Well, what do we expect now from Mick? Like the last two summer windows maybe, with around 10 Championship (or lower level) players per season coming in, no doubt in the hope that some will turn out to be undiscovered gold nuggets? If precedent is followed in the coming season, one of the incoming will cost around £6-£7 million, one or two around £2-£4 million and the rest buttons by Premiership standards. Or will the policy change? Whilst one can argue forever about the relative merits of individual squad members, the simple fact is that Wolves do not have enough quality at the moment to achieve even a mid-table placing. Apart from Miijas (not favoured by Mick), where is there imagination or creativity in midfield? Name a top quality defender. Do we have a striker feared by most Premiership opponents? I fear that negative answers apply. Mick has let Hahnemann go, when he was surely worth another year as experienced backup. He has extended Craddock's contract when it is apparent that this can only be a barely adequate short-term arrangement and he has made little effort, seemingly, to retain the exciting, if still raw, Mancienne. No, I fear that Mick will not change. Always the pot of Yorkshire tea in preference to the champagne, or even a glass of wine. I DO NOT suggest that Wolves jeopardise their strong financial position by spending big and unwisely. However, I DO suggest that some shrewd investment in quality is essential if we are not to be in the position of fighting desperately to avoid relegation again next season. Quality not quantity is required. Several teams in recent years have tried to "do the premiership on the cheap" (e.g. Hull, Blackpool, etc.). Where are they now? If it was so easy to do this, all clubs would try. The truth is that it can't be done. Gold nuggets are desperately hard to find on the cheap. Mick has seemed to think he can overcome this by sheer volume of signings, thereby spending around £37 million over the last two summers on around 20 players. So it's not even been cheap overall. A new approach, a new philosophy is needed - and it's needed right now.
I am sure Hahnemann wanted to leave, i remember the article around September last year where he had got his pilots license and he stated that, it was for when he moved back to the US so he could get from his home to wherever he wanted quickly, so no doubt was already set to return to the US. A Shame because would have been nice for another year with Henners still being young. We have as you put it being buying tons of rock in the hope to find the gold nuggets and we have not found any so far from about the 10 ton of rock we have bought, The only players who seem to have made it into the main squad are Milijas, Doyle, Hunt, Fletcher and they are players who we paid decent amounts for. Hammil looked like he was a bargain buy before he found Harry Potters cloak, and we have had quite a few others that have come in looked decent but then got homesick or just vanished into the reserves. Its not a bad idea bring in a few hopefuls on the cheap, you never know we could find a new Charlie Adam, but overall this needs to be on top of some decent players who you know will do the job you need. I would be happy with paying decent money for O'Hara, A New Keeper and 2 Defenders this close season with maybe one or two more tons of rock on the cheap.
Hammill is good, he was an excellent buy. He just lacks Mick's support for reasons know only to him. Other than him though, I agree. We do need to start buying those with proven premiership quality, like Doyle and Fletcher. However, this is why they are our record buys. Having this experience makes them expensive. We can't afford to buy many of them. I also lost most respect for your article when you said Mancienne was exciting. Rubbish. He can go back to Chelsea and stay there for the good of premiership defenses. Far too many errors.
I would give McCarthy more credit for what he has achieved. We are operating on one of the lowest wage budgets in the Premier League, and if we were to pay higher transfer fees, we would almost certainly have to pay higher wages as well. We would need to do that for all of the first choice players otherwise you would risk damaging the team spirit, which is as good as any team's. I believe I can see progress, and if we can improve the defence I think next season we can do better. It would be great to get a couple of established defenders, but I don't see us paying £12m for Johnson, for example, or paying West Ham type wages for Upson (which I think would be a risk anyway considering his poor form over the last 18 months). I think the management team is getting it right even if some signings have not turned out too well.
Mancienne is captain of the under-21s and has now moved to Bundesliga club Hamburg. So hardly rubbish! As I said originally, he is raw and makes mistakes at times. This is due to his lack of regular experience at top level which, in turn, stems from Mick's natural distrust of Mancienne's ambitious style of play. Mick has alternated between playing him and not, and has tried him in several positions. Mancienne is a defender who tries to play the ball out of defence in a creative way. This is a hard skill to master for a young man, especially when he does not have continuity of playing and of role/position. Additionally, of course, Mancienne also suffered injuries this last season and ended up playing only 15 times in the Prem. Given support and continuity, you'll see him blossom and become a top defender. He has class, to which now needs adding experience and greater defensive discipline.
Sorry. So his horrendous display as captain of the under-21's was yet another anomaly against his normally outstanding way of playing? He definitely doesnt deserve his place in that team if he is going to play like that. I reserve judgement on his move to Hamburg until he plays, or sits on the bench.
