ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - Manchester City- Mark Hughes: Fulham Manager

Posted by Wallace Poulter on 07/31/2010

Former City manager Mark Hughes has returned to the Premier League taking the place of Roy Hodgson who departed Craven Cottage for the "warmer" climes of Merseyside. I'm pleased; I think it's an excellent fit for the former Blackburn and Wales manager and the current Fulham squad has enough quality to survive the first season of the Hughes Revolution.

Hughes appears, certainly based on his Blackburn and City stints, to be a manager that has a very specific type of player that he prefers. Invariably Craig Bellamy and RSC have been linked and if either leaves City that is certainly a logical destination. As with all of the club's high earners the wages will be a stumbling block in such a move. At least one newspaper has suggested that Bellamy might move on a transfer while RSC would go via loan.

Curiously Stephen Ireland has also been linked. On the surface, based on the midfielders play two season's ago I can see why this connection would be made. However these reports seem to over look Ireland's interview last year where he blamed Hughes for the poor form at the start of the year.

My sense is that Hughes will move quickly in the market for three or four players a couple of whom will come from City. Similarly in January I would expect Fulham to be busy. That being said I would also expect Fulham to finish in the lower half of the table this season before moving back into the top half of the table in 2011-12.

I remain conflicted about Hughes. It's possible I may have been one of the first to call for him to go when he started using Darius Vassell instead of Elano. It's not something I particularly relished, it is after all the man's livelihood regardless of how much such managers are paid. Some will argue that with such paydays come such pressure - maybe accurately - but still, agitating to get someone fired is not the greatest feeling in the world.

Further I found the handling of Hughes dismissal to be quite disgraceful and reflected poorly on the club and Garry Cook. Not the City way. So as much as I wanted Hughes to leave and as convinced that I was, and am, that City could never reach the heights under his leadership I've also looked forward to his return to Premier League management. Hughes is good enough to manage in the Premier League and Fulham to my mind is an absolutely perfect fit.

The top eight in the Premier League seem pretty set but each year one or two clubs are going to challenge that core group. With patience from Fulham's owner this year, I can see Hughes doing that for a long time.

Comments

Posted by greenjob on 07/31/2010

I think that is a fair assessment of the Hughes scenario. He will always do well at those 'fair to middling' teams. However, it seems that he is fairly cold in his interaction with players. I think thats why he never got the best out of some of his charges. And you are right, we at Eastlands were mystified over the Vas over Elano situation. Pluse Dunnie and the way his departure was manufactured wasn't great. Dunnie was the scapegoat for some woeful defending collectively. But good luck to him, I'm sure he will get a decent reception by us blues. The King is dead, long live the King!

Posted by Stan on 07/31/2010

OK, who are your top eight, and in what order?

I, too, am glad to see Hughes back in the Prem.

Wallace Reply Not sure of the order yet and additional transfers will have a potential impact but I see these teams as the top eight, United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs, City, Everton and Villa.

Posted by Stan on 08/04/2010

It's a tad bit unsettling when I look at that list and realize my picks are almost precisely in that order: 1. ManU 2. Arsenal 3. Liverpool 4. Chelsea 5. Spurs 6. City 7. Villa. 8. Everton

I think Chelsea's age will catch up to them; City's got plenty of upside but with so many new players coming in (and more likely) I expect another season of inconsistency. A cohesive player in the Elano mold would give City the opportunity to climb higher...but they seem at least a year away from title contention.

Wallace Reply Yes I believe Chelsea could regress a lot this season

Posted by Cody on 08/04/2010

lets hope hughes takes lescott to fulham. lescott has been atrocious this preseason and kolo toure has completely renewed my faith in him (he's played quite well this preseason and he and vinnie have the most time together). i also hope hughes takes superman with him, because yet again he has proven his miserable form this preseason. he has no invention, he doesn't make the same incisive runs anymore, and he just looks like a lame duck on the field. lacks speed and size as well. don't let him take bellamy though, because even if we don't start bellamy, i love his pace and attitude off the bench to beat down on already tired defenders.
and barry was atrocious today as well (gave up an awful penalty. i have no clue why he thought he should make a slide tackle so late in the box) so i don't think he'll start this year
my lineup for this season
hart
boateng toure kompany kolarov
Johnson Toure De jong Silva
Adebayor Tevez

Wallace Reply I think Hart will go out on loan until January.

Your back four rings true with the chance that Boateng may sometimes move inside to allow Zab, Micah or Nedum or Right Back.

However despite the 4-4-2 in pre season I believe that Mancini will play a diamond with Barry, de Jong and Small Berries as midfield ball winners with Adam Johnson or Silva at the top of the diamond. Tevez and Adebayor would then play up front, sometimes spelled by Silva when Johnson plays the forward midfield role.

Now in other games I see a 4-2-3-1 which would have two out of three of the defensive midfielders as the 2. Silva and Johnson could play the wings with Tevez falling back into the AMC role and Adebayor up front. Alternatively Bellamy could play left wing, Johnson right wing and Silva playing the AMC with Tevez up front.

In a traditional 4-4-2, which I do not expect it is still a combination of the players listed above. Only in a 4-3-3 might you see SWP play the right side of the middle three.

But essentially I find it hard to see how Ireland and SWP stay with the club and I'm hopeful that Bellamy's wage is high enough to dissuade Fulham from coming after him.

No Robinho in any of those either...

Posted by fred daka kamwada on 08/05/2010

with players like bobby zamora, mark shwarzer -f hedoesnt lezve for arsenal , the American lampard , clint Dempsay , mark hughes has a team that will compete for the top six.

so please don't underestimate mark Hughes. pthe only probelm is that you alwasys had alow opnion of him. but i hope he proves you wrong

Wallace Reply I expect Fulham to finish in the 13-15th range this season and Hughes to have them in the top ten next year

Posted by Ted Turner on 08/05/2010

Do you think Clint Dempsey fits into Hughes's preferred style of play? I know he is older but I think he could be a very valuable starter for this year and slip into a quality substitute role in years to come for Hughes.

Wallace Reply I think Dempsey would be exactly the type of player Hughes will like, especially if he is played up front rather than last year when Fulham would play him in right midfield.

Dempsey is a tough guy with a tremendous work ethic. Year to year I consider him one of the most improved players in the Premier League

Posted by Rowan on 08/13/2010

I agree that Fulham will have a tricky time - Hodgson seemed very good at squeezing every possible quality minute from injury-prone and form-dependent players (Duff, Zamora, Murphy, Davies, etc.), and as such assembled a squad that played a lot better than expected. That's a rare knack, and bodes well for Liverpool (who now have a whole new Sports medicine team which is among the very best in the business).

Hughes, while a smart boss, is better at forming a strong squad with a clear plan, than adding value to a disparate group of fragile though talented players - see, for example, his time at Blackburn, where he spent a couple of years methodically building a really cohesive unit.

I think Hughes will implant some of 'his' players, but that Fulham will then cop a bad slump in form when Hodgson's added value wears off the established players. Hughes will then sell many of them (cheaply) to build his kind of team.

All in all, he may build success, but it will take time and money.

Posted by Chris Foo on 09/09/2010

Yes, Mark Hughes was unceremoniously sacked. Results matter at the end of the day. Can we all agree on that ?

But let's be equally frank here. City, whom I've supported for 40 years, aren't a symbol of decency and consistency when it comes to man-management, let alone form.

On the basis of simply "end-results" Roberto Mancini should have been relieved at the end of last season. No ? Why not ? We missed out on The Carling Cup. We missed out on the FA Cup. And we missed out on a Champions League spot. All under his aegis.

Ah, the crux of the matter becomes more evident. Fact is, City owners can simply do whatever they like. It's their club, not the supporters. It's their money, not the paying supporter's money at the turnstiles that matters. It's their whim, not the supporters wishes that truly counts.

Which leaves every true, blue, City supporter to just reflect on one thing. Is this the club you want to support and love ? Take it or leave.

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