Hughes goes to Man City, Sven Introduced as new coach of Mexico, New Fifa Rankings out

Mark Hughes joins City

Mark Hughes is officially the new manager at the Eastlands.  Hughes signed a 3 year deal, and is bringing two assistants from Ewood Park to Eastlands.  New chief executive of Manchester City had this to say.  

'I am delighted to welcome Mark on board. In our view he is the brightest young manager in the game and he was our number one target for the manager's job.'

 

Cook continued to praise Hughes's vision.  

'He made it clear to us from the moment we met that he shared our vision and ambition to make Manchester City one of the top sides in the country.  '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.'

It looks like City is going to have another big summer.

Sven Introduced as Coach of Mexico

This was a story we broke yesterday, but Eriksson has officially been introduced as the new coach of Mexico.  He spoke to the Mexican media, here's what he had to say:

"To help Mexico reach the World Cup is a big challenge. You [Mexicans] have 120 million people and it’s motivating. I like big challenges so it is up to me to convince the supporters and the players that I am the right man."

“My job will be to improve the job the players have been doing and not to change their mentality. I don’t want to talk too much about players as I don’t think it is professional. There is another coach still working.”

He sounds like he is committed to the job, and I certainly don't want to see him on the other side when the US plays Mexico.

New FIFA World Rankings

Argentina has retained their #1 ranking in the FIFA World Rankings for May 28th. England moved back into the top ten, moving up two places to 9th. The USA retained their ranking of 21st after their loss to England.

That's all for now. Discuss below.

Manchester City after Hughes, Mourinho finally signs, and other news

Mark Hughes to City?

            Yes, the gods are cruel.  I wanted Mark Hughes for Chelsea, but he looks like he could go to Manchester City.  Hughes will collect a nice transfer budget, and a definite pay increase if he decides the Eastlands is his next home.  As I alluded to earlier, Hughes has a track record of turning teams around.  He also possesses a great knowledge and vision when it comes to finding good players.  He also could bring some players with him, notably, Roque Santa Cruz, and David Bentley.  I say this is a good career move for Hughes, although Peter Kenyon should get on the phone quickly and attempt to steal him away.  

Jose Mourinho officially at Inter

            Yup, it was finally announced.  The Special one has found a new home in Milan.  Now the real question is whom he will bring in to deliver European glory.  He can take Drogba as far as I'm concerned, but please don't take Frank Lampard.  He is the heart and soul of Chelsea, and he plays with a great passion for the game ever since his mother died.  He also could bring in some Barcelona men, as they are having a mass exodus.  Ronaldinho, and Eto’o, would be great additions to the Inter squad.  We’ll have to wait and see…  

Paul Gascoigne, Mathieu Flamini

            Gascoigne has been put into a mental hospital again.  He was placed in a Mental Hospital due to the Mental Health Act.  A sad, sad story gets even sadder.

            In other news, Mathieu Flamini has joined the French National team in their preparations for Euro 2008.  He was the contingency plan in case a midfielder was hurt, and guess what, Patrick Viera hurt his ankle.  It is not guaranteed that he will go to Austria and Switzerland, but he is now in training with the team, and if Viera isn’t fit in time, he will go in his stead.

 

            That’s all for now, we’ll see how things play out for the rest of the day.  Hopefully I’ll be back soon. 

SOS (Save Our Sven)

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The Signs have been up, ever since the loss to Fulham.  The fans have made it clear that getting rid of Sven Goran Eriksson is not the path the club should be taking.  

Last year Manchester City were in fourteenth place and only managed to score, a meager 10 goals at home in 19 matches, the least amount of goals scored at home in the history of the top flight.  Eriksson was brought in to get Manchester City to a mid table position.  He did that, and recorded a double over Manchester United.  Eriksson might have even guided them to a Uefa Cup spot through a fair play position given to the EPL by Uefa this week.  

Some of you reading this right now would ask, so why is his job even in question.  The owner and chairman of Manchester City, former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra decided it was time for a change.  This sparked the ire of the City supporters, petitions were made, signs put up, and even peaceful protests to get the chairman's attention.  

Sven won't Officially be sacked at least until after the final game of the season, and we don't know yet whether or not the fans support could save Eriksson his job.  The Club has been in contact with Luis Felipe Scolari, Portugal's national team coach, but Scolari has distanced himself from the job.  Eriksson on the other hand seems to be making plans himself if indeed he is let go.  He reportedly has had talks with Benfica, who have been looking for a new manager after Juan Antonio Camacho left earlier this year.  

So caught in the middle of this mess is the loyal supporters of City.    The fans have desperately been waiting for a winner to arrive, and now they have one.  Even the players have reacted negatively to this.  For now, this saga remains a quagmire, but maybe after this sunday, we will have a clear indication of what direction Eriksson, and the club decide to move in.