The Mark Hughes To City Discussion Thread

[manutd004]

Reports - City go for Hughes
Blackburn boss emerges as contender to replace Eriksson

http://img.skysports.com/08/05/218x298/mark-hughes_913442.jpg

Manchester City have made an approach for Blackburn Rovers manager Mark Hughes, according to reports.

Current City boss Sven Goran Eriksson is awaiting the sack at Eastlands following just one season in charge.

Owner Thaksin Shinawatra was unhappy with the team's performance in the second half of the campaign, despite City qualifying for Europe via the Fair Play League.

Former Chelsea bosses Avram Grant and Jose Mourinho, along with Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, have been linked with the job.

However, reports now claim that Blackburn boss Hughes is Shinawatra's prime target to succeed Eriksson in the hot seat.

According to the Mail on Sunday, City approached their Premier League rivals on Saturday for permission to speak to Hughes.

The ex-Manchester United striker has performed a sterling job at Ewood Park since being appointed as manager in September 2004.

Hughes has led the club to three consecutive top 10 finishes in the Premier League and has been an astute operator in the transfer market.

He has been mooted as an eventual successor to Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford and is also under consideration to replace Grant at another of his old clubs Chelsea.

Rovers would be loath to lose the ex-Wales national team coach, but reports suggest Shinawatra is ready to offer Hughes £3million a year to move to the City of Manchester Stadium.

[Keano4taoiseach]

I don't think Sparky will give up what he's got at Blackburn. A good, young team who will be pushing for a UEFA Cup spot next season. Not to mention the amount they'll get with the sale of Bentley who'll probably be sold this summer.

I can't see it happening to be honest.

Edit: Just look at how the chairman Shinawatra has treated Sven. Sven has had a good season (by City's standards!!!), the fans want him to stay, yet Shinawatra wants him gone so he's sacked! Why would Hughes leave a club where the board is fully behind him and his job is secure to go and work for a chairman who knows as much about football as my dead granny and treats his managers with no respect :rolleyes:

[manutd004]

I don't think Sparky will give up what he's got at Blackburn. A good, young team who will be pushing for a UEFA Cup spot next season. Not to mention the amount they'll get with the sale of Bentley who'll probably be sold this summer.

I can't see it happening to be honest.

Edit: Just look at how the chairman Shinawatra has treated Sven. Sven has had a good season (by City's standards!!!), the fans want him to stay, yet Shinawatra wants him gone so he's sacked! Why would Hughes leave a club where the board is fully behind him and his job is secure to go and work for a chairman who knows as much about football as my dead granny and treats his managers with no respect :rolleyes:

I would certainly agree with all of it.

No doubt hes done a remarkable job. I think he would consider leaving if it was a good, solid job where he could be fully backed. But that certainly isn't City.

Plus the fact hes waiting at Blackburn till Sir Alex retires! :p

[ScunnyRed]

Mark Hughes must be mad to even think of becoming citys next boss, chances are he wont be able to break into the euro spots soon enough for Shinawatra and will end up going the same way as Sven and even if he manages to make city into a top 6 side how many United fans will want an ex city manager as the next boss ?

Either way he could be ruling himself out of the United job in the future.

[Red Devil]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooo!!

Wrong Move Mark; do not take it. Your better off where you are, appreciated and loved. If you go to Citeh, you will have such pressure on you and no appreciation from fans who have had nothing for so long.

[reddwarf]

He's one of my favourite Man United players of all time. Not sure how I'd feel about him managing City :eek:

[Keano!]

Hope he refuses it!


He's a leading candidate for Fergies position when Alex retires.


Huge mistake, IMO, if he goes to the blue half of Manchester

[Nemanjaaa]

I've always said him to take over when Fergie retires but imagine that if he took over City and then joined us ouch!

Hopefully he won't join, if he does i think Bentley and Santa Cruz (probably there two best players) will leave.

[Zenitka]

I heard that he is in a three applicants on a post in Chelski...:eek:

[marty davidson]

why he quit balckurn for city blackburn have poienal

[haggler]

why he quit balckurn for city blackburn have poienalgaelic is not allowed to be used on the forum:D ;)

[antdevil78]

hughes goes to city and then sends them down

brian kidd at leeds united anyone?????

[CaptainRoyKeane]

What is he thinking of man! He's got a great prospect to be United's Manager in the future! Hope he stays @ Blackburn!

[bryn_keeno]

is this a good move going to waistlands ????

cant see him being the next united manager after being the boss at city

just found the other thread thanks

[PITTM]

he left today. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=542288&cc=5901

[sparkic]

No! Don't go there Sparky!!! Please!

[DTainton]

Such a shame... I'm a big fan of Mark Hughes but it's a sad day for football !!:(

[Zenitka]

I am sorry....I dont understand...

What happened?

[DTainton]

I am sorry....I dont understand...

What happened?

Sorry buddy, I made it sound worse than it actually is!! It's been confirmed... he is now the new Man Schitty manager.

[spellbound]

Such a shame... I'm a big fan of Mark Hughes but it's a sad day for football !!:(

I think its very simple why he chose to go to Citeh. In Blackburn he never had the chance to buy the big players. In Citeh there's money to build a team for Champions League.

[DTainton]

I think its very simple why he chose to go to Citeh. In Blackburn he never had the chance to buy the big players. In Citeh there's money to build a team for Champions League.


I look at ex man utd players in management and want them all to do well (apart from when they play man utd) but I can not bring myself to wish them any luck at all!!

[Zenitka]

Sorry buddy, I made it sound worse than it actually is!! It's been confirmed... he is now the new Man Schitty manager.

hm...It is "not bad" for United,bec. Chelski wanted him...:cool:

But city....:mad:

[stretty]

fair play to hughsie , he owes united nothing , we owe him everything he was my personal favourite for years , i have yet to see players put in the same effort for 90 mins like sparky did although tevez is getting close to it .
sparky could not hang on forever waiting for fergie to retire

[asaf cohen]

i'm in a hard position here, i want to wish him good luck, but its city!

[Clarky101]

fair play to hughsie , he owes united nothing , we owe him everything he was my personal favourite for years , i have yet to see players put in the same effort for 90 mins like sparky did although tevez is getting close to it .
sparky could not hang on forever waiting for fergie to retire

who said his still not waiting. iv worked it all out. sparky is going to citeh to get them relegated and then his gonna bust out his utd shirt in the dug out for his last game in charge of them and announce after that his joining us :D

[christianoharleiro]

haha clarky.

does anyone know how long his contract with city is? maybe he's just using it as an opportunity to prove what he can do given the funds, and then if he's successful man utd might come knocking.

[CaptainRoyKeane]

He just ruled himself out of a future United job!

[versa]

Lancashire Evening Post


Former Blackburn Rovers boss and Manchester United legend Mark Hughes has been unveiled as the new manager of Manchester City.

City parted company with Sven-Goran Eriksson on Monday and were immediately given permission to talk to Blackburn manager Hughes, 44, with a compensation package agreed on Tuesday.

Hughes was also believed to be interesting Chelsea after a successful four years at Rovers but has opted to move to Eastlands on a three-year deal.

City's new chief executive, Garry Cook, told www.mcfc.co.uk: "I am delighted to welcome Mark on board. In our view he is the brightest young manager in the game and he was our number one target for the manager's job.''

[manutd004]

tbh, I think hes crazy.

He won't get the full backing of the board or supporters, and if he does badly early on, the supporters will be calling for his head more than any other manager who could have went, simply because he played for United.

Also, I doubt he'll manage Utd now.

If he wanted to move on, he should have left Blackburn, made himself available on the continent (after all, he did play for Barca and Bayern, and apart from City and Chelsea there are no other Premiership clubs at the moment who want a manager) and waited for the right job to come along.

If he had went to the continent, he would have more chance of managing United.

But maybe hes not thinking about managing United just now?

[Edwards]

remember how he left Utd didn't fergie give him the boot,i can now only wish him bad luck with City.....:D

[Clarky101]

lets not forget matt busby was a citeh player and look what we all think of him. its no diff if you ask me

[Red Devil]

Keep all Hughes discussion here

[RedDeviler]

he has signed

its official

[reddwarf]

3yr contract for Hughes at City. Wonder what the odds are of him lasting that long? :rolleyes:

[CarlitoTevez]

Yes its official. Too bad he couldnt wait for us.

Manchester City have appointed Mark Hughes as Sven Goran Eriksson's successor at Eastlands.



Hughes has signed a three-year deal after deciding to leave Blackburn for City.


City, as expected, dispensed services with Eriksson earlier this week after just one year at the club with the Swede already linking up with the Mexican national team.


City officials made a move for Hughes and were given permission by Blackburn to hold talks with the former Manchester United star after agreeing a compensation package.


Chelsea were also linked with a move to bring Hughes back to Stamford Bridge as a replacement for Avram Grant, but City have won the race to lure him to Eastlands.


City owner Thaksin Shinawatra is a big admirer of Hughes and he will be hoping the Welshman can help the move club forward next season.


City's new chief executive, Garry Cook sealed the deal after meeing with Hughes and he believes the club have got the right man at the helm.


"I am delighted to welcome Mark on board. In our view he is the brightest young manager in the game and he was our number one target for the manager's job," Cook told the club's official website.


Cook, who has also been recently appointed by Shinawatra, says the future is bright for City and that money will be made available to Hughes for new signings.


"He made it clear to us from the moment we met that he shared our vision and ambition to make Manchester City one of the top sides in the country," continued Cook.

"It's a privilege to join Dr Thaksin here at Manchester City. There is no

better opportunity in world football.

"The club intends to invest in new players as well as securing the long-term

services of key members of the current first-team squad.

"Mark has already identified some of the players and backroom staff that he

wants to see here at City, and we will begin the process of recruiting them

immediately."

Source: Sky sports.

[Red Warrior]

Manchester City Football Club are today delighted to announce we have agreed terms with Mark Hughes to be our new Manager.

Hughes, 44, will be unveiled at a press conference to be held tomorrow morning. He agreed to move from Blackburn Rovers after meeting with the Club’s new Executive Chairman Garry Cook on Tuesday evening. Mr Cook’s appointment has been confirmed by City Chairman Dr Thaksin Shinawatra and he arrived from the US yesterday to seal the deal.

Hughes, who won 72 international caps for Wales, played for clubs including Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in a glittering career, before managing the Welsh national side and more recently Blackburn Rovers. He was awarded both an OBE and an MBE for his services to football.

He has put pen to paper on a three-year contract and takes up his new post with immediate effect.

Mr Cook said, “I am delighted to welcome Mark on board. In our view he is the brightest young manager in the game and he was our number one target for the manager’s job.

“He made it clear to us from the moment we met that he shared our vision and ambition to make Manchester City one of the top sides in the country.

“It’s a privilege to join Dr Thaksin here at Manchester City. There is no better opportunity in world football.

“The Club intends to invest in new players as well as securing the long term services of key members of the current first team squad.

“Mark has already identified some of the players and backroom staff that he wants to see here at City, and we will begin the process of recruiting them immediately.”

[RichardsReds]

He had to leave rovers, all their best players and off and he cannot take them further than he already has.

[CaptainRoyKeane]

Yeah man, all i can say is meh!

[Jazz 16]

Yeah man, all i can say is meh!

yeah me too....
I have mixed feelings about this, for the obvious reasons.......

Im just a bit surprised he went. Blackburn are arguably better than City....
but I guess he will have bucket loads of money to spend.......and he brought
Blackburn as far as they could go.

maybe he left cos he still has a place in Manchester?
maybe he left for the money?

[United_OG]

lol at first when i heard speculation about this, i was like i'd rather ronaldo go to madrid than hughes leave for city.lmao...too far? possibly,haha...still...weird to see this happen i must say...dunno what to make of it because im a huge mark hughes fan...hmmm

[versa]

the independent

If, when he was first recruited to haul Blackburn Rovers away from the foot of the Premier League, you told Mark Hughes that four years later he would be unveiled at a training ground in Carrington as a manager with £50m to spend and Ronaldinho a possible recruit, he could have been forgiven for thinking that life after Manchester United was destined to come full circle. It hasn't, because as Hughes pointed out when Manchester City presented him as their fourth manager in a little over eight years yesterday, time waits for no man in football.

"I can't wait around for opportunities which may be one, two, five, 10 years down the line," Hughes said, reflecting on his introduction at City's training complex, rather than United's – half a mile of farmland away. The old enemy, as United have now become for him, remain quite within Hughes's reach if he delivers on Thaksin Shinawatra's project but for now the 44-year-old Welshman is quite occupied enough, with the acute sense of anticipation he feels about his task coursing right through to his silver football cufflinks.

Sven Goran Eriksson, officially shown the door just 72 hours earlier, was sniffy about the prospect of Ronaldinho but Hughes – hired on a £3m a year, three-year deal – didn't hide his enthusiasm. "It is exciting to be linked with the possibility of bringing those type of players here," he said.

There are also already signs that the respect Hughes commands might also persuade club captain Richard Dunne to stay put, despite £50,000- and £60,000-a-week offers from Spurs and Portsmouth respectively. "It was disappointing that Sven had to leave, but in Mark Hughes we have got an exciting young manager," Dunne said yesterday.

Hughes conceded there are risks attached to joining a club which rewarded Eriksson for City's highest league finish since 1993 by sacking him – though he has fed on high expectations throughout his career.

"I can't be afraid of making the leap into the unknown," he said. "At City the expectation is always there. As a player, I was used to it. The crackle of atmosphere before games, leading into games; the week building up to key games. That's what I want to experience again."

That said,the arrival in tandem of Hughes and City's new executive chairman, Garry Cook, also presaged a striking new tone about the goals of Thaksin's project. More intensity, yes, but while City's owner has spoken of five-year plans, Europe next season and the Champions League a year later, Cook talked of a 10-year plan and insisted that "setting targets on the position in the table is not healthy for the organisation." Hughes' unveiling conveyed the impression that the first year of Thaksin's ownership never really happened and there is now a distinct feeling around City that a tougher culture than the Eriksson era is needed.

That 8-1 defeat at Middlesbrough has become a byword for Eriksson's season. Hughes, whose hugely impressive delivery yesterday served a reminder that British managers can communicate their ethics better than the foreign recruits Chelsea are so intent on, is certainly more uncompromising. As his assistant Mark Bowen, one of the three-man backroom team joining Hughes from Blackburn, revealed yesterday, the new manager doesn't participate in five-a-side practice matches and is rarely to be found in players' communal areas because he prefers to keep his squad at a respectful distance. "He played under the best – Sir Alex – and I guess people would use the words fear and respect with Sir Alex," Bowen said.

His expectations of players, Bowen said, dates back to Hughes' days at United with Eric Cantona who "was always open to new things, how he can improve and take his own game forward – he never thought he was finished. If there are any players at Man City who think we can't tell them the same they won't be here long under this manager." The last words should be heeded by Ronaldinho if Thaksin's representatives – meeting him in Brazil this weekend – do talk him into heading to Manchester.

Hughes, who says he expects a say on Ronaldinho, does not seem daunted by Thaksin's unpredictability. "You can't ask a chairman: 'Even if I have poor results, will you still keep me?' " he said. "That's not going to happen. What I ask for is the resources to do my job and the flexibility to take the team and the club in the direction I want to go."

He was coy about whether he might seek to bring David Bentley with him and the fact that City inquired after Roque Santa Cruz in January might prove significant – though the expected unveiling of the £18m Brazilian Jo next week would seem to take care of attacking options.

And had Sir Alex Ferguson sent him a congratulatory text? "No. What do you expect?" he said. No welcome home just yet, then.

[versa]

telegraph

Manchester City supporters, already enraged by the sacking of Sven-Goran Eriksson, have been dealt a fresh blow with the revelation that new executive chairman, Garry Cook is already resigned to losing Mark Hughes as manager if Manchester United come calling.

Cook has admitted he and Hughes have already spoken about the possibility of the Welshman being poached by their fierce rivals, as United have made their former player one of their preferred choices to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson when he retires in 2011.

Despite Hughes' claims that he can achieve his ambitions at Eastlands, Cook recognises that a return to Old Trafford could prove irresistible. "Yes, it could happen," he said. "Mark and I have talked about that. But you don't build a dynasty on the basis of what might be negative implication. You build it on what's right today and what you need today.

"We know there's a lot of runway here for him, whereas at other clubs they may not have that. He's very committed to Manchester City today and that's all I worry about now."

Hughes maintains he would not have been lured to another of his former clubs, Chelsea, had they expressed an interest after City approached him. But United may be a different matter and far from undermining his chances of taking over from Ferguson, he could strengthen his prospects by making City a threat to the European champions.

"The aim here has to be to challenge United," Hughes said. "We have to think in those terms. If the resources are there and we get the right players in the right positions, there's no reason why we can't. I enjoy going up against the best manager in the Premier League and Sir Alex is the best.

"In my time at Blackburn we beat all the top four sides on occasions. What I want to do is beat them on a regular basis."

Cook still contends that Ronaldinho "has an interest in coming to City", yet emphasises that Hughes will have the final word on signings.


guardian

City boy Hughes is the right answer Chelsea missed

He's very confident, isn't he? Handles himself well and knows how to answer questions on television.'

These may not be the ultimate marks of a good manager, but it took Mark Hughes less than a couple of hours at Manchester City's training ground on Thursday morning to create a favourable impression with the gatekeeper.

Hughes talks a very good game indeed - 'I'm not looking at Manchester City as a stepping stone to anything else, this club can take me where I want to go' - and coupled with his wholly convincing tenure at Blackburn there is every reason to believe City have captured exactly what they appear to have captured. A bright, energetic young manager with the drive and determination to invest a significant part of his career into building the club and make a big name for himself in the process.

This is precisely what Chelsea want too, yet they have managed to ignore Hughes' outstanding candidacy in favour of Italians who barely speak English, or Brazilians who will not be ready until after the European Championship. For once Peter Kenyon can be excused from blame, for here was a target the Chelsea headhunter identified correctly. He was aware Hughes might be the nearest thing to a new Sir Alex Ferguson. No knighthoods, trebles or Champions League finals yet, but nor had the Scot when he came down from Aberdeen in 1986. Manchester United thought they had a good man, stuck by him through a few lean years, and have since reaped the benefit of their judgement and patience a thousand times over.

Chelsea could have had all that with Hughes, yet they never made contact. Roman Abramovich is clearly not a patient man, and his strategy for coralling all the silverware in the coming years is to go for someone who has won big trophies before. Not a bad policy, if you can afford it: it means Chelsea are always going to be there or thereabouts when the prizes are handed out. But it is a business policy, rather than a sporting one. Keep buying up key personnel from other more successful operations and eventually you will end up in a position of dominance. That's how the business model goes anyway, and Abramovich should know.

Yet sport is subtly different. Most Italian coaches know perfectly well that what works in Serie A might not transfer easily to England, hence their understandable preference for remaining at home and keeping their reputations intact, and it is fairly self-evident too that a coach such as Luiz Felipe Scolari, who has never worked in England and has been involved with national teams for the past seven years, might not hit the ground running in the Premier League. What would Chelsea have done if José Mourinho had not won the Champions League with Porto? Would they, like Porto, ever consider a promising candidate on the way up?

Chelsea made a dream appointment with Mourinho, who played a tune on all their buttons and bells, though they are now about to appoint their third manager in under 12 months. If they don't get this one exactly right, from the start, they will begin to resemble one of those unmanageable clubs where new boss after new boss is brought in with no real hope of succeeding.

Manchester City used to be just like that, and there are no guarantees, with Thaksin Shinawatra at the helm, that the revolving door days are necessarily over. They have just appointed their third manager in just over 12 months, after all. Yet it will be a surprise if Hughes goes as quickly as Sven-Goran Eriksson, and a major one if he proves as uninspired as Stuart Pearce. The Hughes plan is to stay for a while, to build something of his own, and you would not bet against him achieving it. 'I think the club took my age [44] into account, I believe that was part of their thinking,' Hughes explained. 'They recognise where I am in my career. I'm young enough to take on a big challenge and see it out, I have the energy and drive to build up a club from within.'

At the moment these are only words, but they are the right words. Manchester City would never couch it in these terms, nor would Hughes himself, but the basic idea is to do what United have done. And they now have the ideal manager, a veritable chip off the old block.

'I enjoy playing Manchester United, and I'm already looking forward to derby matches,' Hughes said. 'Sir Alex Ferguson is the best manager in the Premier League, I enjoy testing myself against him and I'm pleased to say I've been able to beat him on occasions. Only sporadically though. What I am aiming for here is to be able to beat United on a regular basis.'

This is bold stuff, similar to Ferguson's ambition to knock Liverpool off their perch when he arrived in Manchester two decades ago. Except Ferguson was quite a bit more circumspect at the time, he only began to trumpet that mission statement once he had actually achieved it. He couldn't have come straight out with it in 1986 without causing sniggers. But Hughes means business and believes City are equipped to back him up. Not just with cash but with vision.

'Once you have the right people in place, continuity enables you to be successful,' he said. 'That's a given. I had continuity at Blackburn but there was a frustration in the end because there wasn't the money to go much further forward. The chairman was honest, but £20m or so to spend on players was never going to happen.'

While there is considerably more in the City kitty, Hughes will continue to drive a hard bargain. 'I want value for money, that is key,' he said. 'I won't spend more than a player is worth and I will only target players of the right age, players who will improve with us and grow with the club.' That might appear to rule out Ronaldinho, though Hughes is aware his owner fancies a marquee signing or two. 'We'll have to see,' Hughes said. 'At the end of the day it will be a football decision, and football decisions will be made by me.'

If Hughes is being naive or optimistic he is only saying what Ferguson would have said in his shoes, though Ferguson never had to work for a Shinawatra or an Abramovich. Should Hughes be as successful as he wants to be then his continuity could eventually be threatened by overtures from Old Trafford. He could equally be the subject of approaches from other old clubs such as Bayern Munich and Barcelona. Maybe even Chelsea, who might by then have realised that they had a chance to get their hands on a manager for life in the Ferguson mould and blew it. But all that is way too far in the future.

Hughes might not turn out to be the new Ferguson, and is probably embarrassed by the comparison. All that is clear at the moment is that City moved more quickly than Chelsea and were prepared to take a risk on a manager with most of his career ahead of him. Chelsea seem to want a gold-plated Champions League-winning certainty rather than a former player with a high degree of managerial promise, which is why they will never win over the romantics in sport.

Perhaps there is too much new money swilling round both clubs for notions of sport to be meaningful, but football is still just a little bit about sticking your neck out and trusting your instincts. It can never be all about money. Like the gateman said, it's about how you handle yourself too.