“He’s the devil in disguise”

Rarely has an issue been so divisive amongst my social group. Abortion, the war in Iraq, the environment - nothing comes close to the possible appointment of Mark Hughes as the next Manchester City manager.

He may be one of the best young managers in the Premiership, along with Aston Villa’s Martin O’Neill and Everton’s David Moyes. He has taken Blackburn to two top six finishes in the last four years, on a relatively modest budget. He has also demonstrated an eye for a bargain in the transfer market (although for every David Bentley and Roque Santa Cruz there’s an Andre Oijer lurking menacingly around the corner). And his teams could never be accused of lacking fight or spirit, an accusation frequently levelled at City over the last few years. You can’t imagine, for instance, one of Hughes’ teams losing 8-1 or, indeed, 6-0.

But…… it’s Mark bloody Hughes, for christ’s sake. I spent much of my childhood loathing the man. To me he was the very embodiment of Manchester United for much of the 80s and 90s. And I’ve still not forgiven him for his cowardly assault on Richard Edghill whilst playing for Southampton. The only scant consolation is that my United supporting friends (an oxymoron, surely?) are equally aghast at the prospect of Hughes taking over.

I guess it’s not without precedent; Matt Busby was a Blue, after all, and more recently the cases of Messrs Schmeichel and Cole have taught me, if nothing else, that all footballers are shameless mercenaries, and most fans are incredibly fickle.

His Manchester United links aside, it doesn’t strike me as being a particularly progressive move by the club. I’m underwhelmed by the prospect, and concerned that our main route into Europe (i.e. the Fair Play league) may be jeopardised by his appointment. His curriculum vitae doesn’t stand up to Eriksson’s, and his teams aren’t known for playing particularly attractive football. Then again, neither did City in the second half of last season.

To many fans though it felt like we were making great progress under Sven; we had a nice blend of youth and experience in the squad and there was a sense of unity and purpose amongst the players. Eriksson’s sacking seems to have lost that momentum, with strong rumours that the likes of Richard Dunne, Michael Johnson and Micah Richards are on the verge of leaving City.

But there is little point in dwelling on the past. If, as is widely expected, Hughes is appointed as City manager he’ll have my full support (until things start going wrong that is; I imagine he won’t be granted much of a honeymoon period by the fans). But I’ll stop short of calling him ‘Hughesy‘ or, even worse, ‘Sparky’. The very notion makes me slightly nauseous. He’ll always be Leslie to me. Les, at a push, if we start to warm to him.

Ric Turner
www.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk