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McCarthy Unhappy With Fans' Reaction to Maitland-Niles Friday, 5th Feb 2016 06:00
Blues boss Mick McCarthy says he was “extremely unhappy with the crowd’s reaction” to Ainsley Maitland-Niles during Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Reading. The Town manager, who subbed the 18-year-old at the break after he had had a “tough” first half, felt the moaning and groaning from supporters was counterproductive.
McCarthy says he has been pleased with the midfielder, who joined the Blues on a season-long loan from Arsenal in August.
“He’s had about 20-odd appearances, which for a loan for an 18-year-old is pretty impressive, actually," he said.
“I think at times he’s been different class, at other times he’s been mediocre, sometimes ordinary, but overall I’m thinking he’s been seven out of 10 while he’s been here.
“I’ve been delighted with him. If you could get that through a season with senior players you’d take it.
“I thought he had a tough evening the other night, I was extremely unhappy with the crowd’s reaction towards him because it’s not going to help him.
“We’ve taken a young player from Arsenal and he’s come in here to help us and in the main he has.
“I love him, he’s a great kid and if we could get him for next year I’d be happy to do it again.”
The Portman Road crowd was unusually understated throughout on Tuesday, at least until Brett Pitman’s late, late winning goal.
“I just thought it was a difficult atmosphere,” McCarthy continued, reflecting on why that might have been the case.
“We’d dropped out of the top six, we’d lost in the FA Cup, it wasn’t a great game, we weren’t playing brilliantly at all, I fully understand that.
“But it’s not always about playing brilliantly, it’s about winning and if we all stick together we’ve got a better chance.
“But he’s a kid. He wasn’t getting any abuse, it was all the 'ohs' and moans and groans. He was having a tough time and, as we saw, it doesn’t help.
“It wouldn’t help you if someone stood over you oh-ing and moaning and groaning, it’s not easy, believe me. I’m pleased with Ainsley, he’s been great.”
He added: “It’s just so much better when [we all stick together]. And, by the way, I compliment the crowd as well because there was a time in a game, I can’t remember which one, when we were going for it and they were brilliant, and brilliant all through the game. We just had a little spell and they were great. And it’s a lot easier.
“I’ve watched the Reading game again this morning and if I could have watched it in the microwave in five minutes it would have been a lot easier because it wasn’t great, but it’s still better if we’re getting that audible support the right way.
“But I also understand that if you’ve paid your money whatever it is if it’s a pile of poo you’re going to whinge about it. But there are certain things.
“If I’ve got players who are not playing well, there’s no point in me whinging and bawling in their earhole.
“I might be when I’m watching it but at half-time I’ve got to jolly them along and get them to do better. That’s got to be the scenario that helps us.
“But we’ve not had many of them. It was a bad atmosphere from the start of the game, so I think they must have been feeling bad before the game because it didn’t get going at all.
“And we didn’t help it, we didn’t excite them until the 89th minute. Well, no, the first goal excited them, of course. And then we all got woken up and brought back to life with an 89th minute blood transfusion.”
He can understand why fans were less than impressed by the FA Cup replay defeat at Portsmouth, the Blues boss having made 11 changes to his team. However, he says that having an FA Cup run can present problems fixtures-wise.
“I get that, losing and then, of course, it put more pressure on the Birmingham game and we had one sent off,” he said. “I actually thought we played well at Birmingham with 11 and 10 men, it didn’t matter. But it wasn’t going to be with 10 men.
“That meant it was back to back defeats and I think people then start losing a bit of faith. I get that.
“But I also look at Blackburn’s run now with the games that they’ve got because they’re still in the cup.
“They’ve got Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday. We couldn’t fit our rearranged game with them in. We could have had it this Tuesday and it would have suited me better to have it this Tuesday, I think, but I’ve got a goalkeeper who is out and it's just an added risk of injuring Bart and then I’m down to either getting a loan keeper or Michael Crowe or Jonathan Henly.
“So, I've two top class keepers, if the other one got injured, I’m putting that at risk, so we took the 15th March.
“Look at Blackburn’s fixtures and see what they are. It’s ridiculous because they’ve had to put Fulham in, they’ve had to put Middlesbrough in, they’ve had to put us in and it is Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday. It’s ridiculous their fixture list.”
Coming back to Maitland-Niles, of whom Arsenal have high hopes for the future, he added: “Of course, he’ll be in bigger stadiums with bigger crowds moaning at him even more.
“You don’t mind the abuse from the opposing fans, that’s not a problem, that’s fine, it’s when your own fans [are moaning and groaning].
“I understand it because we weren’t playing well, but he shouldn’t be the person that’s getting the brunt of it.
“They don’t send them out to learn that, but they send them out to play in front of crowds who have paid their money, that get disappointed, they get happy, all that. It’s great experience for him and I think he’s been very good for us.”
Photo: Action Images
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Manager took him off - but only because crowd on his back! Is that what we're meant to be hearing? I daresay MM told him the real reason, but the blame game is useful sometimes, isn't it?
Sorry Mick but this is another own goal. Yeah text book man management to back your player but next season he will be back at Highbury and we'll still be here as we will long after you have gone too.
You took AMN off because he doesn't seem to be able to adapt to the direct game that you like to play. Give the boy a chance and put it to his feet instead of lumping a 30 yard pass at his rib cage. Your style of football has damaged his confidence, resulting in some less than impressive performances.
Nobody was giving AMN any grief on Tuesday night, in fact, as you eluded to, nobody was making much noise at all.
The fans are entitled to moan and groan when they see a player fail to control, or give the ball away. And they will do so however that player might be.
Get AMN in the team playing centrally behind the striker.
Sorry Mick I am a great fan of yours but the mood of the fans has been created by you. You put out two extremely weak teams in the biggest cup completion in the world making 10/11 changes on each occasion. We lose against a Division 2 side and then we go to Birmingham to get hammered. No wonder we were all sceptical on Tuesday. Regarding Maitland Niles - when he first came here he was a breath of fresh air playing out wide taking players on with his pace. Why do you then persist in pushing him into the centre of midfield in a crowded area when space for is pace is very limited. I do not usually criticise the Manager but think he is bang out of order with the comments on our fans. Perhaps we were quiet because we were fearful of losing another crucial match. Mr McCarthy you need to see the bigger picture from our perspective after all you will moan even more if we don't turn up. I don't usually have a go at MM but these comments have angered me somewhat.
I don't see any problem in what he said. As someone said earlier we seem to love a scapegoat at this club. Last year in was hyam saying how he's not good enough. Yet this season we send him out on loan to get match fitness the same people saying he should be starting for us it's laughable. I get it's not always pretty and I also feel a signing in January was required to lift the place a bit. Derby have spent 25 million on a squad and couldn't manage a shot on target Tuesday night yet were told by many on here what great tiki-taka football they play. But I'd take a scrappy 2.1 win any day over tiki-taka football with no end product. End of the season is a time to judge by all means moan and groan if we have achieved are objectives of play-offs. But for now let's just get behind the team and see where it takes us. Coyb.
McCarthy maybe the fans are extremely unhappy with the attitude you showed to the FA Cup and the constantly resorting to playing hoofball. Don't blame the crowd look in the mirror for the real culprit.
Mick's attitude towards the FA Cup which to me was an insult to the competition, simply to have his key players fit for the league and then going to Birmingham with them to lose 3-0 I believe this was on a lot of our Supporters minds on Tuesday, it certainly was on mine, the game was generally poor although I felt that we were the better team, I was therefore thrilled that we got the winner, I personally do not like our current style of Football, it would surely need to be rapidly changed if we are lucky enough to get back into the Premiership.
@trncbluearmy We're in the playoffs, not on the edge of them. Also the two passes for the goals weren't hoofs, it was a very good pass by Chambers to free Sears and Varney's pass was also very good. Seems like moaning for moaning sake. Not much new in the comments section though, f**k knows what you lot were like when Keane and Jewell were in charge!
Re. A couple of points on comments above... How can the club not be a democracy if the fans don't support the club there is no club!?! We pay to get in, we buy the shirts, we follow the club and therefore the club is successful and makes money! Surely if we can't express opinions directly to the management we can shout them from the stands!?
And the comments about "negativity breeding negativity" and "can't be part of the outcome if not being part of the process" is pure corporate jargon b*llsh*t babble, sounds good in a team leader meeting but doesn't have quite the same affect on a football supporters forum!
Really, gave the lad a hard time! No they did not. He was muscled off the ball and out of the game. Mick himself said he had to change formation to get some strength in midfiled duriing the half and the made the substitution at half time to win the midfield battle. The atmosphere was muted for sure as the fans were discussing our transfer dealings and that was about it. It felt like a training game and a slugging match. Supporters opinions don't seem to matter to Mick so why does he pick on this particular one, slow day in the newsroom?
The only ones who haven't been a different class this season have been the fans that post on here. Call this supporting the club??? should be ashamed of yourselves.
Count Arthur seem to recall that it was because the fans behind the dug out were slagging Hyam off we pay our hard earned to support the club/team not slagging them off which is what thank goodness most of us do.
To be fair, this news story is giving those who are used to posting derogatory comments when we lose games a chance to let off some anti-MM steam.
MM has a history of these kind of comments defending players so is anyone really surprised? It is in his interest to protect the morale of his players, and obviously some abuse may have been having an adverse effect on AMN, and therefore the team.
All this questioning of Micks attitude is beyond the pale.
This is a man who has always given 100% for every club he has ever managed or played for, the biggest thing he asks of players is that the reflect that attitude in themselves, he defends his players when he feels they are harshly criticised and doesn't discriminate about who defends them too, isn't that the what any manager should do?
Good for Mick, were in the playoffs, were closer under Mick to promotion tha we have been since Joe Royale and people are still having a pop? Come on, were you inspired by PJ's pretty football? I suspect if you look at attendances you will see that they have gone up under Mick, I for one am inspired by the club being at the top end of the table because it makes a nice change from the last 10 years or so. I would suggest that's far more inspiring that seeing us lose 4-3 every week and play it along the ground.
Agree, certain sections of our support love a scape goat, be it Smith, Hyam, AMN or AN Other, because some people are only happy it when it rains.
I say good for Mick, the lad is young and learning his trade, Christ its his first season of regular football and some of you expect him to be Messi and call yourself realists in the same sentence.....
GET REAL.
Where are we? Play offs. Who put as there? Mick When did we last get there? JR
There is a reason I think the away support is the best in the league and its has nothing to do with numbers and everything to do with attitude
I don't particularly think it was aimed at AMN but the dire so called football being played by Town. MM summised in his interview after the game that they can't play good football to win games you need to be hard working beligerant etc etc to win games but both goals came from a good passage of football so I strongly disagree MM get us playing football if you know how!!!
He was rubbish ( as was Hyam) and deserved what he got . When he plays well he gets cheered . That's the life of being a footballer . If MM doesn't like it he can Foxtrot Oscar as he is fond of telling us to do .
We can't afford the flair-players you watch at home on your TV. If we played as if we had flair-players we'd get murdered. Instead we have to grind out opportunities and take our chances. For the TV watchers amongst you, we are a bit like Man U at the moment. They don't have the same number of skilled players they are used to having to play the kind of game their supporters are most happy watching, like us, they're grinding out results 'cause at the end of the day - results matter. Oh, and they both have tough, very good leaders in MM and VG.
I was at the game like I am all home games and was not aware of any booing of AMN or fans giving him a hard time. I think the opposition were doing that and had him in their pocket all night, that is the reason he was taken off. What did that do to his confidence then MM? To be substituted at half time tells the story, playing badly, not in the game. AMN was a breath of fresh air at the start of the season, fast skillful, direct, winning the ball back and looked up for it. Now it has all been coached out of him and his game and attitude has gone behind, nothing to do with the fans MM, more your coaching, tactics and style. I'm sure Wenger won't let his youngsters anywhere near Portman Road again to earn valuable playing experience. On Tuesday AMN reminded me of Jet, bags of talent, but can't be arsed. A term that applies to many young players of today unfortunately. They have been given a wonderful chance, they are the ones who need to work hard and appreciate the chance that many others wish they had been give.
If young players are to be included in the squad play them in positions they are comfortable in, they are still learning. I think MM must take some of the blame for AMN performances as he is not sure what role he is supposed to be playing in the team and a lot of the time looks lost.
I feel sorry for MM! It must be difficult to tell a youngster that your not playing him or your replacing him with a sub because to many of his passes are going astray, when most of the back line find it difficult to compleat a pass & keep their place! Fire away I've got my tin hat on!
Good Mickmarks for reference. 7/10 = Delighted Senior pro 7/10 for a season, very happy/Successful. 9/10 might be embarrassing to put into words, though...(!)
only player i've seen destoyed by our fans was marshall (keeper) - the north stand destoyed him to the degree he was so on edge he couldnt catch a ball let alone keep one out of the goal..just coz he'd had a bad game or two and of course mainly coz he was an ex budgie. we should never let that happen again...to anyone! in a blue shirt (or green)
I'm sorry Mick, I think you are wrong, No one booed AMN, there were some frustrating groans around me on Tuesday night, myself included. Niles was poor that night and I think deserved to be substituted at half time, Bru played better. The boy will be a very good player in the future and will probably play a blinder in the next game. The fans pay a lot of money to see their team play and have a right to vent their displeasure but will always support anyone who wears the shirt whether they play well or not.
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