" Says Brendan Rogers "

Malky Mackay can deliver Premier dream for Cardiff City, says Brendan Rodgers
by Chris Wathan, South Wales Echo
Jun 20 2011




Malky Mackay is being backed to make it a Welsh one-two for the Premier League – by his old pal and new Swansea City rival Brendan Rodgers.

The two men are friends following their time together at Watford and Rodgers reckons the Bluebirds have got it right in making Mackay the man to replace former boss Dave Jones.

And Rodgers, who led City’s old foe to the top flight in his first full season at the Liberty, admits he would like nothing more than a reunion with his old mate in the Premier.

Rodgers had backed rookie Mackay for his break in management when he left Vicarage Road to take over at Reading, before joining Swansea.


And Rodgers said: “Malky’s a great appointment for Cardiff.

“I saw a lot of big names linked with the role but it’s good to see they’ve gone for someone who’s up-and-coming, hard-working and who can do the nuts and bolts of the job, which is what’s needed.

“And I can say he will give everything to the job. He’s got a challenge ahead of him but it would be great to see him up here in the Premier with us.

“We have our own jobs to do next season, but with a good manager like Malky in charge hopefully Cardiff can join Swansea in the Premier League.

“It would be great for Wales to have two sides there.”

Despite being in charge of rival clubs, Rodgers revealed he has already sent his congratulations, having been unable to get in contact fully as he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for charity.

And he backed his pal to enjoy football in Wales, while also tipping him to succeed in his squad rebuilding. Mackay admitted on Friday his first priority is to bring in fresh faces, having been left with a threadbare squad thanks to Jones’ reliance on loan players.

A move for Middlesbrough’s out-of-contact left-sided young star Andrew Taylor – a player who impressed on loan with the Hornets last term – is on the cards.

And Rodgers said: “I’m sure Malky will enjoy it because he did a good job at Watford with hardly any money.

“And he’s at a place where I’m sure they will again make available what is a lot of funds at that level.”

annis,

whats your opinion of brendon?

ive got 100% for the bloke..what a top top guy, heart of gold, fantastic personality with alot of respect.. genuinely nice bloke

annis,

whats your opinion of brendon?

ive got 100% for the bloke..what a top top guy, heart of gold, fantastic personality with alot of respect.. genuinely nice bloke

If Malky Mackay is in the same mould then I think you have appointed the right man, 100%. There are a few similarities between where Cardiff are right now and where we were this time last season and I have pointed them out in a previous post.

Basically, this time last year, a lot of us were a bit down with the Swans, Sousas' style of play, distance from the fans, moaning about refereeing decisions, the whole lot had really left a lot of the fans cold. (A bit like Dave Jones seems to have done towards the end of his time with Cardiff.)

Brendan came in, I'll admit I was a bit underwhelmed, but what a difference he made. And I'm not talking about on the pitch, that's been done to death. His dealings with the media, the way the players became a team again, the way he deals with the public, everything about him has come across as professional and for me, more importantly, he mostly comes across as humble. The final whistle against Reading shouldn't be ignored, no lording it over anyone, straight to Brian McDermott. To see the Reading chairman Madjeski embracing him on the steps I think said it all.

What Brendan achieved was that he brought the team, the fans and even the media (which is no easy task) together. If Mackay can do that then he is already halfway there. As I said, in my opinion, you have got the right man for the job, now it's up to you lot as fans to get behind him, back the team when things get a bit rough and see where it takes you. I said it before, but I would love to see a Swansea v Cardiff match in the Premier League...

arse lick

annis,

whats your opinion of brendon?

ive got 100% for the bloke..what a top top guy, heart of gold, fantastic personality with alot of respect.. genuinely nice bloke

If Malky Mackay is in the same mould then I think you have appointed the right man, 100%. There are a few similarities between where Cardiff are right now and where we were this time last season and I have pointed them out in a previous post.

Basically, this time last year, a lot of us were a bit down with the Swans, Sousas' style of play, distance from the fans, moaning about refereeing decisions, the whole lot had really left a lot of the fans cold. (A bit like Dave Jones seems to have done towards the end of his time with Cardiff.)

Brendan came in, I'll admit I was a bit underwhelmed, but what a difference he made. And I'm not talking about on the pitch, that's been done to death. His dealings with the media, the way the players became a team again, the way he deals with the public, everything about him has come across as professional and for me, more importantly, he mostly comes across as humble. The final whistle against Reading shouldn't be ignored, no lording it over anyone, straight to Brian McDermott. To see the Reading chairman Madjeski embracing him on the steps I think said it all.

What Brendan achieved was that he brought the team, the fans and even the media (which is no easy task) together. If Mackay can do that then he is already halfway there. As I said, in my opinion, you have got the right man for the job, now it's up to you lot as fans to get behind him, back the team when things get a bit rough and see where it takes you. I said it before, but I would love to see a Swansea v Cardiff match in the Premier League...

I like Brendan, think he's done a very good job. I actually think that if you stick with him throughout the season, he'll keep you in the division.

I'm very happy with Malky.

Prefer him to Shearer, Hughton or Di Matteo personally.

Can't see the gypos staying up there to be honest, if we are going up we will be passing them while they are on the way down. MM has a much harder job than BR imo. all he done for the jacks was add a few strikers they already had the majority of the team and the style of football they played from when martinez was in charge

I think any manager would say that about most managers, who ever it was that took over. But yes I like Brendan also, all we can do is get behined the team and MM and hope he can do the job, its a big ask, but with all of us pulling the same way Im sure we can be around the top half of the table, we must give MM a fair crack of the whip.

Can't see the gypos staying up there to be honest, if we are going up we will be passing them while they are on the way down. MM has a much harder job than BR imo. all he done for the jacks was add a few strikers they already had the majority of the team and the style of football they played from when martinez was in charge

I agree it's a harder job with regards the rebuilding, on the other hand, don't underestimate the damage that Sousa had done. Brendan had to deal with getting the team morale back up, getting the fans back onside, and dealing with the fact that we couldn't score for toffee. Adding a few strikers is one thing, getting Sinclair for an initial £500,000 (£1.5m now) was very shrewd. Not to say he didn't make mistakes (Frank Nouble!) but there was a lot more to it than taking over where Martinez left off.

To be fair your playing style was already set in stone whilst not wanting to undermine his contribution , Rodgers built on that and added goals and attacking play that Sousa couldn't whereas Malky will have to start from scratch.
So I think we have to be patient this season to allow the new set-up to settle in , support the manager and the team when things maybe don't go to plan and try enjoy the season. Our priority has to be to retain our championship status and then hope that he can make the signings he wants to have a go at the top 6.

Not a dig at the Jacks but it will be more difficult this season as some of the teams coming down and those being promoted look stronger than last seasons teams.

Enjoy the season and I really would love to see a Premier league South Wales derby in 2012-2013 season.

To be fair your playing style was already set in stone whilst not wanting to undermine his contribution , Rodgers built on that and added goals and attacking play that Sousa couldn't whereas Malky will have to start from scratch.
So I think we have to be patient this season to allow the new set-up to settle in , support the manager and the team when things maybe don't go to plan and try enjoy the season. Our priority has to be to retain our championship status and then hope that he can make the signings he wants to have a go at the top 6.

Not a dig at the Jacks but it will be more difficult this season as some of the teams coming down and those being promoted look stronger than last seasons teams.

Enjoy the season and I really would love to see a Premier league South Wales derby in 2012-2013 season.

Jones has left him with a load of choker's. We've got to allow him time to develop a platform to build a team capable of promotion. Might not happen next season, so let's not start getting on his back.