MARK HUGHES THREAD (all hughes opinions in here please)

[Goaters 103]

You would expect that if we are serious in our lofty ambitions, then Hiddink has been sounded out.

We could waste another 2 years prolonging the inevitable conclusion that the job is beyond this manager. The team gets worse the longer the season goes on, he doesn't know what his best 11 is, nor indeed what his best formation is either.

If we go out weds, and get gubbed by Chels again on sat that may see some movement. We look like a bloody rudderless ship at the moment.

[Dameerto]

Not seen the game today, but read different comments on the game and some of the same tripe from the usual suspects. I watched the last 20 mins of soccer saturday and merson said we had murdered hull but we just couldnt score. We got more nervous as the game wore on because of it.

Now for a team that has SWP, Adebayor, Robinho, Tevez and Ireland in its starting line up, its crazy that we struggled to put the ball in the net when we were having 70% of possession. They parked the preverbial bus in front of the goal by the sounds of it and hit us on the break.

We need a positive result on Wednesday and positive performance on Saturday

We did outplay them (particularly in the first half) - 17 shots, 5 on target, resulting in one goal for us, that's simply not good enough considering our attack is our strength - Hughes blamed the penalty decision (which I agree was harsh) for losing all three points, but I blame our lack of accuracy. There is no excuse for us being unable to win shoot-outs particularly against a struggling (but improving) team like Hull.

[Nickyboy]

from where i was sat the boos at the end were for the ref blowing up when we had a corner. We had a lot more possession and on another day could of scored five. We were too wastefull trying to walk it in at times. And should of had a pen

[carl_feedthegoat]

Not seen the game today, but read different comments on the game and some of the same tripe from the usual suspects. I watched the last 20 mins of soccer saturday and merson said we had murdered hull but we just couldnt score. We got more nervous as the game wore on because of it.

Now for a team that has SWP, Adebayor, Robinho, Tevez and Ireland in its starting line up, its crazy that we struggled to put the ball in the net when we were having 70% of possession. They parked the preverbial bus in front of the goal by the sounds of it and hit us on the break.

We need a positive result on Wednesday and positive performance on Saturday

"Not seen the game today"

THEN YOUR HAVING A POP AT THE "USUAL SUSPECTS" THAT DID SEE THE MATCH ISNT REALLY VALID IS IT?

AND ANOTHER THING - SINCE WHEN DO WE TAKE ANY NOTICE OF THE DEGENERATE CRACK ADDICTS COMMENTS???????????

[Patrick]

however i still think that anyone who has to add comments about hughes past hates united more than they love city

im happy to debate the mans performance on his results

[M147WN]

I don't want hughes here and haven't wanted him since almost this time last year.
However, on this occasion I'm not going to blame hughes for todays debacle!
I thought he picked the right team, made the right subs (I would have gone further and taken Ireland off for Johnson) but all in all he didn't do a lot wrong.

What you can't plan for with the best will in the world is players not putting in a shift!
mistakes i can handle, although the better quality players we've sourced should be making less mistakes than they are.

Like most people in todays financial climate i don't have much disposable income but the bit i have goes on City - home and away!
After todays piss poor lack of effort we all stand round the bar in the station and one lad says "some of these cocks earn in 1 week what takes me 4 years". And you know what? he's fuckin spot on!
Now I think the root of the problem is hughes and his 'never done anything and never will staff'! He and they are plainly miles out of their depth and have no experience of moulding a decent team to push for honours.
But occasionally my heart goes out to him because some of these overpaid lazy bastards need to have a good look in the mirror and ask themselves 'is what I did today worth the £80,000 i got paid this week'? ... Most, if they were honest would piss themselves laughing and then say a resounding No!

[Colin the King]

Said as much to KK at the match earlier, if we're knocked out of the cup on Wednesday and don't win again on Saturday (Chelsea or not), it's time for Hughes to be chopped. I didn't want him to begin with, got used to the idea of him being the manager, then around this time last year got a bit fed up, then when it became clear he was being given another season decided to pack in the arguing and see how things went. Well, this is it for me. 7 points from a possible 21 would be inexcusable for the vast majority of teams, never mind one with aspirations of a Champions League finish and £250million spent.

It's not team selections- they are generally quite sensible. It's not tactical changes- they are generally quite sensible. It's a very obvious lack of a winning mentality, fight or character in a lot of these players. If they're not willing to perform for the manager- well, it makes them wankers- but it also makes Hughes' position untenable.

So, give us a special week Hughes to save yourself or get one of those lovely grey suits pressed and head down the job centre. It's in your hands.

[Socrates]

Only question for me is still the same one. Is Hughes more likely to get the 4th spot we need, to insulate us from the UEFA planned rule changes, than a new manager coming in? We are getting near to the tipping point where I'd have to answer "no" and, having slept on it, I would have to say it's time the club started sounding out the possible replacements as a decision needs to be made before Christmas. If he is to be replaced it should be soon. If he survives until Christmas we have to stick with him for a while.

[zuricity]

I'm still in two minds about changing the manager. Something has to change though.

Someone wrote that the substitutions seemed ok too. Dead wrong, he took Robbie off after 75 minutes. To me that was the signal to Hull to say, ok, we've defended against their best now let's push for the equaliser and they did take over the game.

It's no use Toure whining about the penalty, it was a clear foul by him and he was out of position.
As for Teves. For the last five or six weeks he's been taking free kicks around the box, almost all feebly. Don't these players have it in their heads to tell him to get away from the ball and let someone who can do it better have a go ?. OK, the manager and his coaches should also be drilling these things on the training ground.

Anyway now we know why the covers are going up at Carrington. To hide the shit training and tactics being practised, week in , week out.

However, if we do not get results ( win and win again) this week, even though it's Arsenal first up and then Chelsea, I think i will have to reconsider my acceptance of giving Hughes to the end of the season.

In fact, this is where we see if Hughes's philosophy of ' Put a shift in ' holds up. We need every player to put a shift in twice this week.

[ant london]

Anyway now we know why the covers are going up at Carrington. To hide the shit training and tactics being practised, week in , week out.

However, if we do not get results ( win and win again) this week, even though it's Arsenal first up and then Chelsea, I think i will have to reconsider my acceptance of giving Hughes to the end of the season.

In fact, this is where we see if Hughes's philosophy of ' Put a shift in ' holds up. We need every player to put a shift in twice this week.

that was a good post until you ruined it with the nonsense re the training ground

I've honestly no clue why we are struggling but it can only be a lack of mental fortitude for me really.....concentration, winning mentality, courage.....whatever you want to call it we are clearly lacking it en masse and I am afraid that I am starting to draw the same conclusions as most in this thread.

Unfortunate thing for Mark Hughes is that this "crisis" is coming to a head at pretty much the ideal time to change managers. A few weeks pre-Xmas to assess the current squad and then a full window to ship out and bring in.

If we lose at Arsenal....then I have to admit I will fully understand the owners if they want a new face. I admit that I probably wouldn't say this if Guus Hiddink wasn't available but, for me, he is tailor made for this job. He has an incredible CV of getting unfashionable teams doing the business.....he has 100% the right mentality and the ability to transmit that to his players and that is patently what we lack currently.

[Fish111]

MARK HUGHES is on borrowed time after chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak witnessed yet another dismal Manchester City display.
City's 1-1 draw with Hull - their seventh in a row - has left Hughes on the brink with Guus Hiddink, Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho all in the frame to replace him.
Hughes's position has been under threat since the 3-3 draw with Burnley earlier this month.
Al Mubarek flew in from Abu Dhabi yesterday morning and will report back to owner Sheikh Mansour.
Mansour will now make a decision on his manager's future, possibly at the end of a week in which they face Arsenal in the Carling Cup and Chelsea next Saturday.
They may only have lost once in the league this season - to Manchester United at Old Trafford - but City's recent run of results have left Hughes in jeopardy.
Draws against the likes of Fulham, Birmingham, Burnley and now Hull look to have sealed the manager's fate.
Russia's unexpected World Cup play-off exit has put former Chelsea boss, Hiddink, on the market and his presence casts a huge shadow over Hughes.
But chairman Khladoon is also friends with Italian Mancini and sources claim his track record at Inter Milan where he won Serie A three years in a row has left him as a serious contender for the City job.
Former Stamford Bridge boss Mourinho is also keen on a return to the Prem.
Hughes admitted he was under pressure to get results having spent £200million in the transfer market but claimed the club's Arab owners were willing to be patient.
That patience, however, is close to expiring and poor results against Arsenal in midweek and Chelsea next Saturday seem certain to seal his fate.

[zuricity]

I can't disagree with you there ant.

I think my fears about the training ground are based on 30 years of watching large Computer companies like IBM and Microsoft milk gullible customers. After 30 years i am very much an advocate of the open source community and I don't see any reason to block training grounds off either. Certainly big guns don't do that at all.

I'm afraid, it's an old saying born out the IBM computer industry in the fifties, sixties and seventies. The "Mushroom theory" . You know, "Keep 'em in the dark and feed 'em on bullshit" and I must admit as I've seen reports given to the press over the last few months this appears to the the case too at City now. Leaks by players about past players unsettling the dressing room and squad etc, blaming previous regimes for 'not putting in a shift' or what ever. I mean what on earth was RSC doing making any statement to the press, the guy has done SFA for City since he has signed on, except collect large amounts of money week in week out. Of all the highly paid players on the books he should be the one to keep his mouth shut and prove he is worth his thick wedge on the pitch. Even Lescott has played , sometimes quite good football since he joined and been honest and said that he has made a mistake or too and not sought to lay the blame elsewhere.

My own thoughts about Hughes and his cohorts go back to an experience one of my family had with him and Bowen and i've seen nothing since he has joined City to change that opinion. Unfortunately, because this changing manager business is a pain in the ass for us , i really hate the fact that we might have to change managers again. However, one thing is for sure, our new owner will do the best for the club, and thereby the best for us fans. Perhaps patience really is a virtue, although sometimes a monument too, she is f*ckin' around with our heads at the moment and it's damn frustrating.

[ant london]

I can't disagree with you there ant.

I think my fears about the training ground are based on 30 years of watching large Computer companies like IBM and Microsoft milk gullible customers. After 30 years i am very much an advocate of the open source community and I don't see any reason to block training grounds off either. Certainly big guns don't do that at all.

I get where you're coming from on this and I must confess that I am totally perplexed by this closing off of visibility at Carrington. Other than the reports of the bust up between Micah and Hughes and the fact that Bellamy was there when he was "injured" and unavailable for Wales I can't recall anything remotely de-stabilising or disruptive that has come from training being observed.

It smacks of some degree of paranoia.....which is never a good state of affairs and doesn't really give mee a good feeling about the state of the communal mentality at the club on the playing side.

The thing is, when I've been down to watch training (combined with DH's excellent (and, accurate....as I have seen training and read reports from when I've attended) reports)) I cannot see much wrong with the technical side of the preparations for each match. They get worked hard and you can see (in terms of upcoming opponents) that the technical drills/routines make absolute sense.

But it is going quite badly wrong on the pitch.

Ultimately the players have to shoulder most of the blame for me. BUT a manager earns his crust in galvanising the players and marshalling his resources both individually and collectively. Something in this area is going very badly wrong at the moment IMO. The whole squad is now pretty much HIS squad (Robinho excepted in terms of star names) or a "convert/acolyte" (a la Stevie). Logically there is no reason why they shouldn't be "playing for him" but that's kinda what it looks like.

I'm frustrated as hell. We look likely to get knocked out of the Carling Cup by Arsenal's kids this week. If that happens I fully expect to be managerless next weekend.

[zuricity]

Agree again.

I don't want Hughes to become a touch line jester, but I can't help feeling that in his determination to sit down and not react to things that he must be seeing, affects the mood of the players. For example, let's just say, if a player feels that Ade isn't pulling his weight he can tell him to pull his finger out, surely the manager will be aware of this and can then make a positive contribution to the conflict and thereby motivate both players. I think the word is pro-active and Hughes just doesn't seem interested at times. It's as if he knows that the compensation he will get has set him up for life anyway. It's not a weakness in a manager to be pro-active, the best of them do it all the time. He's becoming as grey as John Major, crickey, he even sounds like a politician, no emotion at all.

[Chinners]

Agree again.
He's becoming as grey as John Major, crickey, he even sounds like a politician, no emotion at all.

Spot on! I didn't want him but admit he needed a decent run of time ... time is running out for me, the next 4 games will decide if I put both feet in the 'Leslie out' camp rather than the half a leg I have in there at the mo. Frustrating stuff all round really.

[salford city]

I've just posted something similar in the NOTW thread - My overriding feeling is one of frustration but time is definitely not on MH's side

[craigmcfc]

Agree again.
He's becoming as grey as John Major, crickey, he even sounds like a politician, no emotion at all.

Spot on! I didn't want him but admit he needed a decent run of time ... time is running out for me, the next 4 games will decide if I put both feet in the 'Leslie out' camp rather than the half a leg I have in there at the mo. Frustrating stuff all round really.

Was trying to find a way to express my thoughts but you've said it very well. Exactly what I feel right now

[Goaters 103]

Said as much to KK at the match earlier, if we're knocked out of the cup on Wednesday and don't win again on Saturday (Chelsea or not), it's time for Hughes to be chopped. I didn't want him to begin with, got used to the idea of him being the manager, then around this time last year got a bit fed up, then when it became clear he was being given another season decided to pack in the arguing and see how things went. Well, this is it for me. 7 points from a possible 21 would be inexcusable for the vast majority of teams, never mind one with aspirations of a Champions League finish and £250million spent.

It's not team selections- they are generally quite sensible. It's not tactical changes- they are generally quite sensible. It's a very obvious lack of a winning mentality, fight or character in a lot of these players. If they're not willing to perform for the manager- well, it makes them wankers- but it also makes Hughes' position untenable.

So, give us a special week Hughes to save yourself or get one of those lovely grey suits pressed and head down the job centre. It's in your hands.

Top post, agree 100%

[Beefymcfc]

Said as much to KK at the match earlier, if we're knocked out of the cup on Wednesday and don't win again on Saturday (Chelsea or not), it's time for Hughes to be chopped. I didn't want him to begin with, got used to the idea of him being the manager, then around this time last year got a bit fed up, then when it became clear he was being given another season decided to pack in the arguing and see how things went. Well, this is it for me. 7 points from a possible 21 would be inexcusable for the vast majority of teams, never mind one with aspirations of a Champions League finish and £250million spent.

It's not team selections- they are generally quite sensible. It's not tactical changes- they are generally quite sensible. It's a very obvious lack of a winning mentality, fight or character in a lot of these players. If they're not willing to perform for the manager- well, it makes them wankers- but it also makes Hughes' position untenable.

So, give us a special week Hughes to save yourself or get one of those lovely grey suits pressed and head down the job centre. It's in your hands.

Top post, agree 100%

It is a very sensible and balanced post and gives a very good account of what should happen. One thing I'd add is that if Hughes does not get the results or the decision has already been made, then the transition must be managed correctly. When I say managed, there must be somebody already in the wings who is willing to come in as caretaker until the end of the season, then one of the top managers brought in once the season ends. As many have eluded to, Hiddink may be that man and I can see him looking after the team until a long term manager can be sought.

Just a point to note, the cavalcade of Mercs and Police Bikes that left the ground straight after the whistle yesterday was obviously holding someone of importance such as Khaldoon, which if it was is quite strange. Why would he leave in such a rush and so early on unless he wanted as far away from the club as possible, as normally he'd stay behing with the top brass. Maybe he had business elsewhere or maybe he didn't want to be around the club whilst he has an axe to wield?

[Beefymcfc]

Seeing that Chelsea have just stuffed the Arse 3-0 and that a few are saying that we need to win both games for him to change your outlook, is what you are asking of Hughes, and the team, realistic?

After what I've seen today, a win, even in extra time or penalties, in the cup and another draw next weekend would do me!