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Just heard Nathan Blake on call rob.Is it me but i got the impression he was belittling Warnock achievments with us.
Avoiding relelgation and then getting promotion not too shabby.What has Blake, done a short time doing something at Newport apparently not very successfully.
To hear him talk you think he was an expert on football management. How he has the nerve to have a pop at a guy who has a fantastic record like Warnock is beyond me.
I heard the phone-in and thought Blake was talking sense. The club has little to no football knowledge upstairs, which is why I think NW had such a free rein during his time here (and why he kept praising Dalman as the best Chairman he's worked under). He operates in a certain way which does bring success (and happiness to supporters) however, is short-term. I agree with Blake that we just go from season to season, with no obvious plan.
Warnock kept a squad that shouldn't have been bottom two in the first place up, got a great promotion, a relegation where he couldn't stop telling us what a miracle it was "plucky little Cardiff" were in the Premier League as we became the only club in the history of that league who have spent more than a season in it to have a 100 per cent relegation record and then spent a fortune putting together a dog's breakfast of a squad which has played like a lower half Championship team for the last five months - I'd say Blakey's got a point.
...and by the same logic, Blakey was a professional footballer and City legend - who are you to have a pop at him? I don't really mean that, but making the point that everyone has an opinion whether it is qualified or not.
The promotion season was a miracle really. We knew it at the time, and in hindsight it seems even moreso. Warnock deserves full credit for that - it was a masterpiece. Last season was hugely disappointing, but had Warnock gone after it he would have gone down as a great manager for us. It would have been something of a poisoned chalice for the next guy as most people felt that the squad additions last season were made with one eye on fighting a championship promotion capaign the following year. But his staying on really highlighted inability to spend money with any skill whatsoever. Sadly, his legacy will be profligacy rather than promotion.
Blakey's comment in full:
"I look at the Warnock reign. People go 'It was wonderful' and I say 'It was a flash. (He) came in, saved us, not expecting nothing, gets promotion the second year. Everyone goes 'Wow' and then before we get into the Premier League we're saying let's just enjoy the ride and we'll be leaving. That's exactly what happened. Then this season, before the start, we spend a bit of money on players and I'm thinking how do these players fit in with what we want to do?"
Can't really disagree with any of it. Promotion was an unexpected flash. As soon as we got there, rather than give ourselves the best chance of staying up, we didn't really build in the transfer market, we didn't turn up in games against the big teams because we thought they were already lost. We very nearly stayed up and had our attitude as a club, including Warnock and the board, been one of let's give this our best shot and build on what we had, who knows? Instead we had an owner that barely turned up and did little to back the club in the PL, a board that offered little other than soundbites and a manager who felt we were lucky to be there.
Today’s match day squad included over £30m of players brought in by Warnock. He must take the major share of the blame for this season’s performances. His attempt to avoid responsibility by legging it 3 months into the season fooled no-one (OK, maybe some).
The board cannot shirk responsibility either. There is a spectacular lack of football expertise at the top of the club. The idea of VT, Dalman and Ken posing as talent spotters on the transfer committee is beyond absurd.
Until the board acknowledge they’re out of their depth and get in serious football people who know what they’re doing then the club will continue to make it up as it goes along.