The two men will come face to face in the sub-zero temperatures of the Parken Stadium tonight and the Norwegian may find he gets a frosty reception.
However, Hughes believes the Blues becoming the target for pot-shots from within the game should be viewed as a positive.
"Yes, their coach has said a lot, hasn't he? We've had the benefit of the money for five or six months and we haven't destroyed football yet so I don't think that is going to happen," declared the City chief in response to former Wimbledon player Solbakken, who also said he felt Hughes has a very difficult job.
"In years gone by, no-one was talking about City. Now, every time there is a question about football in general, our name gets brought up and people respond to that.
"Everybody seems to want to knock us. We don't think we are arrogant but people still seem to take exception. They are not in possession of the full facts and they are just looking at it from the outside."
City are likely to include Robinho and a clutch of other expensive stars in tonight's first leg against FC Copenhagen.
Hughes has refused to lay the blame for a poor performance at Portsmouth at the feet of the Brazilian and despite admitting that the best two away shows of the season - at Schalke and Sunderland - were achieved without the attacking midfielder he seems ready to give him another chance.
“We have had a brief word and we have an opportunity now that we are away to talk some more,” he declared. “We will speak in depth - not only to Robinho but everyone. I know he took a lot of criticism after Fratton Park whereas other players should have come into focus as well in that regard. It wasn't just about Robinho's performance - it was about our collective performance.
“He hasn't had a great deal of Premiership football away from home. I think that's the key to it. We have to realise that's where we are at the moment with him. The setbacks we are having now will stand him in good stead because away from home you have to understand that it requires a different mentality.
“Sometimes you have to play percentage football and you can't play the way you want to play as a person and as a team because, on occasion, the other team will have something to say about that. You have to find another way and at the moment we are struggling to find another way.”
Richard Dunne and Shaun Wright-Phillips are back from suspension for the match but Nigel de Jong is cup tied and Gelson Fernandes injured. The Irishman will take back the skipper's armband from Vincent Kompany with words of comfort from the manager.
“Dunney has been an outstanding player for Man City for many, many seasons. Maybe the break will have done him good and he's had four games out. That will help him and he will come back refreshed,” reckoned Hughes.
“It's a long hard season in the Premiership so the enforced break can sometimes help. With regard to his form, sometimes you have a run of games where things don't go quite right for you but Richard has been involved in these situations before. He is a big lad and he has been in the game long enough to deal with it, such is his strength of character. It won't faze him.
"He is always prepared to go out there and get going again.” Hughes believes that the pressure to attack this evening will be on Copenhagen and that might help his side.
The onus is on them to get a positive result and that may well play into our hands,” he affirmed. “There may be a little bit more space.”
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Rejoice,Rejoice our leader,our inspiration returns tonight....The one and only Captain Donkey.!!!
Former Wimbledon player Solbakken thinks that City are destroying football. I've got news for him. What destroys football is teams playing like his team Wimbledon did. Another bandwagon disscrapper.
Good luck boys!!!!
2-0 to the blues tonight,comon cityyyy.
So he played for Wimbledon then?
Surely they came closer than anyone to "destroy football".
There are a tremendous amount of jealous people around - would their honest answer be 'no' if one of the worlds richest people wanted to buy their football club (I don't think so). Platini's proposed capping is not about Man City, Real Madrid, Chelsea etc. it's about FRANCE. Their league is not recognised as much as Spain's or our Premier league because quite simply they cannot afford to attract the best players and any descent ones they have soon end up playing in another country... Football fans everywhere should be voicing this on every blog site they can - Platini's only concern is French football, nothing else !
1010 already and Jo(ke) Alves hasnt given his pearls of wisdom or is it Vitrol Sewage! yetpmun
Nick,The Voice of Reason,, caterham,Surrey,(Blackley Born & Bred) 19/02/2009 at 08:55
"Rejoice,Rejoice our leader,our inspiration returns tonight....The one and only Captain Donkey.!!!
Y are you slagging off Dunny, I have to admit that his performances this season have not always been the best, but for 4 seasons prior to that he was by far and away City's best player, I don't like to bring Manure onto our forum but early last season all the armchair rags were calling for Giggs to be kicked out, the same guy is now playing ( much to my disappointment ) some of the best football of his career.
Let's welcome Dunny back and hope he regains his form for the rest of the season and many more to come!
GOOD LUCK TONIGHT BOYS!!!
CTID
“Sometimes you have to play percentage football and you can't play the way you want to play as a person and as a team because, on occasion, the other team will have something to say about that. You have to find another way and at the moment we are struggling to find another way.”
I think I'm beginning to understand why Robinho and others struggle to implement Hughes' game plans, if this is how he talks to them.
COME ON YOU BLUES CTID AND BEYOND
C'mon tonight Robbie. Grow a pair and give it 'em big style.
That poll MEN - 'WILL CITY WIN BEAT FC COPENHAGEN' - Creative genius at it's best methinks.
im going for a 1-0 defeat tonight and then we'll bounce back at home with a 2-0 win! come on blues!!
HUGHES WILL BE GONE BY 5 O`CLOCK ON FRIDAY AFTER TONIGHTS DEFEAT.FACT
Whats that creaking noise ??? Its the sound of the band wagon straining under the weight of nomarks, has beens and jealous french idiots jumping on to slag City!
How can Hundreds of millions of pounds being pumped into the game and then filtering down through the clubs or in the case of clubs like West Ham possibley keeping them afloat be bad for the game ??
This is money that was never in the game!
But across in Salford a Club that was once solvent and had no debt is hawked up to the eye balls with debt in the middle of a credit crisis and this is not deamed as bad for football ????????????
AS MH put it when he was told he had played against this no mark Manger, "I can't remeber him, he can't of had a good game".
Totally agree with the Platini comments. This is about France and France alone. Then again he didn't stop around in France iether wanting to "further# his career where the money was at the time.
Typical hypocrite in the same pig in the trough mould as Blatter.
Whilst admittedly its not all sweetness and light...remember our recent European excursions - the shocker that was Groclin....onwards and upwards Blues!
Malcolm G, Tameside
life really is miserable in your world isnt it?
I've never come across a blue so keen to see his own team fail. Its an incredibly negative attitude you have.
If you have nothing good to say ever, why dont you keep your trap shut?
THE MONEY OUR CLUB HAS WONT BE ANYTHING THAN A DISTANT MEMORY SOON M8-SO DONT U WORRY ABOUT THE JIBES POINTED IN OUR DIRECTION-YOUR A CLOWN THAT NEEDS A SMALL TOWN CLUB TO PLY UR UNATTRACTIVE STYLE OF NEGATIVE FOOTBALL WITH!-SEE U ON THE OTHER SIDE SPARKY U JOKER!
HUGHES WILL BE GONE BY 5 O`CLOCK ON FRIDAY AFTER TONIGHTS DEFEAT.FACT
MALCOLM G, TAMESIDE
19/02/2009 at 10:37
Not in school today, the tablets not working? one small problem with your comment, what happens when we win? Your boring mate, you need to put your trainers on and jog on. Fact
MALCOLM G, TAMESIDE
19/02/2009 at 10:37
Shut up... the game hasnt even been played yet and your already trying to get hughes out... "fans" like you make me sick!!!
HUGHES WILL BE GONE BY 5 O`CLOCK ON FRIDAY AFTER TONIGHTS DEFEAT.FACT MALCOLM G, TAMESIDE
19/02/2009 at 10:37
As Nietzsche says, a fact is something we all have to agree on, historically speaking. I disagree with what you say, therefore it is not a fact. However, you are a muppet, that is a fact, as everyone over the whole of history will agree that is the case. Now jog along and get your facts right....
Y are you slagging off Dunny, I have to admit that his performances this season have not always been the best, but for 4 seasons prior to that he was by far and away City's best player, I don't like to bring Manure onto our forum but early last season all the armchair rags were calling for Giggs to be kicked out, the same guy is now playing ( much to my disappointment ) some of the best football of his career. Let's welcome Dunny back and hope he regains his form for the rest of the season and many more to come!
GOOD LUCK TONIGHT BOYS!!!
CTID
jdgreenbean, Levenshulme Boy Living in North Wales
19/02/2009 at 10:14
For one, dunne is no where no what giggs is and has ever been. And stop with the four year crap with dunne, yes he had a couple of great seasons for us, and everyone is greatful for that, however, if you are not playing well, causing more problems in defence, scoring home goals, getting sent off, being out of position on a constant basis, why should he be in the team because he played well once last season. Dunne needs to grow a pair and fight hard in training, and if he gets back in, then he needs to prove to everyone that he should stay there. But are you telling me on current form before the sending off, that he is better than king ned, and king vinny? not a chance mate.
There are times when i wish we had never come into all this money if i had known it would create all this negative anti city rubbish from people who are supposed to be are own supporters.more like reading lord of the flies than a city forum.Times have been so much worse than this in the last decade never mind 20-30 yrs ago.Lets all get behind our beloved club. Too many not proud to be blue,i am and i dont care who knows it....WE ARE CITY.
BLUES boss Mark Hughes has hit back at opposite number Stale Solbakken for claiming City's wealth could `destroy football'.
Well, it's certainly destroyed City. Apart from a few couple of exceptions, a more useless, unmotivated, overpaid bunch of misfits would be hard to find. They cannot pass the ball with any form of precision, probably because of their wooden legs, they believe speed is something to do afterwards in their posh cars and that to run is to waste energy, they need a compass to find out where the goalposts are (and then a sat nav to make sure it's the opposition) and even worse - they have a manager who couldn't control a game of Subbuteo let alone a team of the living dead. They are at present one of the most boring teams in the Premiership and one of the few on television to make everyone eager for the adverts.
2 Nil City - Bellamey and Superman!