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More negative press - Great!


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.

Sorry maybe this should be in the hughes thread, move if you want mods!

Glad you put it in own thread, I can't really deal with the battle in the Hughes thread. Thanks for posting Lee.

A major headline like that certainly merits it's own discussion IMO even if it is in a comic! Is it negative press though? It is for Hughes but not for the club! Indicates a firm hand at the tiller and links us with three managers with a record of achievement. Could even be true, we are getting near to the point where one would have to say he is less likely to get this squad to challenge for 4th than one of the managers named above.

I put it into the Hughes thread as i think it's just a reporters own personal view rather than a story with any substance. Still, these things have a habit of gathering momentum and with the run of results lately the headlines will write themselves anyway.

I only hope it's true! The overriding feeling of City fans now must be that surely any other manager could do better with the players we have at our disposal. 7 points out of a possible 21 is relegation form and shouldn't be tolerated anymore.

Craig Bardsley wrote:I only hope it's true! The overriding feeling of City fans now must be that surely any other manager could do better with the players we have at our disposal. 7 points out of a possible 21 is relegation form and shouldn't be tolerated anymore.

Let's bring back Frank Clarke then.

I'm not fussed about Mancini but would love Hiddink or Mourinho. Mourinho would be my preference and we should be sounding him out now and appointing Hiddink if we get a negative response.

We've only had one above par result all season. The Arsenal game is the only one in which we have performed and delivered above expectations. The rest of our results have been par or below par.

He has to go and there are people out there now who are available.

I think he has a couple of lives left but with the quality of performance that the team and players have churned out this season, he's gradually running out of them.

Hiddink would do for me. He had Chelsea an organised wininning machine.

Lev Bronstein wrote:

Craig Bardsley wrote:I only hope it's true! The overriding feeling of City fans now must be that surely any other manager could do better with the players we have at our disposal. 7 points out of a possible 21 is relegation form and shouldn't be tolerated anymore.

Let's bring back Frank Clarke then.

He'd probably do a better job.. and it's Clark! ;-)

Grob wrote:
Hiddink would do for me. He had Chelsea an organised wininning machine.

What he said.

Now ive calmed down Im still not sure how i feel. Hughes would probably get it right eventually, and before the season started i thought 6th or above, after the start i thought, fighting it all the way to the finish for 4th place would be abbout right,

But we have led 4 games and not won, 12 points when we only got 4, so we should have 8 more points than we have now, which gives us 30 points, enough to cement 3rd and but right up there.

If we win on Weds and win the next 4 games everything will be ok,

But dont you just know we will take the lead then end up drawing and loose the replay....

Talking about Hughes on "Sunday Supplement" after the ads CH 401

Talking about Hughes on "Sunday Supplement" after the ads CH 401

I think that the majority were for giving him the chance again this season, I was certainly of that opinion. I'm finding it extremely difficult to justify this at the moment. We've always been quick to jump on shite performances and inept managers in the past and that is starting to manifest itself again. Im concerned that we do not appear to be getting any better as a unit and lack a Plan B as already mentioned elsewhere. Can't offer any solutions as I really don't understand what the hell is going so badly wrong - it's almost as if the players have started a get rid of the manager campaign themselves.One thing is for certain and that is that if the crowd turn as they are beginning to do on MH, he'll be gone sharpish despite the owners' protestations to the contrary.

A big week looms for us all and I doubt whether a defeat to the kids of the Arse or the visit of Chelsea will brighten things up.

That said, will the grass be any greener on the other side if the axe falls?

Owners cant be happy either way with 7 draws. NOTW hate us but they got this one right.

That patience, however, is close to expiring and poor results against Arsenal in midweek and Chelsea next Saturday seem certain to seal his fate.

That last line seems to be unferring that the NoTW have a crystal ball; hope not!

When you consider just how much Hughes has changed behind the scenes since arriving you would have to expect wholesale changes if he got the boot, all of the coaching staff are his men that he takes everywhere with him, even the medical staff were recruited by him. That's one hell of an upheaval even with one of the world class managers named, when Hiddink took over Chelsea he just came in and did the job with the staff that were already there which obviously makes things easier.

Whether the Sheik lets him go largely depends on what Hughes has told them and the objectives given to him for this season, I do think that failure to qualify for Europe this season would see him gone though

Crossie wrote:Now ive calmed down Im still not sure how i feel. Hughes would probably get it right eventually, and before the season started i thought 6th or above, after the start i thought, fighting it all the way to the finish for 4th place would be abbout right,

But we have led 4 games and not won, 12 points when we only got 4, so we should have 8 more points than we have now, which gives us 30 points, enough to cement 3rd and but right up there.

If we win on Weds and win the next 4 games everything will be ok,

But dont you just know we will take the lead then end up drawing and loose the replay....

We cant draw on Wednesday Crossie as its a one off tie, so somehow the streak of draws will be broken. Having seen so many City quarter final "performances" I think we all have an inkling how wednesday will end.

Reports from Italy are suggesting Mourinho is on the brink of walking as he doesn't ''feel appreciated'' or ''loved'' by the fans, plus the fact results have been shite lately apparently. He's also been stated as wanting to come back to England.
Scum job isn't available yet, Chelsea are doing fine with Ancelotti, Liverpool can't afford to sack Benitez, Redknapp is doing fine at Spurs, O'Neill is doing equally well at Villa so that leaves us as a very attractive propect in England. I think he'd snap our hands off and bring a few trophies to Eastlands. I would want a new manager in place before January though, i have gone off the idea that Hughes can do a job for us now and why give him another 50M to spend?