Building is all very well but City want glory and glamour soon

Premier League / Ralph Ellis / 11 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

Mark Hughes has been given the dreaded vote of confidence but, as he flies to Abu Dhabi for talks with the club's owners, the Manchester City boss will be aware of the need for success soon.

There are a lot of things you want if you are a football manager - a vote of confidence isn't one of them. It normally comes about ten days before you collect your P45.

So the signs aren't good this morning for Manchester City boss Mark Hughes. When he walked into Eastlands in the summer he thought he'd left Blackburn for his dream job, but he's quickly finding out that nothing is ever quite as simple as it seems.

First he was looking forward to spending Thaksin Shinawatra's cash. Then when it turned out the former Thai Prime Minister didn't have any, in came new money - and lots of it - from Abu Dhabi. There was the dramatic deadline day coup of stealing Robinho from under Chelsea's noses. And all was set for a challenge to get in the Champions League places.

Instead City are stuck in the group of clubs on 13 points, and today it appears that Jo, the Brazilian who was Hughes' first big signing after taking over, has been disciplined for going out drinking when he should have been getting ready for a game. The Daily Mail has broken the story, revealing that the £19million youngster has been fined and given a lecture by his manager after he went out into the early hours when he was supposed to be recovering from a bout of tonsillitis. It happened before the game with Bolton on the 2nd November and it resulted in him being dropped for this weekend's match at home to Spurs.

It's not a good sign for Hughes on a day when he's flying to the Middle East for a planned meeting with his owner Sheikh Mansour - despite all the reassurances from his chairman. "We on the board have the highest regard for Mark," says Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the City chairman. "This is a winning team that is going through a learning curve."

Hughes also seems to be on a learning curve, trying to marry together the mercurial talents of the club's expensive stars with the more mundane men around him. And he doesn't seem to be learning very quickly. And while the board might be patient now you wonder how many more defeats they will tolerate, whatever the excuses about poor refereeing decisions. They have thrown millions into Eastlands to feel the glow of being winners and to taste the glamour of the Champions League - not to spend too much time talking earnestly about building and steady progress.

City have a trip to Hull this weekend - but then face Arsenal and Manchester United before the end of the month and that suggests it could get worse before it gets better. Yet incredibly they are as long as [20.0] to be bottom of the table at the end of November - and as short as [2.94] to end the season in the top six. That sounds like one long shot to have a punt on - and another that's a definite to lay.

Five things you might not know about Jo

1. Born in Sao Paulo in March 1987, his full name is Joao Alves de Assis Silva

2. He was only 16 when he made his debut for Corinthians in Brazil

3. Despite scoring only 13 goals in 85 games for them he was signed up by Kia Joorachbian and sold to CSKA Moscow - where he hit 14 in his first 18

4. He fell out with Brazil coach Dunga in a training ground row after just one appearance for the national team - but has since won two more caps

5. His hero is Ronaldo - not Cristiano but the Ronaldo, the Brazilian record World Cup goalscorer