City Feeling Heat Over Hughes Departure

I must admit, the way Manchester City have gone about removing Mark Hughes from his managerial post was a bit slimy.

It appears that those in control at the Eastlands have a certain agenda to fulfill. Part of this seems to be that they don't mind treating other human beings poorly.

City sit sixth in the FA Premier League, only six points behind Aston Villa for a Champions League spot with a game in-hand. There is still a lot of soccer to be played, and I fear that this manager swap may prove to do more harm than good.

Already there are reports that the players are "confused" after new manager Roberto Mancini's first speech to the team. Add that with a report that controversial striker Craig Bellamy has already had a row with Mancini after the team's first training session.

Talk about starting off on the right foot.

There are also peers of Hughes' who are speaking out on the matter.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson of intra-city rivals Manchester United has come out stating that City's behavior has been "unacceptable." Hughes was a player under Ferguson at United and helped lead the Red Devils to a double in 1994.

While this is not surprising, seeing how Hughes and Ferguson have a relationship that goes back more than 15 years, it is worth taking into consideration because of Ferguson's status within the game. He is a managerial legend and his opinion does carry significant weight: eleven Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies gives one some sense of credibility.

While the new ownership at Manchester City has allowed an influx of cash to bring in more top-end talent, City still cannot be considered an elite club because of the way they handle their business. The messy departure of Mark Hughes is just the latest example of this.

Here's a clip of Manchester City Chief Executive Garry Cook responding to the sacking of Mark Hughes at a press conference on Dec. 22: