By all accounts Malky MacKay is a good guy. He is certainly a good motivator and tactician, and an excellent communicator, unburdened by the airs and graces normally associated by managers in the self-appointed Greatest Show on Earth. None of this saved him from the sack, though, accused of running riot with the cheque book in the summer.
Cardiff City certainly ran riot, spending in the region of £50m to help prepare for top flight football. If, as owner Vincent Tan alleges, the spend was unauthorised, Cardiff have a management control problem, not a problem with the manager, who is within his rights to spend whatever money made available to him.
‘Bluebirds’ fans are united on Malky’s side, they are equally united against owner Tan, who appears wholly unsuitable to control a football club. Changing their strips from blue to red, as red is the colour most associated with Wales, tells you all you need to know about Tan and where he will ultimately take the club, but the extravagance of the summer has already set Cardiff off on the road to rapid decline.
Every club should anticipating making mistakes in the transfer market, it is part of the territory, but they need to be able to afford those mistakes. Cardiff’s summer signings allowed for no mistakes. The totem was Andreas Cornelius, recruited from from Copenhagen for an outrageous £10m. The player received a five year contract worth more than the transfer fee. He’s only 20. Cornelius also earns more than seven times his salary at Copenhagen, no one will be able to afford to take him from Cardiff, his 18 career goals, all in Denmark, suggest he’s simply not worth anything like money he’s on.
If you’re Cardiff City, here’s the problem when you try to recruit for top flight football: after 50 years in the wilderness, you’re favourites for the drop. Players with other top flight options will take them, you’ll have to pay over the odds to convince players to sign on. You’re also shopping in a market you have absolutely no experience of – making mistakes more likely.
Spending £10m on a striker was possibly a sensible idea for Cardiff (I can imagine how popular it was, any sane voices would have been whistling against the wind) but what striker, genuinely worth £10m, would go there without being ‘bribed’ with copious amounts of cash? I’m aware of the parallels with Celtic, which £10m striker would come to Scotland?
They could have received 50 knock-backs before doing a deal in Copenhagen. This pattern was replicated across the rest of their summer spend. They should have invested their Premier League windfall on long-term development, irrespective of the short-term consequences.
For the sake of the club’s fans I hope they survive but inadequate controls at board level, with an owner seemingly intent on self-destruction, a rapid decline through the leagues seems inevitable, sooner or later.
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Top ten
yippe
no yippe or should that be yipee?
Top 10
Another no1
Sure Celtic can get their away win tomorrow but I am sure big Yogi will make it difficult for us.
Finished reading Stubbs auto biography and you should definitely take the opportunity to read it if you can. Very thoughtfully and he doesn’t miss his punches against the MIB and Scottish press. Now onto Brian Wilsons history of Celtic.
Anyways you get my meaning!!!1
Dominating the top 10
Transfer rumours please, true or made up
So … are you telling us not to expect a £10M striker any time soon Paul?
Are you all trying to tell me something, I come on
and everyone eff’s aff!!!!!!!!!!
Paul 67 –
“the self-appointed Greatest Show on Earth.”
The UK media describe top of the league Celtic losing six goals in Barcelona as ’embarrassing’.
The UK media describe top of the league Arsenal losing six goals in Manchester as ‘turning into a great title race’.
And Barcelona will score at least four goals against Manchester City.
Cardiff certainties to go down.
@11/5
Fill yer boots.
Valentines Day
How are ye?
Rumour for you….Shane Long and Aiden….that do?
Kikinthenakas
SRS…
Reckon Man City will batter Barca as badly as Munich did last year.
Defensively Barca are not CL quality.
AllaboutopinionCSC
As I said last year Dallas coming to a town near you.
Will things ever change in this corrupt country.
The strange reasoning of Andrew Dallas
Date: 28th December 2013 at 1:39 pm
Written by: Joe McHugh | Comments (2)
Stranraer boss Stevie Aitken has provided a strange insight into the thought process of referee Andrew Dallas.
The Stair Park side were the victims of a bizarre penalty decision at Ibrox on Thursday when Dallas, son of shamed bigot Hugh, awarded Sevco a penalty after Nicky Clark fell to the ground as he humped a shot high over the crossbar.
Without any sign of a claim from any players or supporters Dallas raced forward pointing to the penalty spot to the amazement of everyone on the park with Lee McCulloch netting to put the home side in front.
“Nobody else saw it,” Aitken, who confronted Dallas at half-time, explained. “He said there was contact, and he said if it was at the other end he would have given it. If it hadn’t have been for a dodgy penalty, though, we might have got more out of the game.”
Rather than explain why he gave the penalty it seems bizarre that Dallas would point out that he would have made the same decision at the other end of the park. That really shouldn’t be a matter for discussion.
The fast tracking of Dallas Jnr through the ranks is clearly to the detriment of other referees working their way up in the game.
Being identified as a rising star, like fellow Lanarkshire referee Willie Collum, it seems that Dallas Jnr can do no wrong with his promotion assured regardless of his ability to handle matches and apply the rules.
Last season Dallas fell foul of Kenny Shiels while acting as the fourth official in a Kilmarnock v St Johnstone match that resulted in the Rugby Park boss being sent to the stand for misconduct.
After appearing before the SFA Shiels said: “I brought in evidence to disprove the fourth official, who fabricated stuff to try and incriminate me. I don’t like that. I’m not going to lie down to these people.
“The fabrication was outrageous – at least four different things that were said about me – but he wasn’t aware I had visual evidence on my laptop.
“I think it was to get me into trouble. I’m sure it was to get me into trouble. There is no maybes about it and I would like some answers.
“He [Dallas] made the decision for the sending off, he made the decision to call the referee over to speak to me.
“He had to substantiate a really good story to back that up. He tried but he wasn’t aware I had evidence on camera.”
Dallas has yet to be given a Premiership fixture but is expected to be promoted before the end of the season as he continues his route to the top.
This afternoon, two days after his Ibrox date Dallas will be in charge of Falkirk v Alloa, in 16 matches this season he has issued six red and 63 yellow cards.
Paul…..By all accounts Malky MacKay is a good guy.
…………Malky Mackay is a guy with good accounts.
wishicouldgetapayofflikethatCSC.
newradbhoy
Horrible news mate…hope all goes well for Niece and her daughter .
newradbhoy
14:02 on 28 December, 2013
Can everyone please remember in they’re prayers, my niece and her daughter.
They have been hurt in that bar explosion in Tenerife.
My niece has been badly burnt with burns to her scalp, face and neck.
She has been sedated and put on a respirator, to rest her body.
Thanks in advance.
I read Malky said Cornelious had “great potential” which, if true, was unwise. Spending that kind of money on potential is crazy. No owner Tan was annoyed – if it’s true. Being a great coach does not mean the same as being a great manager, as we know. I was minded to quote McCoist but can’t as he does not pass the ‘great’ test for coach or manager.
hail hail
From previous blog:
I remember Terry Christian wearing the Hoops on The Word.
He said: “Rayght. I ‘ad a load of complaints from Raygurs fans about me Cel’ic shirt last week. So I’ve decided ta wear it again.
“Rayght?”
————–
I was looking for a clip of that show on You Tube and came across the following thread on Kerrydale Street.
It seems Terry discussed the reaction with Tommy Sheridan when they were on one of these ‘celebrity’ shows and the exchange was:
TC: “We had loads of complaints, one which called me a Fenian bas**rd”
TS: “Did you write back and tell them you are not a bas**rd?”
Ha Ha Ha
kikinthenakas
How’s the hip pal, are you back at the dancin yet?
23rd
Valentinesday
Out walking everyday now and it’s getting stronger, even managing down my local for a few..
Hope you had a great time over the holidays. By the way contact has been made with the two I have mentioned!
Kikinthenakas
Dallas senior was not sacked by the SFA he left and got his gig with UEFA, wonder how that came about quickly and in view of his conduct how UEFA thought he is an appropriate person to hold his present post, these are questions the msm should be asking but wont.
Newradbhoy
Dreadful news- I trust that they are in good hands and recover quickly.
Jimbo67 supporting Oscar Knox
SRS…
Solladaruuttyy Tam talking to someone from Manchester?
Never
MeandmamateBullyDaviesCSC
ryecatcher 14:44 on 28 December, 2013
“Reckon Man City will batter Barca as badly as Munich did last year.
“Defensively Barca are not CL quality.”
What I’ve seen of Man City they are shocking at the back as well, and as a team they have looked out of their depth in Europe. I just can’t buy into the hype about the English Premier League, although La Liga is effectively two teams battering the others every week to be fair.
I really think Barca will hammer them. We’ll find out soon enough.
We’ll stick a cyber pint on it!!!
.
Does the FFP Apply in Scotland..? The paragraph l have Highlighted would be interesting if it Did..Unless it’s a Mr Ogilvie that is doing the Sums..;-)
..
Courtesy The BBC..
Three months after becoming the Football League’s new chief executive, Shaun Harvey’s inbox is bulging.
Harvey came into his current role after nine seasons as chief executive at Leeds. Before that, he had a decade at Bradford and started his career in football in 1992 as secretary at Scarborough.
Harvey spent many years working for Ken Bates at Leeds United
Within the game he has a reputation as a hugely knowledgeable administrator who knows the business inside out, but his experiences have been far from smooth.
He spent many years working for Geoffrey Richmond at Scarborough and Bradford and Ken Bates at Leeds – two of football’s more controversial and divisive figures.
To an extent his reputation remains intertwined with theirs.
His CV includes three administrations in the era that followed the collapse of ITV Digitial – two at Bradford, one at Leeds.
“Being in administration is not something to be proud of but it is something to learn from,” added the 43-year-old. “When clubs do get into trouble and are genuinely looking for answers I can help from a very practical perspective.”
It is perhaps not surprising that one of his priorities is to make sure clubs are financially stable. Central to this is Financial Fair Play , a subject that sounds dull and is certainly complicated but one that is incredibly important.
The aim of FFP is to stop clubs from spending wildly beyond their means and thus prevent a repeat of the financial disasters that have befallen the likes of Portsmouth in recent years.
By this time next year the Football League will have analysed the financial reports of its 72 clubs from this season.
Those documents have to be submitted by 1 December and Championship clubs losing more than £8m after various exclusions will be put under a transfer embargo starting in January 2015 if they remain in the second tier, or face a fine – the Fair Play Tax – if they have won promotion to the Premier League.
Recent stories have claimed QPR and Blackburn in particular could face huge fines pushing £60m if they are promoted.
Harvey will not be drawn on how many Championship clubs are likely to face punishment but does admit that “our projections have highlighted a number of clubs that could fall into that category”.
Summa
SRS….
Cyber pint agreed…
No team with a fully fit Vincent Kompany will lose 4 goals in any game.
He is the best central defender in the world mate.
ryecatcher 14:54 on 28 December, 2013
Solladaruuttyy Tam talking to someone from Manchester?
Never
MeandmamateBullyDaviesCSC
———–
Aye. I know. Not sure if Tam was doing much talking right enough…
And Billy Davies as his wing-man provides a disturbing but hilarious image.
kikinthenakas
The two you mentioned……you’ve lost me pal, remind me,
I’ve got a memory like a sieve as well as being stupid enough
to be a hun…….but far too handsome off course!!
ryecatcher 15:04 on 28 December, 2013
Cyber pint agreed…
No team with a fully fit Vincent Kompany will lose 4 goals in any game.
He is the best central defender in the world mate.
——–
You obviously haven’t seen Lee Wallace playing…
Magnificent 7 & Steinreignedsupreme,
Brilliant!
Newradbhoy,
Dreadful news.
My thoughts are with you her, your family and her friends.
HH
SRS….
Been away from Scotland a long time mate,so haven’t had the footballing heaven of seeing the Sevco Maldini in the flesh or many times on TV for that matter.
Have seen Kompany up close 3 times now and the boy is a colossus.What an incredible player.
newradbhoy
14:02 on 28 December, 2013:
Sorry to hear of the news about your niece and her daughter, thoughts and prayers.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Looking for some help, how do I get myself a beanie? Also, how can I find my current cqn password? My phone recognises me but need to log in on other devices.
Newradbhoy, thoughts with you and yours.