Re: Festive Football Chat : Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:35 pm  

I'd like to request three away victories in the PL today please.

Re: Festive Football Chat : Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:07 pm  

Wigan/Leeds Andy wrote:

It's a bit harsh to compare Mancini's record with Hughes. While he won a couple of cups before taking the Inter job, he essentially managed the equivalent of a Man U or Chelsea while his major rivals were imploding due to the man-fixing scandals and having titles taken off them and handed to Inter and points deductions.

Hughes hasn't managed an equivalent club. Mancini might well be better than Hughes but I don't see it as the major jump the City Board might be expecting.

Nail on head. Will be interesting to see how it all plays out. How long will Mancini get? and will he have to achieve 4th place this season to avoid been given the elbow next summer?

Re: Festive Football Chat : Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:41 pm  

Karlos13 wrote:

Good post. Didn't the owners give Hughes more money than originally planned? Maybe thats why they have given him the bullet? As because they accelerated the spending then maybe they expected to see the results quicker as well. Will be interesting to see if Mancini can do any better. I reckon city only appointed him because he has got 'Manc' in his surname?

In reality, only those of us who watch City week in, week out really know where it was going wrong and I just constantly found myself being flabbergasted by the ineptitude of it all at times. Time wasn't going to change it. Tactically, he was baffling sometimes and how many of those signings made for the £250 million have really been value for money? Bellamy and Given? And, yes, he did spend far more than the owners envisaged and it's had a negligible impact. Swapping 4 wins and 6 defeats for 1 win, 8 draws and 1 defeat is not progress, it's a point less and that is the only way to look at it.

As for Mancini, well an Italian knows his defence, which is of paramount importance, and he has the experience of managing big egos and having money to spend. Three commodities that were clearly beyond Hughes.

I'm not sure he's the ideal appointment. In honesty, I'm seriously underwhelmed by it all but I do know it's better than we had before and let's see how January goes first and foremost. I fancy a major overhaul of the back four is in the offing and the likes of Toure, Sylvinho and maybe Bridge will be consigned to the dustbin.

I'm just hoping that he is not a guy who prefers the perceived class of Robinho to the endeavour of Bellamy. If he does then he's not the kind of guy we want. If Bellamy's unhappy at Hughes' departure, I want us to convince him that he is very much part of our plans. For all the £250m spent, alongside Given, he's been the best pound for pound signing we have made in years.

Re: Festive Football Chat : Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:48 pm  

D.D. wrote:

In reality, only those of us who watch City week in, week out really know where it was going wrong and I just constantly found myself being flabbergasted by the ineptitude of it all at times. Time wasn't going to change it. Tactically, he was baffling sometimes and how many of those signings made for the £250 million have really been value for money? Bellamy and Given? And, yes, he did spend far more than the owners envisaged and it's had a negligible impact. Swapping 4 wins and 6 defeats for 1 win, 8 draws and 1 defeat is not progress, it's a point less and that is the only way to look at it.

As for Mancini, well an Italian knows his defence, which is of paramount importance, and he has the experience of managing big egos and having money to spend. Three commodities that were clearly beyond Hughes.

I'm not sure he's the ideal appointment. In honesty, I'm seriously underwhelmed by it all but I do know it's better than we had before and let's see how January goes first and foremost. I fancy a major overhaul of the back four is in the offing and the likes of Toure, Sylvinho and maybe Bridge will be consigned to the dustbin.

I'm just hoping that he is not a guy who prefers the perceived class of Robinho to the endeavour of Bellamy. If he does then he's not the kind of guy we want. If Bellamy's unhappy at Hughes' departure, I want us to convince him that he is very much part of our plans. For all the £250m spent, alongside Given, he's been the best pound for pound signing we have made in years.

On the transfer fee front it's going to be very hard for any Citeh manager to get value for money as any selling club know they can put an additional £5-£10mil on the price knowing full well that Citeh will pay up for it. The players he bought in for £250mil would probably come to considerably less bought by a club that isn't bankrolled to the extent Citeh are.

Re: Festive Football Chat : Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:51 pm  

D.D. wrote:

I'm not sure he's the ideal appointment. In honesty, I'm seriously underwhelmed by it all but I do know it's better than we had before and let's see how January goes first and foremost. I fancy a major overhaul of the back four is in the offing and the likes of Toure, Sylvinho and maybe Bridge will be consigned to the dustbin.

Sol Campbell's available.

In fairness to Hughes he tried to get one of the World's best in John Terry to move from Champions League and Premier League chasing Chelsea to top four aspiring Manchester City. That was his main problem, he couldn't get the players he wanted, because most are unwilling to leave a club chasing the main competitions for a club that is in the process of building.

Same with Berbatov the other year. Same with Kaka. There's only the likes of Tevez who are willing to drop down for the ££££. Mancini might be able to get a few more big name players to City because of who he is, whereas Hughes was still an up and coming young manager. There's no denying that he's a good manager, but with all the pressure of owners wanting success and spending loads of cash, he was going to struggle to please them. They've treated him like $hit in fairness, and it's just another chapter in the City circus to join with Cook's heroes welcoming for Tevez.

In fact, it's only the circuses at Anfield and Eastlands that have helped bring a bit of cheer to my season so far.

D.D. wrote:

I'm just hoping that he is not a guy who prefers the perceived class of Robinho to the endeavour of Bellamy. If he does then he's not the kind of guy we want. If Bellamy's unhappy at Hughes' departure, I want us to convince him that he is very much part of our plans. For all the £250m spent, alongside Given, he's been the best pound for pound signing we have made in years.

If Mancini can manage Robinho's ego so he isn't begging for a move to Barcelona when he doesn't get played, he'll automatically be at an advantage over Hughes. I'm not exactly sure why Barcelona would want Robinho TBH, he wasn't first choice at Madrid who were a lot poorer than Barca are now.

Re: Festive Football Chat : Sun Dec 20, 2009 3:56 pm  

I see McCarthy's decision to rest players for the United game has paid off today. Six points from nine in a week which included aways to Spurs and United. Can't complain at that, I would imagine most of the Wolves fans who moaned about having to see their reserves have forgiven Mick today.

Still, it's a shame Arsenal and United are only competing over 37 league games this season because of Mick's decision, ey Arsene?

Re: Festive Football Chat : Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:26 pm  

To be honest, the amount of times Mark Hughes would, at the end of a game, blame the referee and whinge about someone else other than his team and tactics was far too often. I'd often finish watching matches and think "what are you on?" He was a loudmouth all through his career and although genuinely I have nothing against him I can see why City's new owners got rid. If you're going to spend that amount of money you need the right manager too. Some people think he only needed to throw money at players and then watch the carnage but in truth you do need the right manager to convey you are serious probably most important of all. Mancini's name will bring in players Hughes unfortunately couldnt have got at this stage of his career.

[Wanderer]

Re: Festive Football Chat : Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:57 pm  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

I'd like to request three away victories in the PL today please.

Would have suited me too but might not get any???

Re: Festive Football Chat : Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:13 pm  

Nemanja wrote:

If Mancini can manage Robinho's ego so he isn't begging for a move to Barcelona when he doesn't get played, he'll automatically be at an advantage over Hughes. I'm not exactly sure why Barcelona would want Robinho TBH, he wasn't first choice at Madrid who were a lot poorer than Barca are now.

If he isnt going to play Robinho on a regular basis it would be better to get rid. He's never going to accept anything other than a regular starting role.

Much has been said about Robinho's lack of effort and attitude but I think his basic problem is that he doesnt have the physical attributes for the Premier League. He has great footwork and vision but he's very frail, eased off the ball with alarming regularity. He isnt slow, but certainly not lightning fast. He lacks stamina and has a weak shot. He's very dangerous in and around the penalty area but is entirely dependent on his teammates getting the ball to him in dangerous positions. He's never posed a threat from deep positions.

Its not surprising that nearly all his goals came in his early matches before defenders sussed him out. I dont think its so much a case of him going missing in away matches as not being capabale of imposing himself on a game when his team are not dominating.

Re: Festive Football Chat : Sun Dec 20, 2009 6:01 pm  

The Hammers let us fight another day, even after Frank Lampard scored three penalties in a 1-1 draw.