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'City move has done the trick'
MARK HUGHES says Robinho settled into Manchester City after juggling balls in the dressing room.
The Brazilian star has been a sensation since his British record transfer switch from Real Madrid.
But Hughes revealed it needed an impromptu bit of entertainment from the £32.5million man for him to gel with his new team-mates.
The City boss said: “Before the first game he played here he was doing tricks with the ball in the dressing room and all the guys were around applauding him. So, straightaway, he won them over.”
Robinho, 24, has scored twice in three games since joining City and was the inspiration behind Sunday’s 6-0 drubbing of Portsmouth.
So far he has made a nonsense of the theory that he would not be able to perform for City having played for Real Madrid and targeted a move to Chelsea.
Hughes added: “The move happened very quickly but the key to it was that he was determined to leave Real Madrid. However, I don’t think it was simply a case of City being convenient.
“Initially, he showed signs of being apprehensive about the situation he found himself in.
“But he’s had great support from his colleagues in the Brazil team, Elano, Jo and Glauber. That has helped him to settle.
“He just loves playing. You can see that in his performances — he wants to play week in, week out.
“At Madrid, he wanted to play every week and he felt he wasn’t getting that chance. Maybe he felt he wasn’t going to be as loved as he will be here.”
Hughes believes Robinho has raised the bar for the other players at City, new and old.
He said: “Good Premier League players look at top players coming into their club and view it as a challenge.
“Players are quickly looking to see if another player is as good as people say he is. ‘Will he help us to win games?’ The answer is he will do. And the players are responding. Look at how well Stephen Ireland is playing.
“He has been exceptional since I came here. He has been arguably our best performer.
“We have raised the bar and set a high standard and we will maintain it with the work ethic we have.”
City’s new chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists he can help unlock the club’s hidden potential.
The 32-year-old businessman has been installed as chairman by new owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who formally takes over the club tomorrow.
Al Mubarak said: “We are looking towards long-term development.
“The club boasts three foundation assets that are hard to ignore — its unique and passionate fan base, a strong management team and an academy that is arguably the best in the country.
“There is huge potential to build on these assets to ensure we achieve the ultimate success levels.”
The Guardian
'Robinho was worried about joining City, admits Hughes'
It will not rank as the most startling revelation to discover that Robinho had second thoughts about swapping Real Madrid for Manchester City, even if the admission came yesterday from the Brazilian's manager, Mark Hughes. What does surprise is how quickly the apprehension has disappeared.
With a perfectly timed destruction of Portsmouth, City gave credence to the lofty ambitions of Sheikh Mansour and the watching Khaldoon al-Mubarak on Sunday, the club's respective new owner and chairman upon today's completion of their £200m takeover. Of course it was only one game, one of those rare afternoons when everything clicks and even a man as restrained as Hughes lauded the finest display of his managerial career "by a country mile" while Harry Redknapp surveyed the wreckage of his worst.
But it was a performance that should resonate throughout the Premier League and particularly with those "Big Four" members who thought they had successfully annexed qualification for the Champions League. This was a display that suggested Hughes already possesses the blend of stardust and earthly endeavour that the men from Abu Dhabi have promised to buy, although Portsmouth's appalling defending and Chelsea's commanding win at Eastlands a week earlier cannot be removed from the equation. If there was regret in Robinho's decision to give up on Real while swelling his bank balance then the £32.5m British record signing disguised it well on Sunday. The Brazilian's body language spoke of a man revelling in his work.
"The move happened very quickly. The key to it was that he was determined to leave Real Madrid but I don't think it was simply a case of City being convenient," said Hughes yesterday. "We pitched to him. We said: 'Listen, this is where we need to go and we're going to bring in good players. We already have good players at our club and they will help you to perform to a high standard.' Initially, he showed signs of being apprehensive about the situation he found himself in but he's had great support from his colleagues in the Brazil team, Elano and Jo - and Glauber Berti as well - and that has helped him to settle. And he just loves playing. You can see that in his performances. He just wants to play, week in, week out. That early apprehension went very quickly. We have seen, just as quickly, that the guy simply has a love of football."
Those privileged to be present at Eastlands on Sunday - the tortured souls of Portsmouth excepted - would concur with that view but Robinho's work-rate was exceptional and has no doubt aided the superstar's acceptance by the dressing room. There was no sign of resentment at the Brazilian's status and pay-packet among his team-mates, only a desire - notably in Stephen Ireland and the revitalised Shaun Wright-Phillips - to dance to his tune.
"At Madrid he wanted to play every week and he felt he wasn't getting that chance," said Hughes. "Maybe he felt he wasn't going to be as loved as, obviously, he will be here. Six-nil doesn't happen often in the Premier League so we have to allow the players to enjoy it."
Arsène Wenger, however, sounded a note of caution over the motives of City's new owners. "Why are they doing it?" the Arsenal manager asked. "Why have they bought the club? I can't really find a rational answer. If it is just a toy for them then it is even more dangerous. You can have 20 billionaires in the Premier League, still only one can win it and one will come last. The problem is that when these people who have bought into football get tired of it, what will they leave behind?"
And finally it's Brighton up next for City and the Sun says...
'Micky's up and Adam'
BRIGHTON boss Micky Adams last night told Robinho and Co: You don’t frighten us.
Brazilian Robinho dazzled as Manchester City thrashed Portsmouth 6-0 on Sunday.
But Adams, whose League One side host City in the Carling Cup second round tomorrow, said: “They’ll have their big guns out because they won’t want to lose to a side like Brighton.
“Robinho and his mates only have two arms and a head like the rest of us.
“It’s a big ask. But don’t write us off. Concentration is the key.”
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