| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown 13:44 - Jan 25 with 9566 views | ipswich_away |
Hi everyone,
Hope you're doing well. I occasionally write for Cardiff blogs etc.
To say we are underwhelmed with the appointment of big Mick would be an understatement. However some have been romanced by his direct Yorkshire accent.
Would love to get Town fans thoughts as you guys would know more than anyone:
> What can we expect from him? Hoof and hope?
> Is he really a dinosaur?
> What's his team setup and preferred formation/style of play?
> Is he tactically astute?
> Transfer wise, does he have a 'type'?
> Finally, how long before the Northern charm wears off?
Would love to get your thoughts and off topic, how's Emyr Huws doing? seems to have fallen off the face of the earth after a period out with injury.
All the best!
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:11 - Jan 25 with 1691 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 15:19 - Jan 25 by mr_bean |
Possibly the most succinct answer to your questions is the thing that a Wolves-supporting mate of mine said to me when I asked him similar things when MM first took charge of Ipswich:
He's like marmite. You'll either love him or hate him.
From that moment on, I knew that I'd be underwhelmed.
Ok, Ipswich are now in a much worse position than when he left (in large part due to Hurst's dismantling of the squad, followed by the subsequent mistake of appointing Lambert), but Ipswich under MM were so boring it literally made my eyes bleed. |
Yep. And because he was a bit like marmite it seems like the fan base will argue forevermore over just how good he was. |  |
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:21 - Jan 25 with 1672 views | BlueBadger |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 16:03 - Jan 25 by Herbivore |
After 18 months under Mick we were about to miss out on the play offs and finish 9th. The following two seasons we finished 6th and 7th. |
But the football is better now. |  |
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| You'll get some contradictory opinions on here... but here goes on 17:24 - Jan 25 with 1666 views | Pendejo |
| You'll get some contradictory opinions on here... but here goes on 16:05 - Jan 25 by unstableblue |
First off you have to understand we're a club in crisis, in freefall, and this primarily down to our owner - Marcus Evans - and his choice of managers. Alongside his inability to create a football and club management structure behind the manager, which is so crucial in modern football. Clown CEOs, low horsepower football directors. Plus a weak and non-existent strategy.
Mick is the best of Marcus' appointments by far, and you have to think of it as Mick and Terry OConnor (the latter being the first team coach). But its the best of a very very bad bunch - Keane (nutcase), Jewel (defensively naive, well just naive), Hurst (just way out of his depth), Lambert (some promise, but overall a huge failure).
The good things about Mick are he's quite likeable (albeit he spoiled this in the main come the end,with his attitude to a fan base that had been hugely patient), he has an eye for a good player, some of his attacking loans and the finding of Tyrone Mings from lower league stand out, he's defensively strong, and I think he's a good man manager.
You'll find there's a hardcore on this board who back him to the hilt, and this is built on saving us from almost certain relegation, a strong season and a half, including a play-off push, and our subsequent demise after he left - the problem with the 'careful what you wish for crew' is that they're linking Hurst's abysmal tenure with Mick success. And they forget the poisonous end and dire football. Also even when he was funded and was doing well - many fans had already started to turn off to the style, a very un-Ipswich style.
Some would accuse me and others as 'Never Mickers' - my match reports over his time paint a picture of a fan desperately wanting him to succeed and praising the really strong performances (of which there were many) when Mick let us play more freely and we scored.
The problem is, and this is the key point, over time you just could feel the football product slowly eroding, quite gradual whilst we had an on fire Murphy and some good loans, but we started to play quite within ourselves, and the team selection and game tactics became very conservative. Some famous home games in his penultimate season, where inferior opposition played us off the park, sitting on 1-0, we'd play 3 holding midfielders, and well.... it became a chore to go to Portman Road. I think Mick is quite old skool, I don't think he's progressive, whereas a club of your stature (as we used to be) should be looking at Brentford, Norwich, Swansea style managers, period.
Having said all that there are a hell of a lot worse managers out there, you've got a good squad, and he may provide a real boost this season. He's just in no way a long term bet if promotion is your goal.
Answers to your points:
> What can we expect from him? Hoof and hope?
I think its wrong to say he is hoof ball, nothing wrong will being direct into the channels. But don't expect triangles of passing, movement between the lines, and large passages of opposition goal pressure. Sometimes the lack of ambition instilled into players, and the rigidity of position mean some speculative long ball is inevitable.
> Is he really a dinosaur?
Again he is from the old skool, watching O'Connor doing exactly the same pre-match drills week in week out even when we were failing tells you something. He's certainly not a young and progressive manager. But hey he'll keep you up.
> What's his team setup and preferred formation/style of play?
4-2-2-2 or 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1. Defensive as the foundation, often at the cost of possession and flair. Creativity doesn't come through the middle with Mick, where he likes to remain solid and deep. I think you'll get the best out of Mick with good wingers, playing to a decent central striker/target man.
> Is he tactically astute?
Yes, but will be found out by more modern managers, with pace in their team
> Transfer wise, does he have a 'type'?
He's actually got a well rounded ability to bring in players, from foreign flair to slow/no nonsense types. But he dropped the ball on a few - see Kieffer Moore.
> Finally, how long before the Northern charm wears off?
I think it will wear off very quickly if he reverts to very defensive and unexpansive football. You'll find yourself walking out of the ground, or switching off iplayer thinking - did I really enjoy that! depsite having secured a point or 3
GOOD LUCK! [Post edited 25 Jan 2021 17:56]
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Jordan Rhodes left Ipswich 3 years before MM arrived
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Rhodes
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_McCarthy |  |
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:25 - Jan 25 with 1667 views | Herbivore |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:11 - Jan 25 by Swansea_Blue |
Yep. And because he was a bit like marmite it seems like the fan base will argue forevermore over just how good he was. |
I'm not sure anyone can argue with a straight face that he did anything other than a good job here. People can argue over whether they like him and about the style of play and whether ends justified means and the like, but even those who didn't like him or his football can surely see that he did a good job here in the circumstances. |  |
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:33 - Jan 25 with 1639 views | wkj |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:25 - Jan 25 by Herbivore |
I'm not sure anyone can argue with a straight face that he did anything other than a good job here. People can argue over whether they like him and about the style of play and whether ends justified means and the like, but even those who didn't like him or his football can surely see that he did a good job here in the circumstances. |
He did a good job, I don't doubt that, but he was long over due a job change when he went. I think most of us took out our frustrations on him because there is entirely no way to show it to Evans. |  |
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:33 - Jan 25 with 1643 views | positivity |
> What can we expect from him? Hoof and hope?
hoof and no hope
> Is he really a dinosaur?
oh yes
> What's his team setup and preferred formation/style of play?
proper blokes in a 4-4-2, generally hit and hope to a big man up front, but occasionally hit and hope to a tricky winger
> Is he tactically astute?
defensively yes, can get stuck in a rut
> Transfer wise, does he have a 'type'?
proper. bloke. (plus tricky wingers on loan)
> Finally, how long before the Northern charm wears off?
2 years tops, then he'll start trolling the fans. good luck with him, something tells me your chairman might not be so patient as ours was, however he may be more generous
>Would love to get your thoughts and off topic, how's Emyr Huws doing? seems to have fallen off the face of the earth after a period out with injury.
after the period out with injury, he had several periods out with injury, excellent when on loan, then never got his rhythm back, hope he can turn it around, but at the moment he looks like a shadow of his former self. | |
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:34 - Jan 25 with 1642 views | GeoffSentence |
Look forward to setting up to avoid defeat against the bottom team at home. |  |
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:36 - Jan 25 with 1635 views | Wacko |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 14:47 - Jan 25 by Darth_Koont |
Sorry, but that’s nonsense. The only thing that was ingrained was hard work on and off the ball.
One of the reasons he got more out of the team was letting players play their own game. If they were no-nonsense that’s the way he expected them to play. If they liked to get on the ball and try things ditto.
It’s a simple approach to the game when people are a bit too used to Prem players that can do a bit of everything. But at Championship level it got the players knowing their jobs and performing.
I think this is one of the areas where managers with a narrow view on how they want the team to play aren’t all that suited to the Championship and lower leagues. |
That's all very well, but none of what you're saying supports the notion that my analogy was "completely wrong", it just says why he did a decent job with what he had available to him (to which I agree)
The thing is, someone like Cowley at Lincoln started off the same as McCarthy. But he clearly left them in a decent place for others to come in and take them further and allow their style of play to adapt as football in general evolved. McCarthy doesn't do this with any of his teams - hence why they always do worse after he leaves. Each year we had the same system, the same players (always one flair player and 10 grunts) and no real sense of progression. That playoff season was an anomaly - as much as it pained me there was no way we could have beaten two top-five teams over three games.
Pure and simple: he's an excellent stop-gap, nothing more | |
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| You'll get some contradictory opinions on here... but here goes on 17:41 - Jan 25 with 1631 views | Simonds92 |
| You'll get some contradictory opinions on here... but here goes on 16:05 - Jan 25 by unstableblue |
First off you have to understand we're a club in crisis, in freefall, and this primarily down to our owner - Marcus Evans - and his choice of managers. Alongside his inability to create a football and club management structure behind the manager, which is so crucial in modern football. Clown CEOs, low horsepower football directors. Plus a weak and non-existent strategy.
Mick is the best of Marcus' appointments by far, and you have to think of it as Mick and Terry OConnor (the latter being the first team coach). But its the best of a very very bad bunch - Keane (nutcase), Jewel (defensively naive, well just naive), Hurst (just way out of his depth), Lambert (some promise, but overall a huge failure).
The good things about Mick are he's quite likeable (albeit he spoiled this in the main come the end,with his attitude to a fan base that had been hugely patient), he has an eye for a good player, some of his attacking loans and the finding of Tyrone Mings from lower league stand out, he's defensively strong, and I think he's a good man manager.
You'll find there's a hardcore on this board who back him to the hilt, and this is built on saving us from almost certain relegation, a strong season and a half, including a play-off push, and our subsequent demise after he left - the problem with the 'careful what you wish for crew' is that they're linking Hurst's abysmal tenure with Mick success. And they forget the poisonous end and dire football. Also even when he was funded and was doing well - many fans had already started to turn off to the style, a very un-Ipswich style.
Some would accuse me and others as 'Never Mickers' - my match reports over his time paint a picture of a fan desperately wanting him to succeed and praising the really strong performances (of which there were many) when Mick let us play more freely and we scored.
The problem is, and this is the key point, over time you just could feel the football product slowly eroding, quite gradual whilst we had an on fire Murphy and some good loans, but we started to play quite within ourselves, and the team selection and game tactics became very conservative. Some famous home games in his penultimate season, where inferior opposition played us off the park, sitting on 1-0, we'd play 3 holding midfielders, and well.... it became a chore to go to Portman Road. I think Mick is quite old skool, I don't think he's progressive, whereas a club of your stature (as we used to be) should be looking at Brentford, Norwich, Swansea style managers, period.
Having said all that there are a hell of a lot worse managers out there, you've got a good squad, and he may provide a real boost this season. He's just in no way a long term bet if promotion is your goal.
Answers to your points:
> What can we expect from him? Hoof and hope?
I think its wrong to say he is hoof ball, nothing wrong will being direct into the channels. But don't expect triangles of passing, movement between the lines, and large passages of opposition goal pressure. Sometimes the lack of ambition instilled into players, and the rigidity of position mean some speculative long ball is inevitable.
> Is he really a dinosaur?
Again he is from the old skool, watching O'Connor doing exactly the same pre-match drills week in week out even when we were failing tells you something. He's certainly not a young and progressive manager. But hey he'll keep you up.
> What's his team setup and preferred formation/style of play?
4-2-2-2 or 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1. Defensive as the foundation, often at the cost of possession and flair. Creativity doesn't come through the middle with Mick, where he likes to remain solid and deep. I think you'll get the best out of Mick with good wingers, playing to a decent central striker/target man.
> Is he tactically astute?
Yes, but will be found out by more modern managers, with pace in their team
> Transfer wise, does he have a 'type'?
He's actually got a well rounded ability to bring in players, from foreign flair to slow/no nonsense types. But he dropped the ball on a few - see Kieffer Moore.
> Finally, how long before the Northern charm wears off?
I think it will wear off very quickly if he reverts to very defensive and unexpansive football. You'll find yourself walking out of the ground, or switching off iplayer thinking - did I really enjoy that! depsite having secured a point or 3
GOOD LUCK! [Post edited 25 Jan 2021 17:56]
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This is spot on. | | | |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:43 - Jan 25 with 1625 views | Herbivore |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:33 - Jan 25 by wkj |
He did a good job, I don't doubt that, but he was long over due a job change when he went. I think most of us took out our frustrations on him because there is entirely no way to show it to Evans. |
No doubt he became a lightning rod for all of our pent up frustration and boredom, and to an extent he was happy to be that as well. Mick's last 2 years here felt like a club that had missed its chance and wasn't likely to get one again anytime soon, even if we did flirt with the play offs quite a way into his final season here. Things had got stale and then they turned toxic and he had to go. Only a handful of people would argue Mick could/should have remained in charge. I think some of the vitriol towards him is OTT and that's a shame as he's a good man who gave us our only real bright spots in the past decade. | |
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:48 - Jan 25 with 1614 views | Herbivore |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:36 - Jan 25 by Wacko |
That's all very well, but none of what you're saying supports the notion that my analogy was "completely wrong", it just says why he did a decent job with what he had available to him (to which I agree)
The thing is, someone like Cowley at Lincoln started off the same as McCarthy. But he clearly left them in a decent place for others to come in and take them further and allow their style of play to adapt as football in general evolved. McCarthy doesn't do this with any of his teams - hence why they always do worse after he leaves. Each year we had the same system, the same players (always one flair player and 10 grunts) and no real sense of progression. That playoff season was an anomaly - as much as it pained me there was no way we could have beaten two top-five teams over three games.
Pure and simple: he's an excellent stop-gap, nothing more |
Lincoln's sqaud has completely changed since the Cowleys left so that's not a great comparison. The difference is they got a manager in who was capable, we got Paul Hurst. A competent manager inheriting the squad Mick left should have had few problems at least keeping us in the Championship. A lot of the rest of what you say just isn't really true. [Post edited 25 Jan 2021 17:49]
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:51 - Jan 25 with 1597 views | monty_radio |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 15:32 - Jan 25 by Fixed_It |
Great man-manager. Players love him and will run through brick walls for him. Fiercely loyal to his players, but tends to pick his 'favourites' irrespective of performances. Great contacts in the game which will be an advantage to you. Likes Irish players, and pre-season will be an uninspiring tour of Irish clubs you've never heard of - just in case he does well and you extens his contract. He will keep you up. But it won't be 'sexy'. Expect pragmatism. You'll like him at first, but eventually the style of football will depress you - but that will be your fault not his. He will then build a seige mentalty with the players. Enjoy. |
His siege mentality was based around a favourite maxim of his which involved the team in a tent peeing out on those outside. The tent was not the club as a whole, nor the town itself, but the players with which he surrounded himself. This stood him in good stead after his initial saving us from relegation, but played increasingly badly in the wider community when turgid football didn't even bring the desired result, and adverse comments were batted brusquely (and worse) away.
As you can see, he split the fanbase with many regulars on here never wanting him to leave, and blaming the moaners who did for driving him away. When you get to know him you may find, like me, that this rather fragile view of the man doesn't quite chime with his ready wit, but rather acerbic tongue
As for me, in Mick's final season or two, until Lambert turned up, I'd never been so bored at a football match. For the first time in nearly sixty years I stopped going to games until he left. He started very well, settled us into a hard-to-beat team that other clubs' supporters despised; then the budget caught up with him and the style atrophied. In a poll, 80% wanted him gone, boos started; he got cross, and left.
Several in this thread have given him four years: I've spent quite a bit of time on-and-off down in S Wales. The Suffolk man or woman is famously placid. Unless he does better with you on a budget that he never really had here, you''ll tire within 18 months.
[Post edited 25 Jan 2021 18:06]
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| Many thanks (n/t) on 17:54 - Jan 25 with 1584 views | unstableblue |
| You'll get some contradictory opinions on here... but here goes on 17:41 - Jan 25 by Simonds92 |
This is spot on. |
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| Next time you play Swansea, with a crowd.... on 17:54 - Jan 25 with 1582 views | Bloots |
....don't join in with the anti Cardiff songs aimed in your direction.
Our fans did that at Norwich and then cried like bitches when MM told them to "fook off".
But then I highly doubt your fans would stoop as low as that. |  |
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| Sorry meant Kieffer Moore (n/t) on 17:55 - Jan 25 with 1575 views | unstableblue |
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| Edited (n/t) on 17:57 - Jan 25 with 1573 views | unstableblue |
| You'll get some contradictory opinions on here... but here goes on 17:01 - Jan 25 by homer_123 |
"He's actually got a well rounded ability to bring in players, from foreign flair to slow/no nonsense types. But he dropped the ball on a few - see Jordan Rhodes. Obvious the guy had something."
Wholly and utterly wrong....Rhodes had long gone by the time Mick arrived. Rhodes was very much Keane's doing. |
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| Jordan Rhodes??....Duh. (n/t) on 17:57 - Jan 25 with 1569 views | Bloots |
| You'll get some contradictory opinions on here... but here goes on 16:05 - Jan 25 by unstableblue |
First off you have to understand we're a club in crisis, in freefall, and this primarily down to our owner - Marcus Evans - and his choice of managers. Alongside his inability to create a football and club management structure behind the manager, which is so crucial in modern football. Clown CEOs, low horsepower football directors. Plus a weak and non-existent strategy.
Mick is the best of Marcus' appointments by far, and you have to think of it as Mick and Terry OConnor (the latter being the first team coach). But its the best of a very very bad bunch - Keane (nutcase), Jewel (defensively naive, well just naive), Hurst (just way out of his depth), Lambert (some promise, but overall a huge failure).
The good things about Mick are he's quite likeable (albeit he spoiled this in the main come the end,with his attitude to a fan base that had been hugely patient), he has an eye for a good player, some of his attacking loans and the finding of Tyrone Mings from lower league stand out, he's defensively strong, and I think he's a good man manager.
You'll find there's a hardcore on this board who back him to the hilt, and this is built on saving us from almost certain relegation, a strong season and a half, including a play-off push, and our subsequent demise after he left - the problem with the 'careful what you wish for crew' is that they're linking Hurst's abysmal tenure with Mick success. And they forget the poisonous end and dire football. Also even when he was funded and was doing well - many fans had already started to turn off to the style, a very un-Ipswich style.
Some would accuse me and others as 'Never Mickers' - my match reports over his time paint a picture of a fan desperately wanting him to succeed and praising the really strong performances (of which there were many) when Mick let us play more freely and we scored.
The problem is, and this is the key point, over time you just could feel the football product slowly eroding, quite gradual whilst we had an on fire Murphy and some good loans, but we started to play quite within ourselves, and the team selection and game tactics became very conservative. Some famous home games in his penultimate season, where inferior opposition played us off the park, sitting on 1-0, we'd play 3 holding midfielders, and well.... it became a chore to go to Portman Road. I think Mick is quite old skool, I don't think he's progressive, whereas a club of your stature (as we used to be) should be looking at Brentford, Norwich, Swansea style managers, period.
Having said all that there are a hell of a lot worse managers out there, you've got a good squad, and he may provide a real boost this season. He's just in no way a long term bet if promotion is your goal.
Answers to your points:
> What can we expect from him? Hoof and hope?
I think its wrong to say he is hoof ball, nothing wrong will being direct into the channels. But don't expect triangles of passing, movement between the lines, and large passages of opposition goal pressure. Sometimes the lack of ambition instilled into players, and the rigidity of position mean some speculative long ball is inevitable.
> Is he really a dinosaur?
Again he is from the old skool, watching O'Connor doing exactly the same pre-match drills week in week out even when we were failing tells you something. He's certainly not a young and progressive manager. But hey he'll keep you up.
> What's his team setup and preferred formation/style of play?
4-2-2-2 or 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1. Defensive as the foundation, often at the cost of possession and flair. Creativity doesn't come through the middle with Mick, where he likes to remain solid and deep. I think you'll get the best out of Mick with good wingers, playing to a decent central striker/target man.
> Is he tactically astute?
Yes, but will be found out by more modern managers, with pace in their team
> Transfer wise, does he have a 'type'?
He's actually got a well rounded ability to bring in players, from foreign flair to slow/no nonsense types. But he dropped the ball on a few - see Kieffer Moore.
> Finally, how long before the Northern charm wears off?
I think it will wear off very quickly if he reverts to very defensive and unexpansive football. You'll find yourself walking out of the ground, or switching off iplayer thinking - did I really enjoy that! depsite having secured a point or 3
GOOD LUCK! [Post edited 25 Jan 2021 17:56]
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| Elite Level Poster: Elite Level Supporter: Elite Level Human |
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| Sorry meant Kieffer Moore (n/t) on 17:57 - Jan 25 with 1564 views | Pendejo |
| Sorry meant Kieffer Moore (n/t) on 17:55 - Jan 25 by unstableblue |
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Fairynuff | |
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| Man that still grates doesn't it (n/t) on 17:58 - Jan 25 with 1566 views | unstableblue |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:34 - Jan 25 by GeoffSentence |
Look forward to setting up to avoid defeat against the bottom team at home. |
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| Sorry meant Kieffer Moore (n/t) on 18:01 - Jan 25 with 1559 views | Herbivore |
| Sorry meant Kieffer Moore (n/t) on 17:55 - Jan 25 by unstableblue |
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He did sign Kieffer Moore for peanuts and then sell him for a decent profit. At the time Moore was pushing for a move as he wanted to play regularly and knew there was interest in him. He wasn't likely to dislodge the likes of Waghorn, McGoldrick, Garner, and Seers at that point in time and it's taken him another 2-3 years to start producing in the Championship. Hardly a huge miss and not too many fans were upset at letting him go given how limited he'd looked in his appearances for us. | |
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| 99% of our fans thought.... on 18:03 - Jan 25 with 1550 views | Bloots |
| Sorry meant Kieffer Moore (n/t) on 18:01 - Jan 25 by Herbivore |
He did sign Kieffer Moore for peanuts and then sell him for a decent profit. At the time Moore was pushing for a move as he wanted to play regularly and knew there was interest in him. He wasn't likely to dislodge the likes of Waghorn, McGoldrick, Garner, and Seers at that point in time and it's taken him another 2-3 years to start producing in the Championship. Hardly a huge miss and not too many fans were upset at letting him go given how limited he'd looked in his appearances for us. |
....Moore was crap.
But if they can blame Mick, they will. | |
| Elite Level Poster: Elite Level Supporter: Elite Level Human |
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 18:05 - Jan 25 with 1546 views | MedwayTractor |
| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 17:51 - Jan 25 by monty_radio |
His siege mentality was based around a favourite maxim of his which involved the team in a tent peeing out on those outside. The tent was not the club as a whole, nor the town itself, but the players with which he surrounded himself. This stood him in good stead after his initial saving us from relegation, but played increasingly badly in the wider community when turgid football didn't even bring the desired result, and adverse comments were batted brusquely (and worse) away.
As you can see, he split the fanbase with many regulars on here never wanting him to leave, and blaming the moaners who did for driving him away. When you get to know him you may find, like me, that this rather fragile view of the man doesn't quite chime with his ready wit, but rather acerbic tongue
As for me, in Mick's final season or two, until Lambert turned up, I'd never been so bored at a football match. For the first time in nearly sixty years I stopped going to games until he left. He started very well, settled us into a hard-to-beat team that other clubs' supporters despised; then the budget caught up with him and the style atrophied. In a poll, 80% wanted him gone, boos started; he got cross, and left.
Several in this thread have given him four years: I've spent quite a bit of time on-and-off down in S Wales. The Suffolk man or woman is famously placid. Unless he does better with you on a budget that he never really had here, you''ll tire within 18 months.
[Post edited 25 Jan 2021 18:06]
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Spot on with your last paragraph.
What I could never accept is why he continued to pad out the playing staff with so many journeymen (eg Jay Tabb) and players clearly past their best (eg Jonathan Douglas) and continued to select them ahead of players clearly more talented.
Should read "spot on with your penultimate paragraph". [Post edited 25 Jan 2021 22:55]
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 18:14 - Jan 25 with 1538 views | Deano69 |
He will make you Hard to Beat and Hard to Watch.
MM will be loved by players and staff (in other words those that actually speak to him and work with him), but eventually lose the fans.
Sets up 'Not to Lose' even at home, a bit 'glass half empty.
Definitely has an eye for a gem, handy if your a selling club like we are, but the playing squad will rarely benefit for more than half a season.
Likely to bring you decent Loan Players, see above.
By the end I was in the 'not really wanting to get rid of him but cant really stand the football we are playing' camp.
As previously mentioned, once he goes, and he will, you will be left with needing a complete rebuild as only he seems to be able to work with what you have.
Huws - seems like the love of the game has been driven out of him. Genuinely thought he would be someone I would build a side round before his injury, now I would have to think whether I would have him on the bench. |  |
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 18:34 - Jan 25 with 1510 views | Dubtractor |
> What can we expect from him? Hoof and hope?
No, def not hit and hope. He will play direct, pragmatic football, and there will be some % football played, but it certainly isn't John beck football from the 90s. It won't always be pretty to watch, but you'll grub out results from games where you peob don't deserve anything.
> Is he really a dinosaur?
No, not really. He is surprisingly thin skinned for a no nonsense yorkshireman though.
> What's his team setup and preferred formation/style of play?
Keep it simple, do the basics right, be hard to beat.
> Is he tactically astute?
Keep it simple, do the basics right, be hard to beat! He is very good at working out how to stop the opposition playing, not always so good at getting his own team playing.
> Transfer wise, does he have a 'type'?
British, hard workers, good characters.
> Finally, how long before the Northern charm wears off?
Already mentioned loads of times, but whilst results are positive you'll all think he is brilliant, but his approach and character will quickly grate if you start to lose a few games. [Post edited 25 Jan 2021 18:35]
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| Cardiff Fan looking for the lowdown on 18:34 - Jan 25 with 1507 views | bournemouthblue |
> What can we expect from him? Hoof and hope?
He'll get your team organised and working hard, his preferred scoreline is 2 - 0 and very much looks to shut a game down once 2 up, he favours the win at home, don't lose away type approach. His team's like to work it around the wings and tend to play through a focal point. It's quite often he'll have a goalscorer who gets the bulk of the team goals.
> Is he really a dinosaur?
Yes
> What's his team setup and preferred formation/style of play?
442, we always struggled against sides who packed the midfield
> Is he tactically astute?
He has one plan really, he may make little tweaks here and there but he's fairly predictable sadly
> Transfer wise, does he have a 'type'?
He may have a bit more leeway with you guys but for us he'd tend to build a team of workers, get the team drilled or organised and then would give one player licence to be a bit more creative.
He is good at picking up total unknowns and developing them into stars
He generally seemed to be fairly good at picking decent loanees up
He also likes his solid pros who he tends to pick up for a season and then releases after a season or so
As someone else has said, he normally always signs British and Irish players
> Finally, how long before the Northern charm wears off?
When the results start to decline and the novelty of solid grindy football begins to wear
Would love to get your thoughts and off topic, how's Emyr Huws doing? seems to have fallen off the face of the earth after a period out with injury.
Emyr Huws was promising in his earlier days but hasn't looked the same player after a number of injuries, he should be dominating this level really [Post edited 25 Jan 2021 21:16]
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