Mark Hughes

[Shaggy]

An open letter from the Chairman, in response to media reports in Saturday’s newspapers incorporating comments from former Manager Mark Hughes:

What a strange man Mark Hughes is. Sacked by Manchester City, he was becoming a forgotten man when I rescued him to become manager of Fulham Football Club.

Even when results were bad, I did not put pressure on him. I gave him every support -- financial, moral and personal.

He fully negotiated a two-year extension to his contract. On the day he was due to sign, he walked out without the courtesy of a proper explanation.

And now he insults the club, saying it lacks ambition, and the players who delivered an 8th. position finish last season and a place in the Europa League.

He is not just disrespectful but entirely wrong. Fulham has just announced plans for a splendid new riverside stand that will substantially increase the capacity of Craven Cottage.

In every aspect of its work, Fulham is a progressive club with a top manager in Martin Jol, the man we had really wanted when Hughes was appointed.

We shall endeavour to prosper without him simply because, when the challenge came, it was not the Club but Mark Hughes who lacked the courage and ambition to take on the task of leadership. If people are looking for a flop, they only have to no further than the man who has lost his spark.

Yours faithfully,


Mohamed Al Fayed,
Chairman,
FFC

http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/Ne...#ixzz1bhNzKlh3

[IN_RAFA_WE_TRUST]

What did mark hughes say?

[Kenneth]

Dunno. Bound to have been ****e.

[Rich]

Ouch

[Shaggy]

http://footyworld.net/2011/10/former...lute-autocrat/

Former Manchester City boss Mark Hughes criticises current incumbent Roberto Mancini’s methods: ‘He is an absolute autocrat’

Former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has criticised his replacement Roberto Mancini, slamming his “out of date” style and dubbing him an “absolute autocrat”.

Mancini took over from Hughes in December 2009 and led the Blues to a Champions League position at the end of last season.

Hughes believes the Italian’s managerial style is too authoritarian and thinks Mancini doesn’t understand the modern game.

“I don’t know the guy personally but looking at him from the outside, he comes across as autocratic. It’s either his way or the highway,” the former Fulham manager said, according to the Daily Mirror.

“I’m not sure he indulges players, tries to get to know or understand them. I’m not sure he’s that type of manager.

“Managing like that in the modern age with modern *footballers is more difficult.

“To be an absolute autocrat and not be *flexible in terms of how it’s going to be done and not *understand your decisions can impact on players is difficult, because they do.”

Mancini has had clashes with some of his players during his tenure, most notably Carlos Tevez, and Hughes believes the City boss can only blame himself.

“If you manage like that, there are going to be clashes and the likelihood of having clashes with players is, on the law of averages, going to be more prevalent than managers who try to get the best out of players doing it the other way,” Hughes added.

“What Roberto has in his favour is that he is at a top club and it means if he has a problem with a player he can take them out of the equation.

“He can stop using them; whereas at a lesser level, you cannot just write off players because you need them the next week. It’s a different style but at a lower level you can’t be so autocratic.

“If you look at the clubs he has been at – Inter Milan and City – he has had the means to do it. That style of management is what he knows and that’s how he manages because he hasn’t had to manage any other way.”

He added: “Carlos is strong-willed, certainly. Yes, he wants to play and for a guy who has come through life the hard way he still has a genuine desire to want to play every week.

“I never saw him as volatile. I can’t think of one incident where there were flashpoints, but I played a long time and I can handle things like that.

“You learn how to take the sting out of it. It would never have happened under my watch.”

Hughes has backed his former side to challenge Manchester United for the Premier League title – as the two teams get ready to duel on Sunday – but he doesn’t think they are yet ready to win the Champions League.

He added: “City have incredible depth and they can challenge United for the Premier League. But in the Champions League, I don’t think they can get to where they want to be either this season or even next season.

“Because I think you have to build that knowledge. United improved year on year and you only develop like that from playing in the competition.

“Whether or not the group as a whole work as diligently and with the same mantra Manchester United have, I’d maybe suggest not.

“Every Manchester United player understands what United is about. The players understand it is a privilege to play for them. They show the club that *deference. I’m not sure the group at group at City understand that yet.”

[Lee]

Al-Fayed is a ****. Didn't he also make some bizarre claims when H*dgson joined us?

[Neil Young]

He said Hodgson was good.

Totally bizarre.

[Lee]

Totally wrong.

I'm sure he mentioned something about Hodgson now getting more invitations to events and so on. Or something weird like that.

Erm, I haven't got the best memory.

[IN_RAFA_WE_TRUST]

I did read most of that.
WHAT did hughes say that pissed al fayed off? He was on about mancini , not fulham.

[Shaggy]

Haha I put the wrong Hughes verbal volley in here

Mark Hughes insists concerns over Fulham's ambition were behind his decision to leave as manager and not because he was hoping to secure the Aston Villa job.

The Welshman left Craven Cottage in the summer following just one season in charge after deciding not to take up an option to extend his contract.

Reports suggested the former Manchester City boss had quit the post in order to put himself in contention to succeed Gerard Houllier at Villa.

However, Hughes is adamant that was never the case and outlined the reasons why he felt it was the right decision to walk away from Fulham.

"The assumption that I was jumping ship because I had another job to jump into was wrong," Hughes told several newspapers.

"That was not the case because it was never there for me. People assumed I was hoping to get the Aston Villa job but that was never the case.

"I simply felt my ambition for where I wanted to take the club was not being matched. Historically, Fulham were a club who were happy to be in the Premier League and that was their ambition. But it was not my ambition for them.

"Conversations I was having about players I wanted to bring in were not going well. I read that as them maybe not wanting to keep Fulham in the top half of the Premier League.

"There was the date of June 1 (when his contract needed to be renewed) and the closer it got, the less inclined I was to sign it because it would have meant me committing further than the one year I had left.

"I had real concerns about the age of certain players and I came to the conclusion that it would be better just to shake hands and walk away.

"Fulham were probably a bit too honest with me. They were saying, 'We know exactly what you're about, Mark, but really we are just quite happy to stay in the Premier League'."

[IN_RAFA_WE_TRUST]

No idea who to believe, i guess we will see what happens with Jol.

[dom9]

No one bears a grudge like Al Fayed.

[Lee]

Do you reckon when he sacks staff, the conversation goes like this?

Al-Fayed "You're fired"
Employee "No you're Fayed"
Al-Fayed "No you're fired"
Employee "No, no you're Fayed"

etc etc

Oh

[dom9]

Oh Lee.

[IN_RAFA_WE_TRUST]