" Do you agree with Kevin McNaughton? "

Kevin McNaughton's Cardiff City dream team in his own words... and the manager he rates the best he worked with


Monday 11th May 2015

By Terry Phillips


" Kevin McNaughton’s All-Star Bluebirds team "


Formation: 3-5-2

Super Kev's dream XI... and best boss

David Marshall: The modern-day number one No.1 who did so much to get Cardiff City into the Premier League and almost single-handedly kept them there


Goalkeeper
David Marshall
"Showed how good he is in the Premier League last season. Fantastic shot stopper. Prone to the odd headbutt though"

Centre-backs
Mark Hudson
"Had a monumental season during the season Cardiff City were promoted. Fantastic captain on and off the field, a real leader"

Mark Hudson with the Championship trophy in 2013
Ben Turner
"Tower of a man. Has all the attributes needed for a great centre-back. Strong partnership with Huds when they played together"

Darren Purse
"If you could bottle this guys determination and give it out before a game you’d have a team of warriors. Leader and all round good guy off the pitch"

Midfield
Chris Burke
"Absolute workhorse. Loved playing with him in front of me. Scored important goals for Cardiff. Would like to have seen him playing at a higher level"

Aaron Ramsey
"The best young player I’ve played with. Hugely talented off both feet, while his range of passing and eye for goal are outstanding. Great to see him doing well for Arsenal"



Stephen McPhail
"Great left foot. It seemed impossible to get the ball off him in training. Highly intelligent footballer who always picked the right pass"

Joe Ledley
"Local lad. Would have loved to have seen him in the promotion-winning team, Big game player who scored some crucial goals for us"

Peter Whittingham
"At his best is a match winner. Top quality delivery from set pieces, great vision and his range of passing is phenomenal. Fantastic left foot. So laid back he’s a human sun-lounger"

Forwards
Michael Chopra
"I was astonished during my first season at Cardiff because I had never seen a natural finisher like him. The sort of player who, if fit, could get 25 goals a season easily."

Jay Bothroyd
"All the talent in the world. Personally, I felt Dave Jones got the best out of him. If he was more consistent Jay would have played in the Premier League for years."



Substitutes
Neil Alexander
Pulled off some ridiculous stops. Another guy I wished had stayed around a bit longer

Roger Johnson
At his best a top defender - and could nick a few goals as well.

Gavin Rae
Every squad needs a guy like Gav. Covered every blade of grass. One of the best pros I’ve met. Learned a lot from him

Craig Noone
Lost count of the players I’ve seen have been unscrewed from the training ground turf after a one-on-one with this character .

Ross McCormack
His technique was frightening. Strikes ball well with both feet real handful when he’s on song .

Steven Thompson
Absolute madman off the pitch. Funny, funny guy, also a cracking player. Great to see him winning a trophy at St Mirren, the club he supported as a boy.




And who would take charge of them?
Dave Jones
"He was the manager who brought me to Cardiff City and I played my best football when he was in charge"

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

y
Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

mmmmmmmnot a lot annis but was we was never bored of type of football he played! compared to managers since him!

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

How many of that team did DJ have to sell? If he didn't have to sell anyone then DJ would have smashed the championship. DJ got us to the final of the biggest cup competition in the world don't forget Annis.

How many of the players in that team were DJ signings and how many were Malky signings?

Marshall, Purse, Hudson, Johnson, Burke, mcphail, Rae, Thompson, whitts, chopra, Bothroyd and McCormack DJ signings. Only Turner and Noone Malky buys.

Last edited by maccydee on Mon May 11, 2015 2:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.

No mention of Craig Bellamy.

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

People forget which in your case surprises me but Jones didn't even have the budget that Slades got.Don't let your personal hatred of the man cloud you judgement.When he came in they were selling anything that wasn't nailed down remember.I think if him and Terry Burton had the same budget as Malky or Ole we would be sitting in the premier now.I also miss his brand of football,by far the easiest on the eye in the last 10yrs.

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

People forget which in your case surprises me but Jones didn't even have the budget that Slades got.Don't let your personal hatred of the man cloud you judgement.When he came in they were selling anything that wasn't nailed down remember.I think if him and Terry Burton had the same budget as Malky or Ole we would be sitting in the premier now.I also miss his brand of football,by far the easiest on the eye in the last 10yrs.

Malky got millions to spend on players. Bought Cornelius for 8.5 million. DJ bought Bothroyd for 300k, Whittingham for 300k, Hudson 750k, Marshall 300k, Johnson 250k, Chopra 500k, McCormack 250k. Not even a question who was the better manager.

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

People forget which in your case surprises me but Jones didn't even have the budget that Slades got.Don't let your personal hatred of the man cloud you judgement.When he came in they were selling anything that wasn't nailed down remember.I think if him and Terry Burton had the same budget as Malky or Ole we would be sitting in the premier now.I also miss his brand of football,by far the easiest on the eye in the last 10yrs.

Malky got millions to spend on players. Bought Cornelius for 8.5 million. DJ bought Bothroyd for 300k, Whittingham for 300k, Hudson 750k, Marshall 300k, Johnson 250k, Chopra 500k, McCormack 250k. Not even a question who was the better manager.

He,he,when you put like that. BUSINESS OF THE DECADE.Begs the question "Who's done better"Answers on a postage stamp please

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

People forget which in your case surprises me but Jones didn't even have the budget that Slades got.Don't let your personal hatred of the man cloud you judgement.When he came in they were selling anything that wasn't nailed down remember.I think if him and Terry Burton had the same budget as Malky or Ole we would be sitting in the premier now.I also miss his brand of football,by far the easiest on the eye in the last 10yrs.

Forget the budget. Look who DJ had on his books. He had a far superior team than what Malky could put together. He was given 6 years to put a team together and after selling Ramsey he was not forced to sell anyone. Adding to that he was on 4 times the money of Malky.

DJ's teams were the most entertaining teams of recent years.

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

People forget which in your case surprises me but Jones didn't even have the budget that Slades got.Don't let your personal hatred of the man cloud you judgement.When he came in they were selling anything that wasn't nailed down remember.I think if him and Terry Burton had the same budget as Malky or Ole we would be sitting in the premier now.I also miss his brand of football,by far the easiest on the eye in the last 10yrs.

Forget the budget. Look who DJ had on his books. He had a far superior team than what Malky could put together. He was given 6 years to put a team together and after selling Ramsey he was not forced to sell anyone. Adding to that he was on 4 times the money of Malky.

While the disappointment of the last playoffs were hard to except I believe Tan was poorly advised.And as for wages,Malky may have been on less but he squandered far more money than DJ.Still,its all history now.

f**k it DJ IN

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

People forget which in your case surprises me but Jones didn't even have the budget that Slades got.Don't let your personal hatred of the man cloud you judgement.When he came in they were selling anything that wasn't nailed down remember.I think if him and Terry Burton had the same budget as Malky or Ole we would be sitting in the premier now.I also miss his brand of football,by far the easiest on the eye in the last 10yrs.

Dave Jones could not get over the final hurdle and let us down every time, its not about hatred,the man was arrogant as far as I am concerned and his players were letting him down at the final hurdle, as no control over some,there was nothing but bad press coming out of the club and most of it was proved true.

The facts are there DJ won nothing for us after 6 years in charge.

If you asked me who would I prefer as a manager Ole,Slade,Durban or Jones,then it would be Jones,attitude then he would be last.

But compared to Malky,for me its Malky everytime

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

People forget which in your case surprises me but Jones didn't even have the budget that Slades got.Don't let your personal hatred of the man cloud you judgement.When he came in they were selling anything that wasn't nailed down remember.I think if him and Terry Burton had the same budget as Malky or Ole we would be sitting in the premier now.I also miss his brand of football,by far the easiest on the eye in the last 10yrs.

Dave Jones could not get over the final hurdle and let us down every time, its not about hatred,the man was arrogant as far as I am concerned and his players were letting him down at the final hurdle, as no control over some,there was nothing but bad press coming out of the club and most of it was proved true.

The facts are there DJ won nothing for us after 6 years in charge.

If you asked me who would I prefer as a manager Ole,Slade,Durban or Jones,then it would be Jones,attitude then he would be last.

But compared to Malky,for me its Malky everytime

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

People forget which in your case surprises me but Jones didn't even have the budget that Slades got.Don't let your personal hatred of the man cloud you judgement.When he came in they were selling anything that wasn't nailed down remember.I think if him and Terry Burton had the same budget as Malky or Ole we would be sitting in the premier now.I also miss his brand of football,by far the easiest on the eye in the last 10yrs.

Dave Jones could not get over the final hurdle and let us down every time, its not about hatred,the man was arrogant as far as I am concerned and his players were letting him down at the final hurdle, as no control over some,there was nothing but bad press coming out of the club and most of it was proved true.

The facts are there DJ won nothing for us after 6 years in charge.

If you asked me who would I prefer as a manager Ole,Slade,Durban or Jones,then it would be Jones,attitude then he would be last.

But compared to Malky,for me its Malky everytime

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

How many of that team did DJ have to sell? If he didn't have to sell anyone then DJ would have smashed the championship. DJ got us to the final of the biggest cup competition in the world don't forget Annis.

How many of the players in that team were DJ signings and how many were Malky signings?

Marshall, Purse, Hudson, Johnson, Burke, mcphail, Rae, Thompson, whitts, chopra, Bothroyd and McCormack DJ signings. Only Turner and Noone Malky buys.

Neil, You can slate Malky all you want on who he bought.

The point and facts are,he was given the money and asked to win us promotion and guess what? Malky did and not just won it,won the Championship easy,first time in 51 years back in Premier League

DJ Won nothing with all those quality players.

The facts are there

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

People forget which in your case surprises me but Jones didn't even have the budget that Slades got.Don't let your personal hatred of the man cloud you judgement.When he came in they were selling anything that wasn't nailed down remember.I think if him and Terry Burton had the same budget as Malky or Ole we would be sitting in the premier now.I also miss his brand of football,by far the easiest on the eye in the last 10yrs.

Forget the budget. Look who DJ had on his books. He had a far superior team than what Malky could put together. He was given 6 years to put a team together and after selling Ramsey he was not forced to sell anyone. Adding to that he was on 4 times the money of Malky.

Are you sticking up for DJ there Ian?

You are incorrect about not having to sell anyone after Ramsey. Had to sell Loovens and Roger Johnson the year after.

Year after year he got in millions and spent hundreds of k and more often than not progressed the squad. A skill Malky didn't have.

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

How many of that team did DJ have to sell? If he didn't have to sell anyone then DJ would have smashed the championship. DJ got us to the final of the biggest cup competition in the world don't forget Annis.

How many of the players in that team were DJ signings and how many were Malky signings?

Marshall, Purse, Hudson, Johnson, Burke, mcphail, Rae, Thompson, whitts, chopra, Bothroyd and McCormack DJ signings. Only Turner and Noone Malky buys.

Neil, You can slate Malky all you want on who he bought.

The point and facts are,he was given the money and asked to win us promotion and guess what? Malky did and not just won it,won the Championship easy,first time in 51 years back in Premier League

DJ Won nothing with all those quality players.

The facts are there

He won the championship you are right and God bless him for that. If DJ had been given a budget of 12 million and was able to keep all his players year on year he would have won the title with 100 points playing swashbuckling football with players prepared for the Premiership instead of crawling over the line with the lowest points total in many year for a title win and having very few players capable of taking the step up. Also wouldn't have damaged the club with racist text messages either.

Dave Jones may have got better players but we couldn't afford it as his wages was so high. Malky did spend a lot of money but that was when we got to the premiership and malky had to build a team after the mess Jones left us in with a bunch of players who didn't give a toss. Malky did what Jones couldn't do and he may have kept us up . Leicester fighting to the death and that is what we would have had with malky instead of relegation without fight and a clueless manager took us down

All these people talking about Malky's signings. He was good was he? 2 words for you... Andreas Cornelius. Enough said.

All these people talking about Malky's signings. He was good was he? 2 words for you... Andreas Cornelius. Enough said.

Too right mate.People on about DJ's wages and just how much money did he waste?I know if Milky wasted 8.5million of MY money I'd want the kunt knee-capped.Never mind the racist shit as well.

Kevin McNaughton

Q: What are your thoughts about Dave Jones and Malky Mackay, the two main managers you played for at Cardiff City?
KM: I played my best football under Dave and he was the manager who took me to Cardiff.

Malky changed everything. When Dave was manager he used to just get you out on the pitch and give you the freedom to go and play, while Malky is meticulous.

Every ‘t’ is crossed, every ‘i’ is dotted. The planning, right down to individual players in the opposition, was there for us.

The Championship is tight and it’s the little things that make a difference. The margins are so fine.

Even things like the sports science – how you look after yourself, how you eat, the yoga – they’ve all paid off.

I was one of the guys rolling my eyes when I was told yoga would be happening once a week, you get a bit long in the tooth for things sometimes, but it made a massive difference.

I stopped doing the yoga for a while and noticed the difference almost immediately in how I felt.

Malky should have put ACorn on 24/7 yoga then,might have seen him play more and not get injured looking at a football. Anyway,I don't think we'll see either one of them in football again as a manager anytime soon.

Dave Jones is easily a better manager than Malky Mackay

DJ for me, far better football

Good team that. Attacking line up. Could only be ruined by malky's dire football which is why I'm sure Kev gave the nod to DJ.

Neil,

You can keep downing Malky, thats your opinion.

But what did Dave Jones ever actually win in 6 years? ? ?

People forget which in your case surprises me but Jones didn't even have the budget that Slades got.Don't let your personal hatred of the man cloud you judgement.When he came in they were selling anything that wasn't nailed down remember.I think if him and Terry Burton had the same budget as Malky or Ole we would be sitting in the premier now.I also miss his brand of football,by far the easiest on the eye in the last 10yrs.

Dave Jones could not get over the final hurdle and let us down every time, its not about hatred,the man was arrogant as far as I am concerned and his players were letting him down at the final hurdle, as no control over some,there was nothing but bad press coming out of the club and most of it was proved true.

The facts are there DJ won nothing for us after 6 years in charge.

If you asked me who would I prefer as a manager Ole,Slade,Durban or Jones,then it would be Jones,attitude then he would be last.

But compared to Malky,for me its Malky everytime

Both managers have their flaws, but I find it interesting that Kev chose Dave Jones over Malky, I disliked DJs arrogance, however, I would watch his teams any day of the week over Malkys. It's also extremely unfair to compare DJs record against Malky's. DJ had to sell his best players every year, Malky was given a kings ransom in comparison to go out and get his players. There's no doubt in my mind that had DJ been given such funds we would have got promoted and in some style

Dave Jones may have got better players but we couldn't afford it as his wages was so high. Malky did spend a lot of money but that was when we got to the premiership and malky had to build a team after the mess Jones left us in with a bunch of players who didn't give a toss. Malky did what Jones couldn't do and he may have kept us up . Leicester fighting to the death and that is what we would have had with malky instead of relegation without fight and a clueless manager took us down

Normal criticism of DJ is that he left us with no players so Malky had nothing to work with. You can't say he left players who didn't give a toss if others say we had no players when Malky took over.

For the record the spine of the team left for Malky to work with was Marshall, Hudson and Whittingham. Hardly players who don't care.