He did wear down that team that one time though.
+ Visit Cardiff FC for Latest News, Transfer Gossip, Fixtures and Match Results |
He's probably already got a deal lined up, Sunderland has been mentioned. We would struggle to offload him for a fee, so no doubt we've agreed a pay off of part of his contract so that he is a free agent and can now negotiate a better deal for himself with another club as they don't have to pay a fee. Or we've agreed to top up his wages with his new club for the rest of his contract. I just really wanted to see him score for us, he'll probably make a goalscoring debut for his new club.
He did wear down that team that one time though.
The biggest blunder Tan and co made was to show absolute trust in Neil Warnock who, in terms of the amount of money spent has to be worse than Mackay, Ole, Slade, Trollope and all of the other managers who get so much stick on here. Strangely, Warnock was great when it came to free transfers/Bosmans, but give him money to spend and all of the good judgement that got us Bamba, Hoilett, Etheridge, Mendez-Laing, Paterson etc. flew out of the window. Warnock was the "football man" that people used to cry out for and look what he left Neil Harris with. We need someone with a foot in both the football and administrative/financial camps who can act as a kind of go between for the manager and the Board - there was talk of a Director of Football type being appointed when Warnock left, but that's died a death now it seems.
It IS odd that Warnock is clearly a brilliant man manager when it comes to players with seemingly something to prove (see your list above). How he got the team promoted in his second season is quite remarkable when you look back on it now.
And yet his record in the transfer market is so poor. (Insert a long list here starting with Madine, Murphy, BDR, Flint etc)
Is this trait apparent at other clubs that he managed and if so what are the unique characteristics of the players that fall into each of the two groups? Is it as simple as: he can motivate one group (of free transfers and relative journey men footballers) to over achieve and prove people wrong, whereas the other group recognise that he values them, having paid a fee for them, and are therefore not as motivated to prove themselves?
Surely that is too simplistic? 😳 (that said, the pitiful fickleness of lots of professional footballers never cease to amaze me....)
There has to be something in this yes.
No doubting the has beens or cast offs have performed under NW.
Most managers if they buy a big named player for a lot of money or on big wages (or both) will give the player more time to bed in or turn things around if things aren't working.
It all then depends on the player concerned whether he wants to give it a go or sulk.
We have seen so many of these players just sit on the bench without busting a gut knowing that they are on a huge wedge.
It isn't about the money to others who need the buzz of performing.
With Madine, I don't think he falls into either of the above though.
Warnock paid a premium for a player, in a limited market it has to be said, to fire us to the prem. We did get to the prem (with his help in "that" game ) but, no matter how hard he might try, he is just not good enough.
Makes paying the sala fee look value.
Will do the likes of nantes and clubs receiving a sell on well and stop having his name put through the press associated with a money dispute.
This is actually a good case in point: Andy Shambles scored 8 goals in 9 games for us, whilst on loan (or very similar, I think).
Then when we signed him for big money, he went right off the boil - did he have a point to prove whilst on loan, but then lost some motivation when he got the move?
Must be harder mentally the longer it goes on, that pass to Hoilett screams "no confidence".
He could leave here with new surroundings and possibly score earlier in for his new club, taking tons of pressure on.
He wasn't suited to us but that's not his fault, it's Warnock's, who is useless with forwards.
He's just trying to open up a new branch of his fight club
I've not researched this at all, but it seems to me that, even if you allow for transfer fee inflation, Warnock was given far more to spend at Cardiff than he had at his other clubs. One of my main criticisms of Warnock before he got QPR promoted was that he always produced the same type of teams and I was of the opinion that, even if he was given a big budget at a club, he would still put together a side that churned out the sort of stuff that he had a reputation for.
I changed my mind when I saw the Taarabt inspired QPR go up as champions, but I should have noted that he subsequently said he had broken the habits of a life time to build a side around a player like Taarabt and it was something he would not do again. City became that club which gave Neil Warnock the big transfer budget and he used it to put together a team in his own image which lacked the spirit, camaraderie and belief that his better teams had used to great advantage (e.g. our 17/18 side).
It was not as if Warnock would not sign technically good players when he was given the means to bring better quality in, more that he couldn't bring himself to trust them - he seemed happier to stick with the more expensive grafters he had signed and it's possible that these would not buy into the Warnock mindset as readily as the more "grounded" players he was used to working with did.
I'd also say that there was a possibility that some players who were at the club for the duration of Warnock's time here may have become bored with the restrictive way in which we played.
Whatever the reasons, the motivator was unable to work his magic this season, in fact, given the way we start games the side has looked demotivated if anything. The spirit which Warnock himself spoke about as a strength of his sides has been conspicuously absent, in fact, I'd say we look more like a team with problems in the dressing room and it doesn't seem to have got much better under Neil Harris.
I think Warnock became mentally lazy 2nd time round. He'd already signaled he'd leave if the City weren't pushing for a top 6, and I think he didn't really put his heart into the transfer dealings - more a case of 'if they come off, fine, if they don't I'm off..".
The rest is history so-to-speak, but footballers aren't stupid when it comes to football matters. They know they aren't good enough, and must be frustrated week in week out what equates to playing sides who are miles better in terms of football ability. The odd win/draw is good for morale, but if/when the play off dream fades I suspect there will be a massive tailing off in form and results..