ความคิดเห็นที่ 13
Hughes and Ronaldinho, perfect for City?
Premier League Manchester City
Should Manchester City have appointed a red legend as manager and should they be pursuing, Ronaldinho, a player named "World Footballer of the Year" as recently as 2005, but accused of partying too much and not caring about football anymore?
Well my answer to both those questions is an emphatic YES.
City acted positively and swiftly in their appointment of Mark Hughes - I was impressed - but he's bound to get criticism from some sections of the fans, for his history with Manchester United.
That doesn't bother me, although I can't deny there is a fear at the back of my mind that when Alex Ferguson leaves Old Trafford, especially if he's successful at Eastlands, Hughes will move accross town.
That aside, I'm full of optimism, and he certainly did his best to prevent such speculation by stating that, "If I'm successful here, I don't need any stepping stones. It's all set up here. If we can get this place going, moving in the right direction, being at the top end of the Premier League and competing for places in Europe, then I don't need any more stepping stones."
Hughes is regarded as a strong character, who won't be a "lap-dog" to owner Thaksin Shinawatra, and his track record so far suggests he and his backroom staff are anything but "yes men".
So the next question is why would he, therefore, go along with Shinawatra's aim of signing Ronaldinho, who's had more bad press than Gordon Brown in recent months.
He'll go along with it because Ronaldinho is a uniquely gifted and brilliant footballer. And Hughes buys into the concept of how City's new regime is determined to transform their image. City are what Espanyol are to Barcelona or 1860 Munich are to Bayern Munich.
If you believe what you read, Ronaldinho is a washed-up has-been, who no-one else wants. A temperamental, injury-prone, partying egoist who'll never again recreate the wonderful football of his past. And anyway, why would such a big-name player settle for Manchester City - without a trophy since 1976 - when he could go somewhere else sunnier and more successful?
I don't believe the negative press about Ronaldinho - but I'm glad there are those who do believe it. Maybe that's why City can steal a march on their rivals and pull off the signing of the summer. Loathed as I am to admit it, City are not the most attactive destination (on paper) for any top player to go to, but how else can the club return to the top of the tree, both on and off the pitch?
Ronaldinho's arrival at Eastlands would make everyone in Europe sit up and take notice, perhaps for the first time since City won the Cup Winners Cup in 1970.
I don't deny that there are potential pitfalls. How do you manage the media circus around such a sporting icon - is there a danger the player overshadows the club, or doesn't play well, or causes jealousy among his teammates about high wages/profile?
That's where having a strong manager comes in. I believe Mark Hughes is better suited to managing those problems than Sven Goran Eriksson would have been. I think Hughes would build a harding working team around a creative genius like Ronaldinho.
Even if Ronaldinho joined City and failed to live up to his reputation - and he's bound to be a bit of a disappointment because he'd be expected to win games single-handedly - he'd have reignited City's prominence on the world stage. It could be that what follows Ronaldinho would be the most special of all.
I must say though, I believe that Ronny would prove his critics wrong and take the Premier League by storm.
I'd love City to sign Ronaldinho and the club's new Executive Chairman, Garry Cook, has the right drive and perhaps most importantly, connections, to set up the complicated deal that would bring the great Brazilian to the City of Manchester Stadium. I wish him well and will be first in the queue to buy his merchandise.
My 12 year old son, who has often had to be talked into attending matches at Eastlands, during his brief life as a spectator, will now be begging me to go, after enjoying many sunday evenings next to me on the sofa watching his mesmorising performances for Barcelona (apart from the second half of last season).
And he'll be able to say to his taunting United pals at school - who've made supporting City only for the brave at heart, "....yes, but we've got Ronaldinho". That makes my point perfectly.
Ian Cheeseman
Manchester City reporter
BBC Radio Manchester
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A37073883?s_fromedit=1&s_type=15&s_sport=football
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7 ก.ค. 51 19:24:44
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