More Blackburn reax

Ian Ladyman, The Daily Mail

A place in next season’s bloated Europa League — the competition replacing the UEFA Cup — may not seem attractive to everybody. But Hughes enjoyed City’s run to the last eight of the old competition this season and his re-energised team want to give it another shot.

This was a peculiar game with the teams evenly matched but City winning well courtesy of a scrappy Felipe Caicedo goal, a classy Robinho shot and an Elano penalty awarded after what looked like accidental handball by Gael Givet.

David Instone, The Independent

Encouraging signs are materialising at Eastlands with a consistency not always associated with their half of Manchester, Blackburn Rovers becoming the victims of City's fourth straight win in all competitions and their 10th in 11 home games in League and Uefa Cup. Now victory at Everton has started to ease the utter embarrassment that has been their away form all season, supporters are daring to wonder whether a step-up is close.

Few would deny the presence of star quality. Even on an afternoon on which City began sluggishly and eased off as soon as they were given a major helping hand into a surprise three-goal lead, there were some memorable cameos.

Tim Rich, The Guardian

Manchester City are at least finishing the campaign in better shape than in their single season under Sven-Goran Eriksson, when a challenge for the Champions League dissolved into games in which Fulham could score three times in 20 minutes and Middlesbrough eight in 90. The manager knew he was to be sacked and his players' future was bleakly uncertain.

There have been times when it was possible to imagine that this is how Mark Hughes's tenure might end, counting down the days until a chairman who did not appoint him could dispense with his services and turn to a Rijkaard, a ­Mourinho or an Ancelotti.

Instead, Hughes can argue that Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Abu Dhabi United have seen some progress for their money, especially at a club that last finished in the top three in 1977.

James Ducker, The Times

Imagine what City could be if Hughes fits his brilliant soloists into a collective with the same determined harmony as his old Blackburn Rovers side. Only Manchester United have won more home league games than City in this campaign; only Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion have won fewer away. No matter which celebrities City sign in the summer as part of their owners’ grand project, the aim is flair with consistency.

Phil Shaw, Daily Telegraph

At home, City have won more matches and amassed more goals than anyone bar United, leaving the Welshman to bemoan their "frustrating" away form. Blackburn were ruthlessly picked apart in a 20-minute spell before half-time. Each of City's goals came from a South American, the Ecuadorean Felipe Caicedo opening the scoring, followed by Robinho and Elano.

The Brazilian performed like a man eager to press his claim for a new contract, whereas Hughes has remarked pointedly that he still has two years left on his present deal.

Eventually

It's taken ten months and fifty three competitive games, but in the last four matches we've finally moved towards fulfilling one of Mark Hughes' main responsibilities: playing like a balanced team, a well-functioning unit.

A shame that it's taken too long - it's possible that fatal damage has already been done to Hughes' reputation in Abu Dhabi. But I feel more confident about taking the necessary six or seven points from our last three games to take seventh than I ever thought I would during those dark winter weeks.

Sunday rumour round up

• Yet another Roberto Mancini rumour. This time in the Daily Star Sunday, which says that 'sources in Italy' claim that a £16million move for Napoli's Ezequiel Lavezzi is being driven by Mancini, who will be in charge at City next season. I don't know what 'sources in Italy' means, or how reliable they are, but with only three games left we should find out about ADUG's long term intentions within the month.

• Also in the Daily Star Sunday is the story that Bayern Munich have set a £50million asking price for Franck Ribéry. This puts us in a strong position, given that his main suitor, Barcelona, may not be willing to pay that much for him. But I don't imagine we'll go for Ribéry unless we sell Robinho, which is looking less likely after his recent goal spurt.

• A more likely transfer is Yaya Touré. The News of the World says that we are 'closing in on' a £25million deal for the Barcelona midfielder. He's a long standing target, we bid in January and he's high up the list for the summer. Touré's a good player, but with the signing of Nigel de Jong he could only really operate if Vincent Kompany was moved back into defence.

• The NotW has something on a City clear out in the summer. The biggest name it suggests is Micah Richards, whom Aston Villa may be interested in. Nicolas Anelka and Carlos Tévez are mentioned as potential transfers in, both of whom are quite plausible targets. 'Hughes sees a front line trio of Tevez, Anelka and Robinho as the perfect blend of industry and flair', apparently.

• Finally, the People brings up John Terry again as a potential target. It suggests a bid of £20million and £200,000 in wages. As much as I've heard this mentioned, I still can't quite get my head around the idea that John Terry would walk out of Stamford Bridge just for money. Could Mr. Chelsea really become Mr. City? Diego, Samuel Eto'o and Ribéry are also mentioned.
  

Blackburn reax

Duncan Hamilton, Sunday Times

Robinho always looks as delicate as a candle flame, but Blackburn could not extinguish him. He also moves as gracefully as a bolt of silk, and his daring runs and quick stepping over the ball bewildered his markers. At one stage, he took a long clearance and stopped it with an exquisite back-heel flick, which left Andre Ooijer hurtling off in one direction as the ball vanished in another. The defender looked distraught and embarrassed, like a man racing after a train who finds he’s dashed on to the wrong platform. When the two of them next came into contact, Ooijer took the desperate option, hooking his outstretched leg around Robinho’s and spinning him over.

David Instone, Independent on Sunday

Nothing better underlines the unusual nature of City's fourth successive win and eighth in nine home League games than the fact Blackburn's goalkeeper Paul Robinson did not make a serious save all afternoon.

Such was the dereliction of duty among the players in front of him that City needed to excel only in flashes to move closer to at least equalling their highest Premier League finish of eighth. But what flashes there were. If they are learning to win away as well, hmm, who knows? Not that their fans haven't heard that before.

Tim Rich, The Observer

Robinho's displays at the fag end of the season have belied the image of a footballer desperate to quit Manchester, and after Blackburn had made a familiar, ham-fisted attempt to clear Elano's cross, Vincent Kompany shielded the ball into the Brazilian's path and his shot travelled with mathematical precision into the corner of Paul Robinson's net. It was at this point – 2-0 down at Anfield – that Rafael Benítez had made his "game over" gesture that so infuriated Allardyce and Sir Alex Ferguson. Hughes might also have been forgiven for thinking the match was done.

Joe Bernstein, Mail on Sunday

Brazilian soulmates Robinho and Elano are finally producing the samba football Manchester City fans have been waiting for all season.

After a freezing winter of discontent, the South Americans have started to shine now that the sun is peeping through the clouds in Manchester.

Hughes on the win

From his BBC interview:

"We're a team that's in transition, we're a team that's building and going in the right direction and we try and play football the right way. We try and get the ball down and create chances, we have good movement in forward areas and we've got talented players at the club. When we're free flowing and we've got our tails up we're very difficult to contain."

And from Sky:

"As soon as we were able to get the ball down and play and get our good players involved in wide areas and further up the field, then we were always going to create chances and that's what happened. We scored the goals at good times. We were delighted with that at half-time.

"We've won back-to-back games in the Premier League, which is really important and we're very much in the mix for the seventh spot."

City 3 - 1 Blackburn

• Another home win, another step on the road to seventh. Spurs and West Ham both won, so it's not going to be easy - but two wins from our last three games should give us a good shot.
  

• I didn't see the game today - if you did please leave your thoughts in the comments. From what I've heard it was a good team performance and a comfortable win. Most pleasing must be Robinho's third goal in three games. He's now on fourteen in the Premier League which is a good return for someone's first season in England.

• Elano's penalty makes it ten out of ten for him from the penalty spot at City. I think we can credibly ask whether he is the best penalty taker in the Premier League? I'd love to see him do a shoot out against Lampard.

• If you were there, let us know what you thought.
  

Blackburn preview

Another must win in the race for seventh. We could actually be in the Europa League slot this evening, if we win and providing West Ham don't win at Stoke. So it's a big game.

The team should be the same that won at Goodison Park last weekend.


This presumes that Micah Richards will be passed fit today. Should he not be, the options are either Onuoha at right back, with Kompany in centre back and Gelson in his place, or Shaleum Logan. I'd rather have another look at Logan, and preserve the Kompany/de Jong axis in front of the back four. And of course Valeri Bozhinov may come in for Caicedo if he's fit enough.

But Blackburn will be desperate for the extra points they need to confirm safety. Allardyce has done well there, it's going to be a battle. I'm going to predict a hard fought 2-1 win though. And Boji's first goal for City...

'We are starting from the ground level'

Hughes has launched a vigorous defence of his management of the club to date, via a big Mark Ogden article in the Telegraph. He underlines the importance of the changes he's introduced in the background at City, bringing much of the club's infrastructure up to speed with top level Premier League clubs:

Hughes said: "One of the things I realised when I came here was that there were not enough things in place to enable this club to be successful in the future. I'm honest enough to admit that it has taken longer than I expected to change that. We are trying to get the message out that, unlike other clubs, we are starting from the ground level. Maybe people don't want to hear that, though, because it's easier to put pressure on our situation if those things aren't highlighted."

This is absolutely crucial. One of the best insight's I've heard on City's recent history is that the changes of the Shinawatra/Eriksson regime were essentially cosmetic. There was no investment in infrastructure or facilities, no overhaul of backroom staff, no fundamental change in club ethos. It was at heart the Warlde/Makin/MacKintosh/Pearce football club, but with a better coach and a handful of better players. And as Eriksson was undermined by Shinawatra in early 2008, we reverted to the Pearce era but the added element of international criminality.

It is only this season that we've had the financial means and the dynamic personnel to drive the club forward: the Khaldoon/Cook/Hughes team are clearly determined to bring all backroom aspects of the club up to the right level. This has led to improvements to the medical and training facilities, a new coaching team, and a series of senior appointments - including but not limited to Football Administrator Brian Marwood. It is frustrating that on the pitch we're no better than we were last year, but the changes made should see a real improvement in the long term. And Hughes is confident that he'll be here to reap the advantages in 2009/10:

"I have had no indication that I won't be here next season, but why shouldn't I be?" Hughes said. "I'll be really disappointed if I am not, simply because of what we have gone through and the things we have had to face before coming through the other side.

"We have done the pain this season, now we want to see the fruits of our labour. We have come a hell of a long way in a short period of time and that stimulates us because we have done a decent job here and it is nowhere near finished. The turnover of managers here hasn't helped continuity, because they have never had any. Basically, change is expected here. Change for the sake of change."

Opponents of Hughes often characterise the arguments in favour of the manager as 'stability for the sake of stability.' It's an easy point to make, but I do genuinely think that there is an inherent value in managerial stability, particularly in cases such like this. When Hughes has spent all year imposing his methods and understandings on all aspects of the club ('Sparkyisation', if you will), there is a benefit from allowing those plans to take root. Should he be disposed of, not only would all the money invested this year be written off (would Frank Rijkaard really want Craig Bellamy?), but we'd have to undergo the whole process again from scratch, with a whole new set of overhauls and teething problems.

This isn't to give carte blanche for the failures of this season. 0-2 at Middlesbrough, 1-2 at West Brom, 0-2 at Portsmouth - 0-3 against Nottingham Forest at home - there have been some terrible results and performances this year. But the club's whole foundations are being rebuilt. Let's not tear them down and start again.

Robben?

From believable rumours to unbelievable ones. John Cross in The Daily Mirror thinks that City have 'asked to be kept informed' about Arjen Robben, who may be able to leave Real Madrid for £18million should they sign Cristiano Ronaldo. For starters, I literally can't remember the last time the Mirror got anything right about City. But the rumour itself is strange too. We already have two top quality left wingers - Robinho and Martin Petrov - and while there have been quite credible stories about Hughes thinking of selling Robi I'd be shocked if we replaced him with someone who combines de Souza's inconsistency with Petrov's injury problems. I love watching Robben in full flow but I can't think of anything more infuriating than his 'two weeks on, six weeks off' fitness schedule.

But I could be wrong. We'll see.

On the hunt for strikers

Hughes must have done a lot of media on Thursday, because there's all sorts of interesting things floating about. And there's quite a few stories in the Friday 'papers about our pursuit of a new, expensive, top quality centre forward.

Most focus is given to Hughes' comments on Roque Santa Cruz. Speaking about the long-time transfer target who has missed most of this season with injuries, he said:

"We have to make sure that any player we bring to the club is likely to be a success," Hughes said. "You look at all things when you bring in a player, and the injury record is one of those things. You have to do your due diligence; if you don't, then mistakes can be made. Our targets may well change because you can't put all your eggs in one basket. Roque was fit and strong for me in that first year when I was his manager [at Blackburn] and he played exceptionally well. He's a very talented player but thankfully he's not available when we play them on Saturday."

To me this sounds like a real cooling off. Roque Santa Cruz made sense as a signing last summer, and in January. But after a very quiet season, and with a summer window and bags of money to throw at this, he may no longer be the best we can do. I was surprised, then, to read Daniel Taylor's claim that RSC remains 'likely' to be 'the first piece of transfer business for City this summer.' Should Hughes' concerns over Santa Cruz's injury be too much, Taylor mentions Peter Crouch as a possible alternative.

Ian Herbert's take on the situation is rather different. He writes that Hughes' position on Santa Cruz 'remains unclear' due to the injury situation, which sounds closer to the mark. The other option Herbert talks up though, is at the opposite end of the market - another bid for David Villa:

An over-reliance on Craig Bellamy has already illustrated that another striker is Hughes' prime target. Barcelona's Thierry Henry is another in whom Cook has taken an active interest. But Villa, 27, fits the clean-cut image which seems to be among City's considerations in their pursuit of marquee names and also has the maturity which – Bellamy aside – the club's current collection of strikers lacks. City's biggest challenge would be persuading the player, a home-loving Spaniard who seems more disposed to joining Barcelona or Real, to sign. Silva, 23, an attacking midfielder capable of playing on either side of the pitch, may be a more promising prospect.

This is an immeasurably more attractive prospect. We know that Hughes tried to sign Villa (along with Valencia team mate David Silva) in January, but we walked away having been quoted a ludicrous price. There's no disputing that we can pay off a hefty chunk of Los Che's debt this summer in exchange for Villa. The problem, though, is the one we had with Kaká: How do you persuade a world class footballer to play for a mid-table side? We got lucky with Robinho - his discontent in Madrid was such that he was willing to take a chance on a move. But this summer Villa is likely to have offers from three elite clubs: Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona. And while he may just countenance leaving Spain to play for Chelsea, can he be persuaded to pull on a lighter shade of blue next season?

It's a question we're going to hear regarding quite a few players this summer.