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McCarthy: Little in It Other Than the Goals
Sunday, 1st Mar 2015 17:26

Town boss Mick McCarthy felt there was little in the Blues’ 2-0 East Anglian derby defeat to Norwich at Carrow Road aside from the Canaries' two goals.

“I don’t think there was a lot in the game,” the Blues boss said. “I certainly don’t think Norwich dominated the game, but they scored the two goals.

“The two goals were the difference, that’s generally the case if you score them both. But that was it.

“We lost the ball in midfield for the first one but I have to say it was good play from them.

“It took a deflection off one of our lads but the shot was unstoppable when he hit it, so you can’t do anything other than say that. It was a terrific strike.

“The second one, it took a deflection and I think Bart was going to save that. They were maybe a bit fortunate with that.

“We didn’t get any of that. We had a few scrambles and chances before half-time but it wasn’t our day in front of goal.”


Town’s best chance was Freddie Sears’s first-half effort, which John Ruddy did well to save.

“I’d say so," said McCarthy. “I thought Freddie did particularly well with it, he steadied himself and the way he’s been playing you’d expect him to slide it in, but it’s a great save that he made. I won’t give out to Freddie for a miss, that’s for sure.

“It was a great save, wasn’t it? He came out and smothered it. You’ve got to give the goalkeeper credit for that.”

While the Town boss was disappointed to lose the derby he says the game is only worth three points like any other match and it’s now important for his players to get back to winning ways as soon as possible.

“It doesn’t give us any more points or them any more points," he added. "It gives them the kudos, of course, and people don’t like that and I fully understand that about supporters. I’ve played in my own local derbies when I started as a kid.

“I know the importance of them and the importance for us now is to knuckle-down and win more games and finish at least in the play-offs. What are we, three off the top two? It’s there to be played for.”

McCarthy doesn’t expect the result to affect his players, who have bounced back from adversity on plenty of previous occasions.

“I don’t think it ever has,” he added. “As I keep saying, the lads have been brilliant all season.

“And I wonder, when you look at the squad of players that Norwich have got, the team that they’ve got, I wonder how many teams put it down as an away win when they’re coming down here. I don’t think there was a lot in the game but they’ve scored the two goals.”

He dismissed the suggestion that results elsewhere were a positive to take from the weekend: “I can’t do anything about them. If all the others lose all the rest of their games and we do we’ll still be in the same position.

“I don’t look for that [results elsewhere], I think in a really tough fixture we’ve played all right and we’ve just been beaten by the two goals. I’m not looking for a silver lining really when we’ve just lost.”

Despite the setback McCarthy insists that the Blues are still targeting a top-two finish: “Of course. Aim for that and if we end up in the play-offs we’ll have had a great season.

"And if we end up in the top two it might surprise you even more than if we end up in the top six.”

Norwich manager Alex Neil was pleased to win his first derby in charge of the Canaries: “It wasn’t the best game but the most important thing was that we’ve won it.

"We’ve won six in a row now, which is great. Now we just have to keep on winning.”

He added: “We’re third at the moment and we’ve given ourselves a real chance. The opportunity is there, we just have to go out and grasp it. It wasn’t in our own hands when I took over, now it is.”


Photo: Action Images



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bluelady added 17:29 - Mar 1
It's a worry when our master Stroke substitution is to bring on a right footed left back as a winger!
18

bluefeast added 17:33 - Mar 1
boooooooooooooooooo. Terrible sum up ,one dimensional Mick. This is your team ,your loan signings your tactics your substitutions .Basically since Jan 1 you Mick have become more predictable that i could of imagined. Humping the ball forward is just so embarrassing and frustrating. How the hell can we create chances if all we do is hit the sky from all over the pitch
13

yocal_lad added 17:34 - Mar 1
Dissaponted with Micks comments, Norwich were just bette then us today. We didn't show any passion, pace or width and created very little.
Speers was the only played who put in a good performance. We completely list shape with the subs. The bench told the difference they brought on hopper and Jerome we had Varney!
This wasn't a performance we can be proud of -/
2

cartman1972 added 17:34 - Mar 1
Oh be quiet with the same boring after match report.....
3

Leather24 added 17:35 - Mar 1
playing parr in midfield proves how weak our midfield is, oh and tabbs set pieces are w@nk
9

bluefeast added 17:35 - Mar 1
To quote Mick , i wont sign players unless they are better than i have. Chaplow , Varney , Smith , Connely where is he , Stewart ,where is he. Just so pi55ed off right now
1

jas0999 added 17:36 - Mar 1
Bluelady. Completely agree. January was the time to ensure we had sufficient cover out wide, so a defender isn't required to play as a winger. Other issues: signing a player who isn't good enough for Millwall reserves. A striker not good enough for Blackburn and who doesn't score goals. Poor signings. January was the time to procure some decent half season loan options. Preferably better players than we already had!
6

kozmik added 17:36 - Mar 1
unfortunately creativity will almost always triumph over hard graft
11

TimmyH added 17:37 - Mar 1
Perhaps if we had SOME quality in midfield either through the January transfer window or through emergency loans these games which 'have little in it' might turn out in our favour.
Worrying thing is Mick our once fairly watertight defense is now seeping. 1 clean sheet this year (in that drab 0-0 to Wigan).

Looks like more and more likely we'll be vying for the play-offs now.
3

paulcooperisgod added 17:37 - Mar 1
MM has to make changes before the next match surely? drop/rest SMITH but if you must play him put CHAMBERS and BERRA beside him in a back 3 with MINGS and PARK as wingback we are just so predictable now stevie wonder with an eye patch can even see it! Come on MM you stubborn old bastard
4

Michael11 added 17:37 - Mar 1
Really gutted. I could've handled losing today if we'd really gone for it and shown some fight. The negative tactics has to stop and stop now! As soon as I saw the line up with 4 central midfielders it was obvious that we'd come for a 0-0 and try to smother them. Norwich are certainly no world beaters and I believe a better side would've had some joy out of them today. I just can't see how the hell Skuse and Tabb are seen as golden boys, they're both absolutely useless. Smith HAS to be dropped, he's a complete liability with no right foot! Bialkowski also needs to wake up! No positives today, just want to finally get home!
6

Michael11 added 17:37 - Mar 1
Really gutted. I could've handled losing today if we'd really gone for it and shown some fight. The negative tactics has to stop and stop now! As soon as I saw the line up with 4 central midfielders it was obvious that we'd come for a 0-0 and try to smother them. Norwich are certainly no world beaters and I believe a better side would've had some joy out of them today. I just can't see how the hell Skuse and Tabb are seen as golden boys, they're both absolutely useless. Smith HAS to be dropped, he's a complete liability with no right foot! Bialkowski also needs to wake up! No positives today, just want to finally get home!
2

paulcooperisgod added 17:38 - Mar 1
That's PARR not PARK
1

bluefeast added 17:42 - Mar 1
If we finish in the top 6 we need to do better than both Wolves and Brentford over the next 12 games who have to play
0

Deep_Blue added 17:51 - Mar 1
It's comments like this that show what a clueless dinosaur moron you are McCarthy.

I'm sure I'll get all the usual "He's done an amazing job with what he's had to work with" rhetoric bollocks from the 'Keep the Faith' brigade, but if this is truly what he has taken from today's game then he is clearly f**king deluded and needs to leave the job now before his naivety costs us any more pride.
-5

Bluetone added 17:52 - Mar 1
“The two goals were the difference, that's generally the case if you score them both. But that was it.

Absobloodylutely obvious comment is that the best you can do McCarthy sort it out, here's a clue play football NOT hoofball now that's a revolutionary thought for you to digest.
10

prebbs007 added 17:53 - Mar 1
Were you watching a different game to the rest of us Mick ??? Not much in it ??? You're having a giraffe !!! The possession stats were about equal. Difference is, ours was from our defence and hoofing it to the forwards, theirs was through the midfield and creative. We may aswell play 5 defenders and 5 forwards. No point us having anything in between. Skuse must finish every game with neck ache. We are so predictable and so boring. Sears was the only bright spark on the pitch. While you continue to pick your favourite little workers ( and in the wrong positions ) we will struggle. Teams have worked us, and you specifically,out and you have no plan B when the very very limited plan A fails.
Play offs look very unlikely. We have a really tough March, the others in the top 8 will be licking their lips with the thought of playing us. Stop the big lump forward to Murphy and you stop Ipswich. Easy.
Today was a joke , no heart, no structure, no skill, no creativity, no hope !!! And the sc?m are not even very good, despite their huge financial advantage.
Leave your stubbornness to one side Mick or were screwed.
5

unknown100 added 17:55 - Mar 1
What game was he watching? There was a lot in it, Ipswich literally hoofed the ball at every occasion? And not even play long ball, aimlessly panicy clearances? We didn't even attempt to play any sort of football style? I can't believe they are challenging for promotion! I'm sorry but today was embarrassing
8

bluefeast added 17:56 - Mar 1
If we finish in the top 6 we need to do better than both Wolves and Brentford over the next 12 games who have to play. So its a 3 horse race for 6th in my opinion ,including us. Have we got enough about us to completely change the form of the last 10 games which have got us 14 points. Will we win at Leeds to make it 3 points from the last 2 games ,will we get wins from Brentford ,Middlesborough ,Bournmouth. Will Jordon Rhodes score against us at the end of the season to deny us a play off place.Are we actually good enough ,is Mick tactically aware enough to have a plan B. Today asks many questions and answers only one. That is the pain suffered during those 94 minutes vs Norwich better be worth while come the seasons end. Somehow i feel we are destined to finish 7th or 8th. I really hope im wrong as at christmas we should of been looking toward January signings ,our emergency loans are so average its an emergency in its own right.
4

bohslegend added 17:57 - Mar 1
Gutted about the result.

And I'm ashamed of the hateful element some so-called fans show on here.
18

muccletonjoe added 18:00 - Mar 1
Let's just add a bit of realism here, we were playing a club who have spent over 30 million on players, if they don't have a better side than a cub who has spent a couple of hundred grand there is something very wrong somewhere. 3 years in the premier league can do that, simple as.
19

happybeingblue added 18:00 - Mar 1
Johnny Williams is our only hope :)
-10

bluefeast added 18:03 - Mar 1
Look at the goals scored from midfield of derby ,middlesborough , norwich ,bounmouth ,watford ,brentford and wolves. Frightening that each of those teams have 2 players who have scored each ,more than our entire midfield selection this season and last season combined. There ends the problem ,your style of play MM is not as effective over 46 games as the rest of the challengers.
10

WestNorfolk_Blue added 18:03 - Mar 1
Disapointing that Mick sees this as just points but dont really blame him. Couldnt believe Smith started again as been so poor for weeks now and and like a rabbit in the hadlights every time the ball comes his way, his first thougths are turn back and pass to keeper, to me should have pulled Chambers across and put Parr at RB, like earlier in the season, Tommy needs a break and a re-build of confidence. No craft in midfield, hard work but mostly on neck muscles as ball going over the top so often. To me Jan was so disapointing and showed it all with no real signings just elastoplasts covering the odd scratch, i understand ME is investing but honestly dont think it is more than a tax fiddle to him. The Scum were better but considering the size of squad and money from parachutes still think they are a sh*t team and wont make the top two, that said AN has stiffened them up but not great football, cant say they are any where near Derby.
Still Blue through and through but bl**dy jaded after the last few weeks.
6

itfc1981 added 18:05 - Mar 1
Go to 433 with Parr like you did in the autumn Mick, (Smith is so poor) did you notice we won most of games back then?

Attack is the best form of defence.
8


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