We’ve Got Chris Hughton, the Ginger One (Was) Yours

Andy Munro with a message to Villa supporters.

Apart from Keep Right On, the above refrain was perhaps one of my Tilton favourites and now, thanks to some quite frankly vindictive behaviour, you have driven a fine manager out of Aston. A manager who somewhat immodestly announced that he was only one point away from becoming Blues’ finest-ever manager (Gill Merrick RIP). A manager who left the Blues not, of course, because he was greedy but because he had a wee hen and bairns to feed.

Yet you Villa fans have unaccountably lost patience with a manager that even you must realise played an absolutely unforgettable brand of football to keep you away from the Premier League trap door. And don’t forget the highlights, even if they were unfortunately confined to a Warwick Road hairdresser that Big Eck used to frequent to prove that the greyness of football on the pitch didn’t extend to his head.

As you no doubt recognise, us Bluenoses are a magnanimous lot and to, prove that we like all Midland clubs to win, I was of course rooting for the Villa to get a result against the Canaries but it wasn’t to be. This meant, much as it pains me to admit it, that a season you claret and blues feel was disastrous, was in fact a spectacular success as you achieved the rarity that is a triple…. you stayed in the Premier League., we failed to get promotion and you’ve got rid of the Ginger One.

Yet, he won’t be easy to replace but, despite being a Bluenose, I’m already doing my bit by writing personally to Steve Keane hinting where his next move might be.