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

[Goaters]

I see we're back to the "our players aren't that good, we shouldn't aspire to compete with the Sky 4" excuses.

Adebayor isn't Drogba - correct
Tevez isn't Rooney - correct
Ireland isn't Lampard - correct (and for me thats a good thing)

I'm sure you read what you want to see, rather than whats actually said.

Adebayor cost more than Drogba - correct
Tevez cost more than Rooney - correct
Ireland is finding it tough to break into our first team due to the 30 million spent on De Jong and Barry.

Now maybe we should question the amazing signings Hughes has made or possibly he should have thought outside the box more. If it takes 200 million to get players who according to this article would do exceptionally well to get near the top 4 then it's a bit of a joke.

It just feels like a dampening of expectations to me.

 

[mike24]

Well, realistically there is a big possibility that Hughes will be given until seasons end (although if we continue to regress i will be amazed if the owners dont take action sooner), but my worry is that if he does get till the end and City end up out of the CL spots and even worse out of the Europa spot, where the f*ck can he expect sign any players that will take us to a higher level than those he has signed already.

I like you, thought he signed vey well and was genuinly hopefull that we could poss do a top4 with those players. But if this fails, he has absolutely nowhere else to go when it come to new signings.

So ofr me, lets do sooner rather than later what is becoming increasingly inevitable and get a manger in that can also bring big name players almost regardless of the position we are in the league.

Like Mourinho? Listen to any Italian based journo and you will hear how the Inter fans are pissed off with Mourinho's lacklustre team producing lacklustre performances, something I have heared Hughes and his team be accused of. Changing the manager won't solve anything in my eyes, as he will be given a bunch of players he might not rate, meaning this time next year, (when that manager has had a full summer to assemble his squad), we are int he same position of that squad taking time to gel, and people moaning and groaning and calling for Mourinho's head, or whoever it may be. There has to be some stability9 and real time given to a manager to be allowed to work, especially when an almost entirely new squad has been assembled.

They also won the league last year and are ahead at the top again this year. Mourinho plays football that wins and his teams win even while not playing well andhis unbeaten at home record is amazing....Hughes as yet looks to me like he cant motivate the players to play well week in week out, as I said elsewhere cant remember the last time we played really well. Therefore Hughes football is not exactly thrilling but with less wins....and I stress this is so far in his career.

 

[GaudinoMotors]

point taken - so does the opinion of the majority - ie Hughes ins and "give him timers" count

I respect your opinion mate i really do. Wanting Hughes out like i do gives me no pleasure i promise you and i only think that way as i believe he is simply not good enough to do the job in hand. The poll on the top of the board though paints a very different picture to the one that you suggest. We are not that much of a minority and the fence sitters at this moment in time i would suggest are much closer to our thinking than your's?

Just my opinion and like i said, regardless of the outcome for Hughes, i will certainly not be falling out with other Blue's over it!

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.

 

[Hamann Pineapple]

the origional article is absolutely spot on

and the other thing thats needs remembering is that football is not an exact science.....sometimes even the best teams lose.....just cause we have player x and y doellsnt mean that we will win all the games we are expected (by some fans) to

That is the beauty of football...on any one given day any team can beat another.....what gives us the god given right to beat burnley, fluham at home.......why should it be a forgone conclusion.....football doesnt work that way

At present 18 out of 20 teams in the prem can pretty much beat each other on any given day....(Im leaving utd and chelski out of it as they will pretty much beat most people but even they lose.....chelsea have lost two games this season and utd lost to burnley away)..............

Some of our fans seem to have got way ahead of themsleves with their expectations in my opinion

Can't fault you there mate ;) Some people want success in a tin

 

[m27]

the origional article is absolutely spot on

and the other thing thats needs remembering is that football is not an exact science.....sometimes even the best teams lose.....just cause we have player x and y doellsnt mean that we will win all the games we are expected (by some fans) to

That is the beauty of football...on any one given day any team can beat another.....what gives us the god given right to beat burnley, fluham at home.......why should it be a forgone conclusion.....football doesnt work that way

At present 18 out of 20 teams in the prem can pretty much beat each other on any given day....(Im leaving utd and chelski out of it as they will pretty much beat most people but even they lose.....chelsea have lost two games this season and utd lost to burnley away)..............

Some of our fans seem to have got way ahead of themsleves with their expectations in my opinion

So you agree with Brennan (or is it Hughes?) that if we are going to really challenge the Top 4 our current players aren't up to it? You see, I don't.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Our squad is better than most of the top 4. We do however lack the real world class matchwinners that each of the top 4 have. We also lack players who win games from set pieces, they all have several. We lack defenders who organise their team mates when the shit comes on top. Most of all we lack the understanding that comes from playing together over time. In spite of all these inadequacies, we're nowhere even close to being out of the battle & still won't be even if we lose the next few games. It's a long season & we can be right in the thick of it at the end IF we don't tear ourselves apart.

So surely it was in Hughes' interest to assemble a squad that ticks these boxes then?

Is that not what he's been trying to do? Was I imagining the John Terry/Kaka/Torres stuff?

 

[Pigeonho]

Like Mourinho? Listen to any Italian based journo and you will hear how the Inter fans are pissed off with Mourinho's lacklustre team producing lacklustre performances, something I have heared Hughes and his team be accused of. Changing the manager won't solve anything in my eyes, as he will be given a bunch of players he might not rate, meaning this time next year, (when that manager has had a full summer to assemble his squad), we are int he same position of that squad taking time to gel, and people moaning and groaning and calling for Mourinho's head, or whoever it may be. There has to be some stability9 and real time given to a manager to be allowed to work, especially when an almost entirely new squad has been assembled.

They also won the league last year and are ahead at the top again this year. Mourinho plays football that wins and his teams win even while not playing well andhis unbeaten at home record is amazing....Hughes as yet looks to me like he cant motivate the players to play well week in week out, as I said elsewhere cant remember the last time we played really well. Therefore Hughes football is not exactly thrilling but with less wins....and I stress this is so far in his career.

But most, not necessarily yours, views on here are moaning about the football Hughes is producing, and so if people are to accept that football if it means being top of the table under a new manager, is that not slightly hypocritical?

 

[blueinsa]

I respect your opinion mate i really do. Wanting Hughes out like i do gives me no pleasure i promise you and i only think that way as i believe he is simply not good enough to do the job in hand. The poll on the top of the board though paints a very different picture to the one that you suggest. We are not that much of a minority and the fence sitters at this moment in time i would suggest are much closer to our thinking than your's?

Just my opinion and like i said, regardless of the outcome for Hughes, i will certainly not be falling out with other Blue's over it!

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.

The one certain thing in all this is that Hughes has his own future in his own hands, it's as simple as that, he can either step up to the plate and show us all that we talk bollox or he will go with a whimper, proving us to be correct.

Over to you Mr Hughes.....

 

[Cheltblue]

Well, realistically there is a big possibility that Hughes will be given until seasons end (although if we continue to regress i will be amazed if the owners dont take action sooner), but my worry is that if he does get till the end and City end up out of the CL spots and even worse out of the Europa spot, where the f*ck can he expect sign any players that will take us to a higher level than those he has signed already.

I like you, thought he signed vey well and was genuinly hopefull that we could poss do a top4 with those players. But if this fails, he has absolutely nowhere else to go when it come to new signings.

So ofr me, lets do sooner rather than later what is becoming increasingly inevitable and get a manger in that can also bring big name players almost regardless of the position we are in the league.

Like Mourinho? Listen to any Italian based journo and you will hear how the Inter fans are pissed off with Mourinho's lacklustre team producing lacklustre performances, something I have heared Hughes and his team be accused of. Changing the manager won't solve anything in my eyes, as he will be given a bunch of players he might not rate, meaning this time next year, (when that manager has had a full summer to assemble his squad), we are int he same position of that squad taking time to gel, and people moaning and groaning and calling for Mourinho's head, or whoever it may be. There has to be some stability9 and real time given to a manager to be allowed to work, especially when an almost entirely new squad has been assembled.

Have to disagree again mate, there are more managers than just Mourinho that can bring quality players with them just on the basis that they have worked with them before. Hughes has done it with Bellers and Santa Cruz, and if rumour is to be believed he wont be happy till David Bentley signs.

Now take a step up the managerial ladder and those managers can do exactly the same but with an even better quality of player. But the one big difference is that these managers already have experience of managing the big names and experience of getting the very best out of them and experience of taking big name players and big name clubs to title and/or trophies.

 

[robbieh]

I hope Malc in Oldham doesn't mind me posting this off MUEN.

Manchester City have clearly got Mr.Brennan in their pocket,rarely have I heard such rubbish.This is my 53 rd season as a blue ,ive seen it all and Im telling you Mr.Brennan,Hughes is not the man to take City forward,all this talk about one defeat disguises the fact that we are seeing a week on week deteriation in the performances of those fine players we signed in the summer,we are watching their confidence drain away,and we all know why,the manager is not up to the big job he is tactically nieve,the players know it and it shows.With the greatest respect to the man,when you see him being interviewed on the box,can you imagine being in the dressing room before a match and hearing him make a churchillian speach and firing them all up,well I cant.The problem is that the owners who on there own admission are not experts on the finer points of the game have left the manager and his staff along with Mr.Cook to run the show.For the sake of our great club I hope the penny drops soon and they realise that the management has to be changed and changed quickly,before the richest club in the world becomes a laughing stock.