Hughes: City Are Gelling Well And Do Not Need To Spend
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My £115m Manchester City squad is starting to look like champions insists Mark Hughes
Plenty to shout about: Manchester City's manager Mark Hughes
Manchester City manager Mark Hughes believes his expensively-assembled team have passed their first test with a good start to the Barclays Premier League season.
Hughes spent about £115million in the summer bringing in Arsenal duo Emmanuel
Adebayor and Kolo Toure, Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez, Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz, Everton defender Joleon Lescott and Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry.The club's significant financial resources, which come from Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, mean expectations have soared and before the campaign kicked off City were talked about as being contenders for Champions
League qualification.
Big successes: Emmanuel Adebayor (left) and Gareth Barry have made solid starts to life at Manchester City
Hughes, who less than 12 months ago was fighting off questions about his future at Eastlands, knows the critics were waiting for his side to slip up.
But they have dropped just five points - three of which were in the controversial last-gasp defeat to city rivals Manchester United - in seven matches and currently sit fourth in the table with a game in hand.
'There were a lot of questions - would we be able to gel early as a team, would so-called egos in the dressing room be able to be managed - being asked of us before a ball was even kicked,' said Hughes.
'From our point of view I think we have answered each and every one of them. We know there is a long way to go but we are pleased with the start we have because we needed a good start.
'The review we have had of the first phase (of the season) has been good. There will be more tests ahead of us but I think we are in good shape.
'When you go through the experience we went through at Old Trafford it can only help to make the group stronger as a whole. We know what we are capable of. We have shown glimpses in games where we have been outstanding but we've not clicked for the full 90 minutes yet.'
Hughes and senior club officials have admitted they have crammed three years' spending into two transfer windows in an attempt to get City up to speed with their more established Premier League rivals.
The manager is confident the players he has brought in are of the right character to achieve the ambitions of Sheikh Mansour but has warned they cannot afford to get ahead of themselves despite an impressive start to the season.
Hughes has also told his squad to ignore the media hype, which today is linking
Brazil forward Robinho with a January move to Barcelona.'Everyone realises the people we have brought to the club have made us stronger physically, technically and mentally - which was the key thing from my point of view,' added Hughes.
'As a consequence it was inevitable our results would improve but we have to make sure we are consistent through the whole season, and given the quality in the squad, I see no reason why we can't be.
Great form: Craig Bellamy
'With all the media platforms out there everyone wants to discuss Manchester City so it is difficult to protect the players but we have used it to our own.
'We've used some of the negative stuff as a positive in terms of motivation. You shouldn't go too overboard about praise and negative criticism will always be there and so you shouldn't be too upset when you see it because you know it is coming.
'But the group we have are knowledgeable and experienced and they know how it works.'
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Must win titles first lah.
Look like champions and being champions are 2 different things altogether.
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lol. tats a gd one
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lols the truth is man city do have the potential to become champions.. but when real troubles kick in, defeats come in.. thats when their mental strength as champions come in. Looking at all the top clubs like man u, chelsea, liverpool, and arsenal, their mental stength has yet to be tested, along with their consistency. And truthfully, they havent really attacked with a style thats developed from within the club, unique to themselves, for them to be called true contenders. Look at arsenal for instance, they have established a style of play with a new formation whereby the victory is not always dependent on players but their style and gelling within the team. So i just basically think that Mark hughes is just being optimistic, and preaching at the moment, to ensure that confidence flows within the new teams and thats basically, all there is to it.
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Personally I think Mark Hughes is a very good young manager... He proved it at Blackburn and he is proving it again now... And I think what City have achieved so far when so many have doubt them or whether the new players with ego problems can gel together at such short a time is all down to his good management...
I won't be too surprise if City gets into the top 4 this year though last year I thought it would take at least 3 yrs as the first year was a waste as they didn't have enough time to start building a team when the new owners came in... So this year should be seen as their first year with a decent team... and I thought it would still take 2 yrs before they break into the top 4. But looking at their progress so fast, I have to say they can make it...
Hughes is probably one of the best young managers around... He has the characteristic of a good manager, the bravery to speak his mind, the aggression when he takes on someone, the style of attacking football his team plays (being a top striker during his playing days)... All these will help him become an even better manager...
I belief City will win the title within the next 3 to 5 yrs... The period now is for him to gain more experienced only...
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I doubt that he will win the title within the stated time frame.
Is he a good manager? sure he is. But so is Harry Redknapp, Steve Bruce but you don't see them as top level managers.
Mark hughes is in the same bracket. Put him with a non title team and he does well, put him in a team with title aspirations and watch him crack.
Football is not just about money, if it was, Real Madrid would have won every single trophy every year.
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For mi
there are like Leeds Utd ( not F A )
can went to top 4 de -
i think the key is go into top4, get the UCL and then get the really quality players in.
well, at the moment, isn't he doing quite well? I do hope he can go from strength to strength, and with the funds, able to pull more quality into the EPL, instead of La Liga.
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Time will tell if he is good enough... It won't be easy but I see he has what it takes to make it... Look at Rafa at Liverpool, 5 yrs plus with money and a club reputation to attract players easily and what has he done for them in the league? After 5 years then he only manage to come close to it... I believe Hughes will manage it in lesser time than him...
Mark has already achieved what Rafa has in 1/5 of the time at City... And forget about the money stuff, Rafa had lots of money to spend during these last 5 years, its how he spent it that is more questionable... Pool was a top 4 team even before he joint. Pool was reported to have the biggest squad in the EPL only recently with something like almost 70 players... and to date I have not seen a real Pool player coming out of the youth squad since Rafa came in... and Rafa was still reported to have a shopping list of 90 plus players names on his list... If he isn't brave enough to make a killing buy and stake his reputation on it, or promoting a young player to the first team, then that is the big difference with Hughes... who bought and brought out the best of David Bentley, who was thought of as a journeyman and a reject by Arsenal... Benedict McCarthy, most seen him as "over the hill" and even Morten Gamst Pedersen although he was bought by Souness but he came good under Hughes... He even had the buy of the season when he paid only $3.5m for Roque Santa Cruz when not many had even heard of him but who went on to score more than 20 goals a season and who have since become a big name player...
Where was Redknapp and Bruce then? In his first year he came in during mid season at BB, while Redknapp was taking Southampton down to the championship league, Hughes manage to save Blackburn from relegation...
In his second year (His first full season), even with little funds, he still manage to take a team who finished 15 the year before to a top 6 finish then kept the consistency with a top 7 two years later, all these while on a very tight budget... Hughes is probably the best young manager around now... Forget about Redknapp, Bruce and Moyes... Cos they don't have that extra edge to them to take them to the very top which I belief Hughes has... Spurs is Harry's biggest club job in his whole managing career... The rest has been like the Portsmouth, the WH and the Southampton kind with average results... He has proven to be a good impact manager but not so sure if he can last the distance...
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look only mah, not real one yet
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Originally posted by limpper:
look only mah, not real one yet
:)
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not bad la
this season will show how good he is
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If man city make it to the top 4, what club from the Big 4 will be out?
My guess is liverpool
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now is not even november, isnt it a bit too early to say they are in contention or finish in top 4. if they are still in the top 4 come january 2010, and from march still in contention, then yes. now is not even end of october yet. and they have not even meet chelsea and liverpool yet.
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Originally posted by arxoz:
If man city make it to the top 4, what club from the Big 4 will be out?
My guess is liverpool
most likely. dun rule out spurs and villa too.
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city midfield is not comparable with barcelona, RM or even chelsea and man utd. city need to beef up with a top play maker to complement gareth barry in central midfield. barry is not exactly a top top defensive midfielder, just an above average midfielder playing for england.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1220303/Cesc-appeal-Manchester-City-join-battle-sign-Arsenal-captain-Fabregas.html.
wow...
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See what are the league positions after the Christmas/New Year schedule.
That will be indicative of the potential champion and the pretenders.
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Mark Hughes: Manchester City Are Gelling Well And Do Not Need To Spend
Expensively assembled superstars are answering doubters...
Manchester City manager Mark Hughes believes his team's form this season so far has answered the critics who doubted whether his squad of superstars could ever gel into an effective unit.
"People were suggesting the gelling of the team might be a difficulty for us but it is plainly obvious we have addressed that," he told reporters at his Friday press conference.
"The team has come together very quickly - they are good players. It is easier for good players to have an understanding of what is required. "We are very comfortable with how the season has started. It is only a positive start, that's all. It is a platform for us to go forward."
Hughes also cannot foresee another spending spree in January that will match the Citizens' summer outlay. Their close-season forays into the transfer market were an unprecedented event that will not be repeated, according to the Welshman.
"What people must understand is that our business in the last window was unprecedented. That will not happen again," he explained. "This notion that we will throw money at whatever player, that is not the case.
"We do not feel we need to go into the market to the extent we did in the last two windows. "It's about looking at players for areas of the team that still need strengthening. Those are the ones we will target. It will not be wholesale comings and goings, I can assure you of that.
"We have more players with Premier League experience, who have an understanding of what is needed to win games at this level. "We look more solid. Sometimes you have to dig in more when you are away in the Premier League and we have been able to do that. We are pleased at how things are going in that respect. It is a marked improvement."
And relations between himself and the board were also still very positive, with all concerned looking forward to further progress on and off the field. "Positive messages came out of the board meeting. We are very pleased with the way things are going from a football point of view and a business point of view," he said.
"We are in good shape. It is about making sure we continue in the same vein." -
City midfield doesnt look world beaters. they need to buy 1 or 2 top top midfielders like a play maker to complement their strikers.
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city sucks de la...
Their "success" has been 7 games played, 5 won, 1 draw and 1 lost with them scoring 15 goals and conceding 8 goals.
This is what hughes define as success?? Having spent so much money I would have expected them to win all their matches, scoring more goals than 15, and conceding none, but then, money does not neccessary brings you success.
They may have won arsenal, and lost marginally to man utd, but are they really championship materials? Those money faced players are there for the money, not the championship. Hughes is stupid to say that they are champions like material. They have not yet faced chelsea, spurs and liverpool.
I am sure city would struggle some point along the way, but they still definitely have the potential to squeeze into the big 4, with liverpool the team most likely to be replaced.
This season is definitely interesting, you can lost 5-6 matches and still end up champions. Maybe 70-80 points can even clinch you the title.