Wolves News 24/7Writer: Akela 
Date:Saturday June 4 2011
Time: 10:00AM
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McCarthy backed by majority
On Vital Wolves the future of Mick McCarthy seems to never really fade away.
Regular readers will know that I fully backed him to lead us to safety in our first season in the Premier League and I remained positive towards the end of last season that he would once again steer us to safety.
But one of the great things about this site is the debate and the wide ranging views and different opinions, not only on the article comments but also on the articles we publish.
While I have backed him, it's fair to say some of the other writers are less convinced and over the past two years we've debated the topic on numerous occasions.
With the end of season upon on us, it was obvious the topic would arise again and seanlyncha7x suggested our recent poll: Is Mick McCarthy the man to take us into the next season?
60% believe he is the man to take us into next season, 38% believe he isn't, while 2% sat on the fence.
So how has opinion changed since our promotion to the top flight?
6 months ago we asked: How much time should be given to the coaching staff to get things right?
Poll Date: 18 Oct 2010
38% were Happy as things are, 20% wanted to wait until the end of the season, 6% wanted to wait a month, while 6% wanted to wait for the January transfer window.
Only 30% wanted McCarthy gone immediately.
As an interesting comparison, rewind 18 months and we asked the very same question again.
Similar to the previous poll, it was mid-season in our first year in the Premier League, but McCarthy gained a majority backing then as well.
Should Vital Wolves support Mick McCarthy as boss?
Poll Date: 30 Nov 2009
54% voted yes, 4% wanted to wait to Christmas, 3% wanted to wait till the end of the season, 2% sat on the fence undecided.
37% wanted him gone.
Through the magic of the Vital Wolves archives, we can even go back to February 2008.
Wolves were sitting 12th in the Championship, with 15 games to go.
Has Mick McCarthy still got your support? The poll asked?
58% said yes, 10% were unsure, 38% said no.
Wolves of course went on to miss out on the play-offs that year.
Tell us what you think
As well as joining in on the forum and article comments below, you can also write an article to appear on our site!
This website is 100% by the fans and we are always looking for people to get involved. If this interests you please contact Vital Wolves.
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Your Comments
I am happy to stick with Merlin for now and review at xmas as I have stated many times in the past.I would however like to see an expierienced coach added to the staff to bring in some new ideas/tactics.
Crete Wolf
Crete Wolf's view is also mine. I have expressed my concerns in the past and have indicated my reasons why. But, he did keep us up, does enjoy the support of board and players alike and seems to have adopted a more flexible, proactive stance. It's only fair to give him a chance and see how he performs between now and the January window.
Southbank60
Akela that basically says its been the same percentages since hes been here lol , So people never liked him when he came and will never accept him , Correct ? thats how it looks to me lol
ODDJOB79
I too agree with Create, someone added to the coaching staff, like Chris Hughton (It's possible) to bring in new ideas and freshen things up, while heeping Mick and Terry as manager and assistant.
seanlyncha7x
I remain supportive of MM, because I haven't been given reason not to be. Other than the very few, obvious exeptions I doubt his approval rating differs greatly from the majority of managers in all four divisions.We know what his most obvious quality is, he's kept what is, in the main, a championship level team in the PL for two seasons. As a man and a professional I doubt finishing fourth from bottom will rest easy with him. What we'll find out in our third season is wether or not he can bring in more(apparently) gifted players and still maintain the commitment level of the team. I think there's a lot that MM wants to prove about himself at this level and hopefully that personal drive and ambition will benefit us all. Top of the bottom seven is realistic, I think, for a club in it's third premiership season. Newly promoted teams have to be dealt with as teams have dealt with us these past two years. They should be viewed as a source of 4 points minimum and a boost to our goal difference.Onwards and , hopefully, upwards............god I hate the close season!
Sancho Panza
"Only fair to give him a chance"? "Give him til Christmas"? Numpties out again I see. He's kept us up two season on the trot, with an improved points total and a vital win over Albion, yet you still moan. Makes me sick.
Tooting Wolf
With three minutes to go in the last match we were down and he would have gone. Under such circumstances, he has to prove that it won't happen next year. It was too close for comfort and we shouldn't have been in that position at that time. Yes, we did beat WBA - and to embellish your point - we also beat MU, MC, Chelsea at home and Liverpool away - but we did not turn up for a number the matches we should have won, the ones which really mattered. In earlier blogs I have enumerated possible reasons for the pathetic displays that I witnessed and someone has to own up. I think that MM deserves our thanks and I do rate him as one of our better managers. Moreover, he might be capable of scraping us through again ... but I want more for my club than that and I wonder if he can take us to the next level. Perhaps he can: that might surprise you but, as I have written in earlier posts, he seems to have adopted a more pragmatic, flexible stance as a result of the scare and this could lead to an improvement in our results next season. In the end, you can slag me off for my opinion until you explode with the effort but others with more power than me will also be carefully watching his performance over the next half year. Indeed, we should all be prepared to do so. A jingoistic attitude- my club and manager can do no wrong whatever the circumstances or results - is not helpful. That's why I choose to exercise my critical faculties.
Southbank60
MM would not have gone had we gone down, quoting Mr. Chairman; when I made a mention of this and elaborated on it, that was the end of that thread. What's best not heard is not heard. I am with Tooting Wolf.
lovesW
Sublime response Banks. I credit Mick with changing the culture of the club, although this was effectively imposed upon him regardless. Either way he saw us to promotion and kept us up in that all important first season. I don't buy in to second season syndrome whoever dreamt that one up. To me it would be more a case of 'You got the rub of the green first time round but you failed to eradicate your errors, showed no sign of improvement, got worse and guess what- relegated' oh, Syndrome. It's jibber. Credit for the promotion and staying up but last season was nothing to celebrate. Also, to single out the win against Albion- if that is all we have to play for we'd settle for the conference and hope to draw them in the cup? When I was younger I did buy into all of that but at some point, whilst rivalry continued I saw it differently. Perhaps it is because I was away from the locality but my brain appeared to have trained itself in the lead up to the Albion game last season and they presented as just another side and one that we really had to beat. We did. Our form at the end of the season did little to inspire aside from those back to back wins. It served a purpose however in that it failed to paper over any cracks. It needs a great improvement. I like the Hughton suggestion but there is no way he would play third fiddle. He will have a job of his own soon enough and if anything we would have to get rid of TC and probably offer him effectively the assistant manager role. I don't see it happening and Terry must throw a pretty good christmas party because his position at the club seems safer than anyones.
New York City Wolf
LovesW: you may be right but we will never know. What I do know is that MM constantly stated and restated the mantra, 'Judge me at the end of 22 May and not before'. And we have: we stayed up and I am willing to back him until events determine otherwise. However, had we gone down he was condemned by his own words. He would have had to go.
Southbank60
Southbank you hardly ever put anything positive and only seem to like typing negative thoughts , Thats whats annoying ! , Ive said before we was unlucky to lose last minute goals in a few games , If we had held on in them games and finished on 45 points give or take a point what would you have said about McCarty then ? , Every team needs to improve year in year out and we are doing that , We played some great stuff this year but also some very bad , but we are bound to have some off days , we are not United or Chelase for gods sake , Every player is gaining premiership experience the longer we stay up too and i can only be positive of the way our clubs going on the progress we have made , I bet your just sat there rubbing your hands hoping Wolves fail next year just so you can say " I told you so about McCarthy !
ODDJOB79
He may have elected to go himself. That is another matter. In that position, I myself would have seen myself as a failure and would have resigned, the Chairman's continued confidence notwithstanding. What I am saying is that I have no reason to doubt the Chairman's word: that as far as he is concerned, MM will be the manager 'even in the event of relegation'
lovesW
Oddjob: you make some valid points about luck, good and bad days, the need to improve and the gaining of PL experience ... then spoil it by making the ridiculous assertion that I want Wolves to fail next year just so I can say I told you so about MM. While I am entitled to hold a different opinion of MM than you, as long as I can substantiate it, we differ not a jot in our love of WW and our desire to see the team progress next year.
Southbank60
I think its how you define an improvment,I know we got more points this time around but finished lower and had to wait not until the last day but the last minute of the season!.
Improvement?not in my book,but maybe others think that is an improvement.
Look at Wigan,seventh season of premeirship and they were as happy as anything just to stay up,that I think defines our club,we are not happy at just staying up,we want more.
And that I think is a good thing,expectation is what its all about.
Crete Wolf
Hang on, Crete Wolf, we did it with a couple of minutes to spare.
Southbank60
I can't see that there's a massive difference of opinion about MM throughout the posts. Unless I missed it, nobody's calling for him to be sacked. The difference appears to be in how long does he get. Christmas? End of next season? Indefinitely?With Fletch, Doyle, Jarvo,Hunt and O'Hara all fit (and still at the club?!) then fourth from bottom will most certainly not do next season. The obvious vulnerability of the promoted three is obvious to anybody with eyes to see. MM has to prove that he can produce a team playing enough attacking football to utilise the obvious talent we already have at the club with a defence that doesn't appear to panic, almost blindly, when the ball is in our box. It's his signings (oh, they better had be defenders!) that will decide his fate. And in my opinion so they should. Should the talent become injured then i'm willing to throw him some slack, only then though. It's time now for him to prove he really can manage at this level.And I don't think for a second any Wolves fan would wish him ill will in his efforts.
Sancho Panza
Well ive heard Johnson is valued at 14 million so forget us getting him if thats the case haha , Crete i think you think Wolves should be mid table and 2 signings at the back and a settled side and we might just be able too next year , Go through the injuries i know ive said it before but just look at them , Zubar , Mouyokolo , Van Damme , Edwards , Doyle , Hunt , Mancienne , Craddock , Kightly , Henry , Guedioura , Blake , Im pretty sure all of those have missed 2 months of the season or more , I mean 1 game the bench was full of youth teamers , We have spent 40 million to get our squad closer to those already established , we did get a couple more points and scored more goals and more attacking football at times than the previous year , so if your telling me a manager keeps you up after all the injuries the team has suffered is not progress hahaha personally i think its a miracle !!!!!
ODDJOB79
Oddjob every team has injuries,why do you think we won at Sunderland?,that was a youth team we played with a couple of reserves thrown in!.They did'nt even have a striker!,it was'nt that we had picked up in form it was who we were playing.You are right about the mid table,next season with the teams coming up I would fully expect us to be mid table,anything less is just not good enough and if thats a wrong way to think then I'm sorry but thats how I feel.If Merlin has spent the same amount of money as last year and we are still struggling by December then I think it is reasonable for questions to be asked.
I agree also about Johnson,that's to expensive for us but you never know maybe no takers at that price over the summer and maybe the price will come down?
I will repeat, that a new coach to assist Merlin would I think, improve us a lot,onwards and upwards and remember everyone, at the end of the day we are all batting for the same side and want only the best for our great club.UTW.
Crete Wolf
"Akela that basically says its been the same percentages since hes been here lol , So people never liked him when he came and will never accept him , Correct ? thats how it looks to me lol" - Pretty much mate, although I bet some have swung one way and then the other, we are football fans after all!
Akela
Crete we played Sunderland with the back 4 that got us promoted and 2 of those and only played a few games since coming back from long injuries ( Craddock n Mancienne ) so dont gimme that about Sunderlands injuries lol of course we all want the best for our team , it just bugs me how they think McCarthy failed last year , it was a tough tough tough league , you have the 3 promoted sides who are not as strong as the previous 3 coming up but Swansea play good stuff , We are capabale of finshing above those 3 and the likes of Albion - Wigan - Stoke - Newcastle - Blackburn - Bolton - Sunderland , But again if we sign 2 quality defenders then we should be fine but it also depends on who those lot sign as they have good squads already , with the exception of Wigan who i expect will lose there stars and the bottom 3 the other sides are on a par with us and this is the year aslong we have some good fortune injury wise we should be looking to finishing above !
ODDJOB79
I agree entirely with Crete Wolfs comments made in his first post.
Mick deserves the chance to show if he can take us the next step but if things do not look to have moved forward by the start of December then we should seriously consider replacing him.
I think a lot hinges on him securing the right 2 or 3 players we urgently need this summer. His additions to the squad last summer were generally not good enough.
astraltrader
My take on it is this. Mick is a good honest gaffer that the players will bust a gut for. They all want to play for him. When we are 0-3 down at half time for instance you know that the players are getting a proppa bollocking. Granted his tactics can be frustrating at times but on the whole i think he has made a few really shrewd buys and the team has come on miles since when he first took over. Sometimes it really is better the devil u know. I'd much rather have him than a Mark Hughes, Avram Grant or (shudder....) Steve McClaren!! Stick with Mick. He really can do magic!! UTW
BIG TASTY
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