Thaksin Shinawatra has signed his number one target for the vacant manager’s position at Manchester City with Mark Hughes arriving from Blackburn. He replaces Swede Sven Goran Eriksson who has now taken over the reins of the Mexican national team
Hughes has had a successful 3 and a half years at Blackburn, guiding them to a 7th place place finish in the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-finals twice ( 2004 and 2007).
Manchester City Executive Chairman Garry Cook said,
“Mark has already identified some of the players and backroom staff that he wants to see here at City, and we will begin the process of recruiting them immediately.”
With Shinawatra’s financial muscle behind him, it will be interesting to see whom he targets. Hughes has previously been linked to the Newcastle manager’s position, as well as more recently being in contention for the Chelsea role vacated by Avram Grant.
City have already splashed out 20 million on CSKA Moscow’s Brazilian striker Jo, and one wonders whether Hughes will bring David Bentley with him. The winger will fit in well on City’s right hand side, with Martin Petrov having cemented his place on the left.
It remains to be seen how City’s fans respond to Hughes, given that some of them were hugely loyal to Eriksson. But if Hughes can turn City into contenders for the Champions League, there is no reason why he should not be able to cement his place in the hearts of fans, just as he has done at Ewood Park.