Fri Apr 04, 2014 7:04 pm
Fri Apr 04, 2014 7:42 pm
Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:24 pm
Forever Blue wrote:FROM FB
Kevin Powell
Good article. One question the reporter should have asked was "what happened to the 'football man' that you said you'd bring in when MM was in charge?".
Fri Apr 04, 2014 10:17 pm
Sat Apr 05, 2014 12:11 am
Sat Apr 05, 2014 6:13 am
Woodville Willie wrote:I agree: It's not an option to go down - It will be decided on whether we can play or not. "Option" implies we have a degree of control. We do not!
If that was the case, we'd be safe now.
Wise up some of you. We have struggled. We could go down even if we win some games. It all depends on others now.
I'm fed up of reading stuff which "bigs" us up. Truth is we need an ark and and a flood to give us an advantage.
Sat Apr 05, 2014 9:37 am
ninianblue wrote:its been a pathetic attempt at the premier league, i always thought that, the club from the tea lady to the director has to be spot on, we havent got that or we never had, blame who you want, but this season has been a disaster
Sat Apr 05, 2014 4:12 pm
Sat Apr 05, 2014 4:27 pm
Sat Apr 05, 2014 4:52 pm
The Welsh Dragon wrote:I hope this spells the end for Ole now, make a bold move and get rid of him for Gods sake.
Sat Apr 05, 2014 4:58 pm
Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:41 pm
Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:45 pm
Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:01 pm
Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:06 pm
Forever Blue wrote:The Mehmet Dalman interview: Cardiff City chairman on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and why going down is not an option
Friday Apr 04, 2014 By Jon Doel
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=121450
Melhmet Dalman Says " It’s not an option to go down "
link
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=121450
Chris Wathan gets the views of Mehmet Dalman on Solskjaer, supporters and safeguards as the chairman calls for Cardiff City to show an united front in their survival bid
There’s always pressure in football and the Premier League but with the way the season has panned out, what’s your view on that pressure as it stands now?
If you take the Premier League as a whole there’s pressure right through it. It really is two tables: the bottom 10 have all been there and not a single one of them have not felt that pressure.
It’s true of a different way with the top 10, although the race is now something like a three-horse one. At the bottom there are quite a few still in the mix and the pressure that is there has been there for a while: it’s nothing new.
The difference is we’re beginning to run out of games so, from that perspective, you have to stand up now. Now is the time to distinguish yourself. This is our time.
There is always a learning curve coming into a new division. Your involvement is a learning curve for yourself as well. It can’t be easy to deal with that in a pressurised situation. Has the club coped with that? Is it better equipped now to its surroundings to where it was six months ago?
You’re right, I’m relatively new at this. But I can tell you we’re in better shape today than we were three or four months ago.
The team has been together for a longer time, they’re beginning to learn to play together. I think the management side is now gelled better and the board is beginning to behave like a board because, don’t forget, the board had never met before I arrived here. Now we’re thinking like a board and making decisions like one. From that point of view I’m sure we’re in much better shape than we were six months ago in terms of the spirit of the club, in terms of the fight ahead of us and our targets are very clear – there’s no ambiguity about that.
By targets I assume you mean staying in the Premier League and... well, where do they extend beyond that?
We have six FA Cup finals in front of us. Personally, I don’t even want to think about anything else but winning those six games.
But it would be remiss not to ask if there are safeguards in place if that doesn’t happen. You hear horror stories of clubs going down that are not prepared for that eventuality. I assume those safeguards exist?
It depends on your definition of safeguards. Is it something we as a club have thought about and are prepared for? Yes, of course, because ultimately we are still a corporation of one description or another...
But is the business able to cope with the obvious change in income, marketability, everything that comes with dropping out of the Premier League?
Again, I’m perhaps slightly unusual in this in that I don’t think that way.
In any sport you do what you do best, it comes naturally. For me, I don’t think about whether we are going to go down or stay up. I can only think about doing our best. If we do end up dropping, which I don’t want to think about at this moment, we’re really determined we’d bounce right back. From our point of view, in terms of our planning, our investment programme, it’s all fully with that in mind. For us it’s not an option.
It’s not an option to go down or think about going down?
Both. It’s not an option. That’s why I don’t want to talk about things away from this focal point of the next six games, so whether you’re a fan, executive, the only thing we can ask to do is get behind the team here. It’s that time.
Well, they have responded with the crowd expected for Palace.
I said this before the fans have been brilliant since I’ve been here, fully behind the team every game.
There were 2,600 at West Brom and Ole said they sucked that third goal in and he’s probably right. I try to talk to the fans away from home and it was wonderful to see them wishing us well. People forget, sometimes I do, that it wasn’t long ago I was in those terraces and I don’t want to lose sight of that.
Every game is a must-win at this stage. A few games ago there was a lot of talk of Ole being under pressure, suggestions he had a dressing down after the Hull game, he had lost confidence.
He hasn’t changed. He is the most thoughtful, clinical, constructive individual I know. He’s not an emotional guy, he has very fixed, strong views, he is a good listener and makes informed decisions and be ruthless in making those decisions. I don’t know where these stories emanate from...
They tend to come from losing games. Rumours happen when teams are down the bottom of the table.
You can talk to Ole himself and I can’t speak for him but I think it’s nonsense. Ole’s fully committed. He’s a football junkie; he lives, breathes and thinks all about football. And he’s been given a great mandate here. He gets on really well with Vincent and also with me. We’ve had difficult topics to discuss at times but it’s always good to see him and talk to him: I get more enthusiasm from talking to him than anyone else.
So everyone’s happy – if not the way the season has panned out – but with the way Ole has learned on the job?
I think he knows his job, I think he’s learning about his team. Tactically he’s quite astute but it takes time to gel teams; teams are not built overnight.
If you look at since he’s been here we’ve been improving. We’ve seen a change of style in play and look at the statistics in the last few games of the goals we’ve scored, the shots we’ve had. Even against Hull in our heaviest defeat we had the best stats.
We’ve seen a change of style of football, we’ve seen new players, we’ve seen a manager getting to know his players. We’ve been playing pretty good football. I think we were a bit unlucky against Tottenham, even if that word is difficult to use. We got caught in the final few seconds against Everton and we deserved something from it.
I’d like to think West Bromwich Albion was a big turning point. The morale and the spirit of the players is not one of a team that is going to go down. They went 2-0 behind and the heads didn’t go down and a little bit of magic from one or two players and we got the point. We want to build on that.
The impression I get is that perhaps we’ll see more of Solskjaer’s ability as a manager next year when he has more time and less pressure. Do you think we’ll see a better manager next year?
No doubt. He has had to get the team he had right. He inherited a team – and a very good bunch of guys, something he will acknowledge and who he loves working with. But I think you’re right, he’s come in, walked straight into things, but in time we will see a true team creation of Ole’s. A lot of progress has been made.
It was difficult for him because he was replacing a manager who was popular. Without going over old ground, it hasn’t been the easiest scenario for him. Has that made it more difficult for him?
I don’t think so. First of all, not a single fan out there has felt Ole responsible for any of the things that has gone on in the past. I think he’s had the backing of the fans. He’s not an individual that would allow that sort of noise to get to him. He knew he had a job to do and he came in fully focussed on that with his eyes open. I don’t think it’s been an issue at all.
Is he looking to next season or is there too much in the here and now to allow that?
We don’t want to talk about more than each game as it comes but of course he’s looking forward to next season because we want to keep on building and that’s not going to change. He’s a great guy.
Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:25 pm
Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:28 pm
goats wrote:Rotten sick club run by the clueless, feel sorry for ole lovely bloke bet he wishes he had said no now
Sat Apr 05, 2014 9:18 pm
Sun Apr 06, 2014 12:59 am
Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:02 am
Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:06 pm
Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:13 pm
Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:16 pm
AJ1927 wrote:Since when was reality not an option...