In a week where transfer rumours began their bi-annual merry-go-round, corruption charges go uncorroborated and Carlos Tevez launches yet another stinging attack on a city which has provided him with so much, the resignation of Mark Hughes has gone relatively unnoticed. What seemed to be a marriage made in Al Fayed heaven has, albeit surprisingly, gone somewhat sour. Only three weeks ago Sparky Hughes and his band of Premier League also-rans finished the season with, relatively speaking, style and grace. Finishing in a very respectable 8th place and qualifying for the Europa League through the back door of the UEFA Fair Play league, Mark Hughes’ Fulham can justifiably look back on their 2010/11 season with a wry smile.
All but written off as a side only capable of playing good football under the austerity-measures style of Mark Hughes’ predecessor, Roy Hodgson, Fulham went from strength to strength in a season where similar teams around them failed to live up to the early expectations gained from an exciting start to the season (See Bolton here). Benefiting from the extraordinary form of Clint Dempsey, the consistency of players such as Simon Davies, Danny Murphy and Mark Schwarzer and the return of Andrew Johnson and Bobby Zamora from long-term injuries, Mark Hughes was able to capitalise on a team already used to playing above themselves. All that was needed was an admiral with enough tactical awareness and emotional vigour to be able to interpret these qualities which, as we have seen, was completely evident in the last three months of the season.
Mark Hughes represents what is all too common about the English Premiership, a genuine lack of young, talented, British managers with the ability not only to succeed in the Premiership but also on the continent. Of course, the only manager to make this transition in recent times was Steve McLaren who, despite it not working out in Wolfsburg, made a dream start to his managerial life outside of England by guiding an unfashionable FC Twente side to the Eredivisie title, becoming the first English manager to win a top-flight league since Howard Wilkinson in 1991.
Mark Hughes though, despite his acrimonious departure from Man City in December 2009, has kept his reputation completely intact. In some respects Mark Hughes’ departure from Fulham underlines the lack of loyalty and professionalism in the modern game, where it even reaches the managerial level. In other respects Hughes’ resignation can hardly come as a surprise. Four years at Blackburn, honing his reputation as an astute observer of the importance of team unity and togetherness, Hughes then spent eighteen months at Man City where he was controversially sacked, despite Man City sitting in sixth place and losing, amazingly, only twice all season. It would come as no surprise then that Hughes, after guiding Fulham to a mightily respectable eighth position and European qualification, leaves for the promise of a team who have the ability to match his lofty ambitions.
It is this ambition though, as unlikely as it may be, which could push Mark Hughes to share Steve McLaren’s vision of an education outside of the Premier League. Having played in both Spain and Germany with Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively, Hughes knows all too well what an education a stint in Europe could be.
The lack of British managers on the continent over the past twenty years probably says more about the strength and depth of the English league system than it does about the lack of young, British managers with the ability to handle life outside of the Premier League bubble. But, alas, it looks like the obvious move for Hughes now would be, coincidentally or otherwise, the vacant post at Aston Villa or maybe even a reported dual role with Huddink at Chelsea. However, if Hughes should turn his attentions towards the Continent there could be a dearth of opportunities awaiting him. Juventus and Roma are just two clubs who are currently without a manager. If Hughes truly desires a managerial life at the top then maybe these Italian giants would prove an irresistible, if not unlikely, challenge.
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Mark Hughes is Welsh