Mark Beats Robinho to the Exit

Just not by choice. Mark Hughes was sacked about an hour and a half after City's 4-3 win at the weekend.

For many, the proverbial writing was on the wall for weeks. The frustrating run of draws were not the most flattering to Hughes' managerial skills, and, it could be argued, the 78 million pounds in new additions have not lived up to their potential under his stewardship. But then there's the mitigating fact that taking a mediocre, mid-table side and trying to vault them into the top four in 6 months is neither probable nor even possible, no matter how much money you try to throw at that side. The ethos of an elite side does not necessarily come with elite league players.

In their press release, City bosses cited lack of progress as a reason for the firing, but, according to Hughes, the agreed target was 6th place and 70 points at season's end. And he left them in....6th place, on pace for 65 points, having only lost two league games this season (the fewest in the Premier League). Year on year, City is up 11 points, the greatest improvement amongst all top flight teams, save Tottenham.

Essentially, Hughes was fired for drawing too many games, which doesn't make the most sense, but patience has never really been a virtue of Premier League owners.

As for his replacement, Mancini's time at Fiorentina and Lazio were successful, yes, but he went in with very little expectation, so impressing was not necessarily the most difficult under those circumstances. Moreover, his first Scudetto winning Inter side had the good fortune of receiving the title after Juve had been stripped of it and relegated to Serie B, as a result of the Calciopoli scandal.

Indeed, Mancini was sacked for not being able to replicate Inter's domestic success on the European level. In this context, his optimistic domestic goals (he claimed he would lead City to a top four finish this year and a league title in the near future) are understandable. Obvi if he doesn't win at that level, and there's no guarantee that he will against Continental opposition...then there's no guarantee of a job.