From The Guardian...
Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, has responded to criticisms from Match of the Day's pundits, and in particular Alan Hansen, by condemning their habit of trying to "nail" players and accusing them of making damning judgments without having viewed a full match.
Hansen had described Wayne Bridge's performance in Saturday's 3-3 draw with Burnley as "minus six", going on to say that he "felt sorry for him, it was that bad". Bridge's form has become a concern for the City management since his £12m move from Chelsea in January but Hughes was disappointed by the disparaging nature of the comments.
"The pundits on Match of the Day just have an opportunity to nail individuals in the public domain," he said. "That process involves looking at incidents in games but not taking it as a whole. That's the role in life that they have decided to follow. There's a frustration, though, from our side when they don't go into particularly in-depth analysis. I'd question how many games they actually watch live, from the start to the conclusion of games. Everybody knows that's the case."
Hansen had brought Joleon Lescott into his critique, saying: "Down the left-hand side, you just couldn't believe what was going on. When you talk defensively about organisation and communication problems, playing off one another and as a team, the marks out of 10 are minus six. From top-class players I just could not believe it. Schoolboy defending. For the third goal ... my God, what is going on here? I just feel sorry for him [Bridge]. You tend to be critical but you just feel sorry for him."
Bridge was culpable of not tracking back before the penalty that led to Burnley's first goal and, again, when they doubled their lead. Having fought back to lead 3-2, City then conceded a late equaliser after the ball bounced off the back of his head into the path of Burnley's David Nugent, whose cross was headed down by Steven Fletcher for Kevin McDonald to score.
"Wayne is an experienced player who has won Premier League titles and been part of a Chelsea team at the top end," Hughes, right, said. "He understands what it's all about. At times individuals will make decisions that affect the team and sometimes you have to hold up your hand.But we're not going to do the same as the pundits because that's not what we're about. We look to analyse our mistakes and make sure, in future, we are better in similar situations. We won't single out individual players; that job is done by pundits."
As one of City's players on international duty, Bridge was among the absentees when Hughes and his players flew into Abu Dhabi tonight for a training week that will incorporate a game on Thursday against the United Arab Emirates national team. Craig Bellamy, however, was able to join the squad – controversially, given that he has withdrawn from the Wales squad for Saturday's friendly against Scotland in Cardiff. Bellamy has cited a groin problem but the Wales captain has also spoken recently of not being involved in friendly games because of his injury history, in a similar way to how Ryan Giggs operated before his international retirement.
"As time goes on, there could be that situation," Hughes said. "Craig knows his body better than anybody else and when he feels he needs a break or senses he could have an issue if he continues training or playing he will pull himself out. I think that 's how it will be in the future and it will be better for him and them [Wales]because it will enable him to ensure his career runs its course and is as long as it can be. We have to protect him because it is a long season and we want to get the best out of him."
Robinho, rehabilitating from a stress fracture to the ankle, is in the travelling party but will fly to Doha on Wednesday to be examined by Brazil's medical staff before Saturday's game against England. "He 's not fit to play," Hughes said. "He has had one warm-up with the first team on Friday and that 's all he has done in two months. To throw him into an international game would be crazy, but we will go through the protocol and make sure he is there [with Brazil] when he needs to be. Following that, I'd like to think he'd come straight back."
The mancityfans.net football forum
The BEST FORUM in all the land and all the world
