Now all the kids have gone to bed...

[stockportblue]

Nice to see a more intelligent discussion on the manager than we usually get on here.I havent read through every post on the topic so i dont know if anybody has mentioned the need for some kind of stability in the club.If Hughes gets the boot then you have Pearce, Sven and Hughes all sacked within the space of three years.Now people are talking about sacking a manager after six months.

To me that would be a case of history repeating itself from the Swales/Francis Lee eras when we went through managers like Sven goes through women.

That lack of clear direction is strongly believed to be the reason why city underachieved and became the theatre of comedy and cups for cock ups club for many years.

 

[JOGAMIGMOG]

As much as I wanted Hughes to do well, I fear that if we lose to the Baggies on Sunday then I will be tipped over the abyss and will be demanding we sack the tw@t. If we beat them, he's on the way to restoring my faith. That's how close he is as far as I'm concerned.

 

[PaulC1979]

As much as I wanted Hughes to do well, I fear that if we lose to the Baggies on Sunday then I will be tipped over the abyss and will be demanding we sack the tw@t. If we beat them, he's on the way to restoring my faith. That's how close he is as far as I'm concerned.

i think this sums up a lot of peoples feelings. WBA really could be his make or break game for fans.

 

[BobKowalski]

Well its getting to the point where not only am I sick to death of other peoples view on Hughes, be they pro or anti, but I am getting sick to death of my own views on Hughes...

...but ok this is a sensible thread so I will bang on a bit more :)

Up to 31st August 2008 Hughes had the right skills for the managers job. On 1st September 2008 those skills became redundant. Hughes is dead man walking.

Even the keenest Hughes fan can see that all is not well with the squad in terms of morale and team spirit. For me the problem is not that Hughes is too much of a disciplinarian but that he lacks leadership skills and the ability to inspire the players. I was watching the MoNeill/Robertson interview on Monday and they talked about Clough and amongst the usual stories there were several telling moments. One was that MoN never received much in the way of encouragement from Clough and that it still irked him a little. Robertson always got praise and then said 'that all the players wanted to please Clough'. Two very different characters but both looking for that approval from the boss. MoN never got it because lack of it probably spurred him on to try even harder. Robertson did get the praise because that was the right way to spur him on.

Mourinho had the same effect at Chelsea to the extent that one person described it as like a 'moonie cult' such was the level of player devotion to the boss.

And a boss is what we need; a boss that commands respect and can inspire. My own take is not that Hughes rules the players with an iron fist but that in the dressing room there is one player who is exempt from the managers rule and stands apart from the others. This totally undermines Hughes and I think it shows.

Robinho should not have played last night. Even though he was carrying an injury and we have a much more important game on Sunday he still played. I cannot shake off the feeling that it is not Hughes who ultimately decides if Robinho plays but Robinho. ADUG consult with Robinho as to which players he would like to see at the club. Robinho talks to the press and says 'no one has a winning mentality except me' and Hughes just goes along with it. It may be true but Robinho should be saying that to the team behind closed doors and has no business going public with it.

This is just my take on the situation. Hughes is not the right man for the job. He never was and never will be. We can all argue about the merits of continuity and giving the manager time but first and foremost you have to have the right people for the job in the first place. Currently we do not.

 

[jay_mcfc]

All this talk of giving Hughes time and needing patience is all very noble but there are an increasing number of City fans that are becoming more and more disillusioned with him. You can't just stick by a manager when you have absolutely zero faith in his ability to get us where we want to be. If one blue thinks hand on heart that he is capable of getting us in the top 4 and challenging for the league then I'm yet to see them.

 

[jay_mcfc]

I also disagree Hughes was the right appointment at the time. Sven had assembled a decent squad capable of playing good football on their day. Although their days were few and far between in the latter part of the season we at least had hope. To turn to a manager in the mould of Hughes after that was wrong...we should have got a manager in capable of progressing the team Sven had built. When we appointed Hughes I would have been happier with Big Sam...similar type of manager but who has had more success doing it.

 

[stockportblue]

I can understand peoples frustration watching naff performances game after game at the moment.

Having said that I dont think the win the next game or i want you out philosophy is the right way to go.We all know what happened over the road and for those old enough to remember it was a bad back pass that saved Howard Kendalls job at Everton before he went on to win the league title twice the fa cup and european cup winners cup.City need to take a longer term view.

 

[Balti]

A sensible thread on the subject at last!

I'm torn on this. Give him time I think he'll succeed at least by our previous standards. But he is never going to be a City legend with the fans singing his name with gusto the way we did for Svennis. And that's a part of it. All in it together sort of thing like the feeling that Mourinho developed at Chelski.

So the way I feel now I'm prepared to replace him because I'm not very impressed so far, but only if we can get a big name big reputation CL level proven manager that can unite the fans and the squad behind a big personality that excites us all with his vision and his gusto. Hughes aint that man. I'd swap him for Mourinho or Sven tomorrow.

 

[jay_mcfc]

I can understand peoples frustration watching naff performances game after game at the moment.

Having said that I dont think the win the next game or i want you out philosophy is the right way to go.We all know what happened over the road and for those old enough to remember it was a bad back pass that saved Howard Kendalls job at Everton before he went on to win the league title twice the fa cup and european cup winners cup.City need to take a longer term view.

Oh believe me I am looking at it long term...and it's looking at MH being our manager in the long term that frightens the shit out of me.

These comparisons with every manager on the verge of being sacked with Ferguson's situation 20 years ago are bollocks. That was the freak, everything else is the norm. Besides Fergie was a successful manager before he joined United.

 

[Bnblue]

This is a results business and he just ain't getting them, would I like him to be the man to take us to the top? for frikking sure I would but whether he's lost the dressing room or his management style we just ain't getting the results and if it carries on well I don't even want to think about the big "R" and I'm also now starting to doubt whether he should be the man to have the big bag of cash to splash.

Although hopefully a few decent results over xmas and some tasty signings in January, things will start looking a lot rosier and we can see us actully moving in the direction they all keep spouting on about that we're heading.