Combined with the failed bid for Kaka, the men from Abu Dhabi must surely now place their Brazilian projects on hold and leave team construction to Hughes. Blackburn Rovers trusted Hughes with their far smaller budget and he brought them such gems as Roque Santa Cruz.
With the arrival of Brian Marwood, a sensible football man who understands the dynamics of dressing-room and boardroom, and a well-regarded manager in Hughes, Sheikh Mansour has good people in place at Eastlands capable of leading City forward.
Even if they go out of Europe on Thursday, City must resist panic measures. Any clear-out should be focused on certain dressing-room under-achievers.
Well worth a read.
3 comments:
He is part of the establishment and so he would say that wouldn't he ? We should be doing the opposite of what these people suggest - don't trust their motives - spend big and be aggressive
Hughes certainly seems to get a good press, especially from the broadsheets. I think Winter in particular likes the idea of having British managers in place, but in general Hughes has been given a more favourable coverage than his record (i.e. distinctly mediocre performances from an expensively assembled squad) would normally suggest.
This can only last so long, however, especially if results keep going as they are. I think this is a huge week for Hughes, and he could be under real pressure, and running out of excuses, by the end of it.
Henry Winter is the first writer you should turn to for a composed perspective, and this article makes plenty of sense. There's one thing he needs to straighten out though: the misapprehension that Roque Santa Cruz is a gem.
Santa Cruz scored 31 league goals in seven seasons at Bayern. He never managed more than 5 in a single year. At Blackburn he's had one good season of 19 league goals. He's coming up for 28 and he's managed 65 league goals.
I hope when Henry next buys Mrs Winter a nice bit of jewellery, he asks for some advice on gems first.
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