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McCarthy Pleased With Performance Despite Defeat
Saturday, 19th Dec 2015 18:22

Town boss Mick McCarthy was delighted with his team’s performance despite being disappointed to lose 1-0 to Derby County in a “close-fought game” at Portman Road. Tom Ince’s 40th minute goal - which video evidence suggests was offside - was the difference between the teams.

“It was a pretty good game, a close-fought game, there wasn’t a lot in it except we’ve [conceded],” McCarthy said.

“It’s always a good goal when you score it, but it’s a bad goal from our point of view, we’re in possession.

“I think it took a deflection [off Jonas Knudsen] in the end and went past Gerks, that’s the bit of good fortune.

“I’ve looked at it and I think it is offside, but I’m not complaining about that. I’ll complain about that in my report to the referee and his assessors.

“If it is, that’s their good bit of luck and good luck to them because we’ll get one somewhere along the line as well.

“I thought we played well, I’m delighted with the performance, really pleased, just disappointed with the end result.”

He added: “I think they’ve got the best away defence in the league, they’re a good team.

"I’m not going to criticise my players. There were times when we might have had a better pass, a better cross, a bit more composure, a different choice, but when we stop teams doing it I tend to take the credit for that, and my team takes the credit.

“So perhaps you have to give them a bit of credit for that. They’re a good side. If anybody finishes above them and Middlesbrough I’ll be very, very surprised.”


The Blues again found themselves falling short against one of the division’s top teams - they have beaten only Burnley of those in the top five - and McCarthy says they’ve some more tough games to come with visits to Brighton and Burnley following the Boxing Day match against APR.

“We’ve got another two coming up,” he said. “Maybe three because QPR are resurgent I think with Jimmy Floyd and the players they’ve put back in.

“But I’m not going to go home and be holding myself in judgment or have any recriminations about how I set up the team or how we played because I think it was a good performance against a good side.

“So I’ve no complaints with my team’s performance, I’ve got a complaint with the goal we conceded because we had the ball and it shouldn’t end up in the net as easily as that. Just tiny little detail.

“And if it had ended up 0-0 I would have walked off and thought ‘That’s a good point against a good side’.”

The Blues boss had no complaints about the incident which saw Rams midfielder Jacob Butterfield booked for wrestling Cole Skuse having fouled the Town man.

“That’s part of the game,” McCarthy said. “Me the shrinking violet start whinging about people being competitive?

“I don’t think there was anything in that game, even Tom Ince kicking Ryan Fraser in the face.

“Christophe Berra did it as well and it was a booking. I said to the fourth official that he didn’t mean to kick it in the face, he went to kick the ball and it was an accident and it was the same with Ince.

“And all that wrestling, it was no trouble to me at all, none whatsoever. If you’re not competitive you’ll get shafted every week. They’re a competitive team, we are. No complaints.”

The Town manager felt that overall both central defensive pairings had the better of the strikers they were up against.

“Except for one occasion,” he said ruefully. “I thought they were great, I think their two lads are very good, both Richard Keogh and Jason Shackell.

“I signed Shackell years ago and he’s become a very, very good defender, he’s one of the best in the league, I think, as is Keogh, I think they’re very good.”

McCarthy was pleased to be able to introduce Ryan Fraser from the bench in the second half, the Scotland U21 international having been out since early October.

“I hear people bleating when they’ve got one player missing and it changes their team and I’m not bleating, but we’ve had Ryan missing who’s missing who has scored four goals and started.

“We’ve also had Bish missing all season, Kevin Bru for a big part, David McGoldrick’s been missing. I think anybody’s going to miss them.

“So to have three of them back with Luke Varney signing, it’s tough for them going on but those minutes in their legs will help them further on.”

McCarthy said Jonny Parr missed out on a place on the bench having picked up a niggle:“He’s got a tight calf.”

Derby manager Paul Clement felt his team were given a far from comfortable afternoon: “It was such a hard-fought game, maybe the hardest game physically we’ve been involved in this season. It’s a massive three points for us.”

He was pleased with the way his players stood up to the physical challenge presented by the Blues.

“We’ve done it before but that’s no guarantee you’re going to do it again,” he added. “We spoke about it before in our analysis of Ipswich, what to expect.

“To expect it from the first minute to the last minute, that chances would be few and far between.

“The best opportunities would come from counters and they did. There were very few chances overall for both teams. But we had to really stand up to a aerial onslaught.

“Our centre-backs were outstanding and the team one to 11 and the guys that went on and finished the game as well, it was a proper men’s performance today.”


Photo: Action Images



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bluefeast added 18:32 - Dec 19
I don't want Micks excuses , he signed the players its his team and we can't score at home. He bores me rigid and thats why i know longer go to watch us at home.
-24

Mystified added 18:41 - Dec 19
MM, sometimes you talk rubbish. The main problem is we have a owner who won't invest so until that changes MM hands are tied. Give Mick some funds for goodness sake.

-4

rinkydinkpanther added 18:42 - Dec 19
No, McCarthy never bleats about the players he doesn't have available, nor his budgetary constraints. We know this because he mentions it in almost every bloody interview he does.
4

Smithy added 18:43 - Dec 19
Bluefeast, if you don't watch, please don't comment. Town I thought were good today, just missing that someone to open up a defence, ala Teddy Bishop. No one had a poor game, everyone put in 100 per cent which is all you can ask for and you couldn't tell which side had spent millions. I enjoyed the game, proper blood and thunder championship game and we gave it a good go, just came up a little short in a game which could easily have gone either way. We'll be fine if we have that effort each week. COYB
20

Gforce added 18:43 - Dec 19
I'm afraid it's the same old story,we always fall short against the so called top sides.Until we invest in some real quality especially at the back,nothing will ever change.Next season will be harder than ever with the likes of Sunderland and Aston Villa joining us.
8

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 18:52 - Dec 19
It's frustrating that we can't match the top teams, but there doesn't seem much we can do about it at the moment.
6

patrickswell added 18:55 - Dec 19
I wonder if the fact that Mick's sides are seen as rugged and tough means that we don't get opposition players sent off when they should be.
1

gippeswyk added 18:59 - Dec 19
I was there and it was a hard fought game. I agree with Smithy that we weren't overwhelmed or outclassed by Derby's top money squad. Derby passed better and were more threatening going forward on the counter. We struggle to break with any pace and end up turning round and passing the ball back, allowing Derby time to re-group. We had some chances and on another day, could have scored a couple but their defence was well organised. Frazer coming on great to see. He really is premiership quality and I hope he can avoid further injury because he is targeted just like Jonny Williams last year. Varney and Bru back is also reason to be positive. I was not happy we didnt get anything out of the game but it was no shame to be edged out by a single rather fortunate goal against a side that's 2nd in the division. I agree with Gforce that until ME invests, we won't compete with the sides that are. Top 6 on Xmas day is something most of us would have taken at the start of the season and a play off place is realistically all we can hope for come the end of it.
10

blueboy1981 added 19:02 - Dec 19
.......... same old story from MM - only thing that changes is the day and date.

Main priority is to keep himself in a job - and he'll do that by keeping us mid table Championship, for ever and a day.

Just don'r expect anything else.
-1

StochesStotasBlewe added 19:15 - Dec 19
Smithy..............Really, a good game. It was bloody awful, blood & thunder maybe but bugger all quality again. Don,t know what some people were watching but it sure as hell wasn,t the the same match I sat through.
7

manualthetisfanclub added 19:17 - Dec 19
Derby weren't great, but when it mattered you could see who was top 2 and who are the nearly men. League not over at Christmas, still everything to play for but at the moment money talks in football, like it or not, that's reality!
9

Penguinblue added 19:26 - Dec 19
Town will never progress beyond their current level under MM. He just isn't good enough, full stop. He followed two poor managers so looked good initially by saving us from our false position. Well done, thanks , but goodbye.
He has assembled a reasonable squad that could compete for promotion in this relatively poor league, but will never play to our strengths and cannot see beyond hoofball. Playing so long without full backs is pathetic beyond words and the saddest joke ever was that alleged quote from Chambers that 'I am a full back now'. Good God.
I don't even think that the much used e,xcuse. of lack of investment cited by some fans and by MM in his embarrassing press conferences where he tries to speak in riddles. I think that Town are probably at best a tax break for Marcus Evans but even so there is the basis of a good squad. They just need a progressive manager to play the right players and attract some creative ones.
7

theman added 19:35 - Dec 19
Surely we can't be pleased with any performance at home which results in only 2 shots on target?
20

directorsbox added 19:45 - Dec 19
Really telling was the difference between our strikers when playing against mediocre tems like Fulham and MK Dons, as opposed to top- of - the - table clubs like Middlesborough and Derby. With the former, they have so many more opportunities in front of goal that their profligacy ends up not mattering. With the Top Two clubs, chances to score are few and far between, and so consistently inaccurate shooting means a complete dearth of goals. For all that, a decent linesman today would have kept the score at 0-0.
As a matter of interest, what is the record length of stay for any club in football's second tier?
3

TimmyH added 19:46 - Dec 19
Always seems to be us who concedes in these very tight close fought games against the 'bigger' teams Mick!! - you don't get points for performances (which is arguable if it was that good).
Still adamant that we only have 6th place to play for - we haven't beaten a top half team since August!

Most annoyingly though is Mick's statement (yesterday I believe) of not selling any players in January - what!?! - I thought the club was quite smug with itself in respect to making a £5M profit over the last year, should we be content then? NO! how about getting some quality in and closing that gap between clubs like Boro/Derby/Hull etc. - IF we have any ambition that is...
12

StowTractorBoy added 19:57 - Dec 19
Penguin Blue how on earth can you say MM is not good enough when he has taken both Wolves and Sunderland into the Premier League. Also how can you say this is a poor league as it is one of the toughest and most competitive leagues in the world. At the end of the day Derbys superiority did not match the gulf in money spent on players and the match was settled by a suspect offside goal. We now have the best squad we have had in years but been unfortunate with injuries. The moaning and criticism of MM and ME on here beggars belief and I believe some of the posters just revel in our failures. We are 6th in the league which is not the end of the world as some on here would have.
There are potentially bigger Clubs than us i.e. Forest, Wolves, Sheff Wed, Leeds, currently below us in this league but we still get criticism from our own so called fans - just be careful what you wish for.
6

JustSpivvyChops added 20:00 - Dec 19
Mick knows we are never securing a top two place and the best we can realistically achieve without significant investment is a play off spot.....hence the constant reference to being "competitive" in after match appraisals, it's the best he can do with what he's got to work with.

TBF he's done a bloody good job considering what he's up against...
9

bluefeast added 20:01 - Dec 19
I would love to see a change , i would love to see players playing in their best positions and a flow to our attacking play , disguised passes at speed ,overlaps an options ,midfield players getting ahead of strikers with late hard to pick up runs. We are difficult to beat and we give 100 percent , those two traits are important. But at home sides have worked us out , the onus is on us to attack and we are very route one ,so to defend against it is not rocket science for good defenders .
8

runningout added 20:13 - Dec 19
Nothing to do with money.. Players pulling together with strong mentality and ruthless streak does the job
-4

jas0999 added 20:14 - Dec 19
Sorry Mick, but I don't agree. It wasn't a good game. Poor actually by both sides, difference was Derby played the classic away day and we failed to create too much or score despite being the home side. We lacked quality in the centre of the park today, whilst defensively let them in. Not good enough for promotion, but probably the best we could do with our hard workng squad.
9

Penguinblue added 20:26 - Dec 19
It is probably all about expectations. The Championship may be competitive but don't mistake that for quality and consistency which this league lacks and can occasionally make MM look good.
There are more poor teams than good ones in the Championship and unfortunately MM's selections and tactics pull us into the former.
There are some good things going on at Ipswich, it's not all negative. But the sooner we all see that MM is a one trick pony and does not actually get the best from the squad, the quicker we will progress. My expectation is that Ipswich return to being a big club in terms of footbal. I suspect that wages aside no truly gifted player with choices would sign permanently for MM.
1

ArnieM added 20:47 - Dec 19
Oh ffs get over yourself. WTF are you talking about man??
0

alfromcol added 21:16 - Dec 19
Played well so same format and team Boxing Day I suspect!! All very disappoint, very little quality/skill from a number of players week in and week out.
5

GiveusaWave added 21:20 - Dec 19
As so many supporters have talked about since the beginning of the season, this all comes down to expectations. We are not a top 6 team. The fact that we could actually, in theory, end the season in the top 6 is testimony to the hard work of MM and all at the football club. Sometimes we seem so blinkered by the players we have that we don't bother assessing the opposition squads. There are some seriously good players in the Championship. Some of the squads out there have quality from start to finish. Sadly, we have no real strength in depth and once injuries fall upon us are resigned to playing players who should not be playing in this league.

I am disappointed, but was expecting this result.
7

patthegimp added 21:33 - Dec 19
Actually expecting a hammering so this result was reasonable on score line. But bottom line is we got beaten again at home. Don't expect much from this season- we really have minimal quality with the odd exception- Sears possibly Fraser who is not ours. Otherwise moderate ability. Overall we are a Championship standard team and will not progress to the Premiership- do we really want that? Outplayed week in week out and the destabilising effect of parachute payments? We will not progress without a lot of money pumped in- i.e. multi millions. Enjoy the smell of the play-offs while it lasts.

E Scrooge
Enjoy it as it is- still competing in the championship.
2


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