Man City report: So, farewell then, Mick McCarthy
A thoroughly decent man, who many of us hoped would be our manager for a long time.
I am not just saying this in retrospect, but the Man City game was the first game in which I can not remember the supporters singing any songs with Mick’s name in it. Probably just a coincidence but even those of us who liked Mick had grown weary.
His last game was not to be his most glorious. But then with the exception of the win at Boro (the win at West Brom even we knew was a dead cat bounce), there has been little Premiership happiness under Mick. He took a team that was frankly a disgrace – either overpaid lazy gits who had come for the money because no-one else wanted them or players who had made their names at Sunderland but had decided they wanted to be first off the sinking ship (no thought that if maybe they had put in the dedication we deserved maybe it wouldn’t be sinking). That team inevitably imploded but with almost nothing at his disposal he got us to third place and an FA Cup semi-final. Then building sensibly on that he had us winning the Championship easily.
After that it, it is hard to think of a single thing that went right. All the aspects of that were there at Man City on Sunday. A goalkeeper worse than two we have let go – Poom cos he was nacked, Myrhe because he didn’t look as good as Davis – at least in the eyes of their fellow professionals as well as Mick. Davis’ pass wasn’t to blame for Collins’ cock-up for the first goal but it hardly helped- he then seemed to dive out of the way of the very narrow-angled shot. No Stephen Wright – injured. Gerorge McCartney out all season and struggling to show anything like the player he is. Much too much faith being put in Breen, who started well with us but was already looking dodgy in the Championship winning side. Danny Collins, possibly a canny Championship player of the future but way out of his depth in the Prem. Lawrence a regular on the right wing – when he was not a regular in the Championship (and of course Delap actually started against City). Whitehead asked to pull the central midfield together when he was never really doing that last season – when we at least had the maturity of Robinson and the tenaciousness of Whitley. Miller has been invisible and Bascilla just looks like a taller, less effective Whitley. On the left Arca, who has been a hero for us over the last few years has been proving to himself and to any watching scouts that he is a great Championship player but not Premiership class. Up front Kyle, still nacked and trying to get back to match fitness, ditto Elliott. Stead a gamble that he could be the lower league and intial Prem player he was – but despite looking skillfull probably more suited to the Chmapionship, Gray panic buy because we couldn’t get the players we wanted.
Despite all of this, we yet again were not out-classed. That run of three terrible home games (Portsmouth, Birmingham and Villa), that really killed us off, apart we rarely have been. But yet again our ability to gift goals and inability to score sort of makes it hard to win a game (or even draw it).
Results are what counts and on that score McCarthy was a Premiership disaster. Nevertheless my philosophy is enjoy the good times when they come along. And Mick gave us some pretty good ones, so I wish him well.
Don’t really want to think much more about the City match. Don’t really want to think much about the future – it looks so bleak at present. The anger of the fans may well turn fully on Bob Murray now. I don’t like the abuse we as fans can give our own on occasions, so I hope things stay peaceful. However, no-one (including Bob – he has said as much) can deny that whatever yardstick one uses, Bob has failed. I know he wants to be out. I know that he is as passionate an SAFC supporter as any of us. For the sake of us all, including himself, he must double, triple, whatever his efforts to get someone in before close season – so that the new manager, whoever it might be can start with a new chairman/owner.
Oooh Bally Bally
Well thats it. Mick has gone.
The fact that McCarthy was sacked probably doesn't surprise many people. However the timing of it is a huge surprise. Surely if Mick was to go, the time for his dismissal was before Christmas, time for a new manager to do something. But no, our board showed faith in him. Having persisted this long, there really seemed little point to me in getting rid of him before the end of the season.
Of course the pressure on the chairman has been increasing over the last few weeks. The protests at matches have been becoming more vocal and more visual with more people joining in each week. It couldn't be that Mr Murray sacked McCarthy to deflect criticism from himself could it? I will leave you to decide that one.
So, on to the future. I only know what I've read in the media and we all know how reliable they can be. But it seems a couple of our players are already publicly moaning about the dismisal of McCarthy. Well lads, get over it he has gone now. You still play for Sunderland Football Club and more importantly for us the fans. We are still here so show us what you can really do and why Mick was right to choose you in the first place. You are his legacy.
Kevin Ball is now our new caretaker manager. Bally, best of luck to you. You really can't do worse than Mick was doing so don't worry about that. We all know we are going down but lets do it the Bally way, fighting and lets gets some pride back in this club of ours.
