Confused....and angry

[1894]

This has been a thought-provoking thread, and I have mixed feelings myself - I wouldn't know where to start unravelling them.

Since the turn of the millenium, we've been in constant change. I've never known an era like it.

The business world handles 'change' in many ways, helping employees to grapple with the necessary step-changes in very short time-frames.

Not so with a football club it seems, where one poster made a telling comment about 'millionaire' players. Says it all to me.

Lucrative contracts, rain or shine, work or play - many players have financial stability that we fans can only dream about.

Managers come and go, however we're now in operating in another business culture altogether, where petro dollars are behind the club's 10 year project. Gone are the days of easy-going chairmen, lack-lustre performances, and take-the-money journeymen.

As much as I dislike the personna of the red manager at OT, he has a tried and trusted method of dealing with malcontents. Cue his pupil Mark Hughes, who seems to be following the same plan.

Don't know where this will all end, whether in tears of joy for winning something, or tears of sadness for winning nothing.

But we'll still be here 'cos this is our club whatever happens.............

That's all.

 

[Matty]

There are two things very, very wrong with City at the moment.

1 - The players. Some aren't good enough. Some are underperforming. Some aren't interested. There were some performances on Saturday that went beyond being 'off form' and ventured into 'couldnt be arsed'. Elano, we were chasing the game in the second half, and he didn't break sweat. Hamann, came on (why I don't know) and did nothing, apart from gift them a goal and walk about a bit. Jo, you'd think he'd be fighting for his spot, but there was little to suggest he cared. That isn't an exhaustive list, but it's a start. Certain players are good enough, and are trying. Ireland, SWP, Kompany spring to mind. Players like Fernandes and Vassell try their hearts out, but aren't good enough, it's that simple. Our squad needs a major overhaul, attitudes need to change and players need to be bought and sold.

2 - The manager. In the interests of full disclosure I'll come out and say it now, I didn't want Hughes as our manager. A (small) part of that was due to his 'history' with United, the bigger part however was down to the man as a manager. I was never convinced he was the right man for the job. He hadn't won anything as a manager, his track record was far from impressive (doing ok with a poor Welsh side and with a mediocre Blackburn team didn't set my pulse racing) and the style of football he played at Blackburn (combative football) didn't interest me in the slightest. He was simply not the man for the job, in my opinion. However, once he'd been hired there was little option than to hope for the best and support the man, which I did. The time for that support is gone. My original impression, and fears, were seemingly true. Hughes has been a failure thus far, there have been the odd good performance but on the whole we've been pretty dire. Poor football, lack of ideas, tactical mistakes, they've all been present. We were supposed to have 'more grit' under Hughes, where exactly is it? We're failing to step up on far too many occasions. Hughes has apparently 'lost the dressing room', some of the blame for that is down to the players, but the majority is on Hughes' shoulders. Top managers don't lose the dressing room. They control it, they manage people. Troublemakers are stamped on, players who need a an arm round them are given it, players who need discipline receive it. The man isn't up to the task, and the task itself has changed since his appointment. ADUG's aims are higher than Shinawatras, Thaksin had lofty ideas but never the ability to deliver in reality. ADUG can. Hughes was a Shinawatra/Cook man, not ADUGs. They may be sticking with him for now, but alarm bells surely must be ringing out in Abu Dhabi. My opinion is he has to go, although the Summer is the right time as his departure now, albeit cathartic, would ruin our January spending.

 

[AntonDonJuan]

There really is no point in getting rid of Hughes now. We may aswell keep him until the Summer, and then i really believe Jose will come in. If we do get rid of him, no good manager will come here knowing they will only be an interim. Well, maybe the Argie bloke that said we approached him.

Stick with Hughes until Summer. Our season is practically over now, and let's face it, we WON'T be going down

 

[Cheltblue]

There are two things very, very wrong with City at the moment.

1 - The players. Some aren't good enough. Some are underperforming. Some aren't interested. There were some performances on Saturday that went beyond being 'off form' and ventured into 'couldnt be arsed'. Elano, we were chasing the game in the second half, and he didn't break sweat. Hamann, came on (why I don't know) and did nothing, apart from gift them a goal and walk about a bit. Jo, you'd think he'd be fighting for his spot, but there was little to suggest he cared. That isn't an exhaustive list, but it's a start. Certain players are good enough, and are trying. Ireland, SWP, Kompany spring to mind. Players like Fernandes and Vassell try their hearts out, but aren't good enough, it's that simple. Our squad needs a major overhaul, attitudes need to change and players need to be bought and sold.

2 - The manager. In the interests of full disclosure I'll come out and say it now, I didn't want Hughes as our manager. A (small) part of that was due to his 'history' with United, the bigger part however was down to the man as a manager. I was never convinced he was the right man for the job. He hadn't won anything as a manager, his track record was far from impressive (doing ok with a poor Welsh side and with a mediocre Blackburn team didn't set my pulse racing) and the style of football he played at Blackburn (combative football) didn't interest me in the slightest. He was simply not the man for the job, in my opinion. However, once he'd been hired there was little option than to hope for the best and support the man, which I did. The time for that support is gone. My original impression, and fears, were seemingly true. Hughes has been a failure thus far, there have been the odd good performance but on the whole we've been pretty dire. Poor football, lack of ideas, tactical mistakes, they've all been present. We were supposed to have 'more grit' under Hughes, where exactly is it? We're failing to step up on far too many occasions. Hughes has apparently 'lost the dressing room', some of the blame for that is down to the players, but the majority is on Hughes' shoulders. Top managers don't lose the dressing room. They control it, they manage people. Troublemakers are stamped on, players who need a an arm round them are given it, players who need discipline receive it. The man isn't up to the task, and the task itself has changed since his appointment. ADUG's aims are higher than Shinawatras, Thaksin had lofty ideas but never the ability to deliver in reality. ADUG can. Hughes was a Shinawatra/Cook man, not ADUGs. They may be sticking with him for now, but alarm bells surely must be ringing out in Abu Dhabi. My opinion is he has to go, although the Summer is the right time as his departure now, albeit cathartic, would ruin our January spending.

Tremendous post sir.

 

[Anonymous]

There really is no point in getting rid of Hughes now. We may aswell keep him until the Summer, and then i really believe Jose will come in. If we do get rid of him, no good manager will come here knowing they will only be an interim. Well, maybe the Argie bloke that said we approached him.

Stick with Hughes until Summer. Our season is practically over now, and let's face it, we WON'T be going down

Our season is practically OVER? This is EXACTLY the attitude we DON'T want...Jesus man...are you smoking fucking crack...(no offence like...) but:

We're into the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup...yes, a European cup...

We are ten points off 6th place which would mean qualifying for Europe again next season...

How the FUCK can you suggest our season is over...some would suggest that with the influx of new players...our season is actually just about to begin...imagine a complete reversal of last season...poor start...blinding finish...

 

[Bigga]

Ooo! I have a question!!

What happens if the buys that Hughes makes don't improve the team? What happens if they turn out to have the same effect, as in the odd lapse in concentration, misplaced passes leading to goals, bad positioning, not quick enough to cover the counter attacks...

What if Hughes says he's disappointed in the team, they're difficullt to work with after a couple of months? Do we assume the rest of team needs replacing? Or that Hughes, himself, needs replacing?

I was told 'a bad workman blames his tools' and 'if you're stuck with lemons, make lemonade'. Sayings designed to look at the inner workings of how you do things.

He's not exactly the best tactian, so when will pro- Hughes fans see this fact?

 

[AntonDonJuan]

There really is no point in getting rid of Hughes now. We may aswell keep him until the Summer, and then i really believe Jose will come in. If we do get rid of him, no good manager will come here knowing they will only be an interim. Well, maybe the Argie bloke that said we approached him.

Stick with Hughes until Summer. Our season is practically over now, and let's face it, we WON'T be going down

Our season is practically OVER? This is EXACTLY the attitude we DON'T want...Jesus man...are you smoking fucking crack...(no offence like...) but:

We're into the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup...yes, a European cup...

We are ten points off 6th place which would mean qualifying for Europe again next season...

How the FUCK can you suggest our season is over...some would suggest that with the influx of new players...our season is actually just about to begin...imagine a complete reversal of last season...poor start...blinding finish...

Haha i didn't really think before i posted that last bit. Ok, i agree. With some good players we can push on and finish UEFA but i doubt it will happen. Daft comment from myself.

Anyway, i still think we should stick with him until Summer and then get Jose in, let him decide his own salary, give him a blank chequebook and let him turn us into winners

 

[Anonymous]

Ooo! I have a question!!

What happens if the buys that Hughes makes don't improve the team? What happens if they turn out to have the same effect, as in the odd lapse in concentration, misplaced passes leading to goals, bad positioning, not quick enough to cover the counter attacks...

What if Hughes says he's disappointed in the team, they're difficullt to work with after a couple of months? Do we assume the rest of team needs replacing? Or that Hughes, himself, needs replacing?

I was told 'a bad workman blames his tools' and 'if you're stuck with lemons, make lemonade'. Sayings designed to look at the inner workings of how you do things.

He's not exactly the best tactian, so when will pro- Hughes fans see this fact?

Here's one for you, you patronizing tit...

Maybe if the anti-Hughes brigade actually READ what the so called "pro Hughes" brigade post, they would be better placed to start discussions on this board...

Nowhere, and I mean nowhere, have I said that Hughes is tactically a genius...I have however, read you eulogizing about Saint Sven's tactical nous in recent months. Even thought the fucker couldn't win a match for love nor money for the last five months of his tenure...

So, back to your question. Lets wait and see. And if he fucks up in the manner in which Saint Sven did...(ooh, please don't bore me with the excuses...I've heard them all a million times) then I expect he will be sacked in the summer.

I won't cry for him just like I didn't cry for Sven.

 

[Balti]

Ooo! I have a question!!

What happens if the buys that Hughes makes don't improve the team? What happens if they turn out to have the same effect, as in the odd lapse in concentration, misplaced passes leading to goals, bad positioning, not quick enough to cover the counter attacks...

What if Hughes says he's disappointed in the team, they're difficullt to work with after a couple of months? Do we assume the rest of team needs replacing? Or that Hughes, himself, needs replacing?

I was told 'a bad workman blames his tools' and 'if you're stuck with lemons, make lemonade'. Sayings designed to look at the inner workings of how you do things.

He's not exactly the best tactian, so when will pro- Hughes fans see this fact?

If performances do not improve after the Jan window then there can be no more excuses.

 

[The Fat el Hombre]

We are ten points off 6th place which would mean qualifying for Europe again next season...

That is a long, long way

As soon as we are knocked out of the UEFA our season is over.