It may not be this year.

[cleavers]

Like most of the anti-Hughes brigade, IMO you are severely short on objectivity.

No I just happen to have an opinion you don't agree with, especially if you read what you want to read.

 

[Anonymous]

Like most of the anti-Hughes brigade, IMO you are severely short on objectivity.

No I just happen to have an opinion you don't agree with, especially if you read what you want to read.

Fair enough...I guess we all only read the things we wanna read at times...like I said. Will be interesting to see where we are come Christmas...

 

[Unknown_Genius]

Football needs a little luck along with everything else in the game.

As for the seasons, in 2006/07 we finished 18th on home results, 2007/08 we finished 6th, then 2008/09 we finished 3rd. The move from 6th to 3rd is a harder jump once you get into the top 6 positions.

In the half time statistics, we moved from 10th position in 2007/08 to 5th in 2008/09! With only chelsea, united, pool and arsenal better than us. Which means we were not closing out games effectively. With the new players on board, we should be more than capable of that now.

We had the second best home record not the 3rd we lost more than Liverpool etc but they drew an awful lot so on points won at home only the rags did better.

Good point, the second best home record last season, and the only team ever in EPL history, to never draw at home. Just think, if our away record was just average instead of bad, we would probably have finished 6th, 7th definitly. If we had the away record Villa had, we might have finished 4th.

I know that "ifs" arent good enough, but our team looks better equiped for tough away matches.

 

[blueinbolton77]

Football needs a little luck along with everything else in the game.

As for the seasons, in 2006/07 we finished 18th on home results, 2007/08 we finished 6th, then 2008/09 we finished 3rd. The move from 6th to 3rd is a harder jump once you get into the top 6 positions.

In the half time statistics, we moved from 10th position in 2007/08 to 5th in 2008/09! With only chelsea, united, pool and arsenal better than us. Which means we were not closing out games effectively. With the new players on board, we should be more than capable of that now.

We had the second best home record not the 3rd we lost more than Liverpool etc but they drew an awful lot so on points won at home only the rags did better.

Not sure. My figures are taken from the official premier league website. we took 39 points at home, pool 43.

http://www.premierleague.com/page/Statistics/0,,12306,00.html

I doubted the decline of united, but watching them at weekend though I've changed my mind, I don't see it being the fortress it once was. What I love is the fact that ronaldo was second highest goal scorer, then way down the list is rooney, the only other united player in the top 20, and the red-nosed one think's ronaldo won't be missed.....yeah right.

 

[leighton]

I dont think Hughes should set a target on were we should be this year. What the club has done is they have signed top talent who are used to winning most matches they play they have the winning mentality that some of our squad might not have. So for Hughes to set them a top 6 target is a bit of a iffy thing to do. I can imagine those new signings want to try and win every single game they play and that is what Hughes should be doing. Taking each game as it comes clubs like Burnley , Wolves and Brumies there managers will be saying we have 38 fa cup finals to play and this is what Hughes should be saying to our team. We have top class internationals in our team and they should be challenged this season to win as many games as you can.
I cant see us breaking the top 4 at the moment but we should be trying to do so to get the best out of the top players we brought into the club. Imagine those players coming in lads lets try for a Europa League spot this year and take it from there next season. If we dont set the bar high then we wont get what we want out of these players. Hughes will have to prove he is up for this battle and repay the faith the chairman has in him this season as if he isn't up to it this year he may never be up to battling for a title.

 

[blueinbolton77]

I dont think Hughes should set a target on were we should be this year.....

I don't think Mark Hughes has, this is the business that owns City, and football is a business so those concerned are used to seeing a target and it being met.

I agree with you though, and I doubt Mark Hughes is saying to the players top six is ok in private. I don't think he's that sort of man myself, and I think he'd feel dissapointed without a good measured degree of success and silverware.

 

[fleagle]

Are City gonna storm the sky 4 this season? Probably not but i haven't given up hope.Like all of us when we missed out on Europe last season by 3 points,i was gutted! Having said that this could yet be a major blessing in disguise.We all know how many times we played on a Thursday last season,then failed to get 3 points on a Sunday....more often than not losing or drawing against teams in the bottom half of the table we should not have been losing or drawing to.
This season there are gonna be many weekend games where our opponents have played mid-week and we have not.In other words like us last season,opponents will lack a bit in energy & fitness,when hopefully we will be firing on all cylinders.
Personally i beleve the powers that be at City,will be like this as far as Mark Hughes is concerned next season........TOP 4 FINISH WILL GUARANTEE HIS PLACE AS CITYS MANAGER NEXT SEASON(& my total joy!)...........7TH POSITION OR WORSE WILL SEE HIS EXIT...............5TH OR 6TH WILL DEPEND?......DEPEND ON HOW MANY POINTS BEHIND THE 4TH PLACE TEAM.5,6,7 POINTS DIFFERENCE WOULD PROBABLY MEAN THAT HE IS SAFE;20 POINTS PLUS THEN I AM AFRAID THAT IT WILL PROBABLY BE GOODBYE.

 

[Dhenry]

Cleavers, perhaps you did not see the same City I did, but I'd say as the season progressed, so did our performances. While that is not cristal clear as far as results go, the play in 2nd half was better, home and away. I'm sure our rise from near relegation positions in the league table to 8th-10th proves my point.

I can see how you could fault Hughes though. He didn't have a proper striker, he didn't have a solid defence, our star player Robinho had some very serious personal issues to deal with, mentality of a small club, new manager, new training, new staff, new formation...How the hell did we just get 10th in the league and continental quarter finals indeed? Off with his head! pff.

Not saying that he has proven himself and is pure gold, to me he has to deliver this year as well. Just saying, if we are within reach of the top 6 come december (ie. 8th-9th) I will not be shouting to get him out. Because as last year, I am confident that anywhere we are by Christmas, we can improve on in the second half of the season.

 

[mammutly]

There are a few points I'd like to add.

1) Sven achieved more in a few months with fewer resources.

2) Hughes' did not inherit a shambles of a club that needed total rebuilding. Our academy was already the envy of the Premiership. We had a group of senior players who on their day could beat anybody. We have the greatest fans in all the world.

3) Hughes did not have a lack of palyers last season.


The rewriting of history and the downgrading of legitimate expectations is the only real 'lack of objectivity' going on here. The obvious fact is that so far in REAL terms, Hughes has taken the club backwards. 'Paper progress' is worth exactly nothing. And that's the only kind we've so far made under Mark Hughes.
Forget the ten year plan/strategy/ building/vision/progress/foundation or whatever. I'm impressed by none of that bollox.

Win us games, Mark. Then I'll believe you're worth supporting

 

[Anonymous]

There are a few points I'd like to add.

1) Sven achieved more in a few months with fewer resources.

Neither manager has had/had enough time to be judged properly.

2) Hughes' did not inherit a shambles of a club that needed total rebuilding. Our academy was already the envy of the Premiership. We had a group of senior players who on their day could beat anybody. We have the greatest fans in all the world.

We also had a group of senior players capable of putting in the kind of lamentable passionless performance, then laugh about it, that saw us get trounced by Boro on the last day of the season...

3) Hughes did not have a lack of palyers last season.

I've never said he had a lack of players.

The rewriting of history and the downgrading of legitimate expectations is the only real 'lack of objectivity' going on here. The obvious fact is that so far in REAL terms, Hughes has taken the club backwards. 'Paper progress' is worth exactly nothing. And that's the only kind we've so far made under Mark Hughes.
Forget the ten year plan/strategy/ building/vision/progress/foundation or whatever. I'm impressed by none of that bollox.

Nobody has re-written history or downgraded expectations. Last season was by no means a success, in fact it was a disappointment on many levels. But to say it was one of abject failure, to say that Hughes is the only man responsible for some of the shit which went on, is patently bollocks...and born out by the fact he still has his job, even though he didn't even manage to qualify for the europa cup or whatever it's called.

Win us games, Mark. Then I'll believe you're worth supporting

That's pointless rhetoric mate.

Hughes won plenty of games, in style, last season.