Well the inevitable has happened and Thaksin Shinawatra has finally put an end to Sven-Goran Eriksson’s extended execution. This has not only come as bad news for Man City fans who were big admires of Sven-Goran Eriksson but for Blackburn Rovers fans after it was announced that the Rovers board have given permission to Mark Hughes to discuss a possible move away from Ewood Park.

This must be a slight comfort to those Manchester City blue moon fans because it doesn’t take a genius to see that Mark Hughes is a decent manager, but whether he is any better than Eriksson is a debatable point.

It’s no secret that Hughes had been thinking about a move away from Ewood Park having been linked with the Newcastle and Chelsea jobs previously but perhaps decided to stay with Blackburn until he felt the right job came along. That job has seemingly arrived because no sooner is Eriksson out the door than Hughes is picking out wallpaper to redesign the former England managers office.

The Blackburn board have reluctantly given the Welshman permission to talk to Man City and no wonder it has been with a heavy heart after the wonders Mark Hughes has worked at Blackburn.

In these super club days, when sides could purchase a small country if they wished, Hughes has done brilliantly to keep Rovers in touch with the big four through a string of superb transfers and shrewd tactics. For example Roque Santa Cruz cost £3.8m from Bayern Munich last summer, a snip considering how much he has contributed this season with 23 goals in all competitions, now if only Chelsea could get that kind of return from Andriy Shevchenko. The same happened the season before with Benni McCarthy proving that Mark Hughes has got an eye for potential and the ability to squeeze the best out of his side.

It’s obvious why Man City have chosen Hughes, the only question which remains is whether Mark Hughes will choose City. For those looking in from the outside like ourselves it’s clear that Mr Shinawatra wants instant success for the club and at the moment has the money to pay for it. But that is a lot of pressure to place upon a new manager which could have detrimental effects on the gaffer and the squad. It’s also clear that Manchester City has some of the players required to bring success to Eastlands but towards the end of last season they certainly seemed to lack the motivation required to push them towards a European spot.

Despite achieving European football, albeit through the fair play league, Sven was shown the door so Mark Hughes would have to win a major trophy, something Man City haven’t done since their 1976 League Cup triumph. To win something would probably take a lot of investment which Shinawatra is capable of but a trophy winning squads doesn’t grow on trees and it could well take a full season for Hughes to build a squad capable of challenging for those major honours.

If you fancy a flutter, my bet is that Mark Hughes will take over at Man City.