Mark Hughes

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Mark Hughes : biography

1 November 1963 –

During his spell in charge of Blackburn, Hughes’ side was accused of being "over-physical" and "dirty" on multiple occasions and the club finished bottom of the Premier League disciplinary table in all four of Hughes’ seasons in charge.

Manchester City (2008–2009)

On 2 June 2008, Manchester City sacked manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Hughes was reported to be the first choice of City owner Thaksin Shinawatra to replace Eriksson. However, interest was also reported from Chelsea, who had recently sacked their manager, Avram Grant. Blackburn Rovers confirmed on 2 June that they had agreed to allow Hughes to talk to Manchester City. The following day, Blackburn agreed a compensation package for Hughes to take over as manager of Manchester City, and he was appointed as head coach on 4 June 2008 on a three-year contract.

Following the appointment, Manchester City’s executive chairman Garry Cook stated that "The Club intends to invest in new players as well as securing the long term services of key members of the current first team squad. 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."{&newsid=6610904|title= Manchester City appoint Mark Hughes|first=Tim |last=Oscroft|publisher=mcfc.co.uk|date=4 June 2008 |accessdate=4 June 2008|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080605203848/http://www.mcfc.co.uk/default.sps?pagegid=%7bDBD12D53-8346-431D-A04F-5D0F8664DE80%7d&newsid=6610904 |archivedate=5 June 2008 }} The players who did arrive were Jo, Tal Ben Haim, Vincent Kompany, Shaun Wright-Phillips returning from Chelsea and Pablo Zabaleta. Hughes first game in charge resulted in a 4–2 loss at Villa Park but was followed up with 3–0 wins against West Ham United and Sunderland.

On 1 September 2008 Manchester City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi United investment group, who made large amounts of transfer funds available to Hughes, allowing City to break the British transfer record and sign Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5 million. Hughes was very active in the January 2009 transfer window, signing Wayne Bridge from Chelsea, Craig Bellamy from West Ham United, Shay Given from Newcastle United as well as Nigel de Jong from Hamburg. City finished 10th in Hughes’ first season with the club, as well as reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. City’s home form was among the best in the league, but their away form was among the worst.

In the summer of 2009, Hughes added the likes of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa, Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Touré from Arsenal to his squad, while Carlos Tévez also joined after his two-year deal with Manchester United expired. In addition, he also signed defenders Joleon Lescott from Everton for a reported £22 million, and Sylvinho, a former Arsenal and double Champions League winner with Barcelona, on a free transfer.

Hughes started the 2009–10 campaign with a 2–0 away win at his former club Blackburn Rovers. A further 1–0 win against another former club Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy at a capacity Camp Nou. was followed up by a 1–0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Eastlands. Hughes’s team then beat Crystal Palace in the League Cup 2–0 and Portsmouth 1–0 to maintain a 100% clean sheet start to the season. City continued in good form beating Arsenal 4–2 and West Ham 3–1 either side of a 4–3 derby day defeat to Manchester United, City would then however, go on a run of seven straight draws.

Manchester City beat Scunthorpe United 5–1 and Arsenal 3–0 in the League Cup to reach their first semi-final since 1981. Hughes then led City to their first victory over his former club Chelsea for five years with a 2–1 victory. That last victory was one of only two wins in eleven successive Premier League matches, and Hughes left City before their League Cup two-legged semi-final against Manchester United. He was sacked on 19 December 2009 and replaced by Roberto Mancini.