and buy 17 world class players in a month, where hardly anyone wants to sell and those that do, want big money, and the idiots on TV won't shut the fuck up passing judgement about teams they don't even fucking watch"

The problem is that trying to identify and buy players is their job. There are only 2 chances to buy players each year and this guy is moaning that it's hard! You'd swear he was doing it for minimum wage. Maybe he found it extra hard because, you know, he wasn't great at it?

 

[Carlito Brigante]

HiTcHen wAs a GoOd TaLenT spoTtEr

Tanguy Ndombélé
Davinson Sánchez
Moussa Sissoko
Giovani Lo Celso
Steven Bergwijn
Sergio Reguilón
Lucas Moura
Ryan Sessegnon
Serge Aurier
Bryan Gil
Emerson Royal
Vincent Janssen
Rodrigo Bentancur
Pape Sarr
Matt Doherty
Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg
Giovani Lo Celso
Fernando Llorente
Victor Wanyama
Juan Foyth
Joe Rodon
Georges-Kevin N'Koudou
Jack Clarke
Dejan Kulusevski
Gedson Fernandes
Carlos Vinícius
Pau López
Michel Vorm
Joe Hart

 

[Airfixx]

HiTcHen wAs a GoOd TaLenT spoTtEr

Tanguy Ndombélé
Davinson Sánchez
Giovani Lo Celso
Steven Bergwijn
Sergio Reguilón
Lucas Moura
Ryan Sessegnon
Serge Aurier
Vincent Janssen
Matt Doherty
Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg
Giovani Lo Celso
Fernando Llorente
Juan Foyth
Joe Rodon
Jack Clarke
Gedson Fernandes
Carlos Vinícius
Pau López
Joe Hart

Not on his watch:

Dejan Kulusevski
Emerson Royal
Moussa Sissoko
Georges-Kevin N'Koudou
Bryan Gil
Rodrigo Bentancur
Pape Sarr
Victor Wanyama
Michel Vorm

 

[Shadydan]

Therein lies the biggest issue primarily. Ultimately Hitchen is probably a good talent spotter, but all these hyped up scouts have pretty mixed records, particularly when sending larger sums. But the ones who do beat are the ones with a modicum of gravitas who can manage upwards as well as downwards. It’s all well and good saying ‘Hitchen was never properly backed otherwise he’d have been a success’. Levy has always been careful about spending. But the people who got him to spend were those with the balls to push back when he started to go all Levy. And they still had mixed records attracting players, but they also managed to get in quality. Baldini, Redknapp, Comilli, Arnesen, they knew how to work Levy. This guy either just did what the manager wanted (Ndombele, Lo Celso) or did what Levy told him to.

The role needs a man, not a mouse.

This is true but we know that if you're not a yes man to Levy the chances are you won't be there for long.

 

[Carlito Brigante]

Not on his watch:

Dejan Kulusevski
Emerson Royal
Moussa Sissoko
Georges-Kevin N'Koudou
Bryan Gil
Rodrigo Bentancur
Pape Sarr
Victor Wanyama
Michel Vorm

He was still head of recruitment for most. Therefore on his watch, there may have been some cross over with Mitchell there but their records are even comparable in terms of quality.

 

[LeParisien]

It's both. We didn't play a high pressing game when Redknapp's side was tearing teams apart. Even the first season of AVB where the football wasn't great but we were winning more than losing. As soon as the fear factor goes, opposition teams are more encouraged to have a go.

I don't disagree with anything you say about our decline by the way. I'm just saying there's another dynamic.

I don't think the high press, high intensity game is sustainable for most teams. You need young and fit players to do it. Invariably if it's a success, those young players become household names and fan favourites but they stop being able to handle the system by 26/27 and ideally need to be moved on (not all)
Fans won't tolerate it though and will accuse the club of being unambitious and a selling club. So they keep the players until they're broken and can' handle the system anymore and end up where we are.

Great post.

This is true but we know that if you're not a yes man to Levy the chances are you won't be there for long.

This feels like a vague criticism. What does it mean to be a yes man? Perhaps Hitchen understood there were constraints to his job (as there are in every job) and worked his best within them.

 

[Airfixx]

He was still head of recruitment for most. Therefore on his watch

Not for the ones I removed from your list, he wasn't.


That's not to say that last 4/5 years haven't been inadequate regardless of who's been heading up the scouting/recruitment department. That said it's been made perfectly evident that Poch had a hand in a lot of those considered costly errors though... And of course Levy will have had his say from a financial point of view too.

Lets hope Fab can get this whole departmental revamp right and put this crap behind us. Ditto our youth process that seems to have stalled considerably too.

 

[Matt1882]

HiTcHen wAs a GoOd TaLenT spoTtEr

Tanguy Ndombélé
Davinson Sánchez
Moussa Sissoko - Before Hitchen
Giovani Lo Celso
Steven Bergwijn
Sergio Reguilón
Lucas Moura Good signing
Ryan Sessegnon
Serge Aurier
Bryan Gil
Emerson Royal
Vincent Janssen Before Hitchen
Rodrigo Bentancur Hasn't played yet. Also Paratici
Pape Sarr Hasn't played yet. Also Paratici
Matt Doherty
Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg
Giovani Lo Celso
Fernando Llorente Good signing
Victor Wanyama Good signing
Juan Foyth
Joe Rodon
Georges-Kevin N'Koudou Before hitchen
Jack Clarke
Dejan Kulusevski Hasn't played yet. Also Paratici
Gedson Fernandes
Carlos Vinícius
Pau López
Michel Vorm Before Hitchen
Joe Hart

Some aren't bad players, just not what we need. Could argue getting what we need is actually the important part of scouting.
Can also assume some of those players weren't anything to do with him and was agent favours

 

[Jaynola]

Some aren't bad players, just not what we need. Could argue getting what we need is actually the important part of scouting.
Can also assume some of those players weren't anything to do with him and was agent favours

Carlito Brigante

Bergwijn, Reggy and Sess are still young, they could still become very good players.

Let's also reserve our judgement on Bryan til he's had a real chance at Spurs, which, fingers crossed, he'll get after a successful loan spell at Valencia.

Hoj is no world beater, but he's still done pretty well. And we didn't really pay an outrageous fee for him.

Foyth was a cheap gamble. Didn't work out at Spurs but it looks like he's gonna forge himself a nice career in Spain. He's still a young lad...

I agree Hitchy & co have got it wrong on plenty occasions, but not as many as you think

 

[Allejo10]

Some aren't bad players, just not what we need. Could argue getting what we need is actually the important part of scouting.
Can also assume some of those players weren't anything to do with him and was agent favours

Hard to know who was his job there, but I guess just a few of them. As you can see some are panic buys, some were agent favours, as you stated, and some were clearly Poch demands. I guess english young "talents" like Sessegnon, Rondon and Clarke were his job. Doherty, Bergwijn, Sanchez and Hojbjerg probably on him too. It's a pretty mediocre job in fact.

 

[Carlito Brigante]

It seems some are less damning of the current squad than me. Lets compare to the previous guy who spend 20% of Hitchens total:

Heung-min Son - Brilliant
Toby Alderweireld - Brilliant
Clinton N'Jie - N'nnnnngggg
Ben Davies - Bang Average
Federico Fazio - Faziwhat???
Dele Alli - A steal at what we paid
Kevin Wimmer - Naff
Benjamin Stambouli - shitehawk
Michel Vorm - WAY past his best
Eric Dier - Decent
Kieran Trippier - Great
DeAndre Yedlin - USA, USA, USA!!!