Mick McCarthy

[lisvaneblue]

Always a bad sign when the most positive reaction to a managerial appointment is "Give him a chance".

Same thing with Harries.

I can't remember the last manager that generated a little excitement.

He is under a lot of pressure. Looking at his recent post match interviews, he does not express enthusiasm, seems disinterested, and often has arms folded in a defensive way.

I looked back at a few of the interviews from early in the season, the Barnsley and Blackpool games. Very different...he was expressive, humorous even, arms at side and frequent use of hands to add emphasis to his words

Whatever happens to him Cardiff's direction of travel will not change unless Tan and the board make some strategic decisions about the future of our club. The current situation helps no-one, not even the owner. If MM went history suggests we would appoint another tried and tested individual who may give us a very short term spurt in performance, and then it will be as before. There is no easy fix.

[Divine Wright]

He is under a lot of pressure. Looking at his recent post match interviews, he does not express enthusiasm, seems disinterested, and often has arms folded in a defensive way.

I looked back at a few of the interviews from early in the season, the Barnsley and Blackpool games. Very different...he was expressive, humorous even, arms at side and frequent use of hands to add emphasis to his words

Whatever happens to him Cardiff's direction of travel will not change unless Tan and the board make some strategic decisions about the future of our club. The current situation helps no-one, not even the owner. If MM went history suggests we would appoint another tried and tested individual who may give us a very short term spurt in performance, and then it will be as before. There is no easy fix.

I dunno...I'm clutching onto the small glimmers of realisation they seem to have had in terms of trying to improve the youth set up, going with relatively young and untested managers in Malky, Ole and Trollope....even the u-turn on the shirts. They seem to take an age to come around to what is probably needed in any given situation but here's to hoping they finally realise that the majority of sides are getting out of the Championship these days with A) a plan and B) a foreward-thinking, young-ish manager with some sort of philosophy.

I don't know why they insist on ex-pro, English managers when that profile of manager hasn't exactly got the best record in the top two leagues over the last four or five seasons. Off the top of my head, Wilder, Warnock, Smith and Parker have gained promotion in the last four or five seasons. A couple of those got through the play-offs. The other, what, ten or so managers that have gained promotion have all been foreign. Going with someone from the English setup is not a terrible idea but teams who are willing to cast the net a little wider appear to be reaping the benefits. I'm neither a xenophobe nor a xenophile, but Tan and his helpers seem to have a very narrow field of vision when it comes to appointing new managers. Surely as a successful business person he must understand that he's putting himself at a disadvantage.