Friday, 3 June 2011

Sparky Could be Right for Stamford Bridge


Mark Hughes may be in line for a return to Stamford Bridge where he played after departing Manchester United, for the second time in June 1995, if John Terry's comments on Friday can be taken as a hint.

It was at Chelsea where Hughes, known as "Sparky", forged a partnership with Gianfranco Zola and during his three years at the club won the Football League Cup in 1998, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup the same year, and added a fourth FA Cup medal in 1997. At the end of the third season Hughes was transferred to Southampton .for £650,000.

Ahead of England's EURO 2012  qualifier against Switzerland on Saturday, Chelsea defender said;

"There's a lot of speculation out there at the moment.

"I was very sad to see Carlo go, and as a group of players we will wait for the club to make a decision. There are a lot of managers being linked at the moment.

Speaking about Mark Hughes, Terry added: "He's someone that hopefully the club will be talking to. If it's him he will be welcomed by the players.

"But we had a great time under Guus too, he would be welcomed back."

"Whether we are going to get someone who knows the club or someone different, that's out of the players hands."

Mark Hughes Managerial record
Wales (1999–2004)
Appointed on a temporary basis alongside Neville Southall to replace Bobby Gould, soon made the job his own as Wales punched above their weight. They almost qualified for Euro 2004, beating Italy in qualifying group but losing to Russia in a play-off.

Blackburn Rovers (2004–2008)
Steered Blackburn away from relegation in his first season and to a first FA Cup semi-final in over 40 years and clinched a top-six place and Uefa Cup qualification the following term. They finished 10th and seventh in subsequent years, but came bottom of the Premier League disciplinary table in all four of Hughes’ seasons in charge.

Manchester City (2008–2009)
Replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson during the turbulent ownership of Thaksin Shinawatra, but found the bar raised considerably with the takeover of the Abu Dhabi United investment group.

City finished 10th during Hughes’s first season in charge, and although he recruited such high-profile names as Robinho, Gareth Barry, Wayne Bridge, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, his failure to forge his side into genuine top-four contenders led to him being replaced by Roberto Mancini.

Fulham (2010–2011)
Had a difficult act to follow in Roy Hodgson, who had taken Fulham to the Europa League final, but overcame a spate of player injuries to guide the London side to eighth in the Premier League and back into the Europa League via Fair Play qualification.

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