Sporting Life
MANCINI REPLACES HUGHES AT EASTLANDS
By Simon Stone, Press Association Sport Chief Football WriterMark Hughes has been sacked as Manchester City manager, paying the price for a run of two wins in 11 games.
Roberto Mancini has already been installed as Hughes' replacement, with Brian Kidd as his number two, in a move which confirmed speculation that a decision had already been taken before Saturday's 4-3 win over Sunderland.
Wednesday's three-goal hammering at Tottenham convinced owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak that Hughes could not steer City into the top four, as had been expected following a summer outlay of £120million.
"A return of two wins in 11 Premier League games is clearly not in line with the targets that were agreed and set," said Khaldoon, in a statement.
"Sheikh Mansour and the board felt there was no evidence that the situation would fundamentally change."
It seems a bizarre statement, given City's victory on Saturday sees them move up to sixth in the Premier League, with games in hand over most of the teams above them.
Yet, after delivering his own assessment of the situation at City last May, when he stated sixth place would be an adequate return this term, it seems Khaldoon moved the goalposts once he knew just how much Hughes wanted for a vast rebuilding programme, which included revamping the club's Carrington training complex.
"Prior to the current season beginning, with significant investment in players and infrastructure in place, the consensus between the board and coaching staff was that appropriate agreed targets should be set," said Khaldoon.
"The targets were agreed as a result of the player acquisition strategy of the club being radically accelerated in the summer as a result of very favourable conditions for any buying club.
"It was also based on the fact that the infrastructure of the club had been overhauled completely at great cost in order to create the best possible environment for the team."
Hughes was responsible for the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure from Arsenal for a combined fee of £40million last summer - but neither have consistently impressed.
Toure and goalkeeper Shay Given were called out of the City dressing room immediately after Saturday evening's game and were told of Hughes fate and asked to inform the remainder of the dressing room.
There is bound to be a sense of sadness, especially from people such as Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez, who stated his desire for City's owners to remain patient with Hughes.
However, with chief executive Garry Cook and influential football administrator Brian Marwood not sharing Hughes' vision of the future either, the Tottenham debacle sealed the Welshman's fate.
There was an argument Khaldoon should wait until after the Christmas fixtures against Stoke and Wolves, and even an FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough and a League Cup semi-final, the first time City have reached the last four of any domestic competition in almost 29 years, against Manchester United at the beginning of next month.
However, with another transfer window about to open, Khaldoon took the view it was better to act now.
In Mancini, he is bringing in a 45-year-old who guided Inter Milan to three successive Serie A titles from 2006 before being sacked in 2008 after failing to make any impact in Europe.
By installing Kidd as his number two, Mancini ensures he has the knowledge of the English game he currently lacks alongside him in the dugout.
"Roberto is a hugely experienced manager with a proven track record of winning trophies and championships," said Khaldoon. "His experience and track record speak for themselves.
"What is absolutely clear is that Roberto believes in Manchester City's potential to achieve at the highest level and importantly in his own ability to make this happen.
"My hope is that our incredible fans will join us in welcoming Roberto to the football club."
Mancini's first game in charge will be against Stoke on Boxing Day, with his official lined up for Monday.
Roberto Mancini factfile
1964: Born on November 27, Jesi, Italy.
1981: Makes debut for Bologna as 17-year-old and goes on to score nine goals in 30 matches in 1981/82 season.
1982: Signs for Sampdoria and begins 15-year love affair with the club. Scores four goals in 22 matches in his first season.
1985: Helps Samp to Coppa Italia triumph.
1988: Wins second Coppa Italia.
1989: Wins third Coppa Italia.
1989/90: Reaches double figures for first time in his career, scoring 11 goals in 31 games, but is on the losing side as Barcelona beat Samp 2-0 in European Cup Winners' Cup final in Gothenburg.
1991: Sampdoria win Scudetto for first time in club's history, with Mancini hitting 12 goals and forging impressive partnership with 19-goal striker Gianluca Vialli.
1992: Suffers disappointment as Samp lose 1-0 to Barcelona at Wembley in European Cup final.
1994: Wins fourth Coppa Italia with Samp.
1996/97: Scores 15 goals in 33 Serie A games, equalling his best haul, before signing for Lazio.
1998: Helps Lazio win Coppa Italia.
1999: Wins second European title of his career as Lazio defeat Real Mallorca 2-1 in Birmingham, England.
1999/2000: Fails to score in 20 matches as Lazio win Scudetto and Coppa Italia and announces playing retirement after career which saw him represent Italy 36 times. Joins Lazio's coaching staff as Sven-Goran Eriksson's number two.
2001: January - Eriksson resigns and Mancini follows against wishes of Lazio president Sergio Cragnotti. Decides to make playing comeback with Leicester City in English Premiership and makes five appearances.
March 7 - Italian Football Federation president Gianni Petrucci allows Mancini to become Fiorentina coach despite not being in position of Serie A coaching badge.
June 13 - Earns first coaching honour as Fiorentina beat Parma 2-1 over two legs of Coppa Italia final.
2002: January 11 - Resigns with Fiorentina second-bottom of Serie A.
May 9 - Appointed Lazio coach.
2003: June - Lazio finish fourth in Serie A and qualify for the Champions League, despite severe financial difficulties which cast a shadow over the club's fine form on the pitch.
2004: May - Wins Coppa Italia, defeating Juventus 4-2 on aggregate over two legs.
July 7 - Takes over as coach of Inter Milan.
2004/2005: Leads Inter to Coppa Italia and Italian Supercup glory.
2005/2006: Again leads Inter to Coppa Italia and Italian Supercup success. Inter also awarded Scudetto after Juventus and AC Milan are stripped of points due to match-fixing scandal.
2006/2007 - Guides Inter to successful defence of Serie A title.
2008: March 11 - Announces he plans to leave Inter at end of season at post-match press conference following his side's Champions League exit at hands of Liverpool.
March 12 - Reverses his decision to leave Inter.
May 18 - Guides Inter to third consecutive Scudetto with 2-0 win over Parma.
May 24 - Mancini's Inter go down 2-1 to Roma in Coppa Italia final.
May 27 - Mancini holds meeting with president Massimo Moratti after which his agent Giorgio de Giorgis claims club and coach have parted ways.
May 29 - Sacked as Inter coach.
September 9 - Named Serie A's top coach for the previous season, despite being sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho at the San Siro.
2009: February 9 - Not considered to be a candidate to replace Luiz Felipe Scolari at Chelsea, according to his agent Giorgio De Giorgis.
May 31 - Mancini's agent says the Italian has not been approached by Sunderland.
July 4 - Mancini admits he is attracted by the Barclays Premier League.
September 28 - Mancini says he is prepared to bide his time as he is linked with League Two side Notts County.
December 19 - Manchester City confirm the departure of Mark Hughes, with Mancini immediately installed as his successor.
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