Mark Hughes appointed Queens Park Rangers manager

New boss Mark Hughes at Loftus Road yesterday

Yesterday Mark Hughes was named new manager of QPR. The West London club have had a turbulent return to the Premiership to say the least, with off field issues such as ownership issues, and race rows, have been an ever presence in the background at a club who had a reasonably good start to the season before going on an alarming slide going nine games without a win, last beating Stoke 3-2 away on the 19th of November. This saw Neil Warnock, a little surprisingly losing his job.

Warnock saw QPR not win for nine games

The egos in the dressing room haven’t caused the major problems as some pundits predicted, with the combustible characters at Loftus Road, including names such as Adel Taraabt, Jay Bothroyd and of course, not forgetting, Joey Barton have yet to caused any headlines in the national newspapers. Unfortunately, the notably poor on field performances have been the subject of much criticsm and caused Warnock his job.

Now, enter a similar person with a no nonsense approach to management, adding to the name of combustible names in that dressing room; Mark Hughes. The 48 year old former Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea striker has managed at many different scales, beginning his career as Wales’s national coach, then spending four good years at Ewood Park as Blackburn manager learning the ins and outs of Premiership football, then taking the coveted Manchester City role, somewhat controversially due to his ties with the red side of Manchester.

He signed a majority of the players who are still currently at the club, and fighting for the title. These include the current club captain Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, Gareth Barry, Kolo Toure and Nigel De Jong.

He made some excellent signings as Blackburn boss as well, signing Christopher Samba for £400,00 from Herta Berlin, Benni McCarthy from Porto for just £2.5 million, David Bentley from Arsenal for £500,00 (who went on to be sold to Spurs for £15 million) and even brought in Ryan Nelsen on a free from DC United. Proof that he has an eye for a bargain, and knows who is and isn’t good enough to play in the Premiership.

Mark Hughes signs Vincent Kompany from Hamburg for £6m in 2008

Crucially for QPR fans, ignoring his odd tenure as Fulham boss, Hughes will add some discipline to the squad and hopefully some more stability. He is ultimately more tactically astute that Warnock, who was more of a motivator. He’s signed a three year contract, and those dreams of managing a “big club” have hopefully gone from his system, and he should look to create his own success.

Another plus, which I have to praise Hughes for, is that he has a proven he has a knack for making good purchases when there is a little amount of money available (at Blackburn) and with lots of funds available (at Man City). At QPR where there are a reasonable amount funds available, Christopher Samba and Alex are both names who have been linked, as a centre-back is the top priority. A striker is needed as well, with Andy Johnson linked, and possibly another central midfielder, as Alejandro Faurlin is out for the rest of the season.

QPR have a good range of players in the squad, the likes of Joey Barton, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Anton Ferdinand with lots of Premiership experience, with some raw potential in Adel Taraabt and Armand Traore, adding to a side who are good enough to stay up, it’s just up to Hughes to get the club back on the right track and steer them clear of relegation.

Mancini: One Year at Eastlands

Roberto Mancini was recently asked;

“It’s nearly a year since you became manager (of Manchester City) and the man you replaced is managing the opposition team (Mark Hughes of Fulham), do you feel this team has improved in the year that you’ve been here?”

The 45 year old took his time to reply and stated simple that they “have improved”, and continued to defend his corner when being pushed by the journalist stating that “by the end of the season, we will be in the Champions League and (we) will win something”.

Confident words and a confidence response, the video of which can be seen here. However the real question to ask is; with their millions of pound twined with the calibre of players in the Manchester City squad, is there any real substance to Mancini’s claims?

Under former boss Mark Hughes, it was clear that being at the helm before the new owners took charge; ultimately meant his time in charge would be limited, however during his spell at the Eastlands club, he had amassed a number of great victories, including two big wins over Arsenal, a win over Chelsea and thrilling encounters in matches against local rivals Manchester United.



But most importantly was the sense that under his guidance, and with his free flowing attacking Manchester City side, it would not be such a silly statement to believe that they would make it into the Champions League sooner rather than later, establishing them as a serious threat to other teams at the top of the division.

It would now be argued, that with following his poorly handled dismissal, Man City’s signing’s are a step forward and those which should have any football fan drooling, but football wise, the club has taken a step backwards.

Under Mark Hughes, the club were scoring goals, their strong-arm tactics were ruffling feathers and many clubs couldn’t handle this new found City side and their new found ability to outplay sides, making them look a certainty for that elusive fourth spot.

Mark Hughes Favourite Line-up

However Mancini was drafted in, boasting three Serie A titles in the bag, and the experience of working with high calibre names. His first few months in charge saw a slowdown in Man City’s free flowing attacking prowess and saw a more resolute and compact side emerge, one that in the end cost them the much craved 4th spot, losing out to Tottenham.

Now after a summer of activity, which has seen them spend money like its heading out of fashion, saw the likes of the talented yet temperamental Italian/Ghanaian Mario Balotelli (£24 million), Midfield powerhouse Yaya Toure (£28 million), attacking midfielder David Silva (£24 million), left back Aleksander Kolarov (£16 million), versatile defender Jerome Boateng (£11 million) and exciting midfielder James Milner (£24 million) all join the club, saw a team with an array of players good enough to contend for the Champions League crown let alone the Premiership title.



But with this in mind, despite Man City progressing as they should with the quality on show, they are still not meeting their full potential and for me these boils down to one sole entity; and that is that of boss Roberto Mancini.

Despite beating a few of the big teams on the odd occasion, Mancini seems to be satisfied just to match these "big teams" rather than play to win (the Manchester United 0-0 draw comes to mind). The defensive minded 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 formation, may just about overpower some of the “smaller” teams, but Manchester City fans “revolution” seems to have stalled, with them and pundits alike not really too impressed.

Fair enough Mancini’s player need time to gel, but I feel that when you pay a lot of money for these kinds of players, and you have a mix of players who have Premiership experience (Such Bridge, Richards, Hart, Given, Barry, Adebayor, Tevez) you don’t need as much time to adapt to the Premiership, as the bunch coming in from overseas.



Also Mancini may state that his side are now “playing as a team” and “doesn’t concede a lot of goals” and so on, but the potential of Man City to be World beater is that which cannot be ignored.

In the Premiership, it’s known for its fast paced, all action, highly committed open football. Not defensive minded tactics, no nonsense “stop at all means necessary” defending and holding midfielders.

Roberto Mancini's Favourite Line-up

Mancini needs to consider toning down the defensiveness and adapting a more expansive approach in order to ascertain the heights Man City are capable of reaching, as the Sheiks patience may be shorter than it seems.

Allow De Jong to anchor the midfield, while Yaya Toure runs the midfield. Play Milner on the right wing, with Adam Johnson on the left, allowing for them to switch sides and get forward. With Yaya and De Jong in the middle, the freedom going forward will be greater as the two central players have great engines and are just as comfortable tackling as they are passing.

In defence, keep the Kompany and Toure partnership as they create the foundation for the side. Kolo Toure has great experience, while Kompany is a highly skilled individual with an eye for the game. Lescott, Boateng and the young Boyata are more than admirable deputies.


Full backs are the area’s whereby the side could definitely need strengthening, I’m not one for rumours, but Dani Alves of Barcelona is a name being touted around. For now Richards is a capable right back, while Boateng’s versatility allows for him to cover at right back.

Left back, is another problem area, while Kolarov had a budding reputation in Italy, injury has hampered his start to life in England. Also Wayne Bridge still warms the treatment room, and never seems able to string more than a few games together before reinjuring himself. The versatile Argentine Pablo Zabaleta has been playing left back most recently, and will continue to do so until a greater option comes in.

The frontline is the most intriguing part of the Man City’s line-up, with a combined value of £122.5 million; the options available are the envy of any club in the World. With the disruptive influence of Emmanuel Adebayor, he would have no place in my team, and Mancini seems to feel the same.

J ô seems to be favoured by Mancini and must be impressing in training as after previous spells away from the club on loan, he has been given his chance in the team, all be it from the subs bench. Roque Santa Cruz pretty much has no future at the club, and is expected to leave this January. With his injury prone nature and lack of goals, he is expendable.

Finally we come the final three strikers, two of which need to slot into the starting eleven. For me, Tevez is one of the best players in the World, hence for that reason, he has to start. Supporting him; the highly creative and technically gifted David Silva would be an excellent link between midfield and the strikers; however I feel Balotelli’s ability, value for his worth would make him a starter and be capable of forming an excellent partnership with Tevez upfront.


This, of course is just my opinion, and my feelings to what I would do if I was under as much scrutiny as Mancini is. Manchester City has an abundance of riches as well as an abundance of talent, however with these great expectations come great responsibility. Champions League qualification, and some form of silverware is the benchmark for this season, and unless Mancini start delivering on his promises, he could be on his way out sooner rather than later.


What are your thoughts on Roberto Mancini’s reign? How long do you guys think it will last? What does the future hold for Man City? Let us know what you think