Milan Mandaric Interview: The Guardian

[4-4-2]

Mandaric ready for his step into the unknown
Leicester kick-off today in the third tier for the first time
Saturday August 9 2008

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/aug/09/leicestercity.leagueonefootball


There's some interesting quotes, including the one about how he should have sacked Holloway and that be brought in too many players:

Mandaric also regrets his decision to keep faith with Ian Holloway for as long as he did and believes they would have survived had he sacked the former Plymouth manager with 10 games to go, something he was on the verge of doing before an unexpected victory at West Bromwich. "Ian meant well," said Mandaric. "But if you look back, he brought in too many players."



It's not it was too many players. It was because the manager hadn't a clue what to do with them or that they weren't good enough or had the right mentality for a relegation battle. We needed players with fight - not Kelvin Etuhu and morons like that.

 

[Fox Fan]

I like the bit where he says he never forced a manager to buy a player.

But what about Bruno N'gotty? And Fierra and that other guy we signed on loan whilst having no manager?

His 'lies' kill his credibility.

 

[Scarby]

i think he is trying to keep the people on his side.

 

[Fox Fan]

i think he is trying to keep the people on his side.

He has to stop thinking were all idiots then. He is constantly contradicting himself.


Of course the second we turn on him the club is fecked. He'll pull his cash out and then claim he was forced out.

 

[LOZHOGAN]

Give the guy a break, he is trying as hard as anyone to turn the fortunes of our club around!

 

[David Gwilliam]

Give the guy a break, he is trying as hard as anyone to turn the fortunes of our club around!

Well said. I put most of the blame on Martin Allen and on the players and not on Milan or Holloway.
It is interesting that when Milan wanted Hasselbank and Martin Allen did not it was not forced on him. You can never prove these things but my feeling is that if Hasselbank had come in we would have stayed up. It was not Hasselbanks goals but his attitude that was mnissing. Hasselbank gets angry with colleagues who dont perform and I think that was what was missing.
Martin Allen brought in fourteen players none of whom had a successful season including some silly buys. The players Holloway brought in were sensible buys. They failed to perform to the best of their ability getting the man who believed in them sacked and more importantly getting us relegated.
Having said that the old season is over. Whatever our differences about last season we need to support Nigel and the team this season.

 

[Lako42]

He has to stop thinking were all idiots then. He is constantly contradicting himself.


Of course the second we turn on him the club is fecked. He'll pull his cash out and then claim he was forced out.

Who said that the manager was FORCED to take these players? Are you just taking it upon yourself to make that decision or do you have evidence.

The stick MM recieves really pisses me off, everything he does (good or bad) he is only doing to try and better this football club.

Some people need to remember the years before he came, regardless of division.

 

[Jeff]

Some people need to remember the years before he came, regardless of division.

Do you think last year was an improvement on the year before?

 

[Lako42]

Do you think last year was an improvement on the year before?

Not on the pitch no. But i don't think that responsibility lies only with MM.

Im more optomistic now about the clubs overall future than i was last season or any season before it.

 

[Si Nick]

Well said. I put most of the blame on Martin Allen and on the players and not on Milan or Holloway.
It is interesting that when Milan wanted Hasselbank and Martin Allen did not it was not forced on him. You can never prove these things but my feeling is that if Hasselbank had come in we would have stayed up. It was not Hasselbanks goals but his attitude that was mnissing. Hasselbank gets angry with colleagues who dont perform and I think that was what was missing.
Martin Allen brought in fourteen players none of whom had a successful season including some silly buys. The players Holloway brought in were sensible buys. They failed to perform to the best of their ability getting the man who believed in them sacked and more importantly getting us relegated.
Having said that the old season is over. Whatever our differences about last season we need to support Nigel and the team this season.

Did you watch Hasselbank when Cardiff played us, his attitude was poor that was typical of his season according to a Cardiff mate I have, he wishes they hadn't got him

 

[Boy Genius]

Did you watch Hasselbank when Cardiff played us, his attitude was poor that was typical of his season according to a Cardiff mate I have, he wishes they hadn't got him

Did Cardiff go down?

 

[Fox Fan]

Well said. I put most of the blame on Martin Allen and on the players and not on Milan or Holloway.
It is interesting that when Milan wanted Hasselbank and Martin Allen did not it was not forced on him. You can never prove these things but my feeling is that if Hasselbank had come in we would have stayed up. It was not Hasselbanks goals but his attitude that was mnissing. Hasselbank gets angry with colleagues who dont perform and I think that was what was missing.
Martin Allen brought in fourteen players none of whom had a successful season including some silly buys. The players Holloway brought in were sensible buys. They failed to perform to the best of their ability getting the man who believed in them sacked and more importantly getting us relegated.
Having said that the old season is over. Whatever our differences about last season we need to support Nigel and the team this season.

Please remind me how that one turned out? Because as I recall it was one of the factors that lead to his sacking.

Who said that the manager was FORCED to take these players? Are you just taking it upon yourself to make that decision or do you have evidence.

The stick MM recieves really pisses me off, everything he does (good or bad) he is only doing to try and better this football club.

Some people need to remember the years before he came, regardless of division.

This is just plain ridiculous. MILAN SIGNED THESE PLAYERS!!! how can you put that down as anything else? Its pretty well established that MA only signed 4 players. Its been said my MA to people on here.

People refused to listen to the potential negatives when MM was trying to take over. If you weren't for him you were against the whole club according to some. Look how it turned out. If Pearson doesn't work out I wouldn't be the slightest big surprised to see MM drag his money out and walk away.

 

[Melton Fox]

Please remind me how that one turned out? Because as I recall it was one of the factors that lead to his sacking.

Blimey, how did that one pass me by? I read this forum all the time and I'm still none the wiser as to why MA was sacked. I never read the newspapers, was it in the news there or somewhere else that I might have missed?

 

[David Gwilliam]

From what I heard Martin Allen being sacked had nothing to do with Hasselbank. My understanding, and I may be wrong, is that it was incidents at the training ground, not necessarily with the playing staff, that were the cause. How other clubs would have enjoyed it if we had been dragged before an industrial relations tribunal. MM said quite categorically that the sacking was not for football reasons. I did not think Hasselbanks attitude was poor; I thought he was intolerant of bad service. We could have done with that.

 

[LCFC 4 life]

hasselbank was shit for cardiff can we just leave it there, they turned him away when he went for pre-season, that show what they thought of him.

 

[Si Nick]

Did Cardiff go down?

No, but that Cardiff were not a one man team, and JFH played little part in their season, players like Roger Johnson, Joe Ledley & Paul Parry (a winger playing as a striker) had far more to do with any success

 

[Chrysalis]

Who said that the manager was FORCED to take these players? Are you just taking it upon yourself to make that decision or do you have evidence.

The stick MM recieves really pisses me off, everything he does (good or bad) he is only doing to try and better this football club.

Some people need to remember the years before he came, regardless of division.

I gave up arguing a while back, lots of theories without evidence. The romours seem to come from a few posters on here and spread like a plague. I also agree the 2-3 years before he came were worse.

 

[Chrysalis]

Please remind me how that one turned out? Because as I recall it was one of the factors that lead to his sacking.



This is just plain ridiculous. MILAN SIGNED THESE PLAYERS!!! how can you put that down as anything else? Its pretty well established that MA only signed 4 players. Its been said my MA to people on here.

People refused to listen to the potential negatives when MM was trying to take over. If you weren't for him you were against the whole club according to some. Look how it turned out. If Pearson doesn't work out I wouldn't be the slightest big surprised to see MM drag his money out and walk away.

ok you said he signed the players I guess its true then

 

[slyfox]

just a thought, if mandaric was going to sack holloway after the west brom game.

why did it take him so long after the season had ended to finally do it ,strange.

 

[Redditch Fox]

just a thought, if mandaric was going to sack holloway after the west brom game.

why did it take him so long after the season had ended to finally do it ,strange.

Not strange at all in my opinion.

It was an obviously disastrous decision to retain Holloway. A number of us wanted him sacked in time for a new manager - even a caretaker - and allow sufficient games for us to have a decent chance of survival. That lack of action almost certainly led to relegation. Unfortunately lots of other vocal people wanted to stick with the idiot. They must be feeling pretty foolish now.

However, once we were relegated, I can understand MM considering if he could do better than Holloway and whether it was worth the financial cost of sacking him. Holloway is Third Division material and may have been adequate for this division - except that he was probably shell shocked by the disaster he brought upon the club.

MM is far from innocent in this whole process but I feel that he has the good of the club at heart - as well as his own possible future financial interests.