How the McCarthy years are viewed retrospectively we will only know with the passing of time, a large part of that will depend on whether the club survives in the Premier League; after the 13 remaining games are finished and improves from what he has achieved, or we go down and embark on another period in the lower divisions.

Hopefully once the dust has settled on his dismissal, his tenure will be fondly remembered and appreciated as a major stepping stone in the transformation of Wolves. But for the moment I want to look back over this period not just as a tribute, but in an attempt to tell it as it was from a fans perspective.

Personally speaking I was thrilled when he got the job. Why? Because at the very first Wolves Fans Parliament meeting,  which I was lucky enough to be involved in, I stood up and suggested Mick as our next manager. We had been asked by Jez Moxey who we wanted as the next Manager following Glenn Hoddle’s unforeseen departure, and Mick was the man for me.

I had been impressed by the way while at Sunderland he had got them promoted while they were £33m in debt, and even though he was given no money to spend in the Premier League they were playing good football and he was largely considered unlucky to get the sack from the Stadium of Light.

So the fact that my suggestion had been the one appointed, gave me an affinity with him from that day on. With Richard Skirrow’s support we then got him along to our next Dinner, which he admitted in his blunt Yorkshire style he didn’t want to attend, but he came along and quite enjoyed himself during the evening. He took particular delight in the pea shooters, almost causing one of the waiters to drop a huge pile of plates he was collecting from the tables when he scored a direct hit on the side of his face, causing him to roar with laughter.

On the pitch things were tough. Hoddle had left a squad that was threadbare to say the least. The Premier League parachute payments had run out, Kenny Miller had walked out, and Jo Lescott had been sold. Hoddle had not brought anyone in and we were left with either players that no one else wanted or prospects from the youth team.

One aspect of his management style became apparent early on, and became known as ‘Mick’s favourites’. Over the years several players never seemed to be given a chance in the team when the fans thought that the ones left out were better than those we were watching. The first example of this was Denis Rosa, who had looked worthy of a place during the last few months of Hoddle’s reign, and the first friendly against Villa too. But under Mick he wasn’t given opportunity in the first team for the fans to see if he could do it for Mick.

One early development that started to transformation into Mick’s team from that first friendly game was Karl Henry being given a trial. Having left Stoke on a free he was looking for a club, and Mick put him on the bench for that very first game. Mark Davies got injured very early in the game, Karl came on, and the rest as they say is history…

Jay Bothroyd was an early signing, not what you would call a Mick signing, as he had been around the leagues and always attracting the wrong kind of publicity. With untold levels of skill and ability, but not one to ‘put a shift in’ it was not surprising that he and Mick clashed several times. That said he did score some wonderful goals at Wolves at home to Ipswich and away at Leeds and a crucial goal at home to Albion that secured wins and built confidence that lifted us up the table. Mick had to dabble in the nether reaches of the transfer market and people like Jermal Johnson were brought in, showed great enthusiasm and scored a few goals along the way.

There are lots of examples of little things in that first season which contributed to the overall picture, and that overall picture was a fantastic over achievement and a place in the play offs. Those Play Offs saw Wayne Hennessey drafted into the team unexpectedly after Matt Murray stood on the frame of a goal in training the day before the first leg, and started a run of injuries that would end in his eventual retirement.

There were other blows too, when Mark Davies walked to Bolton rather than stay at Wolves. Mick had given him too limited opportunities in the first team, but he was a talent that arguably was never replaced. On the positive side, there were several good deals that have paid off handsomely. Over the years Michael Kightly, Stephen Ward, Matt Jarvis to name but three have been picked up seemingly from nowhere, and established themselves in the team and their place in Wolves’ history.

Others such as Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Steven Fletcher have become heroes for a generation of fans for their goal scoring exploits in the Championship and the Premier League respectively.  Many such as Kevin Foley, Stephen Ward, Sam Vokes have become full international for their respective countries under Mick’s stewardship and would be the first to acknowledge the fact, and the influence he had on their careers.

Others were brought in to do a particular job at a particular time, and then moved on again. Some were not popular with the fans but they ‘put a shift in’ and helped move the club forward. I’m thinking here of the likes of Neill Collins, Mickey Gray (who won our POTY) Marlon Harewood, Andy Keogh (another POTY winner) Marcus Hahnemann, Chris Iwelumo, Dave Jones, Gary Breen and many others.

As with any manager as well as the successful signings there have been the flops. Freddy Eastwood was one, Stephen Elliott another, as were Darren Ward, Darren Potter, Michael McIndoe, Eggert Jonnson and dare I say Roger Johnson!

Some players hung around too long some were shipped out too quickly, but that’s football. It is a game of opinions and Mick had his, and it was never always going to be the same as the fans.

In the Championship winning season, Mick really got it right. Open expansive free flowing attacking football was a joy to watch. The passion was shared with players, fans and management alike. That season you saw the best of Wolves as a club as a whole and after so many years of disappointments and crushing defeats under many different regimes it was very welcome.

But then we saw a different side to Mick in the Premier League. This is the area I’d be most critical of him, we were giving too many sides too much respect and rather than trying to win games we were happy far too often to sit back and maybe get a draw or scrape a win. Usually this strategy failed and points were lost.

The Manchester United fiasco was when he nearly lost all the fans for good. Dropping ten of the team after winning at Tottenham the previous weekend did not go down well. Particularly as United had a reserve back four out that night and could have been their for the taking along, with a huge boost to confidence that would have come with an Old Trafford win. But Mick said they were tired, and dropped 10 of them! Ah bless.

I remember well that first season up in the January we played a shockingly poor Liverpool followed 4 days later with a six pointer away at Hull. At home to Liverpool was a classic case of showing them too much respect, they were there for the taking, but we did nothing and walked away with a single point from a 0 – 0 draw.

Then at Hull we were very fortunate to get anything from a game where we didn’t have our first shot on target till there was just 12 minutes to go, although we had previously scored when a cross was deflected into the net for us by a defender. A Jarvis inspired late rally saved the day for us and we got a 2 – 2 draw. But 2 points out of an easy six, was not good enough.

By contrast last season (the second season up) Mick declared that we’d have a right good go at Chelsea at Molineux, and what happened we got a win. Last season he was more positive and results against the big boys were testimony to that. But this season there have been some horrible turgid performances where we have deserved and got nothing. I’m  thinking of Everton away when the only shot on goal was for the penalty we were awarded. There have been other examples of the over cautious approach, but also the opposite when we were magnificent away at Tottenham and should have come home with 3 points.

This showed that we could do it against the better teams, but by and large we weren’t doing it often enough. No consistency in our approach to games or consistency in how well we played.

There have been many great wins in the Premier League where Mick deserves credit too. 2 games against Spurs the first season, away at West Ham, beating Albion last season followed a week later by winning at Sunderland. Also home wins against Manchester City, and United plus Chelsea showed that we could do it, we could compete and we did belong.

But it was that inconsistency that was probably his undoing. Some fans always saw and fed off the positive performances, while others the negative ones. So the Mick out culture was never far away, just bubbling under the surface of many fans.

One thing he didn’t have was luck. How many penalties have we had during his tenure? How many should we have had? How many despicably poor refereeing decisions were we on the end of? Mark Halsey can fill this category on his own! Injuries too have never gone away, yes it’s part and parcel of the game but did we ever have a fully fit squad in the five and a half years?

For all these negative points there are many, many positive ones. He was good for the Football Club, he took us forward, he took us up. He bought some heroes and a few donkeys – Halford anyone? – but the trend was always up. Whether he’d have kept us up we’ll never know. I met him on 6 or 7 occasions and liked him. He is a good manager, he will be again, and I hope in the future to bump into him and have the opportunity to thank him personally for all the things he did for our football club. Hopefully in retrospect of his full five and a half years you do too….

I want articles on Wolves Managers please, I have started the ball rolling with one on Mick McCarthy, now I want you to do one too. Any Wolves Manager, short or long pieces. Send your efforts by email and we’ll upload onto the site.

Thanks

Chris Cox

A very bad response from people for this game, where are you all, please book below if you still want one.

£34 each, collect from the Western.

Please email me your new seat numbers so I can build a map to ensure that we are in fact all together.

Thanks Coxy

Tickets are £34 each collect from the Western in the usual way.

We now await details of the extensive stag instructions which are sure to precede the Wedding Day.

Let’s hope the new year brings better refereeing decisions, or even bad ones in our favour for once.

Chelsea tickets go on sale at 5pm on Boxing Day, so book early online to avoid disappointment.

All the best

Coxy

Thursday, 17 Nov 2011

On a day packed with drama, tension and emotion, englandfans FC came out on top in a nine goal thriller against their Spanish counterparts in a see-saw of a game, played in perfect conditions, at Wealdstone FC’s St George’s Stadium.

All the pre-match publicity surrounding the wearing of poppies on the Home Nation’s team shirts had little effect on this England team as all the players were resplendent in the white home shirt of the Three Lions, complete with a poppy proudly emblazoned in the middle of the shirt. After entering the arena to the FIFA anthem, led by mascot Darren Snarski, an impeccably observed minute’s silence was held in memory of Robin Chatterjee and for fallen military personnel from past and present conflicts.

A Hollywood script writer could not have penned a more dramatic and emotional encounter than the one that was in store. The game had everything, including two hat-tricks, six first half goals, two yellow cards and one player carried off the park. A very emotional and fitting hat-trick scored by Robin’s son Roy deservedly grabbed the headlines though as englandfans secured bragging rights with a breathtaking victory.

Playing in a 4-4-2 formation, englandfans took the game to Spainfans and their early superiority was rewarded with a well-taken goal from Roy Chatterjee who latched on to a cross from the left by captain Mark Tighe.

Spainfans gradually got back into the game with their skipper, Guillermo Rubio, pulling all the strings in the middle of the park. This player was to have a say in all three goals his team scored in the first period. However, the englandfans two in the middle of the park, Stan Stanfield and Ian Allsop, certainly made their presence felt with a couple of crunching tackles which caused Ukrainian referee, Ihor Lemishka, to have words with the pair of them. The pace of Spainfans striker Vidal Buika was proving problematic for the home defence and two goals in as many minutes, from Buika, turned the game on its head.

Prompted by debutant, the tireless Rob Russell, englandfans soon hit back when a very alert Tighe snapped up a rebound after the visiting ‘keeper could only parry a snap shot from Chatterjee.

Two-all and the clock still hadn’t reached the half-hour mark, and there was still plenty of action before the first-half drama was far from over as Spainfans, prompted by the ever-dangerous Rubio, broke away and went back into the lead. The goal was mired in controversy and bad luck as Buika looked suspiciously offside when he received the ball and although englandfans ‘keeper Russell Rainbow was quick off his line and down at the strikers feet to block the initial shot, the ball bounced up and hit the retreating Matt Davies and flew into the back of the net.

With a large squad at their disposal, The Three Lions made changes as Ian Allsop was replaced by Alan Murray and centre back David Thompson was replaced by Greg Howell, allowing both subs to make their englandfans debut. The fresh legs gave the side a lift, and as the game neared half-time, Roy Chatterjee drew englandfans level for a second time with a left-foot screamer, from outside the box, which beat the Spanish ‘keeper all ends up. Having picked the ball up inside the Spanish half, Chatterjee ran at his opponent, dropped his left shoulder and scored the goal of the game. An end-to-end first-half ended when the ref blew for half-time shortly afterwards and englandfans went into the dressing rooms the happier of the two sides.

Wholesale changes at the break saw debuts for Paul McKay, Richard Serowka, Shane Jackson, Craig North and Dan Stevens, and they were joined by Michael Harte, who replaced Lewis Robson, who once again belied his years to put in another mature performance for his country.

The second period began in much the same fashion as the end of the first with the home side in the ascendancy. Second half skipper, Rob Russell, who was now wearing the captain’s armband, was beginning to dictate the game from his central role, and it was only a matter of time before his team took the lead.

Playing more of a patient passing game this half, the ball was played to the right wing to the feet of Harte. Whether what followed was deliberately done or whether it was a mis-hit cross was the subject of much debate afterwards, but from his wide position, Harte floated a cross-cum-shot, which totally deceived the Spanish ‘keeper and sailed right over his head into the far corner.

The Spanish team rallied and were still playing a pressing game, however the English defence mostly stood firm and cleared the majority of attacks with ease before the englandfans struck again to stretch their lead in a moment few there will ever forget.

The scorer was none other than Roy Chatterjee, who completed his hat-trick with a cool finish inside the box to make it 5-3, leading to emotional scenes with his team mates, on the park and in the dugout.

Further substitutions saw Paul Johnson, Dan Bell, Adam McDaid, Liam Hegarty and Nathan Wooley enter the fray as the game reached its final stages, and they were forced along with their team-mates to withstand some heavy pressure from the visitors who deserapetely were trying to get back into the game.

Despite some valiant defending, the English backline was eventually breached as Spainfans scored a fourth to set up a nervy finish. They almost grabbed an equaliser too as the ever-dangerous Buika saw his shot come back off the post before being scrambled away.

With a few minutes remaining, Roy Chatterjee left the field to a well-deserved standing ovation and was replaced by debutant striker, Michael Lister.

Soon after the final whistle blew and the emotional scenes that followed will live long in the memory, as will the game itself. There couldn’t have been a more fitting tribute for Roy to pay his father Robin than to give this man-of-the-match winning performance and three quality goals.

Afterwards, in the boardroom, as the trophy was presented to victorious captain Mark Tighe, the englandfans FC group paid tribute to Robin Chatterjee and bade a fond farewell to a true gentleman, friend of englandfans FC and a fanatical Wolves and England supporter. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

The 25 man squad all played and gave everything they had together to ensure that Roy took home the Robin Chatterjee Memorial Trophy to his family. The squad even gave him a guard of honour as he left the pitch.

The togetherness of this squad was there for all to see and there is some real young talent beginning to emerge.

E
nglandfans: 
Russell Rainbow; Samuel Shethran (Paul McKay/Paul Johnson), David Thompson (Greg Howell), Matt Davies (Richard Serowka), Dave Wooley (Shane Jackson/Dan Bell); 
Rob Russell, Ian Allsop (Alan Murray/Liam Hegarty), Stan Stanfield (Craig North/Adam McDaid), Mark Tighe (c) (Dan Stevens/Nathan Wooley); Lewis Robson (Michael Harte), Roy Chatterjee (Michael Lister).

Manager: Garford Beck.
Assistant Manager: Brian Robson.

Team Administrator: Andy Snarski.
Englandfans Mascot: Darren Snarski.

Englandfans Photographer: Jez Tighe.

Normally retailing at £19.99 Clive will be in the Western before the next home game with Sunderland on Sunday 4th December between 2 and 3:30 to sell them to our members for £15 each, and I daresay signed with a personal inscription too.

So bring along your £15′s and get Clive next instalment of all our histories! If it is anywhere as good as his first book we are all in for a Christmas treat.

Also worthy of a mention is another book, not by a member this time, mainly because he’s never coughed up his subs! But Jim Heath is a friend of the DDCWWFCSC never the less. Wolves in 20/20 vision is what is called a coffee table book, which I think is a euphemism for a book you read on the toilet!  Our flag warrants it’s own mention, but it has loads of things to set your memory banks working. It costs £9:99 but hasn’t offered our members a discount yet!!