This, surely, is a form of betrayal. Everybody knew that it would take a multi-million pound team assembled of egos from all over the globe a while to gel. Yet while the team looks the most likely in the long run to take fourth place permanently, if not this season then the next, the impossibly tight deadlines of immediate results have seen the end of Mark Hughes' career at Manchester City.



Despite a semi-final in the Carling Cup (one which City look likely to win over their weakened arch-nemeses Man Utd), the owners have no foresight and have seen fit to ditch one of the most impressive man-managers the League has seen. Who else could pool together Robinho, Tevez and Craig Bellamy and get instant results? Despite an exciting 4-3 win over Sunderland and some beautifully flowing play from City, only hours after a lingering wave to the home fans the "in the dark" Hughes heard the news. A 3-0 defeat away to rivals Spurs made 6th place at Christmas (and two points ahead of Liverpool) not enough.

Roberto Mancini takes over, and I can't see anyone but Manchester City fans wishing him any luck in doing a "better" job than Hughes...