‘Hurt’ Hunt can see better times ahead
YEP 5/10/13
Noel Hunt knows when he’s had a bad game but says he doesn’t need abuse from a minority on social media sites. Phil Hay reports.
Social media has a fickle streak. It showers footballers with abuse as often as it showers them with praise. Noel Hunt has seen more of one than the other and is no longer the regular Twitter user he was.
His retreat from the Internet is a good example of how his transfer to Leeds United has gone. The sleepless nights have been plentiful and the criticism fierce. But Hunt can see the clouds clearing at long last.
Several players before him have borne the brunt of a modest impact at Leeds. They arrive with a plan to hit the ground running but lose their footing early on. Tuesday’s win over Bournemouth was Hunt’s seventh league game without a goal. You don’t have to ask how he rates his record. Just read the relevant parts of his ruthlessly honest Twitter account.
“I know when I’ve had a good game and I know when I haven’t,” he says. “There’d be something wrong if it took criticism on Twitter for me to work it out. You can’t kid yourself. Any time you have a bad game you feel it in your bones. The feeling’s there no matter how you try to dress it up.
“But I’ve backed away from social media because I can do without some of what I’m reading. I’m not telling people they shouldn’t have opinions but I’m my own worst critic. I judge myself harshly.”
Hunt gave himself a public going-over after Leeds lost to Queens Park Rangers in August, their first defeat of the season. His manager Brian McDermott tried to console the striker by telling him he was being too hard on himself. Hunt has a vocal admirer in McDermott and was the target who United’s boss spent most time courting in the summer transfer window.
The 30-year-old possesses proven pedigree; the pedigree of a forward who was right at the epicentre of all that went well under McDermott at Reading. It is merely the case that three months at Elland Road have done little to showcase his strengths. If Hunt wasn’t aware of that, plenty of people have told him.
“You can laugh most comments off but bits of the abuse are brutal,” he says. “Some of what you read on social media make you think ‘wow! Do people really mean that?’ It’s not everyone. Ninety five per cent of the feedback has been supportive and the fans are top class. But certain things hurt.
“The problem is that you don’t know who’s coming at you. It could be a 10-year-old or a 60-year-old; it could be someone who’s watched every game and genuinely has an opinion on you or someone who’s never been to a game but wants to join in and give you stick for a laugh.
“What I can’t stand is the idea that I’m not trying or I don’t care. That’s nonsense, absolute nonsense. Ask any of the players here. Or better still, don’t bother asking them. Go straight to their wives or their partners. They’ll tell you what a nightmare we are to live with when we lose.
“My wife knows that whenever I have a bad day she’ll get nothing out of me. There’s no point trying to talk me round because it’s in my head. The more I try to switch off the more I come back to the game.
“I hate losing at cards at the back of the bus and I hate losing in training. I certainly hate losing games. It’s the one thing that keeps me up at night. People say they can’t sleep after games. Well I sleep fine when we win. If we don’t, I can’t get it out of my mind. It hurts.”
Hunt was part of the furniture at Reading and they gave him the chance to stay on this season. But Hunt left in May with Leeds offering a fresh start and the stability of a two-year deal.
Much as he has struggled for goals, Leeds went six games unbeaten prior to the QPR defeat. Both Hunt and McDermott claimed off-field issues had affected his performance that day.
“Moving into a house and getting my wife up here has made a big difference,” he says.
“We were supposed to be moving four weeks ago but it didn’t happen. The whole thing dragged on for another month and it became distraction.
“It shouldn’t have done but it affected me too much. Then I got annoyed at myself for letting it affect me. It’s stupid when you think about it.
“I’ve taken time to settle and that’s nobody else’s fault. So many people have helped me out. But when you go back to your hotel and you’ve only got the walls to speak to, three months of that becomes quite daunting. It’s like ‘bloody hell, I’m not used to this.’ In that respect it’s been difficult. But I feel much more settled now. I feel happier.”
Hunt’s lack of goals is an extension of United’s lack of goals. Everyone from McDermott to the Leeds’ chairman, Salah Nooruddin, has conceded that a team growing into McDermott’s image are coming up short at the sharp end of the pitch.
And then there is luck. Hunt almost buried a header in the first few minutes of Tuesday’s win over Bournemouth but it hit a defender’s foot and flew wide. He had an open goal to shoot at in the 31st minute but was taken out by visiting goalkeeper Ryan Allsop. There is an argument too which says the glaring shortage of wingers at Elland Road has repeatedly driven United’s strikers away from the shooting gallery. Hunt’s transition is much like the club’s.
“The good thing now is that we’re starting to get balls into the box, creating chances,” Hunt says. “It’s tough when that isn’t happening. I’ve maybe tried to rectify the problem by going out wide to get balls into the box. You take it upon yourself to make things happen.
“To score goals I have to be in the box and I’ve got my head around that. Perhaps I was too wide again on Tuesday but I can sense things coming together.”
Hunt enjoyed Tuesday night. He says the hours before kick-off were the first time when the familiarity of Elland Road hit him. “I was at Reading for five years and I got used to the same old things,” he says. “Leeds are a change of scene and maybe it’s been harder adjusting than I expected.
“It’s nothing to do with the size of the club – Leeds are massive and I love that – but it’s about adapting to players and fans, the training ground, the stadium. You want to feel at home and on Tuesday I did.
“That’s not a coincidence because my wife’s been saying I look better in myself. Everything’s falling into place. Happy days I hope.”
Noel Hunt knows when he’s had a bad game but says he doesn’t need abuse from a minority on social media sites. Phil Hay reports.
Social media has a fickle streak. It showers footballers with abuse as often as it showers them with praise. Noel Hunt has seen more of one than the other and is no longer the regular Twitter user he was.
His retreat from the Internet is a good example of how his transfer to Leeds United has gone. The sleepless nights have been plentiful and the criticism fierce. But Hunt can see the clouds clearing at long last.
Several players before him have borne the brunt of a modest impact at Leeds. They arrive with a plan to hit the ground running but lose their footing early on. Tuesday’s win over Bournemouth was Hunt’s seventh league game without a goal. You don’t have to ask how he rates his record. Just read the relevant parts of his ruthlessly honest Twitter account.
“I know when I’ve had a good game and I know when I haven’t,” he says. “There’d be something wrong if it took criticism on Twitter for me to work it out. You can’t kid yourself. Any time you have a bad game you feel it in your bones. The feeling’s there no matter how you try to dress it up.
“But I’ve backed away from social media because I can do without some of what I’m reading. I’m not telling people they shouldn’t have opinions but I’m my own worst critic. I judge myself harshly.”
Hunt gave himself a public going-over after Leeds lost to Queens Park Rangers in August, their first defeat of the season. His manager Brian McDermott tried to console the striker by telling him he was being too hard on himself. Hunt has a vocal admirer in McDermott and was the target who United’s boss spent most time courting in the summer transfer window.
The 30-year-old possesses proven pedigree; the pedigree of a forward who was right at the epicentre of all that went well under McDermott at Reading. It is merely the case that three months at Elland Road have done little to showcase his strengths. If Hunt wasn’t aware of that, plenty of people have told him.
“You can laugh most comments off but bits of the abuse are brutal,” he says. “Some of what you read on social media make you think ‘wow! Do people really mean that?’ It’s not everyone. Ninety five per cent of the feedback has been supportive and the fans are top class. But certain things hurt.
“The problem is that you don’t know who’s coming at you. It could be a 10-year-old or a 60-year-old; it could be someone who’s watched every game and genuinely has an opinion on you or someone who’s never been to a game but wants to join in and give you stick for a laugh.
“What I can’t stand is the idea that I’m not trying or I don’t care. That’s nonsense, absolute nonsense. Ask any of the players here. Or better still, don’t bother asking them. Go straight to their wives or their partners. They’ll tell you what a nightmare we are to live with when we lose.
“My wife knows that whenever I have a bad day she’ll get nothing out of me. There’s no point trying to talk me round because it’s in my head. The more I try to switch off the more I come back to the game.
“I hate losing at cards at the back of the bus and I hate losing in training. I certainly hate losing games. It’s the one thing that keeps me up at night. People say they can’t sleep after games. Well I sleep fine when we win. If we don’t, I can’t get it out of my mind. It hurts.”
Hunt was part of the furniture at Reading and they gave him the chance to stay on this season. But Hunt left in May with Leeds offering a fresh start and the stability of a two-year deal.
Much as he has struggled for goals, Leeds went six games unbeaten prior to the QPR defeat. Both Hunt and McDermott claimed off-field issues had affected his performance that day.
“Moving into a house and getting my wife up here has made a big difference,” he says.
“We were supposed to be moving four weeks ago but it didn’t happen. The whole thing dragged on for another month and it became distraction.
“It shouldn’t have done but it affected me too much. Then I got annoyed at myself for letting it affect me. It’s stupid when you think about it.
“I’ve taken time to settle and that’s nobody else’s fault. So many people have helped me out. But when you go back to your hotel and you’ve only got the walls to speak to, three months of that becomes quite daunting. It’s like ‘bloody hell, I’m not used to this.’ In that respect it’s been difficult. But I feel much more settled now. I feel happier.”
Hunt’s lack of goals is an extension of United’s lack of goals. Everyone from McDermott to the Leeds’ chairman, Salah Nooruddin, has conceded that a team growing into McDermott’s image are coming up short at the sharp end of the pitch.
And then there is luck. Hunt almost buried a header in the first few minutes of Tuesday’s win over Bournemouth but it hit a defender’s foot and flew wide. He had an open goal to shoot at in the 31st minute but was taken out by visiting goalkeeper Ryan Allsop. There is an argument too which says the glaring shortage of wingers at Elland Road has repeatedly driven United’s strikers away from the shooting gallery. Hunt’s transition is much like the club’s.
“The good thing now is that we’re starting to get balls into the box, creating chances,” Hunt says. “It’s tough when that isn’t happening. I’ve maybe tried to rectify the problem by going out wide to get balls into the box. You take it upon yourself to make things happen.
“To score goals I have to be in the box and I’ve got my head around that. Perhaps I was too wide again on Tuesday but I can sense things coming together.”
Hunt enjoyed Tuesday night. He says the hours before kick-off were the first time when the familiarity of Elland Road hit him. “I was at Reading for five years and I got used to the same old things,” he says. “Leeds are a change of scene and maybe it’s been harder adjusting than I expected.
“It’s nothing to do with the size of the club – Leeds are massive and I love that – but it’s about adapting to players and fans, the training ground, the stadium. You want to feel at home and on Tuesday I did.
“That’s not a coincidence because my wife’s been saying I look better in myself. Everything’s falling into place. Happy days I hope.”