[Archived] Sparky - Not A Great Manager?

[Bobby G]

He wouldnt even touch us.

[Exiled_Rover]

Wouldn't touch him either after the way he discarded us like a used tissue.

[Mc Love]

He will be gone by Jan!

What club would Hughes go to then?? After being at a club where money is flowing out of the coffers, it will be very hard to re-adjust to any other club!

[Amo]

Wouldn't touch him either after the way he discarded us like a used tissue.

You mean went for a bigger opportunity after being taken for granted by our own board?

[Exiled_Rover]

I mean not being allowed to talk to the Toon in January and sulking for half a season because of it.

[Stuart]

He will be gone by Jan!

What club would Hughes go to then?? After being at a club where money is flowing out of the coffers, it will be very hard to re-adjust to any other club!

Good question.

Everton?

Celtic?

Wales again?

[Amo]

I mean not being allowed to talk to the Toon in January and sulking for half a season because of it.

Wouldn't you be disillusioned at the club, when you keep pulling rabbits out of the hat but the board won't back you? I believe our failure to move for Lassana Diarra was the straw that broke the camel's back.

[Shabani]

Diarra was the biggest pipe dream ever. Pompey offered him 60k a week, we could never compete with that, especially when Hughes had 85% of revenue as wages

[philipl]

Wouldn't you be disillusioned at the club, when you keep pulling rabbits out of the hat but the board won't back you? I believe our failure to move for Lassana Diarra was the straw that broke the camel's back.

We moved for Diarra twice during that window.

And your next point is?

[Amo]

We moved for Diarra twice during that window.

And your next point is?

With enough conviction to satisfy Hughes?

[1864roverite]

At least at Ewood, with a team probably valued at just over £20 million we did vanquish the dingle scum, over at COMS where Hughes spent somewhere in the region of £240m he just managed a draw against them.

Why the hell would we want him back ?

[slough_rover]

At least at Ewood, with a team probably valued at just over £20 million we did vanquish the dingle scum, over at COMS where Hughes spent somewhere in the region of £240m he just managed a draw against them.

Why the hell would we want him back ?

Because hes a far superior manager to Big Sam and only a complete arse would think otherwise.

[1864roverite]

I was implying that he couldnt beat the dingles if you read it again.

[CaliRoverNYC]

we can hire him part time during transfer windows...

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

"Poisonous Man City players tried to destroy Hughes," says Stephen Ireland.

Irish midfielder Stephen Ireland has said in an interview in today's Daily Mirror that Mark Hughes struggled last season to bring into line a group of poisonous rebels who tried to sabotage Hughes' managerial career at Eastlands.

"Not many players were pulling in the right direction," said Ireland, who says that former City midfielder Elano had been a bad influence on fellow Brazilian Robinho.

According to Ireland, several high-profile players at Man City refused to accept Hughes' vision for the club.

A report in The Guardian earlier this year (at the link HERE) said that Hughes had identified an influential group of Man City rebels who were trying to lead a dressing-room mutiny against him.

The rebellious ringleaders arranged a meeting to share their grievances, and a player went to see the club's executive chairman, Garry Cook, in an apparent attempt to get Hughes sacked.

The Guardian report suggests that the City rebels included Elano, Tal Ben Haim and the Brazilian striker Jo, who went on loan to Everton. Hughes also had disciplinary problems with Robinho, who went AWOL by leaving Man City's training camp in Tenerife without permission and who reportedly refused to conform to the club's dress code.

"How can you not have a regime of being professional?" said Stephen Ireland. "Mark Hughes got a hard time off some players, definitely. That's why he's needed time. Last year he was fighting his corner all the time."

Ireland says that Hughes has now been able to bring in the right calibre of players, more professional and more willing to pull in the right direction.

Link to Stephen Ireland's interview here

[thenodrog]

"Poisonous Man City players tried to destroy Hughes," says Stephen Ireland.

Irish midfielder Stephen Ireland has said in an interview in today's Daily Mirror that Mark Hughes struggled last season to bring into line a group of poisonous rebels who tried to sabotage Hughes' managerial career at Eastlands.

"Not many players were pulling in the right direction," said Ireland, who says that former City midfielder Elano had been a bad influence on fellow Brazilian Robinho.

According to Ireland, several high-profile players at Man City refused to accept Hughes' vision for the club.

A report in The Guardian earlier this year (at the link HERE) said that Hughes had identified an influential group of Man City rebels who were trying to lead a dressing-room mutiny against him.

The rebellious ringleaders arranged a meeting to share their grievances, and a player went to see the club's executive chairman, Garry Cook, in an apparent attempt to get Hughes sacked.

The Guardian report suggests that the City rebels included Elano, Tal Ben Haim and the Brazilian striker Jo, who went on loan to Everton. Hughes also had disciplinary problems with Robinho, who went AWOL by leaving Man City's training camp in Tenerife without permission and who reportedly refused to conform to the club's dress code.

"How can you not have a regime of being professional?" said Stephen Ireland. "Mark Hughes got a hard time off some players, definitely. That's why he's needed time. Last year he was fighting his corner all the time."

Ireland says that Hughes has now been able to bring in the right calibre of players, more professional and more willing to pull in the right direction.

Link to Stephen Ireland's interview here

Mark Hughes....... the only man this side of the pond that dislikes Brazillians!

[bellamy11]

I can't say I sympathise with Sparky. The whole setup there is just dodgy and, if true, just goes to show how little control Hughes has - even we all knew what was probably going to happen to him at City. Totally undermined.

Wouldn't the events suggest that Sparky did take control by identifying the problems and dealing with them? Elano is at Gala, Ben Haim is at Pompey, Jo is at Everton. This may help Robinho if those bad influences are gone. If it doesn't, don't bet against Sparky getting rid of Robinho.

Obviously I have very little inside knowledge of how clubs operate but from the looks of things, Sparky is an extremely good man manager. He handles Bellamy far better than any other manager, for one. Our dressing room had its fair share of spikey characters and he either kept them completely in check (Savage) or removed them (Ferguson).

Hughes has undoubtedly fallen in my estimation following his treatment of us (mainly in interviews after joining City) and the way he has openly unsettled transfer targets, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a bloody good manager of both a football team and of people more generally.

[Billy Castell]

He'll never be loved by Citeh fans though, as they now have the grace and patience of some sink estate chav who wins the lottery after having their tag removed. One week he'll be a good manager but the rest of the time he won't be good enough for such a 'big' club. A lot of the sort who write into the media about how Hughes is crap seem to have forgotten that Man City have been a joke of a club for about 20 years. Hughes is a long term kind of guy, and he'll not just spend to bring in any big name without working out whether they'll fit in.

[thenodrog]

.......... A lot of the sort who write into the media about how Hughes is crap seem to have forgotten that Man City have been a joke of a club for about 20 years.

You can virtually double that!

[thenodrog]

I can't say I'm shocked if Ireland is speaking the truth about those players though. And that's why I don't really sympathise with Sparky. He should have known that he was going to get undermined either by big players or the board.

No evidence but I suspect Cooke is not seen to be giving his full support to Hughes in player/ agent matters.

[Majiball]

Could Mourinho be being lined up?? Today he said he wants to come back to our league and they must be high on his lists.

I really don't like Cooke when he talks he just seems so false.

[Stuart]

Mourinho will hold out for the United job, surely?

[thenodrog]

Mourinho will hold out for the United job, surely?

Is he? Thats the most poisonous chalice in football. Following an all time legend with no dosh to spend!

[Stuart]

Is he? Thats the most poisonous chalice in football. Following an all time legend with no dosh to spend!

I think Mourinho would cope somehow.

Who would be the patsy to step in for United in the interim though IYO? P*** I***? (Please, please, please!)

[philipl]

The City job is miles more attractive than the United one.

Like + hundreds of millions vs - £700m more attractive. Ad that is before considering the Ferguson shadow.

City are daft enough to fire Sparky. In my opinion he is doing an absolutely superb job in the circumstances at Eastlands.