What do people think of this theory. I have to admit, its where my thinking is going more and more at present:
Under normal circumstances I think I'd be advocating him getting at least another couple of months. However, the fact that we have a ship load of cash from January onwards is, in my eyes, not a reason to give him until then, as many say, but the reason why I would sway towards getting rid now.
I don't buy into all this, he can't spend it properly. With this sort of money then you should end up with quality, even if Frank Clark were doing the buying. By the same rule, I don't think he's done anything to prove that he deserves the best transfer market oppportunity ever given to any manager in the history of football.
Anyway, my point is this. The fact that it will be so easy to guide this club upwards from January onwards (well, in honestly, it should be easy from tomorrow onwards, given the current squad) is, for me, a reason to think that we have nothing to gain from keeping him around. We are not in a situation where we have to consider whether this might affect the ability to attract people in the future (money talks and a rational explanation for sacking him can be made anyway). People are going to be lining up to come here in the next couple of years.
I honestly think that a caretaker, whoever it might be, could easily do enough to slowly move the club up the table over the next few months. In fact, I think that they would possibly show an immediate improvement as I honestly believe that Hughes has mismanaged the squad to the point where his relationship with some of them is quite obviously affecting the spirit and resolve within the camp and therefore performances and fight on the pitch.
In my eyes, getting rid now would remove that huge negative (low moral) that seems to run through every performance at the moment. When a manager is the cause of such feeling it almost never gets turned around. It almost always irretrievable.
As for spending the money. I don't really care if he is sacked and 'the club' has to make some big signings rather than Hughes. It could be argued that they might anyway (who is targeting Kaka, Villa, etc - Hughes or 'the club'). They certainly did that with Robinho and is anyone complaining. Anyway, it would only be until the end of the season or until a manager we really want comes in later in the season.
At present I honestly believe that Hughes presence is contributing massively to the underperformance on the pitch. Both his tactical decisions and his relationship with the team. I don't think that he has some particularly huge ability in the transfer market that will allow him to get more out of the billions in January than anyone with a modicum of knowledge could anyway.
Therefore, that would be my reasons for getting rid tomorrow.
Do I think it'll happen? Not at all. I think it will take a lot more than the current dross to make the Arabs go back on their word. Which, in my view, is a shame in this case.
