Whether Wayne Bridge would have been sufficiently up to speed to play in the Chelsea game is now immaterial as Mark Ogden reports that he’s set to be out for two weeks with a thigh injury.
With Kolarov and Lescott also missing, Roberto Mancini is down to his fourth choice left-back for a match against the free scoring champions. Hardly ideal.
oncerns about Mark Hughes:
Man management – One thing we quickly learnt last year was Hughes didn’t have the samba style to win over our Brazilian contingent. A pre-season boot camp (which was noticably less rigorously enforced this year) is his preferred method for bonding. In fairness, he does inspire loyalty from some, notably Ireland and Bellamy, and respect from others. Bellamy in particular has always played his best football under his fellow Welshman.
