I'd say that rich, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, but, as Arabs, the owners of Manchester City probably don't drink. Plus, being able to bathe in oil money seems to be working out okay.
As for stupid? Well, Sparky is keeping his job for another year.
Speculation was rife that the City manager would be removed at the end of the current campaign after a disappointing season, but chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has told Hughes he will be given another season to prove his worth at Eastlands.This doesn't seem like the dreaded ironic 'vote of confidence' but an actual statement that Mark Hughes will indeed be on the bench for Man City next season.
Citeh crashed out of the UEFA Cup yesterday, their only shot at silverware, and currently sit 11th in the EPL (suck it, Barclay's). They are undefeated in the league at the Eastlands, but have merely one road win with only Stoke and WBA being worse away from home.
Hughes has marginalized Elano, allowed himself to be bent over by Robinho, marshalled over the regression of Micah Richards, and shipped Jo on loan to Everton right as the Brazilian found some goal scoring form (that probably correlates highly with him actually playing). Man City could have used his services as they started Felipe Caicedo as a makeshift striker yesterday.
But Hughes has brought in Shaun Wright Phillips and Craig Bellamy (both playing well) as well as seen Steven Ireland have the season of his life (so far).
So, eh, it's kind of a push.
Still, with all that money comes expectations. One of those expectations is that Citeh would be able to sign anyone and start winning. That hasn't happened. The first half of that isn't necessarily Sparky's fault as nobody wants to go to Citeh but, well, you are what your record is and Citeh sit one point ahead of SF Bolton.
So colour us mildly surprised. But happy. Sparky is at least good blog fodder.
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2 comments:
I am not as convinced as you are that this recent announcement isn't the DIVOC (dreaded ironic 'vote of confidence'). We'll have to wait and see what the City owners do during the long, long summer months when famous managers with major pedigrees are lounging around on vacation and all looking far more appealing that Hughes does.
I think Caicedo is an okay striker - and likely better than Jo, or at least the Jo that played in Manchester.
The players that you cited as doing well for Hughes this year (Ireland, Bellamy, SWP) are all the guys he signed or the 'type' of players he would favor. The problems have come when Hughes has to deal with super duper stars (at least in their own minds) like Robinho and Elano.
Please note that this is NOT a straight up defense of Hughes. Not at all. I think Hughes is the wrong guy for the City job. The wealthy owners want Galacticos 2.0 and Hughes is not the right manager for that kind of team.
How dedicated with the new City owners be to throwing around the cash when they don't get the results? How attractive will City be (despite the paydays) to the prospective Galacticos if they aren't winning or qualifying for Europe? Someone will always come for the money, but it will be second tier or faded 'stars' (Hello, Adriano!) who will only clash with Hughes.
This season was a waste for City, but it won't get much better until they find a plan and stick to it. Sparky plus international ego-stars does not seem like the right plan.
Rich, drunk and stupid is the only way to go through life. Trust me.
Well not me, but trust Mike Ashley.
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