I seem to remember back in October 2012 a post from you that went along the lines of "we are well adrift now" low and behold in little over 2 years since Mick arrived, he has taken a rag bag team from being bottom of the league to challenging for promotion! In that time we have consistently been in the upper reaches of the league and we have never been threatened with relegation. In that time he has spent very little on players and he has got rid if all the deadwood that was bequeathed to him. During this time he has brought in some great young kids and some experienced players and blended them into a tight unit and has instilled some fight, discipline and organisation to the team. During this time we have won far more games than we have lost. We are on track to improve on our overall points tally from last year with 5 games to go. There is much more that Mick has positively contributed to this football club since he's been here and believe me it would make absolutely no sense whatsoever to change the course now. We are far from the finished article but this was an enormous challenge for any manager to put right after all the years of failure that we have been grown accustomed to. It is a 3 year plan IMO one built on Save, Stabilise and then Grow. Judge Mick after next season on his record but not now!
From what I can tell Bishop and Williams were no way fit enough to play 90 mins and Dids was injured in training. Only thing I don't get was Woods for Sears, but Mick said Wood did well at Watford so was the reason for that. Still think Sears should've started as probably 100% of fans think too. Truth is it was one of those days, we didn't turn up and got punished but once again, angry as I am, I'm not going to get dragged into a Mick bashing. The players have to take some responsibility too. If we manage to finish in the top 6 it will be a miracle with this team. We've done incredibly well up to now but we're just not set up for a promotion push. Hope I'm wrong and we finish on a good run but even if we make the playoffs can anyone really see us having enough quality to get to a final and win? For some people I say careful for what you wish for. If Mick was to get replaced it could set us back years. We look like a lower mid table side that happens to be fighting for top 6 with a few games to go.
Mick should be judged now, not next season, this is totally his team, his tactics etc etc! There is no getting away from that fact that in 2015 he has lost the plot tactically and formation wise, sadly i think we are stuck with him and i think next season we will struggle!!
MM has done well to get us where we are. His tactics are out of date and have been for a few years now unfortunately. The championship has moved on in terms of quality, sadly MM hasn't moved with it.
We will struggle if Evans refuses to get the chequebook out and actually starts to back him with the necessary funds that we need. Sick to death of the fooking owner that's for sure!
Answer the question, where has Mick failed? And yes, I'd be happy for the same progression that our team has made under Mick from last season to this one.
Reality is that Mick has got us out-performing our potential most of the season. But Warkie is right, need funds to get to the next level. Well at least we will be in the record books as the side staying in the Championship for the longest consecutive period.
At last a well reasoned well layed argument for keeping MM on I don't agree with you, but that's what debates are all about My concerns are that MM completely lost his bottle when he found himself in the top two at Xmas then proceeded to play such bizarre tactics to avoid defeat at all costs. Which resulted playing awful hoofball and completely forgetting how we played before the new year Next year he is going to have to start from scratch and I honestly believe he is not the man for the job And I think if we keep him on with him plying the same tactics we will be in big trouble Although I will concede that we were pretty much punching above our weight which makes being so close and him throwing it away such a bitter pill to swallow
It was another poor selection decision from Mick with regards to starting Chris Wood and leaving out creative players such as Freddie Sears, Teddy Bishop, and arguably a half-fit Jonny Williams. I'm hopeful that Wood can deliver (such as my rather hopeful prediction that he'd score in the fixture) but it's clear he's lacking fitness, confidence, and maybe motivation. Another point to mull over is the continued exclusion of David McGoldrick and Stephen Hunt, who have both struggled with injuries and fitness, but haven't been seen in the starting eleven for months now. Has McGoldrick fallen out with the club staff? As for Huddersfield, this was a match that, on paper, we should have got at least a point on the board. We're at the business end of the season and by the good grace of a collective slump in form of pretty much every team around us, we still have a chance to claim a play-off place. Even now, with our pretty torrid 2015, all in all, we're still in with a chance and with this division shaping up how it is, it'd be naive to write us off completely. Having said that, I feel that there are psychological deficiencies in this squad for the big 'must-win' games. Watford aside, we are bottling it against our main promotion competitors and the players on the pitch didn't do themselves, the club, and the supporters justice. As for McCarthy, people on here know that I think he's been, on the whole, a positive influence and he has undoubtedly improved us and turned us from lower mid-table underachievers to promotion hopefuls. I feel that the main issue with the side is a lack of strength in depth and the unavoidable need to invest to keep up with the sides around us. That's the way football is but unfortunately we're still paying for the financial waste and mistakes of the Keane and Jewell years. I heard a rumour that McCarthy is leaving in the summer regardless and if he gets a better offer from a Championship side with money or a Premier League outfit, I don't blame him for jumping ship and moving on. Evans needs to realise that without playing the market and spending money with the right man in charge who can get results (and I still believe McCarthy fits this profile), then we're not going to get out of this division.
My problem with Mick is that I just want him to use the players he's got in a different way. Sure spending cash can bring better players in but we already have a good squad, it's just being deployed wrongly.
I think many would agree that since the turn of the year our style of play and tactics have left a lot to be desired, not only have we not been able to kick on from an excelent platform laid down, we have & more importantly not been able to maintain a realistic Challange for a top two finish, now a playoff spot is very much in the balance. Certainly shaping up to be a season of two halves, over achievement being backed up by underperformance.!
Unfortunately Castro it's not as simple as that though. The manager dictates the tactics regardless of how much money has been spent. Mick could have spent £50 million and we would still be playing hoofball. I remember him saying "Get the basics right and the quality will come." Well i'm sorry but on the few occasions i've seen Town this year I haven't seen much quality. I appreciate MM has done well since he took over but I just feel his tactics are outdated and I really can't see us being any better next season. Obviously I hope I am wrong and will gladly eat humble pie if that's the case.
Okay, this sounds very cliched, but the rumour comes from a friend of mine who works at the club. She told me "McCarthy is leaving us in the summer regardless". Apparently there are a few clubs interested in him, one of them is Fulham. I'd take it with a pinch of salt but it was an interesting thing to hear. He has got a big media profile and the national media do like to portray us as a side desperately punching above its weight because of McCarthy.
most things I will put here could be copied and pasted from any game in 2015 we don't try to win, we try not to get beaten we never try to build on a lead. if we go into an early lead instead of putting the game to bed we will try to tighten up and normally fail. when making subs from a leading position we never leave ourselves with an out. ie someone who can carry the ball miles away from our own goal. therefore we drop deeper and deeper and give ourselves too many problems. why is sears normally our fall guy?
Great to see you lot using the words failure, problem, underachieving, enormous task to put right "Mind the gap" arrogance has truly bit you on the ar.....
Tempted to mention 'the gap' right now jarrold but I will refrain On a serious note guys, you really should be looking to youth both in the managerial and playing departments. MM is an old man with old ideas, you could do worse than put Klug in charge for next term IMHO
