" MALKY STANDS BY HIS DECISION "

Malky Mackay stands by his decision to leave Robert Earnshaw out as he puts faith in Cardiff City young guns

Mar 10 2012
Robert Earnshaw
MALKY Mackay has launched a staunch defence of his selection policy – and spelt out the reasons why goal ace Robert Earnshaw can’t get a game for Cardiff City at the moment.

The Bluebirds boss spoke out ahead of his team’s critical Severnside derby clash at Bristol City this evening, as the 12-game final stretch in the play-off race begins.

Earnshaw’s absence from the team and Makay’s refusal to use him as a substitute has seen the manager’s judgement questioned.

But Mackay refused to back down from his stance, stating the emergence of other young players at the club had pushed Earnshaw down the striking pecking order.

Earnie has not played Championship football since last October with Joe Mason and Rudy Gestede moving ahead of him in Mackay’s thinking and Scottish ace Kenny Miller clearly number one.

“I judge players on their training every day and the games they play,” said Mackay.

“I have been surprised by the progress of Mason and Gestede. I thought they would be at numbers three and four among our strikers, but they have pushed their way forward and that’s great for this club.”

Earnshaw has scored four goals this season, but is rarely being named even among City’s substitutes. He has made 10 league appearances in total.

“I have a youngster on fire in Mason,” continued Mackay. “He has been coming on leaps and bounds. Look at the quality of his goal against Brighton. He has scored nine goals in 17 starts.

“When Rudy has been involved, either starting or as a substitute, he has been a threat to the opposition. During our home match against Peterborough he was near unplayable at times.

“Am I going to slow their progress? Absolutely not. I won’t apologise for that and if that means others have to sit and wait for their chance then that’s what will happen.

“If we still had seven subs instead of five then Earnie would be one of them.”

Mackay is still intent on bringing in loan signings to bolster his squad further. If one is a striker, that could yet push little Earnie even further down the pecking order.

“I made two calls for a couple of players this week,” said Mackay. “They are players close to the 16 at their clubs, but I made the calls anyway because you never know unless the question is asked.

“The calls were well received, although the answers were ‘Not at the moment’.

“We will keep looking and will keep checking. Liam Lawrence came in from Portsmouth on loan and has affected the starting line-up.

“We will keep looking and prodding, but I will not sign anybody simply to bring in another body.”

Well he can't be accused of ducking the issue, as I mentioned before, if the board brought Earnshaw in before they appointed a new manager then that is their own stupidity and was probably seen as an olive branch to the fans for not bringing back Bellamy.

It's a crap situation for both the player and the manager. The Swans did a similar thing when the board brought back Trundle, Sousa didn't want him so he mostly rotted away in the reserves, even when we were screaming out for goals. Similar situation?

fair point but it doesnt explain why Ernie or any striker are not on the bench when Gestede is injured.

OK so the 16 when both are fit virtually always includes both Gestede and Mason, usually one on the bench and more recently both in the team.

So what's the excuse for not including Earnie on the bench when Gestede's injured as he is now? The fact that Malkay is desperately trying to bring in another striker says it all as far as Earnie's chances are concerned. He must be absolutely pants in training which thinking about it he probably is because his touch isn't the best but everyone knows what he can do when he is in front of goal and when your chasing a game that's what you need

fair point but it doesnt explain why Ernie or any striker are not on the bench when Gestede is injured.

I have no idea why there isn't a striker on your bench, but I've seen it before with Sousa. Fix the defence then worry about the next bit. I don't agree with this way of doing things, just saying that I've seen it before with the Swans.

From an outside point of view though, it seems clear that Earnshaw isn't rated by your manager, and should never have been signed when there wasn't a manager in place. It's a shame for him, but there we go. In my opinion, this is Mackay making it clear that this is his team and he'll make the decisions.

Well he can't be accused of ducking the issue, as I mentioned before, if the board brought Earnshaw in before they appointed a new manager then that is their own stupidity and was probably seen as an olive branch to the fans for not bringing back Bellamy.

It's a crap situation for both the player and the manager. The Swans did a similar thing when the board brought back Trundle, Sousa didn't want him so he mostly rotted away in the reserves, even when we were screaming out for goals. Similar situation?

Can't disagree here

But for me it is getting close. Miller is the problem and something needs to be done. Naturally Earnies name will be mentioned. Thing here from MM is that if Miller is to be dropped then its a Mason/Gestede replacement and NOT Earnie.

I'd definitely pick Mason in front of Earnie, But what I don't understand though is the failure to have him on the bench when Mason starts and Gestede's out injured or the failure to use Earnie from the bench at places like Ipswich ?

I'd definitely pick Mason in front of Earnie, But what I don't understand though is the failure to have him on the bench when Mason starts and Gestede's out injured or the failure to use Earnie from the bench at places like Ipswich ?

It's fairly simple in my opinion. Miller starts up top, and if mason starts then he will generally be behind him in midfield. If miller gets injured, shift mason up top and bring in one of the midfielders (ie. Conway, lawrence etc...).

The fact that he doesn't have a striker on the bench if miller and mason start isn't a big deal to me if they're both fit and available, as there is flexibility in the team to rectify the situation if miller gets injured. The only time it becomes a problem is if both miller AND mason get injured in a game...then we're in trouble, but that's unlikely.

Probably because Vuckic can play up front as well as in midfield. Versatility is everything these days. Same as why Darcy is on the bench ahead of Gerrard.

in all fairness he has to develop the young players,
so we can sell them to a bigger club

Stopped readinf after he said Rudy was a threat.

Knew then Malky was lying through his teeth.

Isnt Earnshaw a year younger than Miller? I might be wrong but i know they are roughly the same age?