So Mark Hughes has been sacked then. No surprises there. Hughes was the biggest case of ‘dead man walking’ the minute the Arab money-men arrived. He wasn’t ‘their man’ so no matter what platitudes they spoke in public unless Hughes had steered them to the top of the league and at least two cup finals he was always going to be on borrowed time.
Much hand-wringing abound in the press about foreign coaches/owners/players/legion etc. But did Hughes do it to himself?
Many have questioned his ability to handle the ‘characters’ (read strops) of stars like Robinho and Abebayor; still others his ability to shoehorn said players into a tactical set-up that works; then there are the bald facts of all those draws.
Dunne: I say, Adebayor... allow me to point out where you're going wrong...
But was Hughes’ biggest single mistake not a player he signed but one he let go? Namely, Richard Dunne?
What have City been missing? They’ve needed steel in their defence. Someone who’ll go and attack the ball, cannon it (and the opposition striker if need be) into the proverbial row Z. Dunne.
They have lacked a leader. Someone who’ll puff out his chest and be damned if he’s going to suffer a defeat without doing something about it. Dunne again.
Can you imagine Dunne would have put up with the cosseted likes of Abebayor, wearing gloves in November and ‘not fancying it’ against the likes of Spurs or even Hull?
One imagines Robinho’s hissy stomp down the tunnel after being substituted (after another lacklustre performance) would have got short shrift from the combative Irishman too.
Meantime Dunne’s been welcomed with open arms at Aston Villa (currently 4th – six points and two places above City).
There he has played his part in no fewer than seven clean sheets (nearly twice as many as City have managed in the league this season) and he’s chipped in with three goals too (as many as City’s entire defensive squad).
Dunne lived and breathed for City when he was there. The fans loved him and he was a club talisman.
Maybe that was why he had to go – he was a reminder of the old school, inferiority-complex past the club were trying to shed. Maybe he didn’t fancy sticking around as a squad player? Maybe Hughes knew he’d upset the ‘undroppable’ likes of Robinho and Adebayor – who knows?
Hughes may have been on borrowed time at Eastlands but he may just have hastened his own demise.
