Mark Hughes had made mistakes, of that there is no doubt. But I felt to sack the Welshman just 18 months into his tenure was hasty. Manchester City's owners had begun to get twitchy over the past few weeks, with the club's 1-1 home draw with Hull City on November 28 setting alarm bells ringing. Despite being just six points off the Champions League places in sixth position, a run of draws and last Wednesday's comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Tottenham proved unacceptable to the owners.