I don't rate Hughes much to be honest but would much sooner have him than O'Brien. Hughes is a decent player to have on the bench as you know he can cover any position defensively.
I wouldnt have sold him. Then i wouldnt have forced Bellamy out, or sold Bernard, or Solano, or Speed, nor even Griffin for that matter. Tbh, the Woodgate sale now looks like the only bit of good business we have done in the last 18 months sales-wise. We seem to keep getting rid of the wrong players, and Robson was as guilty as Souness is. Its the likes of Dyer, O'Brien, Butt, Ameobi and Robert that need to go. The ones who just simply havent done it on the pitch.