Flashback 8 Years Today - Mark Hughes Resigns From Fulham

Have to be honest and admit he's done far better than I thought he would

would be a bugger if no one offered him a job

Surely Hiddink is nailed on for that.

Villa dont want Hughes , so maybe Hughes goes for Chelsea.


Villa DON'T want Mark Hughes


Aston Villa do NOT consider Mark Hughes a candidate to be their new manager, according to reports.

The shock twist comes just hours after Hughes told Fulham he was leaving after only one season in charge.

Hughes had been the favourite to replace Gerard Houllier, who left Villa yesterday by mutual consent following health problems.

More to follow...



Read more: www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Aston-Villa-Fulham-news-Villa-not-considering-Mark-Hughes-as-potential-new-manager-according-to-reports-article743834.html#ixzz1O9ZHvOBn
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Thought he did tremendous...which surprised me as I don't like the man and had him marked down as a perennial loser.

What nationality is Hughes ? so!!

May end up with nobody !




Hughes 'had agreed new Fulham contract'


Mark Hughes resigned as Fulham manager despite having agreed terms on a new contract with the club, Press Association Sport understands.

Hughes' decision to activate a break clause in the two-year deal he signed with Fulham last summer will fuel speculation of a move to managerless Aston Villa.

According to a source close to the club, owner Mohamed Al Fayed believed Hughes was positioning himself for a move while negotiating and finalising the terms of a new deal with Fulham.

Al Fayed is said to have grown "increasingly annoyed" with Hughes and did not oppose his request to leave at the end of June, having served a month's notice.

But Hughes, in announcing his decision to leave Craven Cottage after one season at the helm, insisted he had not been in talks with any other club.

"I hope the supporters and all those connected with the club will understand I wish to move on to further my experiences," said Hughes.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to clarify that neither myself nor my representative have approached or have been approached by another club.

"This decision to leave Fulham has not been influenced by any outside party."

Hughes, 47, is the bookmakers' favourite to replace Gerard Houllier at Villa Park, although the Midlands club are believed to be interested in former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Villa are also keen to make an appointment this month. If they want Hughes, they may have to wait.

The Welshman's notice at Craven Cottage expires on June 30, the same day Fulham are scheduled to play the first Europa League qualifying round.

Fulham have confirmed that, even if a new manager has not been appointed by the end of the month, Hughes will not take charge of that game.

Hughes' decision leaves Fulham searching for a new manager for the second consecutive summer, after losing Roy Hodgson to Liverpool last year.

Leading candidates for the hot-seat could include former Tottenham manager Martin Jol, ex-England boss Steve McLaren or Martin O'Neill, Houllier's predecessor at Villa.

Hughes did well in his season with Fulham, guiding the club to an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League and earning them a return to Europe via the Fair Play League.

He also built on a reputation initially forged at Blackburn and then Manchester City, where many felt he was unlucky to lose his job.

"I would like to thank the chairman, directors, players and fans of Fulham Football Club for their support over the last 12 months and wish them every success in the future," said Hughes.

"I believe my management team and I have done a good job and the club has a strong foundation from which they can go forward.

"I have especially enjoyed our excellent relationship with the chairman and chief executive (Alastair Mackintosh).

"I sincerely wish Fulham a successful campaign in the Europa League next season and for their continued progress on and off the field."



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One year Ago Today.....




GUARDIAN/Jamie Jackson
Mark Hughes resigns as Fulham manager

• Hughes denies receiving approach from any other club
• Departure increases speculation on Aston Villa vacancy

Mark Hughes has resigned as the Fulham manager and, despite the Welshman claiming he had received no approach from any other club, speculation will now heighten that he will replace Gérard Houllier as Aston Villa manager.

Hughes said: "I would like to take this opportunity to clarify that neither myself nor my representative have approached or have been approached by another club. This decision to leave Fulham has not been influenced by any outside party.

"I would like to thank the chairman, directors, players and fans of Fulham football club for their support over the last 12 months and wish them every success for the future. I have especially enjoyed an excellent relationship with the chairman and chief executive [and] I believe my management team and I have done a good job and the club has a strong foundation from which they can go forward.

"I hope the supporters and all those connected to the club will understand that as a young, ambitious manager I wish to move on to further my experiences.

"I sincerely wish Fulham a successful campaign in the Europa League next season and for their continued progress on and off the field."

Hughes had been in charge one year and was able to walk away due to a break clause in his two-season contract.

Fulham said in a statement: "Fulham Football Club can confirm that Mark Hughes has provided notice, under the terms of his contract, to leave the club at the end of June. After discussions with Mark the club has agreed to accept this notice."

Hughes, who has also managed Wales, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City, took over from Roy Hodgson at Fulham. He led the club to eighth place in the Premier League and secured a berth in Europe via the Fair Play League.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jun/02/mark-hughes-resigns-fulham


GUARDIAN

Mark Hughes leaves Fulham but Aston Villa do not want him as manager

• Hughes activates break clause to leave Craven Cottage
• Aston Villa unimpressed by course of events

Stuart James, Jamie Jackson and David Hytner
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 June 2011 18.00 EDT

Mark Hughes will not be the new Aston Villa manager and has been left without a club after walking out on Fulham on Thursday night. The Welshman had been the favourite to succeed Gérard Houllier but Villa, unimpressed with the course of events that culminated in Hughes activating a break clause in his contract and leaving Fulham, have turned their attention elsewhere. Martin Jol and Steve McClaren are at the top of Villa's shortlist.

In a further twist Jol and McClaren, who are out of work and eager to return to employment in the Premier League, will also be leading candidates to take over at Craven Cottage, where Hughes had been expected to sign an improved two-year contract. Martin O'Neill, a former Villa manager, will be another major contender for that post.

Mohamed Al Fayed, the Fulham chairman, was furious after Hughes activated the break clause and tendered his resignation. A Fulham spokesperson said: "The chairman became increasingly annoyed by Mark positioning himself for another club, whilst still negotiating with us, and having agreed terms."

Fayed was, however, ready to extend Hughes's deal. One view from sources at the club is that contract talks with Hughes fell apart when Fulham felt unable to match the fees demanded by his representative, Kia Joorabchian.

Villa's reluctance to move for Hughes comes as something of a surprise. He has been the frontrunner for the Villa post since it emerged this week that Houllier would be stepping down on health grounds. Villa, however, told Fulham that they would not be making an approach for Hughes in the hours before his decision to leave.

The Midlands club have since made it clear that their stance has not changed after Hughes's departure from Fulham. It is understood they would have grave reservations about appointing the former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City manager because of how his departure from Fulham has been handled.

Hughes, who is on holiday in Dubai, said in a statement: "I would like to take this opportunity to clarify that neither myself nor my representative have approached or have been approached by another club. This decision to leave Fulham has not been influenced by any outside party."

When Villa parted company with Houllier on Wednesday evening, Fulham believed that Hughes would stay loyal to them, as Fayed had done with him on Boxing Day, when the Craven Cottage crowd had called for Hughes's sacking after a 3-1 home defeat by West Ham United that dropped the club into the relegation zone. Hughes's new contract had even gone to the lawyers, with the terms and conditions agreed, in readiness for his signature.

Yet in the hours that followed Villa's announcement of Houllier's departure, Hughes went cold on Fulham – and nobody at the London club considered the two events to be unrelated. What Fulham could not understand, however, was that Paul Faulkner, the Villa chief executive, had made it clear to Alistair Mackintosh, his counterpart at Craven Cottage, with whom he gets on well, that Villa did not want Hughes. The Welshman, who describes himself as an ambitious young manager, may have taken a leap of faith as there was a deadline of midnight on Wednesday on the activation of his break clause. The clause permits him to walk away from the club as a free agent at the end of June. Premier League rules prevent him or his representative from contacting or being contacted by other clubs until after that.

His back-room entourage, which includes Mark Bowen, Eddie Niedzwiecki, Glyn Hodges and Kevin Hitchcock, remain under contract at Fulham for another year, with no break clauses in their deals.

Fulham accepted Hughes's resignation and their impression was that he thought he would get the Villa job, despite the assurances they had received from Faulkner that he would not. Fayed is clear that there is no way back for Hughes at the club. "Roy Hodgson appreciated the club after he had left and [Fayed] believes Mark will do the same," a spokesperson said.

Villa say they have an open mind about filling their vacancy. Speculation that Carlo Ancelotti is among their leading candidates is wide of the mark, however. The former Chelsea manager has not received any contact from Villa and he is known to have no interest in the position. Ancelotti, according to sources close to the Italian, is holding out for a club that can offer Champions League football. Roberto Martínez, the Wigan Athletic manager, has, however, emerged as an outsider for the Villa post.

O'Neill, who has been out of work since leaving Villa last August, is the bookmakers' favourite for the Fulham jobAs well as Jol and McClaren, other names likely to feature on Fulham's shortlist may include Gianfranco Zola, the former West Ham manager, and Chris Hughton, who led Newcastle United back to the Premier League at the first attempt before being sacked in December. Jol had been Fulham's No1 target last summer, ahead of Hughes, and he had wanted to come. He was blocked by his then club, Ajax.

www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jun/02/mark-hughes-fulham-aston-villa

TELEGRAPH

Mark Hughes may have quit Craven Cottage because he feels Fulham do not match his own lofty ambition

For Fulham, it was simply a resignation statement. Yet for the wider footballing world, it was an extraordinarily bold statement of intent.


By Jeremy Wilson

6:30AM BST 03 Jun 2011

Mark Hughes’s observation last night that he wanted to “further my experiences” was a sentence that oozed ambition and self-confidence.

He was, after all, turning his back on a club who are becoming established in the top half of the Premier League and are preparing for a second assault on Europe in three years.

There are few better opportunities out there and that is why so many will struggle to believe the strenuous denials from all sides last night of a potential deal with Aston Villa.

It was no secret that, having agreed to join Fulham, he was among the contenders for the Villa job last summer and there was a sense in football that he may have jumped too quickly at the opportunity that presented itself at Craven Cottage.

From Hughes’s point of view, the decision of Fulham to then give him a one-year contract with the option on both sides of another season hardly represented a resounding vote of confidence. When the team flirted with the relegation zone during the first half of the season, there was a sense that Fulham were more likely to exercise the ‘break’ clause than Hughes.

So when Hughes did then get his key players back — particularly Bobby Zamora — and then oversaw a climb back up the table, he would perhaps have felt that the club were only prepared to show their faith in the good times.

Bayern Munich were among the clubs to check on his contract situation over recent months and it is understood that he became frustrated by the progress of contract talks with Fulham. He also wanted a clear idea of whether sufficient funds really would be forthcoming to invest and improve the squad.

Questions were certainly being asked last night by the club’s supporters at just how they could lose a good manager without compensation. Yet there was also considerable anger directed towards Hughes and a sense that he had simply used the club as a stepping stone.

Fulham believe that it was not realistic for them to have instigated fresh contract talks when the club were fighting relegation and say that it was entirely appropriate for them to wait until the near end of the season before beginning negotiations.

They can argue that they showed faith in Hughes. Whereas he has certainly taken a major risk. If he really is not the first-choice of Aston Villa then there are few guarantees that other major clubs will share his apparent high view of himself.

Hughes was certainly hugely successful both with Wales and Blackburn Rovers. In five years as an international manager, he took them to the brink of qualifying for a major international tournament for the first time since 1958.

He then stabilised Blackburn at a time when they looked destined for relegation and guided them to three cup semi-finals and a finish of seventh. His time at Manchester City is more open to debate.

True, the manner of Hughes’s sacking was clumsy, but was the actual decision to make a managerial change really so outrageous?

Hughes, after all, had inherited a team that finished ninth in the league under Sven-Goran Eriksson. Over the space of 18 months he spent more than £200 million, yet finished 10th in 2008-09 and, at the time Roberto Mancini was offered his job, City were eighth and still closer to the bottom half of the table than the top four.

Mancini, who had previously won seven trophies in seven years with Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter Milan, has surely gone on to vindicate the change by winning the FA Cup and qualifying for the Champions League.

Yet, at a time when we hear that British coaches are not given enough opportunities at clubs with the potential to qualify for the Champions League, it is also possible to admire Hughes’s ambition.

Other talented managers have got themselves caught in a vicious cycle at clubs where there is a ceiling on what is realistically possible. Their careers have then suffered when the fortunes of that club has inevitably dipped.

By moving at the end of a successful season, Hughes may have been ahead of the curve. He is at least trying to make things happen.

But, by making such a ruthless decision, he has surely also taken the biggest gamble of his career.

www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/8553679/Mark-Hughes-may-have-quit-Craven-Cottage-because-he-feels-Fulham-do-not-match-his-own-lofty-ambition.html

Bump: Two years ago (less a couple days) Mark Hughes Leaves Fulham!

And now he's at Stoke! And we're in the mire

And as the quote from The Great Gatsby .. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made..."

Superb, Mac

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made..."

Says it all.

'Leave it to me' when they come, 'it wasn't my fault' when they go.

(And then just a year ago, + couple days: Appointed to manage Stoke
qprreport.proboards.com/thread/36130/hughes-appointed-stoke-manager-qpr?page=1