Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Messi, Ronaldo, Mourinho, Guardiola...and Mark Hughes!

Well, that was a shock result was it not - 5-0 to Barca as they crushed Real Madrid at the Old Camp last night (it should be renamed the Old Camp rather than the Nou Camp as it is such an old crumbling wreck of a stadium - or at least it was when I last visited it three years ago).

I am sure Jose Mourinho will have been up most the night following the crash plotting how he can reshape his team to make it more like his bonecrushing Inter outfit of the previous season. I am not convinced by his three summer signings - di Maria can run like a greyhound but is not in the same class as Antonio Valencia, Luis Nani, Ashley Young or Florent Malouda, let alone Messi and Ronaldo. Marty Feldmen, sorry Mesut Ozil has gone backwards since the World Cup and Sami Khedira looked a journeyman holding midfielder.

But, apart from the scoreline, the biggest shock of the night - for me, anyway - was the sight of Mark Hughes on the touchline as part of the SkySport's analysis team.

In the middle of a week when he would surely have been better advised to stay in the cold of London to work on his struggling Fulham team, he is out in Spain being paid money he surely does not need for work he surely does not need.

If I were Mohamed Al Fayed or any of those Fulham players looking for inspiration as a relegation battle looms, I would be a bit peeved at the sight of the manager enjoying a nice little earner over in Spain...