Pro McCarthy
Posted by Thomas on 4th February , 2010With all that’s gone on in the last week, I thought I’d put my tin hat on and come out in support of our manager.
Despite the lack of significant transfer activity, the humiliating defeat to Crystal Palace and the continued torment of seeing Kevin Foley on the right wing, I still back Mick McCarthy.
Mick McCarthy - Still the man for the job?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m seething at him for Tuesday night and some his tactics continue to baffle me. I’ve happily pointed the finger at him after numerous setbacks this season and he’s unquestionably made a few big errors in judgment.
But the fact is, he himself should judged after 38 games, not 23.
Everyone’s entitled to their opinion of course, but the way some people have been banging on, you’d think we were bottom of the league, ten points adrift from safety. We’re not you know. And whatever was said or promised by the club prior to the start of the season, success in this campaign constitutes one thing and one thing only – survival. 17th place.
Calling for McCarthy’s head now is pure lunacy. Face it, there’s absolutely no way he’ll be removed and I don’t see him walking away anytime soon. He’s too proud for that.
But speaking hypothetically, if he was given the boot, why does everyone assume we’ll see an upturn in results? The board and our chief executive have been universally criticised by the Old Gold faithful, so what makes you think they’d find a better replacement? The grass isn’t always greener and I feel that Wolves fans should know that better than anyone else.
Of course this isn’t the first time our manager has come under heavy fire. At the end of the 2007/08 season, many wanted him gone after he failed to get us into the play-offs and the ‘Freddy Saga’ raged on. Read the comments on this Express & Star blog for a snapshot of the mood at the time:
http://www.expressandstar.com/2008/05/06/wolves-blog-time-for-change-2/
The majority wanted him out. But he stayed and we all know what happened the following season.
Call me a ‘happy-clapper’ if you want, but I’d love nothing more than to see Mick McCarthy once again throw egg on the faces of his biggest critics.
Now I’m not saying if we keep him, everything will definitely work out. The point I’m trying to get across is that he’s earned the right to manage this side in the Premiership. He might be stubborn and he might constantly divide opinion, but I feel he still deserves full backing, at least until this season is done and dusted.
That’s my case for the defence anyway.
I just feel generally sad about the whole situation we have found ourselves in.
My over-riding feeling is that Mick deserved more support in the summer, after climching the title on a (relative) shoestring. Surely that meant something?
We were promised great things, but it soon became clear that he wasn’t going to be backed. Not seriously.
Yes, he had £18odd million, but it won’t buy you jack shit if wages won’t be met.
So I will always point the finger at our board before anyone – their false promises and complete failure to deliver.
From then on though, Mick has had to make a fist of things with what he has had. And he too has failed miserably. (see Hoff, Surman, Halford, Castillo, etc)
Now he is making more changes than a Hollywood surgeon each game, in the folorn effort of masking our blatant shortfall in quality.
Meanwhile, Moxey and Morgan can feast on the fatal flaw they have exposed in Mick – his stubborness, beligerance, and dogmatic attitude.
With each passing game, the process will keep repeating itself, until the baying fans circle at his feet like pirhanas and he’s sacked.
Mick is the bull in the Spanish amphitheatre, fighting a painful, folorn battle. Moxey and Morgan are the bullfighters, pandering to the galleries and abusing the brave old animal until they strike the fatal blow.
Mick deserved better.
To be honest with you I don`t even think a combination of Fergie,Cloughie and Shankley could get this bunch of muppets making their mark in the premier league.
Having said that was it not McCarthy who signed, coached and played the players out of position.
Would any of us back Morgan and Moxey to appoint someone better? I’d expect Paul Jewell and a lot of Moxey spin about how he’d got Bradford and Wigan up and kept them there.. not so much on the Derby experience no doubt!
I can’t see MM going anywhere this season. That said, the table will probably look a lot worse this time next week – plenty of points available for West Ham, Burnley, Wigan, Bolton and Hull. Our 2 games look the toughest.
Also.. those calling for his head might want to think of the impact this would have on Doyle, Foley, Ward, Henry etc.. I don’t think you’d see an upturn in results.. in fact I’d say the chances of relegation would increase, as would the likelihood of our better players leaving.
Adam B. Forget our fixtures we are incapable of beating the very teams we are battling with for survival. Or a championship side.
No manager has split the WOlves faithful like mad mick – his team selections are reprehensible and criticism of the fans for questioning this unbelievable.
A chap named Tony wrote this after the Palace game:
Ok, this is very, very, very simple. We have 10 outfield players. Tonight, 5 of our outfield players were centre halves. The whole of the back four were centre halves. One of our midfielders was a centre half and another one was a right back (yes, a right back playing in midfield when we didn’t even have a right back playing at right back). Is anyone surprised we didn’t create anything? I truly believe the first sign of a manager panicking is when he starts to play players out of position. Dave Jones did it last time we were in the Premier and now Mick is doing it. Putting square blocks in round holes is not the answer. Foley has to start at right back. Jarvo has to play on one flank and either Bia or Surman on the other until Kights gets back. We then need two proper midfielders in midfield, preferably a combination of defensive midfielder and attacking midfielder, e.g. Henry and Milijas. Then you have two out and out strikers. Change one of the strikers for a midfielder (not a defender playing in midfield) if you really want to play 4-5-1.
Nicely put Tony, and you could pop these “tactics” into 2/3 of our game “plans” since Mad Mick signed.
Patience is long gone.
I agree that Mick wont walk and I also agree he wont be sacked. My opinion on Moxey hasnt changed, I dont like the bloke but he does his job as specified, the PR side of the club is a disaster but always has been. I have no reason to distrust Morgan at the moment. Wolves dont value their supporters but they never have in my lifetime so whats new!
At the moment all I want to see is players playing in their correct positions, less hoof ball and the basics being done properly. I want some consistency in the team and less changes. Not much to ask is it but I think it would have a positive impact for the rest of the season. Oh and some explanation without spin for decisions taken.
Yes Thomas, McCarthy has deserved his chance at managing Wolves in the Premier League BUT it is how he is performing that perplexes so many Wolves fans now that we are there.
Here are some of the ‘mismatches’ he is famous for making:- Playing players in positions which do not come natural to them, which in turn produces ‘schoolboy’ errors such as a right back playing at left back although he is predominantly right footed – Tactics which do not suit the occasion, ie playing so many centre halves in a match where we should be taking it by the scruff of the neck and showing why we are a PL club – Substitutions, a simple enough task but made almost unfathomable by McCarthy when players going off are not replaced by a like-for-like player ie a midfielder goes off and a defender comes on but then plays as a midfielder.
McCarthy’s decision making also leaves a lot to be desired. What goes on in his head, only he knows but much of it does not make sense to anyone else.
I will use the Man. Utd fixture as an example. The 11 chosen to play were basically squad players, many had actually played for the first team at some time during the season that’s true and the ‘first’ 11 were rested to save them for the Burnley game. But when a similar situation arose against Liverpool, McCarthy did not apply the same criteria, he played many of his ‘first’ 11 and then rested certain players against Hull City when THAT was the game we desperately needed to win. This is the kind of inconsistency that infuriates Wolves fans!
Giving a manager plenty the time to do things his way is one thing but when does that time run out? – When the manager has become tired of the job – The team gets relegated or when the fans have taken so much of the bad times, they stay
away in large numbers and the club then has financial problems? – Take your pick!
Wolves fans are a passionate bunch. When they moan, criticise or whatever, it is because they are proud, they want the club to be a prominent force in football, for the team to give them something in return for all of their support both at home and away which many of the fans give to the team week in and week out.
There have been many bad times over the years but we are now in the PL again, so this is why they are complaining, they don’t want Wolves to go down to the Championship…YET AGAIN!
Jez Moxey keeps telling us ‘ the club is not in debt, we have a prudent policy of keeping things in check…’ etc. etc. but we are a Premier League club, money from the League is falling around our ears and even though Wolves will receive a hefty payment come the season’s end, we have still not spent the kind of money to entice players to come to Molineux, the reason being Wolves have a reputation since Moxey arrived for being tight-fisted both with transfer fees and with salaries, just ask Neil Warnock at Crystal Palace what he said about Wolves’ approaches for the 18yo Clyne!
So enough of my ranting, you must have got the message by now.
Hopefully Wolves will stay up but IF we had strengthened in the January window, I would be much more confident, as it is, it will no doubt go to the wire. I just hope that we are not strangled by it!
The amount of stick I got for that blog!
Nathan, is it true Mick McCarthy refused to allow you to meet the players when you won a SportingBet competition some time after due to writing this?! (I will accept silence as confirmation!).
Haha, sorry for using that particular example Nathan. Wanted to point out the general mood of the supporters in your comments, rather than your specific views.
I’d have probably written something similar at the time. I remember how pumped up I was after that Plymouth game on the last day of the season.
Hi Adam
The rumours are true! I won a comp with SportingBet to meet Mick along with 10 others. When I got there, Gareth from SB informed me that Mick would meet everyone else apart from me! I was actually more pleased with the fact that I’d become infamous than bothered about meeting the mad old eagle! I sat down with Bully for 10 minutes and had a chat about our E&S columns, which was much, much better!
And Thomas, don’t apologise, I love being referenced! I stick by every word of that blog, it was a dreadful season and I’d had enough. Some of the people who read my blog often remind me that I wanted Mick sacked, especially when I say something complimentary about him! It was an awful season though wasn’t it?
And I think because that particular blog was printed as a double page spread in the paper, that’s what obviously got Mick’s goat!
Nothing wrong with supporting the manager though Thomas and I applaud you for doing so. My blog tomorrow many not follow suit. Good blog though, always enjoying reading them on here.
Cheers, Nath.
Will back McCarthy for as long as he is here. He has done a fantastic job on getting us here.
Ben, I feel it is harsh to have judge some of those players already. The Hof has played little, Surman is young and already looks quite talented. Halford, who I was impressed with at the start, looks to have done with Wolves what he has done at every club he has played for. Castillo has done nothing much wrong.
Look at the signings of Doyle and Milijas, players we have managed to get who you must wonder why they signed for us.
Sacking him wouldn’t help, aswell as he knows these players so well.
Anyone feel sorry for Foley? Our best player last year but forced to play out there. Maybe Mick thinks he has no one to play there yet that is where Halford played in August.
Mick has done some odd things but I still believe he can keep us up. Complain about experience but we are two places better when we had all those experienced players.
Nice blog Thomas
Pointless even talking about sacking the manager now – after the transfer window it’s just too late.
MM has got us here so it’s only fair he gets his chance now. Having said that here are the worrying facts from what I have seen this season…
* With the exception of Doyle MM has done little to attract any decent players – if we had a bigger name as manager (god knows who though) they might be able to bring in some stars (Even Phil Brown managed to get Bullard, Geovanni and Hunt). I think MM is great at spotting a bargain, I’m not convinced he can buy well at the next level up.
* How many players are currently being played out of position – which suggests that the signings made were not correct. Always a worry when a manager does this, stinks of not really having a clue to me.
* The tinkering with the team this season has also been a worry. Look at Stoke last season, Blues this year – they have a plan and they stick to it. Players play week in week out and have a settled team. I feel MM still does not really know his best 11.
* Whenever we get linked with an overseas player – how many of you are actually optomistic about it? All I think is ‘here we go again’ – Hof, Castillo et al. The scouts are MM’s employees and it looks like we have signed some real donkeys in the summer that will be on the payrole for a few years.
* My concern is also the way MM talks about players that ‘put in a shift’ – hard graft in this league wont keep you up. You need quality too and I just dont see it (except from Doyle and Jarvis at times).
* All the bulls*t that comes out of MM and Moxy gets on my tits too. “I’m happy with the squad I’ve got”, “The squad is good enough to stay up” – spin, spin, spin to dampen down the masses. The squad is clearly not good enough or those selected from our squad to play palace would have got a result against a mid table CCC team. Who out there thinks we have improved as a team since last season? I dont – if we go down someone will snap up Doyle and no one would want any of the other players we have signed.
Still it could be worse – look at Derby a few seasons ago – at this stage we are still in with a chance of survival. If we do stay up I feel it will be more to there being three worse teams rather than any magic from MM or his squad.
I don’t think that Mick should be sacked and I agree with most of what you say. Mick have not got the players he has asked for. Is it to blame on Moxey or the scouts or the market itself? Maybe a little on all. And a little on Mick as well.
I don’t think that the plan B has been good enough. In this transfer window plan B was the Belgians. There were much better players than them available if the club had looked around and paid some more. They feel like plan C.
Mick and Moxey have said that they didn’t really believe that they would get Hunt, Johnson or Keane. The more reason for a better plan B then! Same thing in the summer window with for instance Castillo and Halford. They are plan C for me. There were better wingers and hoklding midfielders out there to sign. In Britain!
But playing people out of position is a symtom and a neccessary evil now. It’s a symtom on that we don’t have good enough players on every position and I think Mick is right in playing for example Foley on the right wing. He is better than everything we have available for the position at the moment – including Halford(of course and without any doubt whatsoever!!!).
But Thomas is totally right, of course. The verdict has to wait until end of season, but the abscense of a plan B will rest heavily on the shoulders of McCarthy and Moxey whatever outcome it will be and I think – or at least hope – that Morgan is very aware of that.
Maybe we could keep Mick and just change our approach to team selection.
How about just sticking the players name into a hat and pulling them out randomly for each position in the team.
Oh shit, apparently we are already doing that. Never mind the next lunatic tactics are just round the corner.
nathan – brilliant. love to say i am surprised to discover mick could be that stubborn but i guess its par for the course. for a ‘bluff honest yorkshireman’ he really seems to take criticism to heart.
Seriously, anyone for tennis?
Andy…that’s just not cricket mate.
This is only the second year in 25 that we’ve been in the top flight, and we’re making a better fist of it then last time. So it’s the best time to support Wolves for a quarter of a century. Who have we to thank for this? Mick.
Now, there is a case for saying he can’t hack it in the Premier League, but for this first season it’s just about survival (most promoted sides go straight back down). We are currently 17th.
Stourbridge – In my personal opinion, we weren’t the best last year. We beat the teams at the bottom with our energy 4-4-2 and crossing to an in form striker who could finish from 6 yards. We didn’t beat many of the top teams did we? It’s no surprise then we can’t beat the sides around us now.
At the start of the season we were licking our lips at SEB and Doyle up front, a fit Kightly and Jarvis on the wings, but it aint happened. SEB’s confidence has plummeted, in this league you can’t wait for the ball to come to you.
With no striker coming in jan in looks worrying. We’re lucky there are 3 sides as bad as us. IMO it’ll be 3 of the bottom 4.
I still back Mick, if not just for the past. I can’t be so cut throat to say just get rid. As was rightly said, we’re not down yet, we still have a chance
Let’s just be honest. We are crap. We are not good enough to do even the basics correctly. How much head tennis has there been recently? We cannot even get the first touch right, and in the Prem, if your first touch cannot control the ball, then you get it nicked away sharpish!!
It doesnt matter who picks the team, it could be the canteen lady for all we know, if the basics arent there, then no amount of positional scheming will change the players, they are not good enough, apart from Doyler. ( Why does MM insist on giving everyone a nickname, which are supposed to be shorter than one’s given name anyway??)
Where was I?
Oh yes.
While we pay crap wages, have a crap training system, have crap scouts, have a crap “chief executive” (and I used lower case letters on purpose,) and a crap manager we will continue to attract only crap players, and be a crap team.
I don’t think we are a crap club however, look at all the outrage on this site alone.
What the management does not understand is the passion we have for our club.
After 50 years of support, with memories such as the bog house door at Oldham, Chelsea Tina at Halifax, the skinheads of Leeds on Huddersfield station, the vicar who did not die at Maine Road and on and on and on ad infinitum,
this club threads it’s way through every part of me, and I know, most of you lot out there. We are a big caring loving family, and our passion and commitment to The Wolves is something Moxey and the like don’t comprehend. Sadly, they never will, the bottom line is their only goal and big bonuses because they were unsuccesful
( spelling?) the aim. Sounds like the big banks, doesn’t it?
I ramble, it is a rainy day here in Houston and I’m bored.
FOWB
Clive -
Chelsea Tina at Halifax? Is there something you havent told me???
And what about that plonker who queued 20 minutes for a piss but when he finally got to the front of the queue couldnt perform???
Everybody “knew” Chelsea Tina!!!
I can’t for the life of me remember who the plonker is to whom you are referring of, but I vividly remember an A35 van in Derby, with Wolves socks tied to the wing mirrors, coz we didn’t own a Wolves scarf between us!!
And learning the words to “I’m a knock kneed chicken” in a Blackpool pub.
And the plastic machine guns in Bournmouth ……oops that wasn’t a Wolves away day.
Ben, if you read this it’s all lies!!!
Plain fact is… we are now a worse team than this time 12 months ago…anyone care to disagree?
I’ll care to disagree with you
I think we have a better team than twelve months ago. Around now last year was when we had a very bad run of form and everyone (other teams fans) were saying ‘told you you would mess it up again’.
Here’s what our main team from last year probably was.
Hennessey
Foley
Craddock/Mancienne
Berra/Stearman
Ward
Kightly
Henry
Jones
Jarvis
Iwelumo
SEB
Here’s this year, although it’s hard to say with all the changing.
Hahnemann
Zubar
Craddock/Mancienne
Berra
Ward
Edwards/Foley
Henry
Milijas
Jarvis
Doyle
SEB
Those two compared, with different situations.
Kightly is injured right now, if fit would put Foley back to right back. Doyle is three times better than Iwelumo and Hahnemann is generally accepted as better than Wayne.
Milijas, is in my opinion, a better version of Jones.
On the subject of lack of transfer activity in the january window. the time to buy quality players was at the start of the season, you can’t blame players for not wanting to sign for a club with the prospect of facing championship football , Its alright saying we put bids in for Keene and Adam Johnson we all now they would never come, and 5 million for hunt was way over the top If we had brought in experienced players in the summer then we could be where birmingham city are now, the board keep saying the premiership is the place to be , :whatever: moxey is the problem at the wolves.
Dazza, there is a difference between Championship and Premier League, i think you need to remember that. Winning breeds confidence. We were playing crap teams last year and as i’ve said already, we didn’t beat many top teams last year, especially at home.
I don’t see how anyone can say we are weaker than last season when we haven’t lost any players?! And Hahnemann and Doyle have been two of our best performers.
Obviously, those same players have been appeared less impressive due to the higher standard we are playing at and the diminished confidence that defeats bring.
But those same players we had last season, are now considerably less effective. Yes, of course we are playing at a higher level, but we never cut our cloth to suit. Might not have lost any players but if you think dross like Friend, MaierhooferHalford, Castillo, Surman etc are improving the team, you are deluded. Milijas is half arsed too, cant even complete a game when he plays, and when he has played, just exactly what has he done? Doyle was bought to score goals, so at present he is the most expensive striker(goals to quids) that we have ever had. Iwelumo, Blake, and dare I say it…Henry , Berra and Kightly, all out of their depth. As I said, a worse team than this time last year
Daz – Neil Collins was in our starting 11 for most of last season.
Team 12 months ago vs Coventry – lost 2-1
Hennessey, Foley, Ward, Henry (capt) (Edwards 84), Stearman, Berra, Kightly (Reid 86), Quashie, Ebanks-Blake, Iwelumo (Vokes 62), Jarvis.
Hahneman – better than Hennessey
Foley same (out of position albeit)
Ward (much improved as a left back)
Stearman (Craddock is playing better than Stearman)
Berra (stillin team)
Kightly (would be in but injured)
Quashie (Would anyone pick Quashie over Milijas?)
Henry (Still in team, and improved player IMO)
SEB (Still here, out of form)
Iwelumo (Would anyone prefer Doyle? I would)
Jarvis (Still in team)
To say we’ve not improved is outrageous. We picked up a point against Liverpool last week, last year we lost to Coventry.
and Dazza, how often have you seen Friend or Surman? last season when jarvis was injured and we seemed in trouble, Friend came in and did a really good job I thought. Surman, is about 21 and is not meant to be for now. when he has played he hasn’t done much wrong.
I see what you’re saying Adam, but last season we had a formula, a system, a pattern to our play.
We had 4-4-2 with two out and out wingers, a big man up top, who took a lot of the load off SEB.
This season there’s just no plan. We are no longer greater than the sum of our parts.
So for me, if this team today came up against our marauding team of August / September / October, we’d get thrashed.
An example: We did the double over Palace last season without ever looking that convincing. This season we get dicked 3-1.
Mick seems to have regressed to his 08 vintage, when he persisted with one of: Potter / Gibson or Stephen Elliott right midfield to combat the loss of Kightly.
He went all defensive on us with a midfield of:
Gibson Henry Olofinjana Elliott
It is shades of that all over again today, and I do fear the worst for Sunday.
Having read the above comments, I must add my two-pennorth to this thread.
Being in the PL is something all Wolves fans believe is where we should be. To get there takes one hell of an effort from everybody and last season that is what was done – from everybody!
Now we are in the PL we should have moved heaven and earth to ensure that we stay in it and that meant bringing in the players necessary to keep us there, this we have failed to do!
McCarthy and Moxey have basically pussyfooted around looking for bargains with an eye for the future. Had we been an established PL club I could have understood that for it would have been forward thinking – but we had only just been promoted, we did not have that luxury.
When the January transfer window opened we found attracting players to the club almost impossible, that is with the exception of the 2 Belgian lads, almost certainly because of our league position. Bids were made but all came to nothing and least said about the Hunt fiasco.
Birmingham, promoted with us remember, went about their business in the Summer in a manner that we should have copied to the letter. They brought in experienced players to IMPROVE their squad, did not put a spending cap on their salaries (although it has since been reported by David Sullivan, that £25K per week is the highest they pay) and played a settled 11 every game to ensure continuity on the pitch, all of which has brought its rewards – a high PL position with points aplenty, players giving consistent performances and a long unbeaten run!
Wolves on the other hand, cannot string 2 wins together, have no consistency and the players are rotated around so much, some of them have to be introduced to each other in the dressing room before each game! – Is it any wonder we are down the bottom of the PL?
Nothing can be done now, it is too late.
McCarthy getting the push will not happen (although many of us would like to see it, Morgan and Moxey are great believers in him), so we must get on with the job of keeping our PL place. IF McCarthy will keep a settled team and by that it means playing players in their rightful positions, employing tactics that play to OUR strengths and not to the oppositions, hopefully we can make the ‘great escape’ and keep our PL place for another season?
IF we can achieve those things THEN MOXEY and co must get down to the serious business of buying experienced PL players, offer respectable salaries and contracts AND bring in a manager who can take this club up to another level, for whatever people may think of McCarthy, like him or not, he is clearly NOT a PL manager! – Everyone is aware of the different opinions of McCarthy which appear almost daily in the news and on the internet – and not many are complimentary either!
IF Steve Morgan seriously does have any ambition to make Wolves a name to be respected once again, he should already be contemplating making some hard decisions in the summer, whether we remain in the PL or go down to the Championship.
Wolves fans do not want a yo-yo team, up one season and down the next, we all want to be established in the PL and to see where we go from there. Can it be done?
I think a yo-yo team is the best we can hope for now! I think we will struggle if we are relegated as the confidence has drained out of the team. A lot would depend on whether SEB would start scoring goals again.
Doyle would be on his bike – too good to play CCC football, and the only Wolves player with any consistency this season.
We’ll never be a yo yo team, we would buy cheap string that frays and snaps