Mark Hughes as manager

[jimharri]

Pie eaters ?

Yep. For me, that was a far worse day. Emphasis on "day". The shitstorm surrounding Mancini's likely departure, the hostile atmosphere at the stadium, anti Pellegrini chants, blues fighting blues, other blues pissed/coked up, the rotten weather; and I haven't even mentioned the no show by the team. I'm not saying the Forest game was a delight; far from it. But to not show up on the day of the final, against a team who was relegated the following midweek was a level above (below?) the Forest shambles. In my opinion.

 

[Corky]

Kompany Zabba and Tevez and Joe Hart I think - but suspect these were signings made by the upper management and not Hughes - anyway regardless of that I was never comfortable with a rag as manager and for that reason alone I was glad to see the back of him

Hughes played in Germany and closely followed German football and went there at City and Blackburn - RSC was at Bayern. He knew you got better value for money there.

Hart was 2 managers before Hughes. It is odd that Hughes and Pearce get all the stick whilst Ball gets off relatively lightly.

 

[i kne albert davy]

Yep. For me, that was a far worse day. Emphasis on "day". The shitstorm surrounding Mancini's likely departure, the hostile atmosphere at the stadium, anti Pellegrini chants, blues fighting blues, other blues pissed/coked up, the rotten weather; and I haven't even mentioned the no show by the team. I'm not saying the Forest game was a delight; far from it. But to not show up on the day of the final, against a team who was relegated the following midweek was a level above (below?) the Forest shambles. In my opinion.

Not wrong here to be fair.

 

[jimharri]

Not wrong here to be fair.

No one's trying to downplay the Forest shitshow; I'm certainly not. Anyone who was there has my sympathy. But leaving Wembley that afternoon in 2013 matched how I felt against Luton in '83 or Stoke in' 98. Don't think I'll ever forget it.

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

Yep. For me, that was a far worse day. Emphasis on "day". The shitstorm surrounding Mancini's likely departure, the hostile atmosphere at the stadium, anti Pellegrini chants, blues fighting blues, other blues pissed/coked up, the rotten weather; and I haven't even mentioned the no show by the team. I'm not saying the Forest game was a delight; far from it. But to not show up on the day of the final, against a team who was relegated the following midweek was a level above (below?) the Forest shambles. In my opinion.

A day I remember only too well. Thoroughly miserable performance from the team and the Mancini news rumbling and getting absolutely soaked into the bargain.

Even a piss up became impossible due to the abject feeling am! amongst all of us booked into a hotel.

 

[i kne albert davy]

No one's trying to downplay the Forest shitshow; I'm certainly not. Anyone who was there has my sympathy. But leaving Wembley that afternoon in 2013 matched how I felt against Luton in '83 or Stoke in' 98. Don't think I'll ever forget it.

Forest defeat was a bad day, losing the FA Cup final to Wigan was a fuckin disaster.

 

[Ste68]

No one's trying to downplay the Forest shitshow; I'm certainly not. Anyone who was there has my sympathy. But leaving Wembley that afternoon in 2013 matched how I felt against Luton in '83 or Stoke in' 98. Don't think I'll ever forget it.

Cannot believe it was only 15 years between Luton & Stoke - seemed like decades , and cannot believe that stoke was 25 years ago !! Reading this made me feel very old. The Wigan game was a sickener as it felt self inflicted and a bit of the old city , imploding when we were on the brink of something big but turned out to be a minor hickup. Nothing stung quite as much as spurs in 81 , not even Luton but I might have been numbed by the shock. Stoke felt inevitable.

 

[Betterdeedthan red]

How about Brian Kidd?

He's fine .
Hughes is and always will be a prick

 

[The Lightbowne Cowboy]

Yep. For me, that was a far worse day. Emphasis on "day". The shitstorm surrounding Mancini's likely departure, the hostile atmosphere at the stadium, anti Pellegrini chants, blues fighting blues, other blues pissed/coked up, the rotten weather; and I haven't even mentioned the no show by the team. I'm not saying the Forest game was a delight; far from it. But to not show up on the day of the final, against a team who was relegated the following midweek was a level above (below?) the Forest shambles. In my opinion.

I think all those factors and the magnitude of the game makes your shout extremely valid. But just going off what happened on the pitch, I think you'll do well to find a worse display than Forest. Incidently, I was spared that final. It was my best mates stag do..it was touch n go, but I chose the races. Great decision.

 

[Kinkladze's crazy skills]

Great first leg but fuck me that second leg was a sickener.

Under Mancini the 2nd leg in one of his first games in charge not Hughes... I always felt if Mancini was hired a little later after that game we'd have beat the rags in the 2nd leg.

Not because Hughes was a great manager far from from it Mancini was an instant upgrade, the problem was Mancini picked Boyata on a whim in that 2nd leg based on seeing him in a single training session, not for one moment had Boyata played at right back for the youth team, Mancini saw him in training and wrongly decided to put him in like a deer in the headlights.

Boyata was for me the main reason we lost that Semi Final 2nd leg against the rags so easily got at, Micah and Zab were injured some might say but we had Kieran Trippier available and Trippier being a boyhood blue was champing at the bit, he would've been up for it against the rags he had a knack of having top games against them in the youths, Mancini bizarrely kept overlooking him in his first month in favour of one of someone he liked from training.

Boyata was terrible it's still bizarre that he got game time for us, along with Abdi Ibrahim and Abdul Razak later on too, anyone who regularly watched the youths back then can't tell me the latter two weren't in the top 5 worst youths at our club. That League cup 2nd leg totally miffed me I've no idea how Boyata the 4 choice youth centre back and 3rd choice DM in the youths, instantly broke in at right back ahead of both Trippier (despite never appearing for the academy there) or ahead of Ben Mee too when he played centrally.

Both were streets ahead back then and still are Boyata has actually done well for himself since, at City though others were clearly better he was never at any point good enough while here, despite some fans strangely liking him he was a total liability and never looked like be becoming a top player.