Ex-Bradford City boss talks ‘funny’ sacking.

VaselineJune 24, 2024

0 2 minutes read

After a run of seven wins and the club in 18th place, Bradford City have decided to ax Mark Hughes from his duties after 20 months in charge.

Defeats to Tranmere Rovers and Walsall sealed the former Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers manager’s fate, just five months on from an agonizing play-off semi-final defeat away to Carlisle United.

The club continued with Graham Alexander, fresh from his own move from MK Dons, and despite a mixed start, he propelled the club to a new League Two position as well as an EFL Trophy semi-final.

Hughes has not been involved in management since his sacking from Valley Parade. In an interview with The Sun, the 60-year-old spoke about the decision in October 2023. He said: “It was ridiculous to get rid of me to be honest.

“I was fired after back-to-back defeats, but I wasn’t on a terrible run, I would suggest.

“In the past, when we’ve lost back-to-backs, it was about six months before and I was convinced I could still have taken them because of the players we had.”

A former Premier League winner with Manchester United, ‘Sparky’ had not been in charge since leaving Southampton in December 2018 before taking over from Glyn Hodges at the Bantams following Derek Adams’ tenure in 2022.

with a 42% win rate during his time at the club, Hughes secured City’s highest finish since returning to League Two with a 6th place finish in 2022/23, but remained short at Brunton Park, with the decision to substitute Scott Banks for defender Matty Platt drawing much ire from the fans.

In what turned out to be his final season in Yorkshire, the club picked up 13 points from 11 games before the Welshman’s sacking, with three wins against Colchester United, Crewe Alexandra and Newport County.

When asked what drew him back to the game after a four-year hiatus, Hughes added: “I took the job at Bradford to see if I still had that enthusiasm and found out I did within a week of going there.

“I still have it now – I feel fit and refreshed.”

The writer’s vision

Football is a results-driven business and with Bradford City now in their fifth season in the fourth tier, results have had to change to try and achieve what has become an increasingly difficult task for the Bantams in promotion. While it may seem difficult to remove Mark Hughes after what has been an average start to the season, promotion chances were already dwindling, so a decision was made.

Hughes proved he was still a solid managerial choice with City, but for such a caliber and reputation, his tactics were very disappointing. Perhaps best exemplified by his substitution of Scott Banks in the semi-final, instead of attacking and finding a winner in extra time, he decided to close down and go to penalties, which cost him six minutes later, Ben Barclay scored to make it. 3-2 for the Cumbrians.

Hughes spoke to The Sun after former Port Vale boss Rob Page was sacked as Wales manager. He would certainly be a good choice for his national team after holding the position for five years in the final years of his playing career and beyond. But the lack of results since his return should raise some questions about whether he wants to return the Dragons to the heights they saw under former Sunderland boss Chris Coleman.

VaselineJune 24, 2024

0 2 minutes read

Vaseline

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