And so it came to pass that when the team Chris Hughton managed through the time of trial in the Championship League met with its first run of adversity, an axe fell from on high and he was its solitary victim. The man that brought us Hatem ben Arfa and Cheik Tiote and cleaned the clocks of the mackems is out.
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Terrible news today as Chris Hughton has been sacked, according to multiple sources. Lee Ryder of The Chronicle has a write-up here.

Nobody was happy with yesterday's result, least of all us, but this sort of knee-jerk reaction will likely not have the intended consequences of jolting the players back to form. The leaderless team (no assistant was ever found for Colin Calderwood, either) will face Liverpool at home in just 5 days.

This will certainly not be a popular move with the Toon Army, who were actually clamoring for Hughton to receive an extension, as were many former footballers and pundits in the media.

Just an awful, awful decision. Let's hope this isn't the start of a downward spiral.