Time to map out a plan for Villa's future
- Says blogger Matthew Turvey
Farewell ‘super Mick McCarthy’
Tuesday 14th February 2012, 7:45AM GMT.
I’ve got a feeling this is going to seem more like an obituary than a blog, writes Wolves blogger Tim Spiers.
After the best part of six years at Molineux, Mick McCarthy is no longer Wolves manager and it makes me feel almost numb to write that.
We won’t know until May 13 whether it was the correct decision to sack him, although an initial bookies’ favourites list containing Billy Davies, Ian Holloway, Steve Bruce and Neil Warnock suggested it looked very risky indeed, with only Alan Curbishley a decent early standout candidate.
Steve Morgan’s previous assertion, made just 32 days before he bit the bullet, that his management style was not to make kneejerk reactions which provide no stability, has been ruthlessly abandoned.
“It’s not the way I do things in any other business and it’s not the way we do things here. All I can comment on is Wolves and we’re not a hire-and-fire club,” Morgan had said.
Well something changed his mind between January 12 and February 13, quite possibly the emotionally loaded defeats to his beloved Liverpool and our great rivals West Bromwich Albion.
But whatever the rights and wrongs of the decision or the timing, and whatever the future holds for Wolves and McCarthy, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the legacy of the man whose initials stood for Merlin the Magician.
In the summer of 2006 I, like many others who bleed gold and black, had very nearly fallen out of love with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Many, sadly, had fallen by the wayside altogether after Glenn Hoddle ripped the heart and soul out of the club with 18 months of cold, clinical, heartless management.
Sideways pass after sideways pass resulted in draw after draw after draw – the monotony was soul destroying and a rank stench of apathy filled the Molineux air.
He wasn’t even sacked, remember, but when Hoddle made the best decision of his Wolves tenure and jumped ship the club was at a desperately low ebb, with talk of surviving relegation to League One being the aim for the following campaign.
McCarthy’s appointment was initially greeted with scepticism, particularly from those who wanted a young up-and-coming manager such as Paul Ince to blow away the Hoddle cobwebs and reinvigorate the club.
But the doughty Yorkshireman not only managed to do just that, he helped reinvent an entire philosophy and made it enjoyable to be a Wolves fan again – he and Wolves were a perfect fit.
Working on a shoestring budget, fielding several players from the club’s academy and placing a huge emphasis on hard work and team spirit, Super Mick rolled up his sleeves and enchanted the Wanderers faithful.
I imagine there have been few sporting occasions when a team have lost 6-0 and been applauded from the field with the crowd chanting the manager’s name, but that astonishing display of defiance against Southampton from fans previously regarded as fickle shows you the initial impact he made.
That first season of McCarthy’s was one that will live long in memory – team, manager and supporters were united as we were given a cause to believe in and fight for.
Empty rhetoric you might say, but for those who were there, living and breathing that unlikely promotion charge, it was something truly special.
A win over old foes Albion against all odds, when Matt Murray was Superman for the day, was a highlight, as was an unforgettable afternoon in sunny Leicester at the season’s climax.
Promotion was initially one step too far and the first chinks in the McCarthy armour appeared the following season when a dalliance with the vacant South Korea job, while performances on the pitch suffered, strained relations, as did the bizarre Andy Keogh/Freddy Eastwood debacle.
The McCarthy love-in was rekindled a year later when, at the third time of asking, everything clicked as we secured promotion and then survived in the Premier League.
Graham Turner, Graham Taylor, Mark McGhee, Colin Lee, Dave Jones and Hoddle had tried and failed to achieve what seemed to be the impossible mission – establish Wolves as a Premier League club – but McCarthy got us there and then kept us there for three successive seasons.
Many beloved memories were forged along the way, none more so than away days at Nottingham Forest and Derby in the promotion run-in, the victory over QPR to secure Premier League football, wins over Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea and West Brom in 2010-11 and the valiant draw with 10 men at Arsenal just a few weeks ago.
He brought so many great players to the club, too, some of whose transfer fees will go down in legend, so ridiculously cheap do they seem now.
Michael Kightly was snared for just £25,000, Karl Henry for £100,000, Stephen Ward for £150,000 and England international Matt Jarvis for a reported £250,000, while even Kevin Doyle and Steven Fletcher turned out to be bargains at £6.5million apiece.
McCarthy’s greatest gift to Wolves though was something unquantifiable – the pride and honour he injected into our great club, which had temporarily lost its spirit and identity.
He was by no means perfect, his occasionally endearing stubbornness often frustrated beyond belief, his tactics were too predictable, his distrust of flair players infuriating.
And he of course made mistakes, none with a greater consequence than taking the captain’s armband off Henry and handing it to Roger Johnson, whose hangdog expression and awful form seemed to spread like a cancer throughout the team when things went belly-up.
But McCarthy had attributes which served the club outstandingly well over nearly six years.
Honesty, integrity, respect, class, dignity, passion, work ethic, commitment – he had them in spades and he demanded the same of his players.
His pre and post-match sound bites were rarely anything less than smart, sincere, witty and unashamedly truthful, a welcome and refreshing change from the PR guff most managers sprout these days.
And of course he was also hugely likeable and affable – in short, a man I was proud to call our manager.
It’s been 21 years since I first set foot inside Molineux and in that time the most enjoyable years have, by a huge distance, been under McCarthy and for that I will be forever grateful.
In the end, he paid for a lack of progression during three years in the top flight, although if you’d asked most Wolves fans in, say, 2006 if they’d have settled for having a regular seat at English football’s top table like we do now, the answer would surely have been a resounding yes.
His final game in charge, undoubtedly the low point of his tenure, was not indicative of what had gone before it and was a sad note on which to end the McCarthy love affair, just before Valentine’s Day.
It was a distasteful conclusion and sadly not enough respect was afforded to him in those final days, weeks and months, something which I hope he doesn’t dwell on when remembering his time here.
Unfortunately for McCarthy the one thing he could no longer count on from the majority of Wolves supporters – loyalty – proved his undoing as he paid the price for placing faith with the players who had earned him promotion in 2009, with too many not reciprocating that loyalty with their performances on the pitch.
Still, what a noble quality to be ‘guilty’ of showing too much of, and that was our Mick McCarthy down to a tee.
So, thanks for the memories, thanks for promotion, thanks for three seasons in the Premier League, thanks for the laughs, the many, many highs and for giving me my football club back.
To me, you will always be known as Super Mick.
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Tim, I gree with a lot of what you have said above.
Unfortunately, for McCarthy, football moves on to another level where the emphasis now is very much on passing and moving, along the lines of Barcelona.
New young Managers like Rodgers and Lambert have embraced that change and their teams play attractive positive football.
McCarthy was still playing with tactics that dated back to the 70′s and 80′s which was VERY defensive.
We were forever retreating when teams attacked us and Hennessy very rarely passed the ball to anyone, it was the big boot up the field every time. Those days have gone….along with McCarthy…. and Bruce….. and Warnock.
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Super MM, a Wolves legend without a shadow of a doubt! I wish him all the very best for the future, top bloke, top manager. I was 18 when Wolves dropped out of the old first division and like a wingless wasp, plummeted into the oblivion of the old 4th division…I’ve had to wait until I was 43 years old for consecutive Wolves seasons in the top flight of English football. My 7 year old lad is devastated..MM is the only manager he’s ever known…he keeps asking me what will happen now….and how can the team play without him…? Lots of questions still to be answered…and they will be…but in our Calender Feb 14th is now officially “Micks day”…not Valentines day….(but don’t tell the wife though eh…)
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Super Mick mcarthy, good luck Mick,I believe the Leeds job would be a perfect fit for u,go and revive that massive club, like u did with ours, I think this is the right decision, but a sad one, thank u for the memories, honesty and hilarious post match interviews, just wish it was done in jan, not now.
I think your faith in certain players may have cost u dearly in the end.
U t w
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I hope we don’t regret this, I really do.
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A good article, I hope Mick reads it and knows we appreciate what he did for us. Thanks super Mick.
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My God. Some of this is drivel. Yes he’s a top bloke, yes it’s sad after all these years but 14 points from 66 is shocking. End of. The way people feel about something emotionally doesn’t come into it when baking a decision like this.
Curbishley for Wolves. Moxey was right it’s with a heavy heart but we were going down. Why not try something else! We were dreadful and have been for months don’t forget that.
Good luck for the future Mick ull always have friends in Wolverhampton!!
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Reality, Bought players from relegated teams who didn’t work out except for Fletcher, who only came in when he was forced to.
Where he went wrong:
Bizarre Selection Decisions
Tactics, Nonsensical Formations
Blind Faith In Certain Players
No Competition For Places
He Spent Well Over £40 Million Since Promotion.
Eight Of The Championship Team Still Play In Some Games.
101 PL Games Played 99 Points Achieved.
He Failed To Establish WW In The PL During 3 Years Despite The Investment.
He Only Avoided Relegation On The Last Day Of Last Season.
Most Damning He had No Feeling For The Fans, Until Of Course He Was Going To Be Sacked.
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Great blog Tim. Thanks to Mick – he has been wonderful. It almost feels like having an old, battered and very loyal dog put down. It may be the right thing to do but it still feels awful! I really hope he finds another great job and I’m sure the fans will love him wherever he ends up.
I can’t help but feel worried about Jez and Steve’s appointment. Fingers crossed it is not a case of out of the frying pan, into the fire.
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Great write up. I too would like to say a massive thanks for all you have done for Wolves Mick but something had to give. I also hope we don’t live to regret.
Get Curbs in fast – all this talk of Bruce, Warnock, Davies is crazy – MM better than those three names, anyone of those would be a step backwards.
Onwards and upwards
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3 wins from 23 games make thsi far from a knee jerk reaction.If anything Morgan has been mega patient, and the last 3 home surrenders are not going to sell season tickets for next year are they? We should have got Martin O ‘Neill when he was available, unfortunately, gung ho Larry’s liek yourself think you knw everything and call us “doom mongers”. Once again, you, as well as every other happy clapper has proven to be the downfall. Anyone happy with that “form” is NOT a Wolves fan. Thanks Mick, for getting us up, but Morgan has made the right decision, albeit a bit on the tardy side
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Good article.
Mick did wonders in that first season, and has done well in keeping us up, for this he will never be forgotten – thanks Mick.
Sadly the next step seemed a step too far, for the three M’s (not just Mick), I think the coaching levels in the Prem need to be extremely high, and this is what we need to focus on, and hope that the motivation and grit Mick instilled stays with the team.
Thanks Mick.
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Cannot thank him enough for giving me one of the best days of my life when we got promotion at Barnsley. Top geezer but feel that his loyalty as a person (which is rare and nice to see) meant that Terry Connor’s coaching (or lack of) cost him his job
wish him every success in where ever he goes next
Wolves till i die
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I agree with every word written here. A big thank you to Mick for the rollercoaster ride – wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Now we move on as a clube – which means a young, smart up and coming manager, not the usual list of tired of names. Look at Nigel Adkins – he’s doing wonders down here for Saints. Pay whatever it takes to prize him away.
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Good blog Tim pretty spot on mate.When he left Compton yesterday captured on Sky he will still polite and affable on what must have been a very difficult day. Great bloke.I honestly cannot see anyone on the “short list” who is any better. Curbishley yesterday on Sky was “well if they ring me i will be intrested” If Curbishley wanted the job sureley he should apply and not presume, perhaps thats why none of the other 8 Premiership clubs to change Managers have not looked to him. Whoever comes in do not give them an opt out after 4 months as i would suggest Curbishley would want.Mick great bloke, glad you been with us, wish you still was….with a bit more flexibilty.All the best
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Can’t argue with any of the blog, although it was time to move on (at least 2 games ago or more, truth be told)
Curbishley concerns me even though he appears the best of the current available bunch.
He has been out of the game since 2008 (where a LOT has changed) and I watch him regularly on Premier League TV here in the UAE and he doesn’t come across very ‘clued up’, worryingly, his regular counterpart Andy Townsend seem to talk a lot more sense…
We will see, the worst that can happen is relegation, which I guess most of us are preparing for anyway.
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super mick ? wouldnt go that far his managerial record in the prem is dire , thanks for everything mick but stick to championship management or below …….. we all ******* hate leeds !!
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Well said.
Lets not forget Morgans role in this. If you have an owner who only invests JUST ENOUGH in players to keep us up but nothing more well sooner or later that gamble is not going to pay off. Even when it was obvious we were bottom three quality in the Jan window all we got was two loans and a prospect. Whilst I agreed in the end Mick going was the right choice, I recognise how little he had to work with. Remember he said on his first day what MM didn’t stand for.
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Forgot to say – Whoever is appointed needs to bring new backroom staff with them. TC has somehow been bulletproof, but if we are to start afresh he needs to move on as well, quickly..
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Well said Tim. I was utterly pro-McCarthy even before his appointment, and will always be grateful for what he delivered. But, it really is time to move on…. Curbs, please please interview well!
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Wolves owe Mick McCarthy big. I agree it was time to go and the performances have been totally awful.
But please, can we do something to celebrate the brilliant times Mick has brought to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Absolute legend and a cracking yorkshire bloke.
Super Mick McCarthy
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Spot on about Mick.
And Roger the Dodger the lodger in my opinion is yesterdays papers, ready to throw away.
UTW
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Good blog. At least it shows some respect to a decent man who rescued WWFC from obscurity.
The personal abuse heaped on MM for the last few months has been a disgrace. The usually illiterate idiots who just loved trolling MM and anyone who disagrees with their hateful bile should now shut up and back off.
Whatever MM’s failings he at least took responsibility. Most of the trolls who post on here know nothing of either leadership or responsibility and I suspect most of them rarely get out of bed. Goodbye Mr McCarthy, you really did give it your best shot, sadly it did not work out recently. Good luck.
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Every one knows Mick is a nice guy…,but when it comes down to doing his job he is the most stubborn man in the game.
His way or no way was his stratergy.
Yes he got decent players in..He also got second and third rate players in. He’s left good players out because they dare to voice an opinion with him.
Ultimately his stubborn mentality has cost him his job.
There is also the fact that he was tactically incompetent. No method and no specific way of playing. It may suit lower leagues, but not the premiership.
I think that most supporters can name at least half a dozen players that will be phased out in the coming months. The majority of us would pick the same players. Are we all wrong?
Well he’s gone now and good luck to him. The next manager has one hell of a job to do. With little time and no oportunity to get fresh blood in. That’s nothing to do with McCarthy. We all know where the incompetence is there.
Just maybe someone can bring some method and tactical awareness to the way we play. Its our only hope now.
One more thing ..Ardlene out Eggert in and £600k for the pleasure of..Enough said.
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Football Managers say “there is only one thing guaranteed in football, the sack!”
Well you held out longer than most, Mick. Thanks you for giving us our pride back and for what you achieved.
The last few weeks will be forgotten soon but those great memories of promotion and taking some famous scalps in the PL will remain with us for years to come.
Its not your way but if you had just got in a couple of specialist coaches to help you and TC things may have been better. (Getting more players than just O’Hara running towards the ball instead of away from it may also have helped.)
You will always be welcome at Molineux, by me, at least.
And if we do go down, can we maybe have you back?
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Good Article! (for a change =) )
Super Mick has left a massive hole in my Wolves heart… It’s going to be tough for me to accept a new manager. I feel like I’ve gone back home to find my mom has shaked up with a new fella!
Acceptance will be had with the right results, but depends who. Any of Bruce, Warnock or Holloway and I feel I will never accept them into my Wolves family.
It’s true MM also made my love for Wolves so much stonger. Good times!!
Thanks again Mick!
In Mick I Trust.
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Thanks for the run in the Championship Mick to get us back to where Wolves belong. We really don’t want to go back there though.
I have to say it’s good to see you smiling again on the picture above this article. You have not had a lot to smile about on the pitch recently and we all shared your obvious pain and frustration on Sunday. Although you have become the scapegoat for our position a lot of players have just not performed for you.
I know you will bounce back and wish you well.
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I know this isnt relative to the title of the article but Moxey in the interview did not rule out approaching a manager currently employed with a club and agreeing compensation. What about Big Sam at West Ham? Well he is a Wolves fan! Paul Lambert?? Well we are a bigger club than Norwich, all things being equal! Brendan Rodgers??
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Thank you Mick for everything. When I was a kid it was the Bully years and I was 9 years old when we went to Wembley. Now I am 32 and seen the best 5 years of success at Wolves in my lifetime.
We wouldn’t be in the Premiership if it wasn’t for MM. Fact!
Maybe this season was a set too far, and we haven’t improved enough, not as we want/expect to progress. Let’s hope we don’t regret this.
However, I am really very annoyed because the sacking of Mick McCarthy to me is only about the early bird season ticket sales. “Sack the under-performing manager and we will sell more tickets especially after the West Brom result”. It should have been done either a month ago or not at all. I fear that Morgan and Moxey have just commited us to the Championship through pure greed. What manager can save us now? I have no faith in Morgan or Moxey getting the right man. We will end up with Warnock, ou wait and see :-(
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He has done a fantastic job. His first season in charge has been my favourite. We had 9 pro’s when we took over and then we started signing these really good young players from Luton, Greys, Scunthorpe etc.
After seeing Hoddle with that horrible attitude with a serious lack of care it was so refreshing to see Mick kicking water bottles and throwing his notepad around!
Everyone who watches football will miss his honesty and definitely his interviews. The one he gave yesterday after being sacked shown so much integrity and it speaks volumes about the man. All the Managers moaned about Mancini signalling to get their players booked in interviews but Mick went and told him he’d ‘break his hand if it goes up again!’
I would LOVE to see him get the England job and whip some of those big time charlies into shape! If not a big club in Leeds United is waiting for him. MERLIN THE MAGICIAN…SUPER MICK MC CARTHY.
As for the us now, Mr Alan Curbishley, Chris Houghton (apparently only has 5 months left on a contract?)or Ian Holloway
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17. Can you just nudge my memory as to who the prospect is?
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There has been mention of the poor quality coaching which has been down to Terry Connor who has been rather like the black box on a jet plane – always survived no matter what happens Some idiots on here tried to say that MM is the best manager Wolves have had blah blah – but that imv is either very naive or just sentimental nonsense MM is the man any club should call to get them out of the Championship But as a Premier league manager the best we could ever hope for is a annual relegation battle Maybe MM should have looked to bring in better coaching staff instead of keeping Terry Connor But alas he’s now gone From a sentimental viewpoint thanks Mick and good luck – From a business viewpoint and the good of the club NEXT…
Personally, Jez Moxey is the man I place 80% of the blame for MM and Terry Connor being at the club for far too long
Jez Moxey and Terry Connor are like a comfortable pair of slippers – they use to serve a purpose but are now outdated and should be broomed with anyone else that cant bring the club more revenue or success Steve Morgan shouldnt allow the club to be run at a distance – Imv he should install a Prem Proven coaching staff with a manager that can move the club forward – Moxey imv should be stretched by Steve Morgan to attract more revenue sponsors and investors to the club – afterall isnt that Mr Moxeys job? And if Mr Moxey isnt capable of doing that then its time for a change If Wolves are to survive as a Premier league outfit – the club needs to win more than football games to survive
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Well said, Tim. Of course, there are those who will come on here to justify their anti-Mick opinions – they will never accept that this man turned the club round when we were rock bottom. But that’s football I guess. I wonder what they’ll be saying 12 months hence.
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Bang on the money – it is easy to sack people, but much harder to replace them with someone who makes an improvement.
It is ironic that Alan Curbishley is being linked with the role – someone forced out at Charlton after bringing unparalleled success. Ask Charlton fans today how they feel about that sacking – the vast majority agree that his departure was a big mistake.
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All the best to Mick – a genuine bloke whose heart is in the right place.
The overall job he has done at the Wolves is top notch – especially when you consider he took over, with the hole that idiot Hoddle left us in.
Not all of this seasons debacle is down to Mick – clipboard, moxey, morgan, the players must all take some of the blame.
Must be a good bet he goes to a Championship side and ends up back in the Premier League very soon.
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Amazing read, this is how about 80% of wolves fans feel.
Mick McCarthy – Wolves legend.
Thank you
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What a load of bootlicking,you forgot to mention the money he wasted on players,players who did nothing for us,but are now playing well for other clubs..Favouritism,,look at Sunday,wingers sitting on the bench,but what does super Mick do,play Doyle on the wing.get rid of David Jones,and Guadiola,keep Nenad on the bench,and play a nobody from jockland..Yes during Micks time at Wolves we have had a few good days,but nowhere near enough.We have become a boring side with no passion,all Mick is interested in is putting a shift in,we have Matty Jarvis wandering all over the pitch,instead of staying on the wing and doing what he does best,,Fletch potentially one of the best strikers in the Premiership,spending half the match on our goal line defending corners…With the right man we will survive,not Bruce,he failed at Brum,and Sunderland,we have had enough of Sunderland failures..Curbishly
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Curbishley is 55 this year. You get your bus pass at 60.
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As an Albion fan, I must say that this is a brilliant column and a fitting tribute to a Manager that like our manager Roy, is giving our club back to the loyal fans who understand what true support is about. Good Luck Mick
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What can you say? alothave now got their wish an the manager has gone! happy days. So who now will replace?
Warnock sacked at QPR
Curbishly Jumped out at West Ham
Bruce Sunderland got rid as they were going down
These names all jump out and are going to save us, in your dreams. Managers that could not manage to keep their previous jobs so are going to take over and keepus up! Do not think so!
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McCarthy’s greatest gift to Wolves though was something unquantifiable – the pride and honour he injected into our great club, which had temporarily lost its spirit and identity.
Honesty, integrity, respect, class, dignity, passion, work ethic, commitment – he had them in spades and he demanded the same of his players
I take these two portion above of your genuine and heartfelt offerings. I AGREE with you…..however. I depart from your analysis significantly. He needed to find that integrity and used it to reflect and then resign several weeks ago. He is a breath of fresh air in football yet, alas, his conceit paradoxically blinded him to what was going on.
What I want to know is what is this DNA that Moxey has referred to…..is it essentially a lack of funds for the duration of the next manager. Let’s be as financially balanced as we can but let’s not pretend to be premiership if we can’t live in the sordid atmosphere that it is.
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Curbishley will ruin this club for all the good things mick did curbs will tear them to shreds just like Hoddle did!
We have to look at some one like Darren Ferguson, young upcoming and pretty successful in terms of what he has to work with at the Posh.
Cant believe people want Curbs he was aful when he was in the prem last time, look what have happened to all the teams he used to manage in the prem, its a bit of a coincidence none of them survived and are now all struggling to get back in the prem!!
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Good man Mick McCarthy you took us to the promised land on a shoestring, kept us there and gave us some great days to remember and remember we should. I for one will always buy you a pint and say thankyou.
Bob the Builder is on his skiing trip…. enough said !!!!
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Great blog Tim, I couldn’t have put it better myself. Mick McCarthy is an absolute Wolves legend who will be sorely missed.
Thanks Super Mick
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Great blog, I agree 100 per cent. If sacking Mick McCarthy was THE answer, it has also raised a number of new questions to be answered – which they will be, the next few months. Anyway, thank you and good luck, Super Mick!
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Can’t disagree with a word of the article. It reflects my thoughts of one of the best managers we have had for many many years.
The board may rue the day they decided to sack Mick McCarthy. I believe on balance it would have been better to leave any decision until the end of the season.
I’m quite sure that there will be no shortage of offers for MM’s services. Top man.
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Unfortunately Mick, you had to go in the end! However like most people on here I can only say thankyou for all you have done for the club… Some people probably forget that without our 3seasons in the prem picking up the money from sky, we probably wouldn’t be having our new stadium and new training ground which in the future will be a good platform for attracting better players to the club… He’s also made people out there remember who wolverhampton wanders are. Wolves are a far bigger club now than when he took over!
I think the leeds job is yours for the taking, good luck!!
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No No to Bruce big mistake we need attack minded manager Holloway or Warnock or even Billy Davies no ex Blue nose please dont go for the cheap option morgan get Holloway quick for the start of next season. Have Warnock or curbishley to see us through to the end of this season
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Its going to be interesting on these boards over the coming months.
Almost 6 years at one club is an eternity these days and the regular/long posting memebers views have become entrenched under McCarthy.
We may well see Happy Clapper’s becoming numpties and vice versa!!
Ill always do my best to be supportive of those who lead our club, but with the options out our there, I think I may strugle to be postive with them filling Micks boots.
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I thought the best man to keep us in this league was man we have just got rid of and am seriously worried about the rest of the season now. He hadn’t lost the dressing room; the players respected him and were willing to play for him.
Whatever the board say I think this was a knee jerk reaction to the loss against the Tesco’s, and yes it may have been embarrassing but our season does not rest with the two results against them. They have been saying for months how they will keep him because stability is the key then get rid with 13 games left.
I pray that this is the right decision. Hopefully now he’s gone people will actually be able to look at what he has done for the club and without we would have been still clinging to mid table in the Championship.
In Super Mick I trust.
FWAW
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It is with a heavy heart that I read this blog, and reflect on the sacking of Mick.
I have nothing but respect for the man, and manager that has graced our club for what seems like an age, giving so much that cannot be undone by his sacking; elements that are now woven into the club so deep that they will remain for all time.
He has helped forge new foundations for this club, upon which we can still draw strength and move forward.
Mick, from the bottom of my heart, Thank you.
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Thanks Mick
I will never forget the 1st home match of your 1st season, a team of kids and misfits cobbled together at such short notice. I think it was Ipswich we played and won! From that point on I knew we would go on to bigger greater things.
I for one will never forget what you did for us as a club after years of mis managment (hoddle, McGhee) you did for us what nobody else could, get us up and keep us up!
Thanks Mick, and lets hope your successor can keep us up and improve our possition.
Just a thought…… This time last year we were bottom of the league, and Merlin kept us up. new bloke, we are only in the relegation zone on goal difference, so if you dont keep us up you will have done a worse job than super Mick
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I would like to join the makority on here and thank Super Mick for some wonderful times nad great memories that will stay with me forever. It is sad to say that most of us could see his reign coming to an end and i did fear the worse after sundays result. Though it was no surprise when i heard the news it still brought a slight tear to my eye for the first time in years. He will be missed and always welcome in Wolverhampton in my view. I hope he finds a new club that is right for him and gets the full backing from the owners and the fans. Who knows one day we may be welcoming him back to Molineux with his new team, if so i hope we give him a great reception as that’s the least he deserves.
Goodbye Mick, always loved and never forgotten.
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Yes, Mick has done a great job for Wolves. No doubt. Honest, straight talking and hugely determined too. Great qualities. A good man.
But, even with Mick, by the end of the season, it would have been time for change.
The players look as though they have run out of confidence in themselves and their coach. Some have been playing at the limit of their ability just to keep Wolves’ heads above water. Now the team is faltering, huge cracks have started to appear.
Whistling in the dark doesn’t help. Yes, it’s time for change now.
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What a load of rubbish. When Madmick turned on the fans two years ago it was obvious his days were numbered.
Just the sheer incompetance of our board meant we were dragged through another two years.
His football was boring, he had no tactical knowledge and was not open to any other ways.
Picking his favourites who were clearly not up to task.
I hope he gets a new job soon so we can transfer half of them to his new club
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Tim, I couldn’t have written a better testimonial to Mick if I’d tried. It’s inspired me to put my thoughts in writing for the first time.
As a London based (mainly armchair) supporter since the mid 50s I have ridden the Wolves rollercoaster, experiencing many highs and lows along the way. My credibility may be in question because I don’t attend, but believe me every Wolves match is an intense emotional experience, leaving me totally elated or utterly dejected.
And now Mick has gone. I still vividly remember how stunned and saddened I felt when Stan Cullis was fired by John Ireland all those years ago. I believed then that the heart had been ripped out of the club. It’s exactly how I feel with Mick’s departure. Wolves have had many managers since Cullis but few have really seemed to embrace what Wolves are all about. McGarry, Barnwell and Turner being notable exceptions to my mind.
I was delighted when Mick got the job back in 2006, not because I thought he was the best manager out there. I had just admired from a distance the values and qualities that he possessed and he felt ‘right’. It soon became abundantly clear that he had bought in to the Wolves culture and values. He understood what the club stood for, didn’t decry the fact that so many of us still wallowed in the glory days of the 50s and he had a real plan to take us forward.
From day one he seemed totally committed to us and I never felt that this was just a step on his career ladder. I also believe that given better luck he could have ended up spending the rest of his career with us. And that would have delighted me.
So, February 13 will now be such a sad day in my calendar. Mick’s last day with Wolves.
I am sure that the new manager, whoever that may be, will do his best and may indeed bring success to the club. But somehow I can’t imagine him being such a totally perfect fit with Wolves as Mick was.
This morning, as the sadness engulfs me, I find myself thinking the unthinkable. How about we fail this season and then need another new man to get us back up again? Could he return to where I feel he belongs?
All dewy-eyed nonsense I know, because that’s not going to happen and I’ve never ever wanted Wolves to fail. And I also realise that Mick isn’t without his faults, a recent inability to win football matches being particulary relevant.
Anyway, thanks for everything you’ve done for Wolves Mick and please enjoy success in whatever you now choose to do. I’m sure that honesty, integrity, class, determination (and undoubtedly stubbornness) will continue to be the words that symbolise you.
I really am proud that you were our manager.
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McCarthy did a good job getting us up but this has been undone in the last three years by largely wasting over £40m on sub-standard players and more importantly wasting the opportunity to kick on and establish ourselves in this league in the way Stoke have.
It is McCarthy’s fault for not walking and the boards for not sacking him earlier that he was not ‘afforder the respect her deserves’ (in your words). He could have left 18 months ago having done a good job but not wasting massive amounts of money and the opportunity to establish ourselves. Instead we survived by a goal in our second season (ver lucky) and are now in a big mess in our third, his replacement inheites a squad with a Championship at best standard defence and a midfield full of wingers. Hennersey, Jarvis and Fletcher are the only bright spots.
It is yours and the boards sentimental view of McCarthy that have kept him in the job way beyond his expiry date. What could have been!
He leaves us in a mess!
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Can’t be nice to be sacked by somebody not even in the country.
The more I think about this you know, the more I think it’s a mistake. These aren’t the sort of sentiments you normally find when a guy gets the bullet.
I’ll be going up to watch us at Newcastle and I’ll be thinking about the clear penalty we had at The Mol and the perfectly good goal disallowed and where we’d be now if it wasn’t for poor officials.
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Thanks for everything Mick, i fear we are going down , it was wrong to sack mick, we are done for now.
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Thanks, Mick, for all you’ve done for the Club. We shall miss you.
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Mick McCarthy !! Thank You !! You will go down as a legend at Wolves FC. Thank you for rescuing us from that dreadful Hoddle era – where we then had a manager who thought he was bigger than the club !! Yeah right !! Thanks for taking a threadbare squad and developing it. Turning it into a promotion squad within just a few years is nothing short of remarkable. Thanks for getting us into the Prem and keeping us there. Its all a fantastic achievement – and whilst I do think may be “thats as far as Mick could take us” – its a flipping long way from where he started. What a measure of the man too – when he left us – “Please Stay Up” were his words. Legend !!
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Best manager for a long, long time. Hope the numpties (and the rest of us) don’t regret forcing him out. Guarantee that whoever comes in will get the same treatment from the noisy minority as soon as results take a dip.
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well said.. thanks and good luck to you MM!
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56. Matt Wolf. You are joking !!!!! He came in when Hoddle dumped us and we were looking like candidates for League 1. He left having established us as a Premier League Club !! Where is the mess in that ??? Short memory syndrome I think !
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Good post Tonyw 55.
Bill McGarry!! ”We’re on our way to Wembley town to see McGarry’s aces!!”
Mick will certainly get a cheer from me if/when he comes back to The Mol with another team. And you just know what the result will be don’t you?
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Not many can question the decency of Mick McCarthy and his tenure did put the Club into the top flight of English football. However, it is indisputable that the gulf between the Championship and the Premiership is such that the management and coaching has to to be adjusted if the Wolves are to not merely survive but achieve mid table status.
MM’s record at the Premiership level was already known – remember his results at Sunderland? The style, or lack of it, that MM preferred simply could not deliver consistent results and the squad is really short of quality at this level. Mistakes are severely punished in the Premiership and, in what should have been MM’ s strength, defence, we have been found severely lacking.
Ownership is quilty of failing to recognize this and has waited far too long to make the required changes. The players have a responsibility in all of this and they need to grow a pair and understand a new regime will come in and light a fire under them.
It looks increasing likely that Curbishley is the favored one to take over. He does have an OK record at this level more so than Bruce, Warnock, Keane and Dowie. The need for experience rules out Shearer and many young coaches. If we could entice him away Brendan Rogers would be a good candidate simply becuase the fans deserve attractive football but there is not enough time left to salvage the season and make a seed change in our style of play.
With 13 games to go it looks bleak for us and I do not envy any Coach’ s task in stopping the rot.
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Was hoping the board would not make a decision in the aftermath of a high profile derby but take a considered view,change can prove worse than faith and continuity.Maybe in time people will appreciate what Wolves had in Mcarthy.Where do the howling mob think they should be?there are only so many mid-table places,a massive club like Aston villa have only won one more game-that should give some perspective.Wolves are still a fledgling Premiership club,not Man utd!(kept there by Mick-unlike others that have gone back down or been Yo-yo).Terry Connor at least knows the players which a new man will not and have the benefit of some stability in the backroom.
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london Bloke,Finchy,Mr.Perspective, solentwolf and few others I agree with you all, I’m still sad about Mick..Still the usual lot can’t wish him good luck and thanks for everything, I’m sure he’ll walk staight into a job!
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sorry should have said straight! although the English teachers Annay and Edwina seem to have done a bunk!!!so I won’t be picked up on it..
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Mick McCarthy wolves legend. I have supported wolves for over 25 years, I have seen managers come and go and Mick was the first to strip us of the big time charleys and give the club a real work ethic. I hope who ever come in, hopefully Curbishley, can continue than ethic and take us to the next level. Thank you Mick. UTW.
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Best manager since Turner got the club breathing again. Match made in heaven until we reached the promised land. Fantastic championship manager where sheer effort and graft can get you up. You need more tactical nous when you get promoted. Mick deserves all the acolades going for what he’s done. I do think he took us as far as he could, nobody has tried harder or cared more than he has. Thanks for all your efforts Mick. Unlike the Mcghees and the Hoddles, you’ll be remembered fondly.
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Very good article Tim! I would like so many posters on here like to offer my sincere thanks to Mick for a fantastic last 6 years and wish him well for the future. The decision to sack him may well come back to haunt us in the near future. Admittedly there were mistakes this year like taking the captaincy off Karl Henry and the failure to address our apalling defensive record (you can’t keep conceding 2 or 3 goals every game and expect to pick up points). However for me one of the key mistakes by Steve Morgan was lack of investment in new players in the summer and this focus on building new stands (when apart from a few glamour games we don’t fill the existing ground anyway). When you only miss relegation last season by a goal 3 mins from time it is obvious that you needed to bring in some quality recruitments! There is any interesting parallel here with history repeating itself here. When was the last time we spent alot of money on a new stand, recruited a dodgy centre half from Birmingham City and sacked one of the best managers we had…..we all know hat happened next….
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We will all have our favourites to replace Mick. I am disappointed we let Mick go. Let’s be very clear – the players SHOULD be gutted – the reason he was sacked is that the players had let him down. A large number of players have simply not performed consistently at the level to which they are capable. We can all have fun naming these players but it is these guys who got Mick the sack and put us where we are. I hope we here an apology from the players for the WBA capitulation and I hope the players take responsibility for hauling us out of this mess. Who can we name as a stand out performer this year, someone who has done better than last season? – only Hennessey and Fletcher come to mind. Mick took the flak for their poor performances. Time now for the players to show some guts, guile, determination and refusal to lose. In the short term the team needs some pruning.We will now find out what our team is made of. This is a huge gamble to press the panic button now. Who knows what impact a new Manager will hace on a team full of McCarthy-bought players. We appear to have few leaders in the side. Time to stand up and be counted! Time for us fans to rally round and support the boys or its Championship football next season for us.
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Thanks for all the nice comments, hope the piece conveyed what many of us are thinking.
55 Tonyw – well said that man, very nicely put. Have seen a few comparisons to Cullis in the past 24 hours and I guess that shows you just how highly thought of Mick was. Obviously he had nowhere near the same amount of success, relatively speaking, but as you say he wholeheartedly embraced our great club.
Despite what’s happened this season the new manager certainly has some big boots to fill. Those who so vehemently and aggressively called for Mick’s head on a stick may regret their disrespectful bile one day.
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Good luck Mick and thank you for 6 great years.
No doubt we’ll see you at another club as you pass us by going the other way!
The moaners have got their wish and have probably sebt us down in doing so. I had faith that we would be one of the two teams who survived under Mick.
It’s a decision we will live to regret.
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I personally think that we have made a massive error – will someone be able to come in and be better than Mick – from the names mentioned so far – my answer is NO!!!!!!!
Definitely in my life the best manager since Graham Turner – I hope I am wrong but I think we did this too late and now will only be able to replace him with a poor mans mick!!
Steve Bruce – We beat his sunderland team this year – one of our few wins – poor record wherever he has been
Curbishley not managed for years and got sacked from his last role
Warnock – No – worse than mick by a mile
THE ONLY MAN WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT IS CHRIS HOUGHTON FROM BLUES – look at the job he did at newcastle, no money, club going wrong way, useless greedy chairman, what happened? Absolutely battered the championship and his team is now 6th in the prem..with a few additions granted.
At blues – sold their whole team, got in superb players who no-one had heard of, great team spirit, done us in the cup, 3rd in the league and not lost for 10 games, no money spent
HE FITS OUR MOULD PERFECTLY!!!!!
GET him and we will stay up
Anyone else and its cheaper tickets next year boys and girls – Championship here we come
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As I said above, Thanks Mick. You’ll always be welcome!
However, I do feel it was time to go, maybe even at the end of last season at which point he would have gone out as an even bigger hero.
What amazes me is the out-and-out support he is getting now, on these pages. Maybe if you offered that support in the stadium instead of now, after the event, things may have been different. Discenting voices don’t have to be the loudest. Or is it a case of you were disgruntled at the time and now feel bad?
Well I’m sure Moxey and Morgan feel bad, but such people have to put feelings aside. Maybe that’s why they are in the top jobs and we are all keyboard warriors. It may turn out to be a bad decision. It just might turn out to be the best decision they ever made. Let’s be positive and hope its the latter.
(funny how last week’s positive thinkers are this week’s negative thinkers, and visa versa. “Its a funny old game”.)
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Well done MM bought pride back to WWFC after the Hoddle debacle.Shame MM lost his way.
Big task for a new manager to turn it around with the imbalance of full backs that remains.Left back position summed up his stubborn streak.
WWFC playing with three strikers after stumbling on the formation against 10 men then sticking with it was shocking.
Curbishley as all the credentials but hes been out of the game a long time.
All the good managers have jobs,maybe wolves should be looking for a lower league manager to build on.
Norwich and Swansea play good football,with managers that were unproven at Premier league level, as Moxey the knowledge to find such a man.I bet WWFC wil play what they believe will be the safe card and Curbs will get the job.
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Doyle 6.5m bargin ??????
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Mick is a true gentleman, one of the greatest maanger at Wolves in all time.
I am sure he will do a googd job for any club.
Thanks Mick!
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Some decent points Tim, but overloaded with very nice pro Mick spin some would say, crickey those blinkers you wear are still clouding a few facts mate.
No matter how bad it was under Hoddle, and yes it was bad, Mick still inherited a club who had just finished 7th in The Championship.
We did subsequently lose a few players so Mick used plenty of youth players who did him proud in that first season…and their reward? Moved on in the second season..nice!
Your highlight very well may have been our win against Albion in that first season, shame about 4 (FOUR) losses to them!
You mention ‘integrity’ and ‘respect’, yet it only took until his second season in charge for the first of many public insults directed towards fans, ‘keybord wizards’ to be followed by ‘numpties’, ‘mindless idiots’ and shouting ‘f*** off’ to The South Bank….yep, such integrity!
Unless my memory is playing tricks (and I could be wrong), because of the little bit of stick he got, he refused to join in the last game lap of honour….very childish!
I’m not trashing the article, I agree with many points and do actually admire many of Micks’ qualities, but it wasn’t all rosey and shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the football was often rubbish, and coupled with often mentioned naive tactics, poor team selections, blind loyalty, poor signings, wasted money etc etc etc, I thought it only fair to offer a bit more balance.
Thanks Mick for all you have done, and genuinley good luck for the future.
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Super Mick McCarthy. Thank you for everything. Legend! UTW
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Apart from the first three games,lets face it we`ve been mostly awful. For the good of the club Mick should have walked months ago, but now he`s got a nice fat cheque folded up in his back pocket. Lets not feel too sorry eh!. Another manager will be sacked soon and Mick will take HIS place. The roller coaster goes on! Many of the players had been with him from the Championship, i.e far too long. They need to hear a different voice, see a different face, hear some new ideas. Anyway, onwards and upwards etc.
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My choice would be Ian Holloway,i think the guy as got something special,plays attacking football,great man management and i believe he could do a great job with the extra resources available at the Molineux.
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players gutted , to true , GUILT.Did not show against the Baggies you WERE trying to save his job.Pull your socks up a good Sunday league team puts in more effort.
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Well said Tim
I think your comments sum up the feelings of 90% of Wolves fans. Mick has been a great servant to the club and probably the best man to keep us in this division.
Yes, I know he had his faults (but who doesn’t), the biggest being his loyalty to his players and his willingness to take the blame for their poor individual performances but the way he has acted since he joined us is an great credit to him.
I still can’t believe that some people are still coming on here spewing out their hate and bile. Mick never criticised Wolves fans as a whole, he just referred to an vocal minority who were giving him terrible personal abuse.
I hope that Moxey and Morgan read this blog and the great majority of the responses to it and then hang their heads in shame. For someone who claims to care about the club, why wasn’t Morgan at the match and why did he delegate his dirty work to Moxey?
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what would be peoples thoughts if Mick turned up at Blackburn next week when they sack Steve Kean, tell ya what, i’d fancy him to keep them up
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Thanks for the great memories Mick. Can’t help but feel that this is a mistake. I’m sure that Mick was still the best man to get us out of this mess. Can anyone really say they are excited about the available managers that will be being considered as a replacement – i can’t
The players and some fans (use the term loosely) need to take a long hard look at themselves.
MM will one day be remembered as a wolves legend
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I can’t help but think that our chances of survival have now evaporated – why not give him the chance to the end of the season.
He had never failed in any previous targets set by the club on a wage structure that is minimum wage by premier league standards.
The irony is that we will probably end up with Curbs, a man who was hounded out of Charlton by the thuggish vocal minority because he couldn’t get them in the top 8.
Are Charlton still a mid table prem side….no
Are Charlton a lower prem side……no
They must be in the Championship then….no
Got a bad feeling we are all going to regret this….
MM = Wolves Legend – Thanks for the memories.
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Excellent article and I whole heartedly agree.
The best six years I have had supporting Wolves in the last 25 – thanks for the memories Mick.
I hope brings a team back to Molineux one day because he deserves a standing ovation for the pride he has put back in us!!
Please do not now take a backwards stpe with a Brude, Warnock or Davies in charge!
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A super article in tribute to Super Mick. It was along time coming in getting into the Premiership and staying there, so immense respect for the positives MM brought to our club. Though I think it was the right decision to part company now, I wish him sincerest and best wishes for the future!
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I am shocked reading the comments on here. I must have been watching a different PL this season because reading this you would think that we have played great all season. Get real! the fact is that apart from the opening two games we have been absolutely awful and with MM in charge we were destined for the championship for certain. There was no evidence on Sunday that we would get out of this mess. Yes Mick you did a great job restoring our club, gaining promotion and keeping us up in that first season. I will always be grateful for that but it has been time to go for a long time now and lets face it I’m not going to feel too sorry for you as your walking away with a nice million pound bonus. Not bad for delivering our worst performance in 50 years against our closest rivals. As for our next manager personally I would like a young up and comming manager but now is not the time to gamble on this so I would go for Alan Curbishly. I’ve also read some silly comments about him but his record speaks for itself. When he got Charlton promoted he established them as a good attacking mid table team. he left to go to a bigger club in WH who were in the same mess as we are when he joined them. He got them winning 7 games out of the last 10 to survive and the following season they were 6th in the PL when he got fired by the new Icelandic owners. He won his court case for constructive dismissal and so his record remains untarnished. It’s always a gamble with a new manager but he sounds as good as anyone that has been mentioned and he could be in place by Friday. At least now we have a chance at staying up and whoever gets the job we should all support him and the team. If your all going to wear your MM tinted glasses then your not being truthful to the facts on the pitch and we will still all be bickering until the end of the season.
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Thanks Mick, but thats as far as it goes.
Nice bloke he is, wolves legend he is not.
For the last 2 seasons he has taken us backwards and our entire premiership squad has got only 4 players that another prem team would take – Jarvis, Doyle, Fletcher and Hennessey. He has bought BADLY.
Take a look at Albion, they have youth, experience, pace, skill and organisation in abundance and they have a lower wage bill and have spent less money. Good football can be played if you have the right man in charge.
Mick should have gone in May last year at the very latest. Stats prove he is one of the worst if not the worst manager in prem history. The stats also say he is very effective in the championship, thats his level.
I hope Curbishley decides to come as I feel he has the cool calm and collective outlook that will be needed in the next 13 games. We need a football brain to tinker with our limited resources and somehow collect 19 points from 39.
Thanks Mick, you are a nice guy and hope you get the Leeds job or similar. You got us out of a right mess when you arrived but you overstayed your welcome and have now left us in a right mess again.
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Hi Tim nice blog.
As a baggie looking in from the outside i must admit i believe Mick was badly let down by Steve Morgan.
A chairman who openly admits he isnt a Wolves fan, is attempting to run the club to make a profit. No problem with that but how many clubs do it and are successful on the pitch?
Very few.
I was stunned during the summer when Wolves only major signing was R Johnson. You had scraped staying up by the skin of your teeth and investment was clearly required. Only fool keep doing the same thing over and over and expects a different outcome. Thus another relegation scrap is in store. Mick may not have helped himself with some decisions and alienating the Wolves fans by name calling them more than once never helps. But i do feel that the blame for Wolves current position could quite easily be laid at the chairmans door.
That door is somewhere in a multi million pound ski resort, priorities??
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Good luck to McCarthy, hope he gets the Leeds job and does well for them but fact is he had to go. Bet quite a few on here who are paying tribute were cursing him at 4pm on Sunday. Only time I was emotionally upset at sacking of a manager was in September 1964. We never got over that one ! Just hope its not Bruce this time. Journeyman who is ‘damaged goods’ and another Sunderland failure. Remember his ‘Hoddlesque’ departure from Crystal Palace ? We can obvioulsy still survive but it will be a close call. Maybe Curbishley but what the hell do we fans know ?Seems like a nice bloke on the telly……Late call – how about Ally McCoist ?
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Thanks very Much to ‘Super Mick’ he’s done wonders over the past six years. But I think his strength lies in getting teams promoted not in competing in the technical/ money focused premier. He’d be ideal at somewhere like Leeds who, like we did need some major reconstructive surgery. Time to wish Mr McCarthy all the best for the future and kick on. May regret this long term but we need to fight to survive. Problem is anyone coming in will have a pretty limitted toolkit to work with unless one or two of the lads stop sulking and get some self belief back.
THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOU’VE DONE FOR US MICK!!
I for one really do appreciate it.
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93 – cheers Bomber. Morgan has got a lot to answer for and it’s disappointing that he wasn’t in the country to see arguably our biggest game of the season, or to make such a huge decision which flies in the face of almost everything he’s said previously.
Mick’s hands were tied with the transfer policy but I can appreciate Morgan trying to balance the books and combine a new stadium with improving the team. I imagine he thinks English football will implode in the next 5/10 years and wants Wolves better off than most when it does.
Agree with you though, he’ll need to invest if we’re to move up the ladder and any new manager will want to develop his own squad, which won’t come cheap.
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91 Chris Jasper. Think you are spot on.
35 Wolves Fan.80% of Wolves fan? Is this 80% of Wolves fans that regularly attend games ?
Listening to fans comments when leaving Molineux this season I think you will find the majority of fans wanted him out.
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Good blog again.
Sad day.
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A very good article but I am afraid Karl Henry demonstrated the other week against the Villa and last year at Wigan why, he should have been relieved of the captaincy. I agree, however, that Johnson should not have it but struggle at present to put forward a suggestion?
Clipboard and Moxey please go too! If you do not sanction certain signings like Distin, Gardner and Demba Ba, there is no surprise that we have annual struggles!
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Thanks Mick. Our finest manager for many a long year. Best wishes for the future.
Great article by Tim Spiers. We forgot too easily how Graham Turner, Graham Taylor, Mark McGhee, Colin Lee and Glen Hoddle spent millions of Sir Jack’s money and still failed to get us promoted. Remember Colin Lee buying Robert Taylor from Man City? Thanks to 69 ‘The happy wanderer’ for reminding us that “Mick was the first to strip us of the big time charleys and give the club a real work ethic.” Great article by 55 Tonyw – Mick “bought in to the Wolves culture and values. He understood what the club stood for …”.
OK, in three years Mick spent 40 million but in Premiership terms that gives you an Andy Carroll or a Fernando Torres. Morgan and Moxey take a reality check. Its very hot in the Premiership kitchen – if you cannot stand the heat, get out, take Terry Connor with you and hand over to folk who can. It is never going to be a level playing field in the Premiership but the club needs a wage structure that continues to maintain financial stability but does not deter quality players from joining us in the future.
… and we can still stay up.
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Great blog and reading through a few of the comments I would wholeheartedly agree with Tonyw (55). The players should take some of the blame for not ‘putting a shift in’ for MM on Sunday. Hope we do not live to regret this – can’t see anyone else that can do any different with players that we have. Board should have given us a little bit of money to spend. Don’t agree with the big money spending clubs, keep it real. Thanks Mick for being so honest and keeping the Club integrity intact.
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SUPER MICK, u will have special place in our hearts n history, haveing met him numerous times at Bruford Arms the man was a peoples man always chatted n had pictures taken…..saddened hes gone but best of luck in ur future
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Great blog, Tim. Super Mick was one of a kind, and there’s no question he was a scapegoat for Morgan and Moxey’s failings.
Very sad to see you go, Mick. All the very best. I reckon you must be relieved now you’re out of the firing line from the other two Ms, and you’ll soon be working with better management. I’m a Wolves fan through and through, but if you come up against us with your new club, I hope you slaughter us like the Baggies did! I would sacrifice the win for the rubbish you had to deal with at the Mol. (Just not this season though, eh? We need all the points we can get!) UTW – come on now, lads.
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Tim, I thought you might have put a bit in the blog that your belief in an attacking formation last week was perhaps a tad misplaced.I still cannot understand why Mick went with that formation.He will be sadly missed though.’You don’t know what you have got until it is gone”
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The best manager we had. You will be missed Super Mick…
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104 – Chris, I certainly wasn’t advocating the sort of gung-ho approach he was taking from around 30 minutes into the game, switching to three central strikers and then moving Ebanks-Blake to the left wing, Jarvis into the middle, etc. It was quite bizarre and I think the pressure got to Mick.
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80 – “Four losses to them [Albion]”
Albion vs Wolves under McCarthy (from an Albion perspective):
w 3-0 (h) League
w 0-3 (a) FA cup
l 1-0 (a) League
w 2-3 (a) Play-off
w 1-0 (h) Play-off
d 0-0 (h) League
w 0-1 (a) League
d 1-1 (h) League
l 3-1 (a) League
w 2-0 (h) League
w 1-5 (a) League
That’s seven losses, 2 wins and 2 draws. Why did you have to leave Mick! In all seriousness though, I admire Wolves for having the guts to pull the plug on Mick’s tenure but will it prove to be too little, too late? Curbishley has been out of football for a long time; look how much both Albion and Wolves have grown in that period. He’s bound to be rusty and you need someone ready to hit the ground running. McCarthy knew your squad (and knew his favourites); is it simply too late to allow for a new man or will it be a catalyst for your season? Who knows! But I wish you all the best of course.
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Firstly
I ‘d like to thank MicMac for everything he has done for, which is considerable in his time here, he has changed the club, for the better, I think for a long time to come.
However, the desicion to part company was absolutely the right one, no question, nor was it a ‘knee jerk’ reaction by the board, as Alladyce claimed yesterday, which I thought was appalling, he has no more insight to what goes on at our club, than anyone else.
Tim I agree with your sentiment, though I do feel you are being slightly hypocritical & somewhat ‘gushy’ I understand where you are coming from.
The thing is MM was showing the signs many of us have seen before of a man under immense pressure, similar to Turner,Taylor, Jones etc when are trying to find the right formula, turn things round, they start making the most bizarre decisions & MM’s team selection on Sunday was just one of those times.
Whilst tinged with sadness it was time for him to go, personally of all the names being banded about, it has to be Curbishley who did a stunning job at Charlton & got West Ham to an FA cup final (& they should have won!!!!) but he also has strong principles, remember he walked away from West Ham when the board started interfering with football matters, also he can handle big name players & characters, which for me was one of MM’s big short comings.
Good luck MicMac, even though at times you were baffling, most of the time you were also damn entertaining!!!!
Thanks
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80 – You said it, 100% Wolf. You omitted to mention that Mick also invited fans to fight him, if they didn’t agree with him. Nice PR job, huh?
Mick’s a damned good bloke with many admirable qualities. We all know that. He’s a top guy who also happens to be a superb Championship manager with very few peers. So, hats off to Michael McCarthy for everything he achieved at Molineux -I salute you, Sir. Premier League he aint, though -and that moot point has been cruelly exposed. He had to go after the Albi*n fiasco, even if the timing was awful.
Tim, you question the timing of the sacking but what alternative was there after a 1-5 drubbing that could -indeed, should- have been 2-10 in the Tescos favour? Fancy a poisonous atmosphere that would’ve destroyed the players completely? How about rage, wrath and bile directed at Mr. McCarthy himself for 90 mins? Morgan and Moxey would’ve got both barrels, too, and that’s quite aside from the morale-sapping sight of hundreds of fans storming the Billy Wright Stand in loud protest. No, it was better Mick went when you consider the long-term damage that could’ve resulted from keeping him on. It could’ve set us back years.
You wrote a respectful article, Tim, but as 100% Wolf said, it was too heavily loaded with sentiment rather than balance. Mick may have been a saviour in many respects but his flaws have seriously undermined this club’s progress, too. Besides, no other manager in my lifetime -and trust me, I’ve attended Molineux more than twice as long as you- has ever overseen the kind of split between fans that we witness today. That’s a poor element of managership, Tim, and as a result we need healing and recovery. It’s not all about simpering plaudits -it’s about clear vision and truthful reflection. Mick brought both good and bad to this club though little of the latter made it into your article. I feel I’ve read about someone other than the guy who’s been Wolves boss for the last 5+ years.
Mick may have found some humility in recent weeks, and I acknowledge that, but it was merely as a result of him facing the bullet. He finally recognised that he needed the fans’ support. Yes, all of them. For this is the guy who showed sheer arrogance and disrespect to many fans on a regular basis, putting our fans at each others’ throats. I guess that egotism is the price to be paid when you see yourself as somehow bigger than the club…and all thanks to the punch-drunk success of gaining promotion in so short a time, great feat though it was.
Yes, Mick, you are indeed an icon of Molineux folklore and I’m thankful for everything you did for me as a fan. I’ll never forget those halcyon days or running on the pitch to celebrate after the Rangers game.
However, I’ll always retain a more rounded, balanced opinion of you, freed from the constraints of undying, sycophantic gratitude. That’s because, no matter how much I respect you as the man you are, I never loved you and never will, for my love is reserved for Wolverhampton Wanderers only -and yesterday you finally found out that you aren’t (and never were) bigger than the Club. I could’ve told you that a long time ago, Mick, because none of us are.
Every success for the future, Mick, for I sincerely wish you well…just never at our expense. UTW!
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Thanks Mick for all your efforts at the greatest club of all, I stuck with you all the way & I am afraid it was your loyalty to some players that cost you in the end ( Ward, Berra etc) you did a great job for us.
I wish you all the best in your next job.
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Wolves needs a steady hand, I think Bobby Gould has got to be the man, he’s a former Wolves player as well. Maybe he could groom Ian Rush, a friend of Steve Morgan’s, to take over in due course.
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Mick McCarthy. A man I was proud to be Manager of my club. A man that made me smile and nod in agreement every time he was interviewed. A man of honesty and integrity and no little ability. But it is time to move on. Good luck in everything you do. On your return to Molineux I know we will raise the roof in acknowledgement of the respect the vast majority of us all hold for you.
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thankyou mr mcarthy for everything, you’ve done for wwfc since 2006. good luck for the future.
just heared on skysports news that the tescos are planning an open top bus parade in sandwell to celebrate winning a match, lol.
sad day for wwfc, but good luck to the new guy.
oh and dont, whatever you do, new manager, lose any matches.
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great blog , tim. in my opinion. wwfc will regret this sacking. mick mcarthy’s invitation to the keyboard warriors for a scrap, was tongue in cheek stuff,knowing they are only brave online. and he is not responsible for public relations, thats the clubs press managers job.
not a good championship manager, but a great one, breaking wwfc 50 year old record and sunderlands points haul with league 2 players, awesome.
and as for not a premer league manager, so who has been that tall,bloke in he managers seat at molinuex since 2008/9 season???
and sacking him now with 13 games left could set us back years, if we had kept him he would have saved us from relegation.
can you imagine if he replaces kean at blackburn and his team win at the mol? the sight of thousads of fans storming the main entrance of the billy wright stand, a poisonous atmosphere, all the hate and anger would not be contained.
and as for the, no manager has split the fans as much as mcarthy line?? what? try docherty/taylor/hoddle/and bill mcgarry’s second term. they all caused regular fighting in the north bank, and thats saying something.
and as for him showing sheer arrogance towards the fans and needing thier support and only showing humulity recently. what a load of coswallop. there is no one more arrogant,without humility,fickle, than football fans(i’ll burn my season ticket is a favourite.)
however , mcarthy deserves his place in wwfc history. and will be missed by thousands
and i will retain a more rounded, opinion of the numpties, without the sycophantic gratitude, i will and have liked you as a manager. and by the middle of may the numptied will find out that they are not and never will be bigger than the club. I could have told them a long time ago. every success for the future , mick and if you club wether its blackburn/leeds beat wolves, im sure the real supporters will congratulate you. utw
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London Bloke
Thats several times you have had a go at “idiots ans trolls” on here. You stated that you have a position of responsibility running your own business and then suggest that some of the posters on here are lazy and irresponsible just because they have a different opinion to you!! Has it occured to you that some of them may have responsible positions too? I for one run my own business and when tough decisions have to be made, they have to be made pleasant or not! When some member of a management team are not performing action must be taken for the good of the company/team as a whole so i suggest you may want to be a bit more concidered in your acusations! …. unless of course you know best!!!!!!
Come on me Babbies
P.S lets make sure we make a wise choice, not just a cheap option.
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Thanks for what you did Mick, before it all went wrong.. You should of gone a few months ago. I remember Tim made a few comments about us fans when, we first asked for Mick to stand down. We all saw the writing on the wall. Shame you was a little blind Tim. Blind faith gets you nowhere, not when the truth is staring you in the face.
I look forward to a new manager and will get behind whoever it is.. Not very keen on Warnock, he has done nothing at the top level. Yes he is great in the championship, but would be a step backwards for us. Curbishley or Bruce I will get behind them, whoever is chosen.
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such drivel
he seems a decent bloke who got paid very well for not improving us one jot in three seasons
and its ok to blame morgan you muppets how much money you lot spend dont forget the dark times when we were nearly going out of exsistance,at least we are in the black
lets move forward with who ever comes and hope he doesnt keep playing second rate favourites in positions that they cant cope with aka ward good defending for andrews goal NOT and dont forget the way he drove mark davies and others away
come on lets stop being sentimental and thank god he has gone
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As someone who has supported and followed this club for over 50 years I can safely say that Mick McCarthy as our Manager was up there with the best of them. However like all those previous managers he had reached his sell by date. I thank him for all he has done for the club, as I’m sure the majority of the supporters do as well. Its time to move on and hopefully get a manager that can save whats left of our season, and our premiership status. I agree with Moxey in that it may be a better idea to give someone a short term contract, and see if he can do the required job. If not then it will be far easier to say at the end of the season thank you but no thanks or your just what we are looking for. A bit like try before you buy I suppose. One things for sure though, the players had better get their heads down and do their utmost to get us out of the mess they have largely put us in, or they will be the next ones out of the door! Of the possible names being bandied about as the next manager, well they by and large look a pretty poor bunch to me. All have failed either this season (Bruce Ericson, Davies and Warnock) or in the past, or simply don’t want the job (Benitez). Curbishley (of the so called names on the list)would be my preference, but only on a short term contract until he proves himself. I would much rather see Stuart Pearce with Wilkins as his assistant installed for next season if we can get them, or some of the up and coming young managers like Clarke or Rodgers or even Hughton (but I can’t see him wanting to leave Brum especially if they get promoted and we go down). Well its wait and see time, but somehow I have a gut feeling we are about to be disappointed with the choice.
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Not sure how to start, but let me start with a BIG BIG THANK-YOU to Mick McCarthy. Not since the early days of Steve Bull as one person help put so much PRIDE back into Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club.
As far as I’m concerned Mick, you deserve the BIGGEST medal ever for putting up with some of moronic elements of so called Wolves fans.
I for one are proud of what you have helped Wolverhampton Wanderers achieve during your spell as manager.
I thank-you for your honesty, endeavour, commitment and sense of humour. You are nothing but an absolute gentleman.
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As an avid fan for many years and having seen managers come and go, I feel very uneasy at the sacking of MM.
For me he is the best of the managers who could come to Wolves.
I like his honesty, a rare thing these days. I think he is well respected by most and we will probably never have anyone like him again. None of the names put forward inspire me and I only hope we don’t make a “Hoddle” mistake.
I know the manager is ultimately responsible for results but I do think however that our players need to look at themselves. They are allegedly “gutted”, but why have so many been putting in below average performances?
Last season we had some fantastic games and the players were great, I came away from matches on a real high. All season I’ve been waiting to see signs of that again but I’m still waiting! If they can’t do it for a manager like Mick why think they’ll do it for someone new.
Anyway, hope Mick is reading all these blogs and feeling cheered by the majority of the comments.
I wish him all the best and thank him for the last few years and for giving us some really memorable days.
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I have today made a list of all unemployed managers and studied them and i must say the best one of the bunch is mick mc carthy. !!
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The best and most fitting epitaph that anybody could leave for Mick, is for the players who so singularly failed him this term to muster sufficient pride and commitment to preserve the Premiership status he and they previously worked so hard to achieve.
So sad if it all eventually comes to nothing…
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To all the people who protested for the sacking all i can say is better the devil you know than the one you don’t.
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The players couldn’t do it because in most cases they’re not good enough, playing out of position, or tired out from having to play at 110% every week, ‘putting in a shift’.What must Hennessy feel like, one of the best in the PL, man of the match in a losing team so often. And Doyle, superb last season, forever up front on his own with his back to the goal. Jarvis, so brilliant on the wing, not getting enough service.
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Echo your sentiments Tim.
Mick should be remembered for what he has done for this club and if he returns in the future with another club he will i am sure get the respect he deserves.
The baggies loss made it difficult for him to continue as the atmosphere was going to get even worse during our last 13 games if even the slightest mistake would be magnified a hundred times.
Mick took over the club when we were drifting towards what many thought would be relegation and we might still be in the championship if it was’nt for him. I could point out the many bewildering tactics and decisions he has made since he has been here but one thing you can’t knock him for is his commitment and loyalty to Wolves.
Thanks again Mick.
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A lot of bloggs on here are saying how great Mick was why weren’t you on here for last 6 months? all we got on here was the lets get rid of Mick only a few of us stuck up for him, it’s like when somebody dies and everybody says great things about them and hadn’t got a good word to say about them when their were alive…I did lose a bit of faith in him towards the end but on the whole I supported him. i wish all the best to Mick although it was tense last year we had some brillant matches against the top teams!which I will always remember.
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I’m sorry,
(not sorry at all) but a lot of self seeking gratuity has come out on these posts recently, which have no place in the realm of football as a business reality, which is now WWFC’s desperate position aka THE FEB 14 2012 1-5 watershed. AMEN
Mr Mick McCarthy, now thankfully gone, is a the former Wolves manager, nothing more. Happy on. Now he can do whatever he likes, even become the boss of stupid stupid ENGLAND. Let us wish him luck with England or Leeds, what’s actual diff? NONE!
OK OK he got us promoted by his shiftin’ philosophy but that’s now history and doesn’t earn us Premiership points NOW THAT WE NEED THEM. Does it?.
Let’s face it WOLVES fans, that is what we need more than anything else!!??
Pro or anti Mick, WE ARE WOLVES. That’s the truth!!!!!. ISN’T IT????????????????????????
Let us now move on.
NO TO BRUCE & NO TO WARNOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES to CURBISHLEY. This man will keep us up.
HAVE FAITH. THINK CURBISHLEY.
THINK POSITIVE. THINK WOLVES WILL SURVIVE!!!!
The McCARTHY era is over.
If America could survive McCarthyism WOLVES
CAN TOO!!!!!
WWFC forever UTW
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He us and was the best manager Wolves have ever had. The problem today is people understandably want results. But surely isn’t better to have a fighting spirit and fail rather than to have all the riches and win. This has gone completely mad you get a new manager and all will be fixed, yeah right! It is a great shame as Mick had quality principles which is essential for the game, the supporters let him down.Surely bad experiences make you stronger and more enjoyable to watch. I know when Wolves had their tail up , they were unstoppable under all the big teams.
Big mistake, now the new manager will be under scrutiny for results the rest of the season!!!!!
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Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so they say -especially the sarcastic type :-)
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I have mixed feelings about the departure of MM. By this seasons results the board had to let him go, but I think they may have left it too late to save the season.
I don’t see any names in a list of replacements that will do any better with the players we’ve got.
I think they should have stuck with Mick through May.
In my opinion a certain section of the fans killed off MM and demoralized the team on many occasions.
After the game on Sunday I knew it was coming.
He’ll do well somewhere else especially with a decent budget for players.
I’m afraid we might not be so lucky.
Moxey stated on Wolves Player that he did a good job, but the thought is that the players may respond to a different voice. Perhaps at the end of this season they’ll wish they bought Mick an artificial voice changer and kept the man.
Personally, I loved his Yorkshire accent, sense of humour and brutal honesty.
Thank you and best wishes to MM – He did us proud!
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Spiers I find it a bit annoying how you refer to the protest that some fans showed towards Mick as bile. I was one of the protestors and although i am sad to see him go would happily protest again. To lose to your greatest rivals in the manner that we did was simply unacceptable along with the long ball tactics that have been employed over the last few months. The protest was fully justified in my view as it seemed that the board was unwilling to listen to many of the fans with them producing repetetive statements of public backing for Mick even in the face of poor results week after week.
While I happen to agree with much that you say such as Mick restoring faith to be a Wolves fan after the heartless Hoddle, I feel that you dwell too much on past glories and ignore the fact that Wolves have spent 40 million and for the most part the team remains Championship players.
I also agree with the view of many that we may regret the dissmissal of Mick but not because it should not have happened but simply because it happened far too late. He should have gone in time for a new manager irrespective of who they were to be given resources to strengthen the squad not to simply inherit a squad totally devoted to Mick.
I just hope that the new manager (hopefully Alan Curbishly who may I mention won 7/9 games to keep West Ham up when they looked buried) can keep Wolves up as even though I believe we would bounce straight back, we would lose our best assets and we would be required to start all over again.
We have a nucleus of a team in players like Hennessey, Fletcher, Jarvis and O’Hara who would be difficult to replace even if we were to come back up. We then also have players who still have quality that perhaps can be discovered again such as Johnson, Doyle, Kightly and Henry. With a few quality additions in the summer provided we stay up that top 10 finish would not be so far away.
Overall thank you Mick but you had to go good luck in the future.
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131
Erm, did you just mention Johnson & quality in the same sentence????
Really???
Captain Dire has been woeful & is one the main reasons we are in the mess we are!!!
If he lost the chip off his shoulder it would be a start.
Under the new regime he is playing for his future more than any of the others !!!
Please explain
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HE had to go because the only way we were going was down.
Unfortunately the boards dithering has made it almost impossible for a new man to succeed.
Tim why are you letting sentiment get in the way of fact?
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fao grace ; couldnt agree more about our woefull captain, did you see the interview with him and ward on sky, it gave the impression that although he said ‘we are to blame’ he said it through gritted teeth, what he really meant was ‘ couldnt care less im picking up ££££££££ so up yours to the fans
roger call yourself a captain you are a disgrace to wolves and the team
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Thank you, Mick. This is a sad, indeed, tragic day. Tim is right about Mick restoring our pride, giving us many joyful moments and being straight, humorous and honest. But that honesty had an Achilles heel: it revealed Mick as a man who at the highest level always feared the worst. Top sportsmen revel in high expectations. Look at Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal’s attitudes a couple of years ago or the way top boxers approach their fights confident of winning. Mick could not achieve that attitude at the top level. It was always, “We will keep our feet on the ground!”, or “We won’t get carried away.” Did we ever win enough matches to be in serious danger of getting carried away? Even after our winning start to this season, Mick could not enjoy it and say to the lads, “onward and upwards!” Only seven of the Fulham outfield starters at Mol played in Europe three days before they came here. We played well. Mick should have said, “Great performance, lads, onwards and upwards!” Instead he maintained that Fulham were tired, and said he didn’t want to get into Europe for a long time. He dramatically drew attention to this remark by telling the joke that, if Wolves looked like qualifying for Europe through the Fair Play League, he would tackle someone in the tunnel. After the big Carling Cup win against Northampton, he repeated again that he didn’t want to get into Europe for a long time, implying that because of that he had reservations about winning the Carling Cup. At all costs, he had to lower expectations. He did that so successfully that we have ended up where we are now. Mick, you are a great guy and you have a lot of talent, but please learn to think like a champion in the manner of Federer and Nadal! Get your feet off the ground and learn to fly!
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Streako
Started to watch it on line but they both had big grins on their faces, so I turned it off.
Hammered by the steptoes, bottom 3, manager sacked & they find the time to have a laugh???
Couldn’t watch it!!!
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Couldn’t agree more, Super Mick gave me my club back. Just hope the new guy can finish off what he started. All the best Mick!
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GRACE : AGREE AGAIN IT MADE ME CRINGE mate
roger johnson was just saying what the fans ‘want to hear’ he couldnt care less as long as he is picking up his reported £££££££, i know ive slated him but at least karl henry is frm wolves, and he knows what wolves means to the fans !
roger johnson should hang his head in shame and donate his entire wages for the season to compton hospital at least that will make me a little less mad when i see him !
i dont want curbishley, what exactly has he done, where has he been for the last 6 years and if he was a decent manager why hasnt anyone employed him since he walked out on the hammers ? sorry but if you appoint him i wont come back to wolves , moxey and morgan are the main problem at wolves look at the underlying equations, add up the sums and see morgan for what he really is
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Need some money to finish off the depleted new stand.
Apply to Jeremy Peace where favourable rates are guaranteed for the needy !!!!
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Grace – I watched it.
Johnson has to be the thickest bloke in the world – and that takes some doing given the mentality of the average footballer.
When asked whether he agreed with the sacking, admittedly a loaded question given that the decision had been taken by his paymasters, he said no, before providing further evidence that they were all giving 110% by saying the players were 100% to blame and the manager only 5-10%.
As much as I’d like to think that the players would knuckle down and realise, if they hadn’t already, that they were in a hell of a fight for survival, he choses as club captain to basically say that he doesn’t agree with the CEO, Chairman and owner’s running of the club.
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Hughton’s ruled himself out, saying he wants to see the job through to the end of he season -but no mention of anything beyond that. Perhaps he’s hoping we settle for a temporary boss to fill the breach for 13 games…and then go after him?
Nah. Just joking. Wolves wouldn’t think that far ahead…would they?
Streako/Grace. Admittedly, I haven’t seen those TV images, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Crying buckets over Mick one moment, smiling the next. I thought they were supposed to be ‘grief stricken’? Mick should never have made Johnson Captain until he’d earned it -if ever. It was probably the start of dressing room discontent. An own goal there, Mick.
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Lets put things in perspective, yes Mick was a nice bloke but I beleive Wolves are in this position due soley to Mick. Lets look at is purchases, yes they may seem good value but were they good enough for the premier league.
Kevin Doyle, Stephen Hunt from Reading (relegated)Kevin Foley, Dave Edwards, Luton (relegated), Roger Johnson, Birmingham (relegated), Sylvan Ebanks Blake, Plymouth (relegated), Stephen Fletcher, Burnley (relegated,) Jamie O’Hara playing at Portsmouth (relegated), Matt Jarvis, Gillingham
(relegated), Karl Henry, Stoke (reserve team player, Michael Kightly Grays Athletic (non league football, Stephen Ward, Bohemians (sunday morning football). They may be all good footballers but are they good enough for the premier league, I’ll let you make you own mind up. Thanks Mick it was different
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141 – YOBS & 140 Andy
I agree captaining our club is an honour that should be well earned, not handed over on a plate, as MM did.
I also agree that was the begining of the end, interesting to hear him & Henry had to parted after the Villa game.
Get the arm band back to Henry I say, yes he has made mistakes since he has been here but his attitude can’t be faulted & as it says on his twitter page, he is, ‘Wolves – born & bred’
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Yes, it is an honour that must be earned, Grace. Okay, Henry may not be my type of player if I’m honest, but the team need a galvanising effect right here, right now…and they’d trust him. So, like you, I’d reinstall Karl as Captain and at the same time it would show Roger Johnson that he aint indispensable. It would give Henry the chance to regain some confidence, too, and maybe allow him to put to bed that daft incident in the Villa game that cost us so dearly (and has for another 3 games since). I’d love it if a native Wulfrunian could somehow lead us to safety. I think we all would.
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Couldn’t agree more, nice article and I too hope Super Mick reads this and knows how much we appreciate everything he’s done for our club. He gave us our character back, a positive attitude on the pitch (which saw us take some memorable scalps) but above all was an ambassador for the club representing us brilliantly. I’d almost forgotten about that South Korea job! Things won’t be the same. Super Mick, I wish you all the best in your next role. Thanks for everything you did for us.
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not linking it to the Wolves vacancy, but if the players think that it was harsh to sack McCarthy, then what about Lee Clark who has just been sacked at Huddersfield!
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This article can hardly be read as a balanced judgement of Mick’s tenure than can a piece of propaganda. It merely betrays a sentimental cult of personality that has developed around Mick to the extent he was becoming bigger then the club itself; that the interests of Wolves and Mick were the same and perhaps ultimately, to the detriment of Wolves.
No one can deny that Mick did the job to the best of his ability. Though many of the accolades are richly deserved there are gnawing hints of a darker side to Mick’s personality. He can hardly have said to have acted with grace and dignity when admitting he was “up for a fight” and less still when referring to some as “numpties”. Some of his interviews seemed to reflect a hubristic egotism as much as the clichéd nods to honesty and quiet resolve. Was he perhaps a little too stubborn, domineering and perhaps not a little insecure? Did his over-reliance on an essentially championship squad of grafters cloak him in the illusion of safety? Was it as “all for one and one for all” as people liked to paint?
The fans too have perhaps been tarnished with the dubious charge of perceived “fickleness” – who could blame them as they dug into their pockets and knuckled down to yet another dogfight amid the giddy talk of progression and plans? It was inevitable there would be heckles and chants as expectations faded. That is part of the theatre of football. The support of fans is not a bottomless well for the players to drink from, it is a binding covenant where passion must be reciprocated on the pitch. Regrettably, McCarthy’s team had exhausted it’s side of the bargain.
The disappointing thing is that the majority of fans are not looking back in hindsight. After the Blackburn escape and the Swansea debacle we were looking into the future cassandra-like toward the moment of time in which we find ourselves – a club staring relegation in the face. Are we a serious football club if we put the potential hurt feelings of manager and accusations of ingratitude before it’s sense of history and well being as a whole? This is the suspicion of many fans towards Morgan’s failure to act sooner.
Perhaps the Express and Star has bought into the Wolves project a little too readily. We expect newspapers to elicit some accountability from the powers that be, whether they be politicians or in this case a football club but at best there has been bland acknowledgement and at worst a collusion which has treated the fans like naughty schoolboys. Along with the sentimental gestures, there has to be a frank assessment of McCarthy’s Premiership record.
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Managers “sprout” PR guff? Don’t think so, the correct word is “spout”!!!! Apart from that, well said, Mr S.
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147 A Good article. Tim, a very biased article as usual, but yes thanks Mick for all you have done and I wish you all the best for the future. If we go down however it will be for the games already lost this season not the next thirteen or so. We still have a small chance of survival, but sorry not with Mick in charge we didn’t.
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. actually, its, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.
dont take your self too seriously, as no one else does. glad to be of service. utw.:-)
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For me it’s too early to put the MM years into any kind of perspective.
One part of that process will come with whoever comes next, another with whether they keep us up.
The reality is, it should have been done months ago. Mick was given enough time to turn things around.
It’s sad how it ended though. And we were in a right pickle when he came in. The Hoddle era had sent the sleeping giant back to sleep.
I’ll never forget the early MM days, with Kightley and McIndoe swapping wings, leaving the opposition full backs all over the shop. The promotion season was something else…
Somehow, everything that was good in going up, turned bad in trying to stay up.
Merlin, the promotion specialist. Forget his PL record, promotion specialist will see him well in the future no doubt.
I just hope we didn’t leave it too late to be wanting his services again come May.
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It,s starting!!!
The old boys from the management circuit, trying to protect one of their own & blaming everything else but the person responsible for MM’s demise.
Alladyce the other day, now ‘The Turnip’ in today’s Express is blaming Morgan (for going in the dressing room after the debacle against the scousers) & us, the fans, for being difficult to please.
These are the reasons MM got the bullet -
14 points from the last possible 66.
No win the last 8 home games.
Losing 3 home derby’s in one month!!!
Conceding 11, yes 11 goals in our last 3 home games, scoring only 3!!!!!
Dropping into the relegation zone, also being in 5 team pack that is now cut adrift from the rest of the league.
Bizarre tactics & team selections.
And dare I say it allowing the steptoes to stroll into our back yard & stick 5 past us, was the final straw.
These are the ‘footballing facts’ & the reasons why MM had to go, Mr Taylor, I like MM & he has done a massive amount for Wolves (way more than you ever did!! Tony Daley & Neil Masters, spring to mind when I think of you!!!) & for that he will always be very fondly remembered by the Molineux faithful, he has changed our club, for the better, forever, but, lost his way, big time.
Just like you did, (remember making Eric Young captain & playing him left back?!?!?!? That one still baffles me to this day) & for these reasons he had to go, just as you did all those years ago & both were the correct decisions.
So stop blaming the fans, you guys are extremely well paid for what you do & you have your every whim catered for by your employers, a luxury that very few are afforded, I hear Wigan are currently on a ‘warm weather’ training camp for example???
To say the least everyone connected to the footballing side at this level is ridiculously well pampered, so dont look for excuses when it all goes wrong, look in the mirror, instead of at the fans who part with their cash year in & year out.
End of Rant!!!!
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Grace-that was a rant from you! They want to come and live in the real world for a bit and they’ll know how lucky they are!
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Smashing tribute, Tim. Well done. You brought tears to my eyes. In my 50 years as a WW fan, he has been one of the best Managers. I wish Mick well and thank him for all his work. Top man, Mick McCarthy!
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Tim a nice read with respect shown to MM’s considerable achievements
Regarding Glen Hoddle, I am unsure given the clubs resources at the time whether he would have got us promotion, however I am sure he would have proved to be an excellent Premiership Manager. During his time he got the best out of players (Lee Naylor and Keith Andrews)
He had the respect of many top clubs/players both UK and Europe which would have been an asset attracting players to the club.
Perhaps he failed as the team at the time were not sufficient quality to play his way. Interesting to see Norwich and Swansea gain promotion and establish themselves in the premiership playing a style of football that I would have liked to see at the Molineux and believe Hoddle would have delivered that.
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I couldn’t agree more. Mick was a breath of fresh air after Hoddle try to extract any pride & passion we had left. He seemed genuinely proud to be manager of Wolves & we were lucky to have him. I feel so sad he has left in the manner he has, Sunday was the worst day as a Wolves fan I can remember since Hoddle dumped us at the start of the season without a full squad of players.I know many Wolves fans genuinely did not like him for different reasons, but i am not one of them. I will remember Mick as the first manager to inject the club with serious optimism since Graham Turner took us from the depths. I will remember the swashbuckling way we gained promotion, with Jarvis & Kightly terrorising defenders & Ebanks-Blake scoring for fun, all the time aware we signed them for a song.Thanks Mick, thanks for making Wolves fans believe again & thanks for getting us promoted, I will never forget it.
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curbishley –games won draw lost win/per
791 303 201 287 40.85
warnock——1,245 489 354 402 39.28
bruce——–583 213 150 220 36.54
its clear as day there is only one choice.
mcarthy —–669 264 175 230 39.46
new manager of wwfc mr alan curbishley. utw
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For your information, ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ is a recognised and quite separate proverb of vastly different meaning to the commonly-used example you gave. Accordingly, my selection of proverb was not only contextually correct, but also grammatically correct, too -something you singularly failed to grasp in your erroneous, puerile haste to correct me.
In layman’s language, you obviously hadn’t heard of it before; thus exposing much ignorance on your part. That being the case, I’d say it’s you who shouldn’t be “taking yourself too seriously” and I’m sure “no one else does” after making yourself look so illiterate.
Now, go back to school -you obviously need further tuition in English Language if you can’t differentiate between one famous proverb and another. It’s a sure sign it’s half-term…
Glad to be of service. UTW.
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actually for your information, ‘imitation is the sncerest form of flattery’ is a verb recognised.
By who? certainly not by the vast majority of football fans.
and if your selection of proverb was contextually,or grammatically correct, actually just shows you up to be , a wannabe robert burns.
I did’nt use, the overrated,shakespeare as an example,because, i consider him to be,wait for it, as interesting as watching, 50+ year olds , trying to give eNglish tuition to , someone who could’nt care less.
purile,erroneous,ignorant,illiterate.
very good. your mark for today 7/10.
must do better. utw,
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Mick McCarthy will become a Wolves Legend along with Stan Cullis – Ronnie Allen – Bill Mcgarry and Graham Turner.
‘Forgive them Mick for they know not what they do’.
Mick rebuilt Wolves on a shoestring after the club was nearly destroyed by Moxey hence Hoddle’s long distance telephone call saying it was an impossible task i’m out!
I for one fear the worst remembering an interview with Harry Marshall and Sammy Chung when the John Ireland stand had been built, Wolves are going places yep we finished up in Division 4 (think its now called the conference) hope history does not repeat itself with this redevelopment.
Now for the future we need a young hungry Manager someone like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Gus Poyet or Nigel Atkins not deadbeats like Curbishley, Bruce and Warnock.
Morgan sacked Mick from abroad on Moxey’s say so, think he deserved better than that Steve!
Ask any Stoke City fan about Moxey, he is the problem at our once famous club he runs it never backed Dave Jones either.
Good luck Mick in everthing you do in the future. It has been a privilege.
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thanx for the great memories mick,you did what countless other managers could not do,got us to the promised land and kept us there for 3 seasons.shame for it to end but i think you showed a bit too much belief in some players who just wern’t up to the task of premier league football.very sad to see you go though as you are the best manager ive seen at the club in 20 yrs as a wolves fan.when you arrived at the club i was expecting a relegation battle but you turned our club around and got us promoted,put the pride back into our great club and kept us up on a tight budget and for that i and i’m sure all wolves fans will be eternally grateful.
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oh and by the way mick! hope you do land the leeds job,that would be a monster job but one i’m sure you could handle.
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Actually, it IS a contemporary proverb -or ‘expression’ or ‘maxim’ for want of other descriptors- not a ‘verb recognised’ (lol!) as you ridiculously claim. You could always argue the point with my old English teacher if you wish, though? He loved axioms, metaphors, similes and yes, proverbs.
7/10 for effort, but must do better in future.
Kind regards, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. UTW.
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