This could be one of the truest Articles of the season......

[JULES]

you would if you were at the games in the 70`s

So unless you was at a game in the 70's, your not entitled to an opinion

?

you said that mate, not me

 

[m27]

Christ! I just forced myself to read on.....that beggars belief. The stories I could fucking tell. It shouldn't come to this but....were you at Darlington in 1998? Will I know your face? Get a grip.

you would if you were at the games in the 70`s

Well you're old enough to know better than make sweeping statments about the credentials of Blues you have never met. 70s? I was born a month after our last trophy was won and we didn't sink into the third tier of the league in the 70s did we? I picked that game at Darlo as it was my lowest ebb as a Blue. You know about thick and thin. I only know thin.

 

[GaudinoMotors]

Nah if you're an outer you're an outer - inners and I include myself fluctuate between in and fence.
Look - I'm not King Canute - he has clearly got to show us more - I want him to be a success and I want stability for once at the club, I want all the things you do in terms of success and improvement - I just think 13 games with a new squad is a little early to put so much emphasis on wanting him out. I`m not an inner without stipulations - there needs to be a vast improvement in fortunes but I`m not ready to call for his head yet.

This is what I don't understand with some people. I'm not calling for his head but I'm unconvinced by him (as you appear to be) and I am not going to spare him of criticism just because I don't want him out at this very moment. You can say you don't want him fired but slate him as well you know?

What worries me, and many others, is that this kind of article has been predicted by many posters on here (Soulboy and JMA to name but two)over the past few weeks. It tries to dampen our expectations and quite frankly it insults our intelligence at the same time.

Our squad is as good as any of the Top 4 bar Chelsea so Hughes needs to sit down and stop wasting time trying to save his reputation through his sympathisers in the Press and whip them into some sort of shape that gets us winning games again. That's his job after all.

Fair points all - but I think expectations do need dampening - very rarely does instant improvement and transformation come after 13 games of a new squad. I also think you are unfair to dismisis the article as being by "his" sympathisers.
As you are not calling for is head - and merely criticising I take it you voted - on the fence - in the poll ?

 

[JULES]

you would if you were at the games in the 70`s

Well you're old enough to know better than make sweeping statments about the credentials of Blues you have never met. 70s? I was born a month after our last trophy was won and we didn't sink into the third tier of the league in the 70s did we? I picked that game at Darlo as it was my lowest ebb as a Blue. You know about thick and thin. I only know thin.

thats true mate, I sincerley hope that every blue who missed the glory years get the chance to see the good times return, I think perhaps because I`m a few years older I have more patience than some although that makes me niether right or wrong it does make life a bit easier.

 

[blueinsa]

?

you said that mate, not me

You are the saying that our opinion doesnt matter because we havnt been through all the dark times so to speak!

News for you mate, we have!

 

[JULES]

you said that mate, not me

You are the saying that our opinion doesnt matter because we havnt been through all the dark times so to speak!

News for you mate, we have!

ffs can you read, I have not said any of the things you are quoting, please READ

 

[m27]

This is what I don't understand with some people. I'm not calling for his head but I'm unconvinced by him (as you appear to be) and I am not going to spare him of criticism just because I don't want him out at this very moment. You can say you don't want him fired but slate him as well you know?

What worries me, and many others, is that this kind of article has been predicted by many posters on here (Soulboy and JMA to name but two)over the past few weeks. It tries to dampen our expectations and quite frankly it insults our intelligence at the same time.

Our squad is as good as any of the Top 4 bar Chelsea so Hughes needs to sit down and stop wasting time trying to save his reputation through his sympathisers in the Press and whip them into some sort of shape that gets us winning games again. That's his job after all.

Fair points all - but I think expectations do need dampening - very rarely does instant success come after 13 games of a new squad. I also think you are a unfair to dismisis the article as being by "his" sypathisers.
As you are not calling for is head - and merely criticising I take it you voted - on the fence - in the poll ?

I did indeed. I've also posted on there to clarify.

But how far do these expectations get dampened? If we're 8th next week will another article emerge about unrest in the camp and how it was always foolhardy to expect so many big egos to get on and how Hughes needs time to get rid of some of these egos and should only be judged after these trouble causers are out the door? In short, this was always going to be a "season of transition".

You may doubt, but there's a distinct pattern emerging with Hughes's use of the press.

 

[onceabluealways]

I'm not particularily in the Hughes out camp but this article doesn't really paint the true picture.

How many teams no matter what squad would expect to drop points at home to Fulham , Burnley and Hull, not many and that is without them being ahead at some point in the game.

People are hacked off i guess with performanceds not our position - We are close behind 4th because Liverpool are seriously underperforming. We were within 6 points of Villa , Spurs last season yet with 150mill of new talent we don't appear to have improved that by much relatively against both teams.

Lastly and this is what hacks me off, How many performances this season have we played well for more than 60 minutes, my reply would be none and i find this is what the management have failed to address.

 

[blueinsa]

well said lad, some people on here will never be satisfied with what hughes does, how ever many trophys he wins he will still be a rag, the ages of some of these "fans" I should imagine is rather young as their inexperience in following your team through thick and thin does not seem an option, they want success and they want it now or toys out of the pram.

I did read it, you are suggesting we are all youngsters just because we want rid of Hughes and that we have no experience of following the team through thick and thin!

Utter bollox imo!

 

[Marvin]

It is full of painful truthes, and non rational thinking, all this from the M.E.N. ???

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...ty/s/1184518_snipers_are_quick_on_the_trigger
MARK Hughes is rapidly discovering the madness of life at the sharp end of the Premier League.

He must be the first City manager in history to reach December with one defeat in all competitions - and still be backed for the sack in some quarters!

In fact, Hughes is the ONLY manager in City's history to reach December with one defeat, even if that impressive statistic has been buried beneath the avalanche of frustration brought on by seven successive draws.

It is with some irony that Arsenal and Chelsea should be the next two visitors to Eastlands, for games which some snipers would have you believe are make-or-break for the Blues boss.

Arsene Wenger's bright young things are being trumpeted as evidence of the purity of the Gunners' ethos, a tribute to their dedication to youth.

And yet a quick glance at the weekend starting line-ups reveals that in the team destroyed by Chelsea on Sunday, Arsenal did not have one player who had joined them before his 16th birthday. City had three in their XI against Hull.

That kind of bare stat did not stop Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis making an abortive ascent of the moral high ground, taking pot-shots at the new money of City and Chelsea along the way.

"We believe that success which is built is more significant, more meaningful and ultimately, more important than success which is bought," said the Gunners supremo.

If they had had any money left after buying a spanking new stadium, presumably Arsenal would have given it to the poor and needy, otherwise known as Liverpool.

We are being told by the high and mighty at certain Sunday newspapers that, if City don't dismiss Arsenal and then achieve a good result against Chelsea, Hughes' job is on the line.

Wenger saw his team dismantled by Chelsea on Sunday. And yet the prospect of them also losing to City tomorrow night does not provoke any kind of howls for the studious Frenchman to be tipped from his seat.

Even though the fragile Gunners have also been turned over by United, City and Sunderland this season.

Yet Hughes' side, being dismissed as under-achievers in some quarters, are just three points behind them, having already beaten them, and beaten them well.

That brings us to Chelsea, who skipper John Terry says feel "unbeatable." Any City fan in possession of an anorak could point out that the "unbeatables" have lost precisely twice as many games as the Blues this season.

To describe Hughes' fate as hinging on a clash with Chelsea - possibly the best all-round team on the planet right now - is ludicrous.

This is a team who have already beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and United, three clubs which have the benefit of several years of the experience which survival at the top of the Premier League brings, and of the cash which the Champions League brings.

The task facing Hughes and City this season is not to be wiping the floor with Chelsea, but to scramble and fight their way into a position from which they truly can compete with the top teams

If Hughes can finish fourth this season, he should be Manager of the Year by a country mile. But look at the £200m he has spent, comes the cry.

Money alone solves nothing. If you splash out on an old ramshackle farmhouse, it still takes time, patience and prolonged attention to detail, as well as hard cash, before it becomes a home.

And when you buy that farmhouse, you don't have the problem that the best fixtures and fittings are unavailable because they prefer the swanky mansions, just down the road.

To expect Hughes to storm the Premier League top four, armed only with wads of dough, is preposterous.

The City manager has spent well, but the top, top players who win you a Champions League place and then keep it, have still eluded the Blues.

It is a vicious circle. Until you are in the Champions League, you cannot hope to attract the Kakas, the John Terrys, the Steven Gerrards, the Xabi Alonsos.

People have made the mistake this season of treating City as a peer of United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, by dint of wealth alone.

That mistake was intensified by the Blues' good start to the season, when Blackburn, Wolves, Portsmouth and Arsenal were all beaten, and the expectation hit volcanic levels.

City have attracted very good players, but the lack of Champions League football has meant they have been unable to lure the best, even though the knowledge of their wealth and ambition has meant they have paid top dollar for the players they have bought.

It should be noted that Wayne Bridge and Shaun Wright-Phillips - two excellent players and England internationals - are at City because they were surplus to requirements at Chelsea.

Joleon Lescott could yet prove Hughes right when he said the £24m buy could become the best defender in the Premier League. Yet, at the moment, he is not a Terry, or a Nemanja Vidic.

Similarly, for all their talents and potential, Emmanuel Adebayor is not Didier Drogba, Carlos Tevez is not Wayne Rooney, and Stevie Ireland is not Frank Lampard.

Claiming that fourth spot, and/or reaching a domestic cup final would be a major achievement for Hughes, and give the club a real foundation, rather than one based on the size of their bank balance.

Now is not the time for moaning and groaning. These are two big games for the Blues, and both Hughes and his players need and deserve the support of the fans.

It is a time for calm heads and clear vision, and a sight of the bigger picture, both on and off the field.

Good article, but I think that Adebayor, Tevez and Ireland are in the class of Drogba, Rooney, & Lampard. Whatever we are certainly not getting the best out of them at the moment.

Whatever the smug criticism from the media, and from City fans on message boards like these, the team will have great support from the stands on Wednesday night.