Despite a creditable 1-1 draw at title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Wednesday night’s 1-0 FA Cup defeat at home to recently relegated local rivals Birmingham City has ushered in a new tide of opinion against Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy, whose side also lie just one point off the drop zone. Football Burp weighs up the cases presented by the Molineux faithful both for and against the Yorkshireman remaining as Wolves’ boss…
Embattled Manager of the Week…
Mick McCarthy, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Stands accused of…
“The manager who sends them out there without a clue about how to play the game of football properly. He’s a football dinosaur, hopefully we’ll send him to the land before time very, very soon. we are the very definition of anti-football, and you can all slag off the players as much as you like but we have played this archaic brand of anti-football for the best part of 3 years and it ain’t going to change with this pillock in charge.” – Toon Wolf, Wolves Forum
I know we’ve discussed this to death but I’m really pretty low tonight after that display and feel the manager/squad/team is in a great big hole and I don’t presently see any way out without a new managerial team with new ideas to drive up the spirit and confidence and the performances and ultimately the results. I do think MM is at the end of the road and really has lost alot of the players who don’t seem to have either the will to play or win for him. This is worrying. What is more worrying is that I don’t know of anyone out there to come in? MON was made for Sunderland as was HUghes for QPR – I’m really struggling to think of a guy who could come in in January and get us the results we need? With no one there SM will stick with a failing manager and pray he can turn it around but like last time it will go to the wire. I don’t follow the game in detail like many on here but is there someone out there who has the credentials for us? – northnorfolkwolf, Molineux Mix
“Not a win in 9 games and that says it all. Winning is habit and unfortunately we don’t seem to like that habit, $#@!ed off with everything about our side tonight, the formation, the players, the subs.” – slink, Wolves Forum
“I do think Mick is coming to the end of his reign, not for short-term reasons but because of the long-term outlook for the club, he doesn’t seem to be doing a very good job in building a Premiership club. Perhaps a tad unfair in that we’re in our third season and have signed players that improve us year on year, but they don’t seem to be in large enough numbers, and there’s been too many that haven’t worked out. For every Fletcher there’s a Mouyokolo, Maierhoffer and Halford. As well as the on the match day job we need someone who knows how to shape his playing staff to progress up the league year on year. Definitely think we should consider managers outside of the existing British pool, there must be some out there eager for a chance in the Premiership, got to be.” – WolvesAreBoringOnCeefax, Molineux Mix
“Blues did deserve to win. If only because we didn’t play football. We looked like a third division side. This just shows how clueless McCarthy is. Why leave Hunt on for 90 minutes? Why wait until so late to bring on Fletcher? He has got it totally wrong. Not only embarassing, but devastating. Our confidence will suffer for this. What rubbish. I cannot remember seeing such a bad performance – even the crap at Bolton tops this. I am so angry and disappointed. MICK MUST GO!” – croxdenabbey, Wolves Forum
“Majority of them last night looked as if they’d just been plucked from park football the weekend just gone. That said as long as they run about lots, sweat lots and please Mick lots then they will be good enough for Mick and his dire ways.” – Essex Wolf, Molineux Mix
“Just dreadful. Gave my season ticket up this season after having one since 1977 good decision me thinks. Was a staunch mick loyalist not any more, time for change. Tonight was a disgrace.” – owdill, Wolves Forum
“The man is a complete joke. He keeps Elokobi on the pitch for 94 minutes, makes 10 changes, makes useless subsitutions, $$$$e tactics, etc., etc. Oh, and to top it off? He said he will try to make a few more signings this month, however he still thinks that the current squad is good enough to stay up. What $$$$ing planet is he on??? Seriously??? The players couldn’t care less either, but, in the end, it all stems to the manager. What with our style of winning the ball, passing around the back four, giving it to the keeper, the keeper hoofing it and we lose it (carry on for 90 mins) I honestly can’t see us winning for a long time. I would say more but I am too angry. $$$$ off McCarthy. P.S: Anyone who thinks that this man is still the right man for the job are living in a fantasy dream world.” – wolf97, Molineux Mix
“It was probably the worst combined pile of donkey poo I have witnessed us produced for the last twenty years.
A good ole cup run hey Mick? We are dreadful beyond belief to watch.If I´ve been a neutral football fan watching us..I would have wished for us to get relegated and never come back near the highest division. We are a dreadful and awful “football” team.We are a disgrace to ourselves. Thanks Mick! Go NOW you stupid muppet..you are destroying us from the inside.You are poison.” – Nero Wolf, Wolves Forum“i was sat on the fence for a while but tonight broke the camels back for me , worst wolves football in my 27 yrs of watching the wolves , bob the builder needs to grow a spine and do the right thing for the club , and that includes handing clip board connor his p45 too” – SOUTHBANK BULLY, Molineux Mix
“I honestly don’t give a $#@! about the result, but I’m embarrassed that we call ourselves a Premier League club after watching that God-awful rubbish. Quality- zero. Craft- zero. Guile- zero. Technique- zero. Excitement- zero. Entertainment value- zero. Still, at least we put a shift in… Seems like that’s what’s important. $#@! that. I’m not going to watch Wolves much longer if they keep playing football like this manager wants them to play, it’s loathesome rubbish. You can’t even justifiably call it football, it’s just 11 blokes aimlessly kicking a ball around and hoping that something breaks their way. That’s our ‘style’. It’s $#@!ing pathetic. Are you not entertained? Well frankly, Mick, no I’m $#@!ing not…” – Toon Wolf, Wolves Forum
“It was humiliating and it showcases Mick’s ‘Dinosaur’ approach. Sure, a win on Saturday is far, far more important, but this just shows where we reall are. We have to get rid of Mick and bring someone in who can give our players some sense of direction vis a vis what is required at this high level, or else we will find ourselves out of it. Tonight was a massive disappointment and I have not felt as strongly about our style of football and our lack of direction before. Surely Morgan must act NOW.” – croxdenabbey, Wolves Forum
“Utter garbage and we are now 2 wins in 21 games, Mr Morgan the results are shocking and the quality and entertainment factor nil. Utterly emabraasing to say your a Wolves fan who has to watch that turgid stuff. MM the anti-football manager but hey we can run around and they try Mick so thats alright then. We have won 6 games this season out of 26 games, that includes wins against Millwall and Northampton. If you add last season up to the beginning of 2011 we won 6 games in our matches in 2011 out of a total of 20 games played in 2011 last season and 11 all last season. We are a team incapable of playing decent football and bereft of skill and basic technique, and he has to go on results alone Mr Morgan, but if you want to talk about our playing style it should be an easy decision to make. But we have dithered and when he should have been sacked 2 months ago its probably beyond the most sensible point to do it without having someone ready to go in immediately.” – PDJ Wolf, Wolves Forum
In his defence…
“Hang on guys, before you start slagging mick off, he really did not a lot wrong… This was the team most of us would have picked the fact none of them played is not really his fault. Plenty on here saying milijas, Hammil, Gued, shuld play, yet all 4 were not exactly playing well, Gued did ok, certainly no where near as bad as some of the others, but none of them staked a claim for a premiership start.” – GLASGOWOLF, Wolves Forum
“The key players from the Spurs game were all rested / left out due to niggles (Hennessey, Johnson, Foley, Kites, Henry, Fletch) and rightly so. I would have been having kittens had any of them started tonight. Looking forward to seeing them back in the starting XI on Saturday and carrying on where they have left off. I would much rather have our ‘second string’ go out with a whimper than the Tottenham XI play, bust their guts and beat Birmingham – only for one of the above to pick up an injury and miss the next few crucial matches. We can do without a phyric victory in a competition which, to put it midly, is not our priority. Obviously, I was hoping tonight’s team were going to put in a better performance than that awful showing but be it on the ‘fringe’ players heads if they don’t step up to the plate. They’ll pay the price when they see the starting line-up on Saturday.” – brummywolf, Molineux Mix
“I know there’s going to be the usual $#@!e about McCarthy, but these players are ok, far better than this, (see Arsenal, see Spurs) but if the players don’t perform then I wonder are they playing to $#@! instructions from Mick, or are they just lacking in quality? I think the players should be taking long hard looks at themselves here. Hammill had 3 great opportunities in the 1st half, running into the box and each time he got tackled instead of laying the ball off, Doyle was doing his $#@!ing nut! Really poor that, just poor. Shame on them.” – Wolf Hunting, Wolves Forum
“We were very poor last night and it is very very disappointing to go out of the FA Cup. But lets be honest the FA Cup that I knew as a kid is NOTHING like the FA Cup of today. It used to be the competition, first teams played and a priority to win. These days it plays less than second fiddle to the Premier League and all that intails. I wanted Mick to play the second string I didnt even want to see Berra out there or Fletch to come on. However I did want to see our second string put up a fight. It was only the youngsters who seemed to try. WTF where Doyle Hunt and Elokobi doing?? Doyle wandered around the pitch and looked like he couldnt be arsed. Hunt ran around demented but without any quality, and Elokobi was gash. We need a rip roaring display on Saturday, do not even think of 442 we must play 4231 on Saturday and battle for every ball. Come on the Wolves” – Edgmond Wolf, Molineux Mix
“I’m far from happy, but I do find it hard to be quite as riled as some people on here after losing a cup game. If we win in Saturday, I truly couldn’t give a rats arse about tonight. Also – 1 point at Spurs > reaching the 4th round.” – Langdale Wolf, Wolves Forum
“If we ever sack a manager for losing in the cup I’ll be $$$$ing livid. Thank $$$$ we have 10 better players to come in.” – Hoganstolemywife, Molineux Mix
“For the all the Mick out brigade tonight he’s got to start the 2nd string anf give them minutes, but its now plain to see that there not good enough to come in and a few players need to be brought in before the window closes.” – Quirkafleeg, Wolves Forum
“What the $#@! was De Vries doing going into the centre of the goal when it had just hit his post? The goal came from that bastard lying on his back – still on his back from when he hit the post! The bloody goal came when the ball went into the space that De Vries vacated! That was crap keeping! Panic Keeping! And Elokobi was bloody lucky that his corner didn’t go straight in! Then the corner came that we didn’t defend. It’s no use blaming McCarthy for that, for $#@!’s sake!” – Wolf Hunting, Wolves Forum
“Painful as it was tonight, judge Mick on the premiership results not the Cup. I’m glad he played a weakened team, even though doing so went badly wrong tonight. Saving the players for Saturday was the right decision.” – A wanderer from Bristol, Molineux Mix
“You have to admit that the Tottenham game was a great performance though – you speak as if we’re $#@! ALL the time, but we’re not! In fact, it has looked like we have improved… The first team, at least! What are your thoughts on the Tottenham game” – Hamlet, Wolves Forum
“There’d be plenty of moans and groans if had played the first XI and players got knackered, injured etc. We’ve nothing to worry about now other than the Premier League. I’m disappointed with the result and performance, but won’t lose any sleep over it. Judge us versus Villa…..” – bridgnorthwolf, Molineux Mix
“For what it’s worth, I thought Jonsson looked very good.” – jatothay69, Wolves Forum
So, How Does McCarthy Square Up On The Embattled-O-Meter?
Unpopularity rating…
72%
Derisive nicknames…
Mad Mick, Muppet Mick
Estimated number of games left to save his job…
Four.
And those games would be…
Aston Villa (h), Liverpool (h), Queens Park Rangers (a), West Bromwich Albion (h)
Football Burp says…
Ten changes or not, a side containing Elokobi, Stearman, Berra, Hunt, Milijas, Ebanks-Blake and Doyle should have had enough know how to overcome the hurdle of a home tie against middling-to-upper Championship opposition. A further two home Midlands derbies follow in quick succession – failure to get a result in either could make McCarthy’s position untenable.
McCarthy: in or out? Have your say in the comments section below…