[Archived] Sparky - Not A Great Manager?

[cletus]

I have nothing but respect for Mark Hughes. Good manager & thoroughly decent bloke.

The whole Man City thing has been a nightmare for him. I actually thought he was doing ok. He`s only lost 2 games in the prem (i think?)

I`d love to have Hughes back at Ewood, but then again, Big Sam hasn`t done anything wrong really. His style of football isn`t great or sexy, but he hasn`t dissed our club & seems dedicated to the job. Rovers would look bad if they went down the path of dumping Sam & getting Hughesy back.

[DE.]

Was very harsh on Hughes, and the way they handled the situation today was a total disgrace.

However, he knew what he was getting himself into when he went there. The chances of it ending successfully were always slim.

[Amo]

We all knew Mark Hughes would never be given the time and patience to build success - not in today's fast-track climate.

Hypothetically, would I welcome him back? I don't think he would any worse than Sam, and perhaps better. But Hughes has spent his time here, and grew disillusioned with the club's lack of ambition, despite continued success.

[Darth Paul]

Wouldn't touch Hughes with a barge pole - poor football under him at the end at Ewood. Got exactly what he deserved at City. Once he went there he became an underhand, unpleasant individual who took more than one opportunity to have a dig at Rovers after he left and repeatedly tapped up not only the likes of Santa Cruz at our place, but behaved disgracefully over the likes of Lescott as well...

When people are given power they show their true selves - he was an arse at United, very likeable at Rovers and then became an arse again when he went to City. Not sour grapes at all, football moves on, and so do I, but I hold Souness in far greater affection than I ever would Hughes.

To be fair he brought some excellent players in to Ewood, who then sold for a tidy profit, but Allardyce may yet do the same...Nzonzi, Di Santo (ok not signed yet), Givet etc...

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

I know that ozziejones didn't like it on Wednesday night when I referred to the Arab family's penchant for setting fire to people's genitals and lashing people with nailed planks, but dare I suggest that such people are not patient, calm, rational or forgiving people by nature and therefore Hughes's sacking shouldn't come as a surprise to people today.

Clearly the Arabs lost patience with Hughes and wanted instant success. If ozziejones can forgive me I do feel that the barbaric torture inflicted on people by the Arab family is rather indicative of the unforgiving impatient and ruthless nature of the Arabs that Hughes was working for. Indeed it wouldn't have been a great surprise to me if Hughes had been sacked last season when City were going through a bad patch.

Just said on Sky that the board told Toure (as club captain) that Hughes was being sacked, and it was his duty to tell the rest of the players! What an absolutely classless, shambolic, unprofessional way to handle it ....

If that's true it's an absolutely shambolic way to run a football club. They have no class at all. Garry Cooke and the Arab family are frankly despicable people and I very much hope that City fail to qualify for the Champions League and fail to win the Carling Cup this season. I have nothing but disgust for the way that the club is being run at the top level.

Although over the last 18 months I've lost quite a lot of respect for Mark Hughes and have been critical of him, I do feel that he probably deserved to stay at least until the end of this season to see if he could win either a trophy or finish in the top four. If after two full seasons Hughes had failed to acheive this then he probably couldn't have had too many complaints if he had been sacked in the summer, having spent over £200m.

But the timing of Hughes's sacking today - after a win over Sunderland which puts them only six points behind 4th placed Aston Villa with a game in hand and with a Carling Cup semi-final next month - it's poor timing I feel.

I suspect that Robinho won't be too upset by Mark Hughes's sacking today. Indeed I suspect Robinho might be on the phone to his Brazilian team-mates Elano and Jo - the alleged dressing room troublemakers who caused problems last season - to exchange delight and glee at the sacking.

On the other hand, I suspect that people like Craig Bellamy and Santa Cruz who have worked with Hughes for years will be annoyed and angry by the sacking today - particularly the apparent manner in which it was done which completely lacked class and respect and summed up Manchester City as a football club.

When Joleon Lescott signed for City in the summer he said that he'd been given assurances from the City board that Hughes was going to remain in charge as manager for the long-term and that a long-term plan was in place to deliver success. Lescott claimed that this was one of the main reasons he signed for City because he felt that the club would have stability and wouldn't be chopping and changing managers too often.

Even Steve Bruce - who hasn't exactly been friends with Hughes in recent years - said today that the timing of the sacking was "ridiculous". Last year Bruce said that he has never been on particularly good terms with Hughes, even going back to the days when they were Man United team-mates.

I have mixed feelings myself about Hughes's sacking today. As I've lost a bit of respect for him in the last 18 months I'm not shedding tears or having buckets of sympathy for him. Having said that, I do feel it was the wrong timing from City's point of view today and that Hughes deserved to stay until at least the end of the season.

If the Arabs had been in charge of Man United in the late 1980s there's no way in the world that Alex Ferguson would have survived four years of mid-table mediocrity before he finally won his first trophy for United, the FA Cup in 1990. Some people claim that Fergie is the greatest ever British manager. It could also be argued that Fergie is one of the luckiest ever British managers - to have remained in charge of a big club like United for such a long time when results were not going their way.

One wonders what Hughes now thinks of Brian Kidd. In September Hughes brought Kidd to the club to coach young players coming through City's youth system . Hughes may now feel that he's been stabbed in the back a bit by Kidd, who appears to have agreed to become City's new assistant manager very rapidly before Hughes even said his final farewells.

[1864roverite]

Manchester City have NEVER been a respectable club, not in my lifetime anyway.

I agree wholly that Hughes didnt seem to be the man to take that club onto the glory its owners so desire, he just is not the manager type who could masage such huge egos that were coming into that club.

Its painful to see such good coaches like Eddie and Mark Bowen lose out as well because we all saw the impact of their contributions at Ewood Park.

I dont see how Mancini and Kidd can do any better and if City go on a wild spending spree in January just where will that leave the current 38 man first team squad !!

[Blue blood]

Although over the last 18 months I've lost quite a lot of respect for Mark Hughes and have been critical of him, I do feel that he probably deserved to stay at least until the end of this season to see if he could win either a trophy or finish in the top four. If after two full seasons Hughes had failed to acheive this then he probably couldn't have had too many complaints if he had been sacked in the summer, having spent over £200m.

But the timing of Hughes's sacking today - after a win over Sunderland which puts them only four points behind 4th place and with a Carling Cup semi-final next month - is poor timing I feel.

Pretty much sums up my view on the matter.

Would I have him back - damn right. Warnock, Bentley, Bellamy, Samba, McCarthy, Santa Cruz - redeveloping Emerton, if we had Hughes in charge we'd not be reliant on a crocked Dunn for quality. Sure he'd taken us to the limit - just inside the top half of the premiership - but right now that looks a good place to be.

However we can't afford to sack Sam - and I don't think that it is warrented yet either. I'm not too sure whether Hughes would want to come back to Rovers either (although he probably appreciates the benefits of a well run club a bit more after today). Besides he'll be back in work before we get to a situation where we are looking for a new manager.

[American]

Wot? Brian Kidd as No.2???!

Useless at Rovers and hell be useless at City.

Yes, he was a horrible no. 2 at United, as well....

[RoyRover]

The sacking of Mark Hughes goes to show what Man City have become. I can't say I feel any sympathy for Hughes, in fact I thought it was quite funny, because after leaving us in the lurch, his dream move didn't work out like he envisaged. This idea of instant success that the owners of Man City have is sickening. These guys want success and they want it now. There is no thought toward gradual improvement over a couple of years. The fact that these people think that you can buy a load of players and mould them into a successful team, challenging the top teams automatically proves that they know nothing about football. They probably looked at the Chelsea blueprint and expected the same, but I think that case is the exception to the rule. These targets that they've set are just an extension of their lifestyle, where they expect to get what they want, when they want it and that anything can be bought - even a Premiership title.

[Amo]

Hughes never left us in the lurch. He left to enhance his managerial career, which is exactly what anyone of us would do if we removed our blue & white spectacles. And think of the profit he brought here with his signings, one of whom will probably make us another mint next year.

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

Dressing room revolt as angry City players confront Garry Cook....

It's been reported tonight that Shay Given has led a delegation of angry Man City players to tell the executive chairman Garry Cook that they wanted Mark Hughes to stay as manager. Clearly Mr Cook wasn't swayed by the protestations of the players....

LINK HERE

[Mr. E]

Hughes never left us in the lurch. He left to enhance his managerial career, which is exactly what anyone of us would do if we removed our blue & white spectacles. And think of the profit he brought here with his signings, one of whom will probably make us another mint next year.

We gave him both the final years of his playing career and the opportunity to manage a top flight team, with which he did well whilst pledging how much he liked Rovers and how he sees his long-term future here, before joining a club that takes the pi$$ out of the integrity of the game, which triggered most of our top stars walking out.

If money is the one and only thing that matters to you, then yes, you would "do like Hughes", but don't make generalizations about everyone.

Not only that, but with the richest team in the world and some of the best players in the Premiership, he still could not accomplish anything significant. His sacking is the only good news from today.

[deryck guyler's spoon]

Dressing room revolt as angry City players confront Garry Cook....

It's been reported tonight that Shay Given has led a delegation of angry Man City players to tell the executive chairman Garry Cook that they wanted Mark Hughes to stay as manager. Clearly Mr Cook wasn't swayed by the protestations of the players....

LINK HERE

I'm all for a bit of dignity but referring to Manchester City as a "fine club"......deary me. His spell at Wastelands juxtaposes with his Rovers tenure which should be more than enough to demonstate what a "fine club" really is. Hughes' unhappy reign and untimely exit is yet another salutary example to manager and player alike that the grass elsewhere is rarely greener than it is at Ewood.

[RovertheHill]

Hughes never left us in the lurch. He left to enhance his managerial career, which is exactly what anyone of us would do if we removed our blue & white spectacles. And think of the profit he brought here with his signings, one of whom will probably make us another mint next year.

I don't understand this? Why should I remove my blue and white spectacles? What a ridiculous statement. Surely that's the point isn't it?

Why are people hypocritical about managers? Pretty much any player who leaves of their own volition to go to a "bigger" club is pilloried whenever they come back? Hughes decided that Rovers weren't good/big enough for him so he left. He's now found out that the grass isn't greener, and that maybe a bigger test of his talents, a bigger challenge and a better way to earn respect would have been to take Rovers into Europe regularly and maybe win a cup, rather than play Football Manager for real with ridiculous amounts of money. That way, he may have been set up to take over the job he really wanted - when Ferguson retires.

He's been fantastically compensated and therefore I have no sympathy for him. He'll have to step down a peg or two and start again. Unless Liverpool are stupid enough...

[accyrover]

Mixed feelings on this one. Part of me feels sorry for Hughes, part of me doesn't.

I have no time for these billionaires who expect instant success and use Premiership clubs as pieces on a Monopoly board. These Arabs are nothing more than gangsters. Gansters hold people hostage, the Arabs hold countries hostage with their oil. Take OPEC in the 70's. Oh, for the day it runs out, or someone invents a propulsion system that is not reliant on oil.

I lost all respect for Hughes when he walked out of Ewood with his Eastlands specs on, and proceeded to throw the dodgy cash around, grossly inflating the transfer market in the same way Abramovitch has done with Chelsea. Hughes slagged Rovers off and raided our, and other teams, best players - teams like City can't attract the best players without paying exhorbitant transfer fees and wages which shows just what a bunch of pretenders they really are. The whole thing of dodgy forign businessmen buying Premiership clubs is ruining the game. Take Portsmouth - what a circus, and what a joke.

Hughes was disrespectful to Blackburn Rovers - a team who gave him his big break in club management.

Barry, Lescott, Santa Cruz, Bellamy, Adebayor, Toure - all mercenary bastar*s who hopefully will be dumped by Mancini in favour of his own mercenary bastar*s.

Accyrover

[cletus]

Man City have been a joke club for donkeys years. The only difference now-a-days is they`re a bloody rich joke club.

Old habits die hard.

City`s attempts to become one of the big boys in football will fail in the most public & fantastic manner......like it always has done.

[beerwins]

I have to say that I really dont understand the hate towards Hughes, he was great manager for us who always got as much as he could out of the players, he signed some great players from which rovers gained some huge profits.

He took rovers as far as he could and made no bones in mentioning he was frustrated at the lack of funds and when the city job came up he took he jumped at the chance of having a huge transfer budget and the task of creating a top four club, if you resent him for leaving then you must have no drive in life and no desire to better yourself not to understand the situation he was in, would you like to go through life saying if only i had done this?

He always gave as much as poss as a player and the same as a manager and in all fairness I was surprised he lasted as long as he did because the premiership has become impatient with managers, given the position city are in and the mixture of players he has signed hard working and skillfull i would say that it is city's loss.

We miss the work ethic he used to drill into the team and i would take him back in a heartbeat, but no doubt a better offer would arise.

[Nate]

Watch them crash and burn with Mancini in charge.

[RovertheHill]

I have to say that I really dont understand the hate towards Hughes, he was great manager for us who always got as much as he could out of the players, he signed some great players from which rovers gained some huge profits.

He took rovers as far as he could and made no bones in mentioning he was frustrated at the lack of funds and when the city job came up he took he jumped at the chance of having a huge transfer budget and the task of creating a top four club, if you resent him for leaving then you must have no drive in life and no desire to better yourself not to understand the situation he was in, would you like to go through life saying if only i had done this?

He always gave as much as poss as a player and the same as a manager and in all fairness I was surprised he lasted as long as he did because the premiership has become impatient with managers, given the position city are in and the mixture of players he has signed hard working and skillfull i would say that it is city's loss.

We miss the work ethic he used to drill into the team and i would take him back in a heartbeat, but no doubt a better offer would arise.

No hate here. The guy thought he was bigger and better. He spent half a season looking for his next move - whether it be Newcastle, Chelsea or ultimately Man City. He's hardly "bettered" himself though has he, unless you class more money in his bank. And for those who think getting him back is a good idea - how long until he's on his bike again?

[MarkBRFC71]

Wouldn't touch Hughes with a barge pole - poor football under him at the end at Ewood.

And the football under BFS has been like watching Brazil 1970 in comparison? Do me a favour .... we've had 12 months of negative, one-dimensional tripe under Allardyce. I would have Hughes back without a moment's hesitation over Sam.

[beerwins]

No hate here. The guy thought he was bigger and better. He spent half a season looking for his next move - whether it be Newcastle, Chelsea or ultimately Man City. He's hardly "bettered" himself though has he, unless you class more money in his bank. And for those who think getting him back is a good idea - how long until he's on his bike again?

Well i would have to disagree he did better himself looking from his perspective, he went to a club with a bigger fanbase, got a bigger wage, had a genuine target to achieve, had a bigger transfer budget and got to enjoy his shot in the limelight.

When he started as rovers manager he was hardly born with blue and white skin it was just a job plain and simple and in job terms more money and a greater challenge represent a step up in some peoples eyes.

If you start work at mcdonalds flipping burgers then get offered a job at burger king as a mangager with more money and more responsibilty would you take it ? the answer depends on the individual, whether they want the challenge, the extra money, the stress and the knowledge that if they fail to achieve thier targets there going to get fired, do you stay safe or do you try to better yourself? As sparky was very early in his management career he has plenty of time to pick up the pieces and leaving rovers as the time he did was just a natural progression for any manager wanting to learn their trade.

What did he learn there? maybe like so many people and players that have left rovers that the grass is not always greener, i suppose we will never know.

[Rovermatt]

I don't feel the slightest bit sorry for him. His behaviour has deteriorated significantly since he left us and in any case he's now in possession of a huge Christmas bonus. City will go nowhere with Mancini either. Who cares?

[Commondore]

City was always going to sack him, you tend to get that when the people who are running the ship has to take order from someone who sees the club as their newest toy. I don't feel half the resentment of Sparky that I do to the owners, those if anyone are ruining the game.

[beerwins]

He took us much further than was ever expected. But I don't buy this "taken them as far as I could" malarkey. It's a polite way of saying I'm bored, disillusioned and want a fresh challenge. Don't forget that the last season under Hughes made most of us wonder how on earth we finished 7th. The football during that season was not much better than it is now.

But I'd still have the silly old blighter back

Just looking at a poll on a City forum and the fans seem slightly in favour of the sacking.

Because like there dumbass oil bathing owner they are starting to expect instant results, breaking into the top 4 doesnt require the best players in the world it requires your players and manager to have the mind set that you are a top 4 club and you only get that with achieving that position for a few years running , imho hughes would have have acomplished this but he wasnt given time, but its their loss.

[RevidgeBlue]

Not a City fan, but looking in as an outsider I thought Hughes was very much on the right track. Possibly as a Rovers fan I'm biased because we know from his time at Ewood what a good manager he is, and what a good team he has in Mark Bowen and Eddie N.

However if the decision to sack him is harsh, the decision to replace him with Mancini and Kidd is laughable. Hiddink or Mourinho you might have said "harsh but understandable."

As for Rovers in an ideal world I'd have Hughes and just as importantly his backroom team back in a flash. Unfortunately this isn't ann ideal world and we probably couldn't afford to sack Allardyce even if we got to the point where we wanted to and Hughes would probably never come back to the Club with disinterested owners who were the reason he ended u so keen to get away in the first place.