Welcome aboard Malky! Id just like to echo many of the sentiments expressed on here - he's got the perfect opportunity to build something big here. Dave has gone (and all the best to him) and most of the big names from last season have gone awell, meaning Malky can build his own team, near enough from scratch. I have only 2 concerns: The reason we missed out last season was because when it mattered most, our players played as individuals and not as a team. It WILL TAKE TIME to build a premiership promotion chasing team, and I only hope that the board, the players and more importantly the fans, and more importantly again the press, give them man time to build a team. We have learnt over the last couple of seasons that buying big names and throwing them all on the same pitch at the same time just doesn't work. Yes we need some big name players, but just look at the English national team and the farcical ongoing situation regarding their managers for an example of how when undue pressure is put on a manager from the press and the supporters they revert to the tried and tested safe options (gerrard and lampard anybody) which will guarantee you a certain degree of success but just doesn't get you over the final hurdle. I would be absolutely delighted if we finished this coming season in 10th place, if by the end of the season I can see the makings of what could become a titel promotion chasing team over the coming seasons. Let them get to know each other and trust each other as team mates, and grow accustomed to a new manager with new ideas, and give the guy a good 3 seasons to get us into the premiership. Judge him this season on progression. I would much rather my aforementioned scenario to us playing top dogs all season cos we have loaned a load of big players, bottle it come what may, lose all those big players and be back to square one come this time next year. But for this to happen, we, the club and the fans, have to stand full square behind our new manager. he was picked and given the boards backing, so please be patient!
Malky isn't my choice but (what do I know?) he has my 100% backing and I agree this season should be seen as a season to rebuild. If we are in with a shout at the end of the season that'll be fantastic but I will not call for the managers head should we fail. C'mon the bluebirds!!
Genuinely hoping to see a Cardiff team play like that of the Blackpool side that walked all over us at Wembley. We were completely outplayed by an inferior side that day, all due to work ehtic and a desire to be the first person to the ball. Whether he has money to spend or not, i have a feeling that malky will get the best from the side he lets walk out onto the pitch this season..
i dont agree with the bold bit, if thats the case then why sack DJ when he delivered successive 4th place finishes? sorry but its got to be top 6 otherwise we might as well have stuck with a manager who probably would have got us into the top 6 again next season. if your idea of a good season next year is top 10 then effectively we've taken a step back, and DJ should have the right to question his sacking if MM finishes outside the top 6 when he got sacked for not getting us promoted (amongst other things). yes i'm behind him, but why should we dampen our expectations to a level below what was expected of DJ? especially as he will be given the money to do it? i believe he can pull it off but for me if we are promoted next year he will not have exceeded expectations in the slightest.
Swamp, The bold bit is fundamental to the point I am trying to make. Dave Jones was sacked because the team he put together and had worked on for the last 6 yeras failed to achieve its objective of gaining promotion. This was his team, using his ideas and tactics and was deemed to have reached the peak of its power, and failed to gain promotion. To judge Malky after 1 season on a similar criteria to that on which Dave Jones was sacked would be grossly unfair. He has inherited what is now a shell of a squad and has to build it from the base up. My concerns are that if he pushes for promotion this year (in other words buys big), given the strength of the league it is quite likely we would fall short, and would be back exactly where we are now - most of the loaned/bought players would leave for premiershp players, the fans would be disgruntled and the board would put pressure on him based on the ( in my opinion) unrealistic expectations. I feel like we should give him at least 1 transitional season to put the foundation in place for his team. His players, playing his formation, as a team, in order to push for promotion over the coming seasons. But he wont be able to do that if we as fans dont give him the time. If we are finishing 10th in 3 seasons time I would be in the front of the queue asking serious questions. But this season I will personally be happy so long as I can see potential in the squad, and as long as I am confident that there is a solid base which can be built on, as a team and as a group, to push for promotion over the coming seasons.
Yup - with you there swamp, except for your bit about DJ probably getting us top 6 again next season. I think if he'd been kept on at the club, we'd have gone backwards. DJ's time was up and it had to be downhill from here. MM has got it all to do but the fresh approach he brings can only be a good thing. Let's see what happens over the next few weeks. If he gets the backing of our owners to put those on the pitch that he believes can do us a job, top 6 is certainly on, not to say even auto. OK, OK - so West Ham, Brum are in there too, but who the hell are they? Along with Blackpool they are failures from the Prem - that doesn't give them a divine right to go back up straight away. Look at Hull, Burnley and Boro for instance - all dropped through the trap door with their healthy parachute payments, but failed to make the rebound. There is no reason we can't compete with the best this season (Malaysia permitting).
gethin jenkins said they wanted to compete, for me that means top 6, not top 10. MM will be given money to spend, and i dont think the owners will be too happy with investing alot of money for a transitional season. fair enough i'm not expecting us to be in the top 2 next season but equally i wont be content with mid table mediocrity. MM still has quality players to build from. whittingham, mchphail, mcnaughton, blake and hudson are all good players at this level, and although we've a decimated squad, he still has almost 2 months to improve it. i wont call for the board to sack MM if we finish say, 8th, but it will certainly be a disappointment after consecutive 4th place finishes. yes, DJ built his teams unsustainably, and now we are feeling the effects of a gamble which failed to pay off, so fair point, i think MM should be given an amount of time to get his own players in but at the same time you wont find the owners patting him on the back if we arent up to scratch after another year of investment. Sparkey dave jones was a solid, if unspectacular manager who would have probably delivered good league finishes without promotion for the next 3 -4 years if he was given the chance . i'm glad to see you agree with most of what i said, but for me west ham and brum will be in the top 4 next season. their finances are far superior to anyones in the division, and they will be there or thereabouts. i agree it was time for a change, but not for changes sake, MM has to prove the fans that he is better than DJ, and thats the bottom line.
Swamp Point taken. I would like to add that I wasn't suggesting my idea of a perfect season would be finishing 10th! But I would personally be pretty happy so long as I can see potential for improvement. I guess I agree with most of what you are saying, but I would be quite happy to give MM at least a year to find his feet and, more importantly, give the players at least a year to get used to the guy without the media outcry and fans calling for his head if we dont strongly challenge for promotion.
I suppose it's a matter of outlook - a type of glass half full/half empty sort of thing. There are those that think consolidation is needed at this time and those believe we should (and can) push on. IMO, the only teams in the Championship that should seriously be taking that approach this season are Brighton, Peterborough and Southampton, though you'd think from their fans and the bookies' odds that the Saints are going to do a Norwich. Jumping a division can be a huge ask, but when you've been here 6 years (notwithstanding the finacial mire we've been in), we should be looking to at least maintain the momentum.
Hello peeps. I think if Malky does just reasonably well this term, then he'll earn more time. For the first time in ages Cardiff have no real 'crown jewels' and this needs to be considered. He was a fantastic player ability wise, but the exit of Chops sums up the (right) attitude the club has taken. No more room for problem individuals who don't appreciate the importance of what they are paid vast sums to do. It's all about getting a hungry, professional, preferably youngish, unit of players together. This could take more than one season. Who's to know? We have little to go on as yet. I agree with Sweet Fanny... Uhem. Malky must be time to stamp his style and discipline on the club. I am really glad that we've had a board that isn't rash and over the years have given managers room to breathe and operate with less pressure. I think they picked the right time personally to part with Dave Jones. I also can't stress enough the value of a long term relationship, as you only have to look at the difference between Man U and their rivals. Fergie is still out there accumilating the best teenagers, youngsters, twenty-somethings in the world, because it's in HIS long term interest. If Malky knows he has time, he won't go out spending for his own short term career goals.
Hello Proph - I firmly believe it. I really am not a betting man normally (I learnt a hard lesson 30 years ago when I tried to enhance my wedding dowry on the gee-gees ), but I've got £300 at 16-1 on City to top the division and another £300 at 5-1 for promo. That's how strongly (foolish?) I feel about it this year. Looks like I'm in for over 6 grand, but I'd settle for a net £1200....
Getting rid of Chops and not having a bookies as a sponsor suggests the Malaysians are not the betting types. Or should Malky put his transfer budget on the roulette wheel and try and scale it up?
