Man City Confirms Hughes As New Manager
Posted on June 5, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized
Mark Hughes was unveiled today as the new Manager of Manchester City after Blackburn reluctantly let Hughes negotiate terms with the Man City board. After being linked with a move to Chelsea, Mark Hughes has decided to join City on a three year deal. There will now be a substantial compensation package paid to Blackburn, as Hughes has taken his Assistant Manager and coach with him.
Hughes has an impressive C.V. not just as a club manager but also as a player. He played his most successful years with Manchester United where he helped them to Premiership Titles, and then traded Manchester for London where he joined ranks with the Chelsea team. He was a regular member of the Welsh national side and notched up a number of impressive caps, eventually retiring in 1999.
As a manager Mark Hughes has got Blackburn in to Europe and the top six of the Premier league on a two occasions. Man City has qualified for the Uefa cup this season through the fair play league, and it is thought this is what swayed Mark Hughes decision to join City. Rovers have also reached the semi final of the FA cup twice and Hughes as been astute in the transfer market buying players like Santa Cruz and Benny McCarthy.
The task ahead for Hughes is a challenging one, but City chairman Garry Cook has said time and time again that this is one of the best jobs on offer in world football. This is true, simply because of the vast amount of resources that are likely to be at his disposal. It is expected that once owner Thaksin Shinawatra has his assets released from Thai courts this week, the pre-season spending can begin.
With this amount of resource will come huge pressure and responsibility. Shinawatra will expect to see a return from his investment, and not over five or so years but immediately. Sven Goran Eriksson was liked by many and judged to have done a good job during his first season (finishing 9th in the league – the highest for a few seasons) but even a manager of his calibre experienced the ruthless side of a billionaire owner.
The life span of a Premiership manager appears to get shorter and shorter these days, not helped by the fact that a new era of Billionaire owners expect to see results on the pitch and quickly. Many within the game argue that this new generation of wealthy owners do not know what football involves and how long it can take to build a team that can be successful. Alex Ferguson himself has stated on numerous occasions that managers these days do not get enough time to bring success to their clubs. Ferguson had to wait three years before he won any silverware at Manchester United. With this new generation of wealthy owners however managers in the game will have to adapt their approach to management and place just as much a focus on short term goals than their long term plans.
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