No hanging about for the owners of Man City. No time for tabloids to link, Sven with a Sun-sational return, or Fergie Crosses the City for Cash, or Mourinho...blah blah. No, they clearly were unhappy with Hughes, so what did they do? Well they smiled and reassured him "No Sparky your jobs safe" while they went and found his successor. All very Machiavellian, but well, can you really blame them, I can't.
I think Hughes did an OK job, but with the cash he spent he was always cutting down his time. It's a cruel irony, 'the more you spend the quicker the axe falls'... if your stumbling. I believe that Hughes was always going to struggle because he is just not 'Sexy' enough. You know that the owners want style and panache, they want Mourinho and Ronaldo in speedos oiled up, doing bicycle kicks in slow motion. Not some hard nosed Welsh bastid who's stare eats peoples souls.
The writing was on the wall when they failed to sign any of the big names they chased. Kaka, Terry et al all saying "erm thanks but no thanks, we'll just use your interest to get more cash from our clubs or new employers, but thanks again.". City might tell you Robinho is a superstar, but then again so was Juan Veron before he landed in Manchester. City could only attract second tier stars. That is the problem. Manchester City are trying to do a Chelsea, good luck to them, but they needed to re-evaluate their plan of action. And they did so, swiftly. They had a second tier manager, and he took them to where he knew, the second tier. Not even a victory could save him, the choice had already been made.
Mancini, all suave scarf and Marty Feldman love child looking, is for me a fantastic appointment. 3 Coppa Italia's with 3 different teams, throw in 3 Scuddetto's with Inter and 2 Italian Super Cups, Inter's most successful manager for 30 years. Well it's not a poor CV is it? The reason he left Inter was the failure in the Champions League, that is not a worry for City. His job will be to get them there. He is a top tier manager, who may just be able to attract the caliber of player that ultimately Hughes could not. I'm excited about the Mancini era, yet I'm sad Hughes has gone, I loved him as a player and I like him as a manager. I think it will be interesting what his next move will be, I could see him moving abroad if the right offer came up, Liverpool could do with a new man at the helm. But that's a post for another day.
*In other news
I'm delighted ESPN have finally realized that the commentators they were using were...how to put this...erm, Shite. Martin Tyler has been brought in for the World Cup, I hope they keep former US Captain John Harkes with him, and feed Tommy Smyth to a pack of feral children.
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