AN irate Stoke fan says he's acting for the majority of supporters by flying a banner with the words: Hughes Out.
Carl, a season-ticket holder from Bucknall, claims up to 90 per cent of Stokies do not want to see Mark Hughes become the next manager of the club.
Carl, who doesn't want to reveal his full name, says Hughes has a worrying track record in management and that's why he and his friends forked out for the £50 banner.
He claims many fans, including himself, would not have bought their season ticket if they had known Hughes was being lined up to take charge at the Britannia.He says he will still support his club if Hughes is appointed, but will continue flying his flag until he is.
"We've been parked on bridges and been getting plenty of horns of approval," said Carl.
"If you do your research, you'll see that
between 70 and 90 per cent of Stoke fans don't want him. I haven't met a Stoke fan who does. He was manager at Blackburn years ago and didn't do a bad job, but was mediocre.
"He had all that money to spend at Manchester City and ripped the heart out of the team – and that's why they didn't get anywhere under him.
"He went to Fulham for a season and then walked out on them. He then went to QPR, bought 13 players to make a new team and got relegated.
"He's only a short-term manager, not a long-term manager, and doesn't have the track record to take the club forward. If he gets appointed, we will be in the bottom three by Christmas."
Carl says he would have thought twice about relieving Tony Pulis of his duties after another near mid-table finish a fortnight ago.
And as for an alternative to Hughes, he says there are enough out there.
"I don't expect a flash manager, just somebody with stability. I'd rather have Martin O'Neill than Mark Hughes.
"I was hoping Crystal Palace would lose in the play-off final because Ian Holloway would have been good for Stoke."
The protest echoes opposition to Tony Pulis during his first season back at the Brit in 2006 when fans organised a red-card demonstration to call for his dismissal.
In the event, Stoke signed Lee Hendrie on loan, the protest was postponed and the rest, as they say, is history ...
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Stoke-City-Fan-stages-anti-Hughes-protest-new/story-19121598-detail/story.html#axzz2UhsbXSgZ
