Mcphail Says "Mark Hudson could of been backbone of team"

Well you can only blame one person for that Vincent Tan, a fact, 100% not Ole.


Cardiff City were 'rash' to let former skipper Mark Hudson go, says ex-Bluebirds star Stephen McPhail


Wed 4 February 2015

By Terry Phillips
But former play-maker backs Cardiff City new-boy Eoin Doyle to be a big hit



Former Cardiff City play-maker Stephen McPhail believes the Bluebirds were ‘rash’ in allowing centre-half Mark Hudson to leave.

Club captain Hudson was sold to Championship rivals Huddersfield Town last August when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was manager and McPhail says: “Huds would have helped form the backbone of Cardiff’s team.”

Hudson, 32, was signed by former Bluebirds manager Dave Jones in a £1m-plus transfer from Charlton and he stayed five years before moving to Huddersfield.

Jones and his successor, Malky Mackay, made Hudson Cardiff club captain and he played a key role as City played in the League Cup final against Liverpool and earned promotion to the Premier League.

Solskjaer, though, made huge changes to the squad and sold Hudson to Huddersfield last August.


Ironically, the tough defender has the character and leadership values Slade sees as crucial to his quest of steering Cardiff to a solid top half finish this season.

McPhail, who now plays for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland, believes Cardiff were wrong in allowing Hudson and others to leave Cardiff.


Don Cowie, Andrew Taylor and Kevin McNaughton were among others from the Championship-winning squad to move on and McPhail says: “It’s frustrating for everybody at the club. There were rash decisions made in getting rid of players like Mark Hudson and others who could have formed a backbone of the team.

“But the squad was ripped apart.

“These are not great times for Cardiff City. There have been a huge amount of player ins and outs. That can’t bode well for anybody.

“The fans are frustrated and the team aren’t earning the results they want.

“Ultimately, the owner (Vincent Tan) has to say what is going on and let everybody know if he is going to stick with the manager.

“There are some big matches coming up for Cardiff and another change could disrupt things again at a crucial time.”

McPhail follows Cardiff’s fortunes with interest from his home in Dublin where he plays under manager Pat Fenlon at Shamrock Rovers.

Both men know one of Cardiff’s latest recruits, striker Eoin Doyle, really well.

Doyle, who has scored 25 goals for Chesterfield this season, was signed in a £600,000 transfer which will rise to £1m-plus with add-ons and he looks certain to make his Bluebirds debut at Sheffield Wednesday this Saturday.


Slade’s City then have back-to-back home matches against Brighton next Tuesday and Blackburn a week later.

McPhail admits the step from League One to the Championship, which he experienced when he moved from Barnsley to Cardiff in 2006, is going to be tough for Doyle, but says: “He is full of confidence and has bags of potential.”

‘Macca’ knows Doyle, 26, from watching him in League of Ireland action, while Shamrock boss Fenlon made the striker his first signing after being appointed manager of Scottish club Hibernian four years ago.

“Pat and I have been talking about Eoin Doyle,” said McPhail. “He started his career in the League of Ireland with Sligo and Shamrock before he got a move to Hibs when Pat was manager.

“Eoin has done well. He’s scored a bagful of goals for Chesterfield this season and is full of confidence.

“It’s a difficult step from League One to the Championship. Defenders will be better and sharper but he’s earned his chance and is a good young player with a lot of potential.

“He’s quick and his movement is good. Eoin pulls away from defenders well and he’s a box player as his goals tally suggests.

“He’s a good foil for a centre-forward and if he plays alongside a big man like Kenwyne Jones or Alex Revell, that could work really well for Cardiff.

“Eoin has done as well as anybody could have expected in his first League One season and he goes into the Cardiff team as a player full of confidence. If he can get off the mark early with a goal or two, that will settle him down.

“I’d love to see him do well for himself and, of course, Cardiff City.”

McPhail is in pre-season training for the 2015 League of Ireland season, which starts next month.

Shamrock’s first match is at home against St. Patrick’s Athletic at Tallaght Stadium on Friday, March 6.

Agree totally about Huds. Our biggest loss. We desperately need a leader and him plus Manga as centrebacks would make a great pairing. Doyle sounds like just what we need though.

Completly agree. Hudson is exactly the type of player and leader we need now. When he was injured, his absence was obvious and when he returned, his effect was immediate.

Solksjaer though made huge changes and sold Hudson to Huddersfield
But there was only one man responsible Vincent tan not ole

I know I'm in the minority but I thought and still think it was the right decision, Manga, connolly and Turner are all good cbs at a good age. Morrison I think was a poor signing.

The problems wouldn't be solved with Hudson in the team.

Well you can only blame one person for that Vincent Tan, a fact, 100% not

Where on earth in that arcticle do you get that from

Hudson was sold by OGS after he decided to splash the cash on Morrison and told Hudson he wasn't going to play

OGS was wrong to spend so much on Morrison and wrong to let Hudson go, simple as that. Tan may have made some massive mistakes but this wasn't one of them.

Hudson should still be with us

Another OGS gaffe losing Hudson. We are missing many things and leadership (and a decent midfield!) is simply vital, especially as RS has lost the dressing room and the squad needs to be polarised.