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McCarthy: Too Many Loans Thursday, 18th Apr 2013 06:00
Blues boss Mick McCarthy says he’ll only use the loan market to augment his squad next season, believing that Town have had far too many players on a temporary basis this season. The Blues have had 16 different players on loan over the course of 2012/13.
“We’ve had too many, without a doubt,” McCarthy said. “When I’ve signed loan players and have to leave them out of the squad, that’s not right, and that’s happened a couple of times.
“An ideal squad number? You could do with 20 players, you’d want two players for every position if you could, 22, but it might not be the case that you can do it.
“I understand that the loan market can be good because you can have some good players from Premier League clubs, but you need a base of your own players, without any doubt. And loan players come in to supplement that, in my view.”
As he looks ahead to next season and decides who he might look to keep or move on, he says he has learnt about his squad as this campaign has progressed: “You learn all the time, from day one, from November 1st from walking in.
“You learn about individuals and you learn about them collectively. Some things you like, some you don’t, but I have to say in the main, for the most part, I’ve liked what I’ve seen of the players.”
Defender Richard Stearman has done well since joining on loan in January but McCarthy wouldn’t be drawn on whether he feels the 25-year-old could become a permanent addition in the summer: “He’s a Wolves player and I wouldn’t even begin to talk about it because it would be unprofessional and unfair.
“What I would say is that he has done very, very well. He has been excellent. But he’s a loan player, he’s not my player. Wolves might want to take him back, somebody else might fancy him the way he’s played for me.”
Given Stearman’s excellent form for the Blues, Wolves' willingness to allow him to move might be seen as a surprise, although the Town manager says his former club had plenty of defensive options at the time: “They’d got Ronald Zubar [now with Ajaccio in France], they’d got Kevin Foley, they had got Richard Stearman, who is a right-back and centre-half and does both equally as well, which is nice.
“They’ve also got young Matt Doherty as well, who has been playing, so they were well blessed with right-backs, and we took advantage of it.”
In terms of the other members of his solid backline being targeted in the close season, McCarthy is relaxed about the possibility: “Whatever. If they are, great, it means they’ve played well. They’re under contract. That doesn’t bother me in the slightest.
“We all want to do well and we all want to be the best we possibly can. Whether it’s players who want to do well while they’re at Ipswich and they move on and end up being Premier League players or me, that’s the way it is.
“I’d like to think they’re all ambitious and if somebody comes in and buys one of them for big dough, then we’ll go and get somebody else and start again. That’s the way it is. It makes the football world go around.”
Photo: Action Images
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Absolutely spot on MM. How can you develop team spirit with a revolving front door? IMHO this has been the root cause of yet another bad season. We need a squad of players half of which could cut it in the Premiership and the other half "up and coming". We are light years away from that.
To be fair this is what PJ said at the end of last season and look what happened. Some of this was down to PJ targeting players that didn't want to come for whatever reason and a lot of blame for this needs to go on his scouts.
MM has already shown he can identify the right players at the right price and this bodes well for next year. I am not expecting and 'big name' signings, but I am confident we will get players that can do the job the MM and TC want from them.
Having said that the FFP kicks in next season and we must cut our cloth accordingly. We will not be able to go out and buy 7 or 8 players. and it may mean having to sell some of our best assets to finance the programme. To get this club back to where we all want it to be will be a slow process, because of where we are starting from.
The loan system is there and needs to be exploited to our benefit, I expect Town to use several loan players again, although as MM says to augment the team not as its foundation.
MM & TC - the best signings of the season, without a doubt. What you see is what you get with Mick - plain talking and sensible - how long is it since we had a manager that we could relate to - probably Joe Royal, which says a lot about how this club has performed. I think Mick is between a rock and a hard place with regards to playing our youngsters. We all want them to progress and play for the first team, but you cannot play them whilst we have been struggling against the dreaded relegation, hence the need for experienced loan players. Next season promises to be a lot more exciting, with the right coming and goings and hopefully a sprinkling of youth, especially on the bench.
The problem being is we may have to sign 7 or 8 , McGoldrick,Murphy,N'Daw, Stearman seem to be the most likely loan signings MM would like to keep.
With the FFP coming in to force as Bergholblue said we will need to cut our cloth so signing big names from the Prem will be hard, the 3 teams coming down get a head start with a £20 million PP and they will also have the £30 million for coming bottom.
Having said that Blackburns money has not really helped them and then look at Bristol City wage bill of £18 million and a couple of their players were Ipswich targets.
DJ Campbell did very well for us but his wage demands were step to far for us and most teams in this division, maybe players will have to drop their sights a little now FFP is coming in. West Ham say they can't afford to keep Carroll because of his 90k a week wages and yet Man City sponsor their own ground to a tune of £300 million so there will be a way round it.
Blues boss Mick McCarthy says he'll only use the loan market to augment his squad next season,augment is to increase! then he goes on to say, that Town have had far too many players on a temporary basis! sorry MM what's new or different from this season
Still think we'll lose a couple of our current squad in the close season.
Smith and Cresswell are prime candidates. I would sincerely hope they give MM one full season to see what he can do, but you can never blame someone for wanting to have a go at another club, especially if it's a Premier League Club, and the associated wages that go with it.
As long as the money is right though, who can complain?
I wasn't happy with Mick's reference to himself in the 2nd last paragraph. I assume it's just speaking in the abstract, but it would be a disaster for us if he was to be poached to a 'bigger' job. As said above, Mick has been our best signing for years.
What we need is not a collection of individual (expensive) stars, but a well-forged team of regular players who know each other and have bought into the system. A constant cycle of loans is too much searching for the former, although one or two judiciously added to fill gaps or cover absences can be beneficial.
@Kesgraveblue - "augment" implies "to add a bit of extra quality to", not "to form the bulk of the squad from". Eight out of the 11 players who started on Tuesday (and five out of the seven on the bench) were our own. That's an acceptable ratio. "Augmented" is not the same as "bulked out".
I think Mick has the experiance and knowledge we have been lacking to get the balance right, he is almost there with the players he has brought in I would like to see us keep Stearmen, N'Daw, and Murphy but only time will tell and if we fail which I am sure we will on one maybe two we then see the real MM steal in how he handles it and who he brings in they are all good players but there are others about who are as good.
People seem worried about FFP but I think it wont make a difference as we all have to fit within the same rules players will have to take pay cuts and clubs will have to accept lower transfer fees so it will all balance out, and any club who cheats the system will be penalised by the league. Out of interest does anyone know what the penalties are for breaking the rules???
We are told this at the end of every season and every transfer window ,but by the end of each transfer window no one signs and we get a large amount of loans . Is this down to reduced financial backing , players high demands or just club propaganda over signings to sell season tickets ? How many players have managers been interested in ,talked to and not signed over the last few seasons Derry ,Austin ,Davies,Boyd,Ward ,Pearce,Henderson . Hopefully Mr Evans can see MM will not waste his money and give him proper backing to stabalise the squad , but i will wait until September or until signings are made before i again believe the "we dont want loans " statement from the club
Finally we have an individual with bucket loads of common sense.MM has installed stability at Portman Rd ,which in turn, breeds confidence with personnel.Players know their job on the pitch and know if they don't produce what's required then the manager will look elsewhere.As long as MM stays his duration,we will finish top six next season,no doubt about it.
With the FFP rules coming in we will need flexible quality players like Stearman who can play in two different positions to a high standard in order to keep the squad size and in turn the wage bill down. Players like Paul Taylor will be invaluable, providing otions both up front and on the wing. Wordsworth can play left midfield and central midfield. Our summer signings will hopefully have similar traits (flexilbilty and quality). One thing you know MM will definitely bring in is players with the right attitude.
Surco72 - I understand your scepticism but of them only Austin and perhaps Derry were real misses and I genuinely think Clegg was the problem there. My concerns are more around what type of player MM will target. If Hyam is one of the players of the season can I suggest we get shot of N'Daw and bring in a more attacking composed CM to replace him (McLean from St. Mirren please) or try to keep Martin and play him there. I think Murphy is average, Tabb is far from the answer and Davies is past it so we need changes there. On a positive note, back four sound, Hyam and Wordsworth playing well, Nouble showing potential and we have Hewitt, Taylor and McGoldrick to come back in and possibly Mings as well (haven't seen him but hear good things). Stearman is a must imo - never rated him at Wolves but he seems to have settled down a bit and definately wants to play for MM. So now just a keeper, creative central midfielder and some wingers....simples.
I know we've heard this a the end of seasons past; but this time it's McCarthy saying it- He has never been one to tell the fans what they want to hear for the sake of it- not here; not anywhere. RK and PJ looked upwards (prem div) and players in the championship who were on championship wages- players won't generally move for a pay cut; and if you're a struggling club like we were in the January window - wont move for a lateral wage. Mick has a proven track record and is known for discovering hidden gems in lower leagues who will likely be happier with the wage structure we have to have in place for FFP, and won't fail to sign in the contract discussions. Mick already knows who he wants to sign next season I'm pretty sure. And think of his loans Stearmann and Mc''Goal'drick- very strong players who most of us want to sign. These aren't loans for the sake of it! So although the message is one we have heard before- Mick's methods are not. Mick also hinted he doesn't like using the January transfer window as much either so this summer is his time to shine! Have faith fellow blues- Next season could be the one where we find our way back- after all last season Crystal Palace were in the relegation dogfight- this year although they are on a bad run of form; they are challenging for the playoffs.
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