Jeremy Butler - News of the World

[Anonymous]

What an absoloute wanker, we know it but that is shit journalism to write that.

MANCHESTER CITY’S multi-million spending spree — and the future of Mark Hughes — was thrown into doubt after an FA Cup humiliation by Nottingham Forest.

The richest club in the world became a laughing stock as they were thumped 3-0 by the Championship strugglers.

David Villa’s agent was at Eastlands to discuss a possible £50million move .

But don’t be surprised if he’s already told his client there’s not enough money in the world — let alone in Sheikh Mansour’s coffers — to bring the Spanish hit-man to this pathetic shambles of a club.

Boss Hughes claimed he was entirely comfortable and secure that his position was not under any threat despite the humiliation of losing 3-0 to a side whose combined worth of £5.4m basically amounted to Wayne Bridge’s right leg.

And when the news filtered through to Abu Dhabi, you can rest assured the man who is bank-rolling City’s spending spree will not have shared Sparky’s comfort.

Trillionaires don’t sign up for FA Cup shocks. They don’t shrug their shoulders and simply move on. They demand to know why the club they bought for £230m has been humbled by a potless Forest side who won at a canter.

And they ask themselves whether this particular manager is the man to guide City to greatness.

Hughes fed the Arabs all the ammunition they needed when he admitted afterwards: “I am confident about my future because I know the situation and where we are at.

Performance

“We know where we need to go and we will aim to do that. It will not happen overnight. It will not happen in this window, it will not happen in two or three windows.

“We are bitterly disappointed with the level of performance we have produced today.

“Credit to Forest. I thought they worked extremely hard for each other and deserved to win. They showed more desire and more energy in their play and chased lost causes and forced us into errors.

“They took their chances when they presented themselves — and as a consequence we lost the game.

“We were never really in a position to win the game. Never really got a foothold in the game. Never really dictated for any length of time and as a consequence didn’t deserve to win.”

This is Nottingham Forest Hughes is talking about. A team battling to avoid relegation into League One, not some Premier League titan to whom City succumbed.

Hughes desperately scrabbled for excuses when, frankly, there should have been no need.

No matter that he was without Robinho and Stephen Ireland — or that Shaun Wright-Phillips limped off after just 24 minutes. There was enough talent at City’s disposal to see off a side staring the Championship drop squarely in the face.

Yet Hughes still clung to the fact his squad lacks depth and issued another warning City would spend more of the Sheikh’s millions to bolster his spineless squad.

The Welshman protested: “We were weakened by the loss of Robinho and Ireland and, within 20 minutes, Shaun Wright-Phillips.

“It just shows we have relied too much on those individuals anyway. When they are not available, we struggle to win those games.

“This has shown the strength in depth is not there. If we lose quality players it is difficult to address the quality and maybe we are not in a position to compete on all fronts.

“We are in the UEFA Cup as well and maybe we are unable to compete in that and the FA Cup as well as win important Premier League games.

“I wasn’t happy Forest had more desire. I am trying to be honest but it was something most people can see.

“I have known from day one the frailties. We have to play with the nucleus of maybe eight, nine or 10 players playing to the best of their ability or we struggle to win games.

“We play well when everyone is on the front foot and showing the same desire. But when we are just off the pace we can look a poor side.

Spark

“You need leaders out there. People that drive the game when certain players are missing that spark on the ball.

“We need more in this window. Wayne Bridge has come in but we probably need three, four or maybe five other players to complement the good players we have here.

“The frailties of the team have been there for a long time.

“I have highlighted areas we need to strengthen and that has been highlighted to the owners.

“They know where we are. It is not as if this has happened overnight. We are disappointed with the result and performance.”

‘Disappointed’ is probably a massive understatement. Outraged probably comes a lot closer . . . along with the myriad questions this rotten performance raised.

Despite the obvious pressures, Hughes remains steadfast. Although whether his employers feel the same is open to some debate.

“This has not shaken my faith in my ability,” he claimed. “I know exactly what is needed here.

“The work we do on a day-to-day basis makes players better.

“What they have to do on a Saturday is be brave enough to perform. Maybe today some of them did not do that.”

The Arab owners might argue it’s up to the manager to instil the kind of bravery that no amount of money can buy.

 

[moomba]

Jealousy is a curse.

It will make success when (if) we get it even sweeter.

 

[BlueMooney]

to bring the Spanish hit-man to this pathetic shambles of a club.

It's fair comment.

I don't see he's done much wrong...

 

[dannyboy91uk]

I find most of that true Mark Hughes has been saying the same comments since the start of December after every defeat. He obviously thinks the chairmans are stuck up is asshole and he will never be sacked well in all fairness he just asnt lived upto expectations.

Just by stating this will take 3 or 4 transfer windows before we could battle for a top 4 finish is disappointing before any of that was written along with is constant digs about how most of the Manchester City players are not upto the challenge I recall Sven Goran Eriksson doing a better job with a much weaker squad and he handled it fine.

 

[Dubai Blue]

Just by stating this will take 3 or 4 transfer windows before we could battle for a top 4 finish is disappointing

That's this one, the summer, next winter and the following summer. So if all goes to plan, that's top 10 this season, top 6/7 next season, and top 4 the following season.

You didn't really expect it to happen any quicker than that, did you? That's the earliest I would expect us to be in the Champions League.

 

[moomba]

Just by stating this will take 3 or 4 transfer windows before we could battle for a top 4 finish is disappointing

That's this one, the summer, next winter and the following summer. So if all goes to plan, that's top 10 this season, top 6/7 next season, and top 4 the following season.

You didn't really expect it to happen any quicker than that, did you? That's the earliest I would expect us to be in the Champions League.

I reckon if all things went well we should have been looking at challenging (not necessarily succeeding) for 4th spot next season. We should certainly have been looking at challenging (and probably achieving) for a UEFA Cup spot this season.

I think we've been set back a fair bit this season but I do think we have a squad that with a few additions isn't as far away from climbing the ladder.

 

[dannyboy91uk]

I understand that but I was reading something the other week on Goal.com it could be an unreliable source or not but Jose Mourinho quoted he would get Manchester City into the Champions league by 2010.

And with the amount of cash Mark Hughes has to spend in this transfer window alone and then with Summer and Winter aswell we should be atleast challenging for a top 4 next season with the cash available surely.

Right take Chelsea for example yes they had a few very good players already but we also have Micah Richards, Danny Sturridge, Robinho, Vincent Kompany etc who are going to become top players (Danny Sturridge) or great players like Shaun Wright Phillips/Robinho.

But when you have Mark Hughes keep saying the same thing every week it kind of gets worrying about is true intentions to bring this club forward. If we spent about 70 million in this transfer window and say 100 - 150 in July/August and then a further say 30 - 45 in the next January how the hell can somebody with that much cash not get any team in the top 4?

Roman Ambromovich has spent like a grand total of say 560 million but then you look at is first 2 seasons yes the first season they underachieved but im sure they still won one trophy but they had only spent like 180 million then.

Sorry for changing the topic a little but im basically obsessed with Manchester City before and after the takeover of the club and it just makes me rage a little when Mark Hughes is underestimating on what we can achieve.

 

[citymad]

It's hard to read something like that about our beloved club but its not far from the truth. Whats happened to our players this season? its like they've given up trying. They need direction and a leader and unfortunately Hughes does not tick these boxes. He's got to go.

 

[moomba]

I think when it comes down to it most would accept Robinho, SWP, Ireland, Kompany as players that could sustain a push to the top 4 week in week out. There are more that could contribute, but if we leave those 4 for now, plus Bridge makes 5.

I suspect we'll add another 2-3 players this month, I would hope that a couple of those would join that list.

Then another 5-6 signings in the summer, 3-4 of which should also be good enough to sustain a push to the top 4 next season.

So we should be able to put a squad together to push for top 4 next season, we might fall short but we should at least be challenging. And thats without thinking of Zabaleta, Elano, Bojinov, Petrov, Micah, Johnson etc who may or may not be able to step up.

I know managers like to play down expectations, but I think we need to go the other way at the moment, get some excitement and momentum going.

 

[Brucie Bonus]

It's hard to read something like that about our beloved club but its not far from the truth. Whats happened to our players this season? its like they've given up trying. They need direction and a leader and unfortunately Hughes does not tick these boxes. He's got to go.

This season? Last season the excuse was Frank and the behind-the-scenes stuff. This season it's Hughes and the transfer window. The won't play for their wages. They won't play for their own pride. They won't play to try and save their jobs. They won't play to try and secure the best job they could get if they get released. They won't play for the fans. They do laugh though. They do fuck up basics on a weekly basis. If Hughes goes, so must the muppets. We need a fresh start. The lags and idiots have go to go, every single one of them, no matter who they are.