Too good to go down? Pull the other one.

2 Responses to Too good to go down? Pull the other one.

1. Dai Woosnam says:

   April 19, 2025 at 8:04 am

   Thanks for the report, Paul… and especially for telling me that Gustavo Hamer was a Brazilian… I had wrongly assumed he was Dutch.

   I realised that the City were destined for relegation the moment they sold the jewel in their crown, Mark McGuinness… and said as much at the time in your pages.

   I said that we should pay him what he wanted and make him team captain, asap.

   But there was a clamour to sell him and buy three or four players with the proceeds.

   And just as the ten players Spurs bought with the fee for Gareth Bale, Mark’s far-too-low a fee was equally wasted on the players we bought on his departure.

   And our two Greek players knew his value. Little Siopis when asked after about 6 months what had impressed him most about the Cardiff team… unhesitatingly said ‘Mark McGuinness’. And whilst I do not recall Goutas echoing his compatriot’s comments, the fact remains that he is a shadow of the player he was, without Mark.

   When he went to Luton he was played initially as a left centre back and was at times uncertain… but it took Matt Bloomfield positioning him as the centre of a Luton back three, that has made all the difference. There is something of a Danny Malloy about him.

   Yesterday he was colossal, and easily won the Sky Sports MotM. This man will end up at a top 6 club within two years…both Manchester clubs should sign him now.

   As for the game against the Blades…

   All I can say is it showed that Riza is out of his depth… and should be given the boot. His starting selection infuriated me with his continued exclusion of our best left back – Joel Bagan – and his decision to play our best left winger in his place.

   And ironically, it was also the first time he’d played two men up front since Salech arrived – something I had been calling for – and bizarrely it coincided with Salech’s worst game in a City shirt. He was slow to get shots away and was in no harmony with Méïté.

   But here’s the thing: our keeper’s uncertain long kicks were never aimed at his head… but rather they all went Méïté’s way. One wondered if both strikers had just been signed and never been introduced… not playing as a midfield duo even in training.

   And why is that only in the last ten minutes did we see aerial crosses from the wing? Criminal.
   Indeed there was a 5 minute spell (around the 75th to 80th minute mark?) when we three times had several players indulging in silly tiki-taka by the right corner flag (eventually losing the ball every time)… whilst our two strikers were in the box crying out for an aerial cross.

   As for both goals, Andy Rinomhota must take the rap.

   The first for a wild attempt at a flying hoof… where he misses the ball totally before it deflects off Fish to Hamer; and the second, for playing ‘silly buggers’ knowing he was the last man, and if dispossessed, would probably concede a goal.* Yet strangely, Gary Weaver on Sky seemed to think he’d had a stormer. Truth is that Andy cannot tackle a fish supper…!!

   Truth also is that this City team may struggle to make the top half of Div 1 next season. Still it will be nice to have ‘derbies’ with Wrexham again… especially methinks with both teams having new managers by then. Let us pray that our relegation will put off the deeply duplicitous Slaven Bilic.

   As for players… Oh if only we had signed Lewis O’Brien… instead of the Swans signing him. We so needed a dominant midfield player this season.

   *That said, what the dickens is Colwill doing passing the ball backwards to last man Andy… when Rubin was relatively unchallenged in the opposition’s half?

   Colwill has been about as useful as ‘sicknote Aaron’ to us this season.

   TTFN,
   Dai.
2. Dai Woosnam says:

   April 19, 2025 at 5:28 pm

   Just heard the news that Omer has been ditched. It had to be.
   At the time of his appointment I questioned whether Mehmet was subconsciously swayed by his affection for fellow members of the Turkish Cypriot diaspora… and wanted to follow one Turk with another (albeit one born in North London).
   You may also remember Paul that when it came to idiot fans pressuring Vincent to give Bulut a new two year contract for his sideways crab football, I strongly suggested we did not… and added that instead of us losing a fortune on a future season of Aaron on the treatment table*, we switch to him being manager on the same salary.
   It was a no brainer. To foolish fans who said that he was too young and inexperienced I pointed out he was exactly the same age as Tosh was after 4 seasons of spectacular managerial success with the Swans going into Easter that season at second place in the First Division.
   That said I held out no great hopes for Rambo exhibiting great managerial prowess – I mean he is a boring, inarticulate and not very insightful television pundit – but was aware that he had played under the great Arsène Wenger, and maybe some of the great man’s managerial wisdom would have rubbed off on him.
   But no, such an obvious move escaped Mehmet. Pity. We’d probably be mid table by now if we had.
   Before closing, RIP to Johnny King. He was only with us for a season, but struck me as having one of the cleverest football brains to ever represent our club.

   *I was hardly Nostradamus… you and I both predicted his physical deterioration.
   DW