Sports Saturday Thread #1 For 12/19/09: Mark Hughes Sacked As Manchester City Manager

(I was going to talk about an exciting day of parity and balance in this great league, but that will hope off into tomorrow because of this:)

Photo from Getty Images

In a move that was both expected and exposes the worst in modern club soccer, Mark Hughes has been let go as the Manchester City manager by his impatient owners, in my honest assessment of this move.

Despite beating Chelsea two weeks ago, being handicapped with the absence of Joleon Lescott, burdened with the occasionally mistake prone Kolo Toure and the rest of that shaky defense, getting to the Carling Cup semifinals, and being in the midst of the coveted Top 4 place in the league, the Abu Dhabi owners of the blue side of Manchester thought it was in their best interest to let Hughes go.

These owners must have thought they were going to be at the top of the league after this offseason right away. Because this move to fire a competent manager in Hughes, and replace him with a manager with no Premier League experience right in the crucial middle of the season in Robert Mancini, despite their current standing reeks of petulant ridiculousness.

ESPN's Jon Carter perfectly sums up how I feel about this move

Despite publically backing Hughes, the Abu Dhabi-based group have had their eyes on someone else for some time. Whether it was this week’s revelation that Guus Hiddink had been targeted after Russia’s exit from the World Cup play-offs or Roberto Mancini’s sudden presence at Eastlands to watch what eventually turned out to be the Welshman’s final match, it was coming.

City’s ambition is hard to fulfil and Hughes has paid an unfair price for failing to match it. With the number of quality players they have they expect to be higher in the table but, in reality, sixth is a decent start for a side that has effectively been completely rebuilt from scratch in the past year.

City’s owners want Champions League football – a position the club are only four points off at the moment – but City’s fans are simply happy to be at the right end of the table for a change. There won’t be many at Eastlands who will be pleased with the prospect of changing bosses at such a crucial point in the season, but the cash-rich owners obviously want to give carte blanche to the new man before January arrives.

And therein lies the problem. High-profile transfers dominate their minds, but the hope of watching the world’s greatest players ply their trade in Manchester is unrealistic. Kaka proved that when he chose Madrid. Stability is what is needed this season and, when Kaldoon al-Mubarak gave his backing to Hughes after City's run of seven straight draws, it appeared he was getting just that.

And he really questions their decision to replace Hughes with the former inter Milan boss

City run the risk that all those who chase the ‘galactico’ dream suffer. They will never be able to attract a world-class manager if stability is not in place and it would be no surprise at all if Mancini makes way for someone else in six months’ time.

If City finish 5th and fail to get into the Top 4 for a Champions League spot, it will be interesting to see whether the owners will be quick to pull the trigger on Mancini then.

Hughes got 18 months on the job, but the club turned over dramatically during the summer. He had a proven pedigree in the league as an establish quality manager still on the rise (and even after today's events, I view him no different).

Yet, despite all of that, despite today's win against Sunderland despite not having Lescott and Micah Richards after he went off early, he still was deemed expendable to these owners.

Mancini better produce for this Abu Duhai consortium right away. Or he will get unceremoniously bounced, even if he wins the match preceding his firing.

The joys of modern day club soccer, where your job is only secure as your team's last game performance.