Archived News from November 2004
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PALMER AND LING REACTION
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Carlton Palmer gave forthright interviews to Jason Harrison of Mansfield 103.2 and David Jackson of Radio Nottingham after the game.
I was standing next to Palmer as he gave the interviews and he was very passionate and animated. He revealed that the Neil MacKenzie deal to Macclesfield was set up by Keith Curle. He added that the Stags had won just 30% of the games that MacKenzie has played in, and he had scored just 7 goals in over 80 games, which is not good enough for an attacking midfielder. He flatly refuted rumours that Colin Larkin is leaving to join Kidderminster, adding that he wished Colin all the best as he starts to recover from a ruptured appendix. He said he would calling Colin this evening. Palmer also revealed that he had looked at the situation after the Colchester game and the club cannot afford to keep four central defenders and that if Dimech can't play at full back then one has to go, and currently he is thinking that the player to go will be Dimech, though Palmer added that if he continues to play as well as he did today, then maybe Dimech might turn it around and it will be one of the others who has to leave. Palmer then added Simon Brown will be joining the club from WBA, and that Brown is a very pacey right winger. He said that there will therefore be no place at the club for Alex Neil, who is never going to play in the middle of the park. Selected transcription: I thought we were the better side in the first half; the second half was fairly even and a great strike won it. Assuming I'm still in charge on Monday we'll get out on the training field and we'll work on things. The club needed reshaping, we weren't good enough. There's changes and they have to be brave changes. I made some decisions about the squad in terms of wanting to bring in better players in my capacity as caretaker manager. I spoke to Neil Mackenzie, a deal that was already set up before, by Keith Curle for him to go to Macclesfield. He was our best player against Boston but I played him in a role that suited him in a 4-4-2 and I don't think we can afford to carry luxury players. The only luxury player I'm prepared to carry is Wayne Corden. I spoke to Luke Dimech. We've got three centre halves. If we want to bring somebody in then we've got to let one or two go, even though I thought he was excellent today. I've spoke to Alex Neil. He's worked his socks off today but we need just that bit extra on that right hand side. Alex Neil has not got that ability to go by anyone and we need that. I'm happy with what we've got here now and we just need to get on and win games. We will improve. I spoke to Kidderminster about Simon Brown because he's on loan there and they asked me about Larkin. I said he's not available, he's not going anywhere. I want to bring Warney in full time. Richie Barker and Paul Warne are looking for match sharpness. They did fade a bit. I thought Adam Murray in midfield was superb; Tom Curtis was superb. We've got beaten by a wonder strike. I'm disappointed with the result but delighted by a lot of things. I could be sat in my villa in Portugal right now. I've not agreed a contract with the club. I'm not getting paid any money for this. I could be working for the BBC but I love football, so I'm telling the chairman and the fans. Is it Keith Haslam to blame or is it Keith Curle to blame? There's only Liam Lawrence who should have left the football club. Why have the rest of the players left? Bobby Hassell wouldn't sign a new contract; why?, he went to Barnsley and doing well. Disley's been outstanding. Williamson's been outstanding at Northampton. Why have these players been allowed to leave the football club? Don't ask Keith Haslam, he didn't get rid of them. There has to be a fairness here and I'm speaking as a friend of the chairman as I've known him for some years. Transcribed by Martin Shaw -------------- CHAD website: Caretaker-manager Carlton Palmer has been ringing the changes but still has no assurances on his future with current boss Keith Curle still suspended from duty. "I've told the players to get their heads up," he said. "The results are not going for us at the moment but we have played against a good, well-organised side today and more than held our own. "I thought we were the better side in the first half and the second half was fairly even. We certainly didn't deserve to lose it. It is not a good situation here at the moment and it is not helping. "But we need the fans to get behind the team. The whole club needed reshaping - the squad that was here was just not good enough. "I brought in two quality players yesterday and tried to bring in a third which meant we had just an hour to train. We also have key players missing and once we have everyone back I have great optimism. "If I am still in charge on Monday we will just get back to work on the training field." ------------ Audio interview with Carlton Palmer from BBC Radio Nottingham (RealPlayer needed) http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/realmedia/football/2005/stags_orient_home_palmer.ram ------------- LEYTON ORIENT OFFICIAL SITE: "I Knew We Could Do It Right" WHAT A difference a week makes. Last Saturday Orient's performance against Wycombe Wanderers gave boss Martin Ling his worst feeling of the season, but after victory at Mansfield, he was back to his usual self. Keeping a clean sheet was always going to be the cornerstone of any O's victory, particularly with Lee Steele joining Gary Alexander in the treatment room, and Ling's backline responded with their first shut-out for two months. "In the treatment room we've got 40 goals worth of strikers, but I knew if we did it right defensively we could still win the game and this proves there's a little bit of depth in the squad, he said. "Not keeping a clean sheet has been a big issue and when I spoke to the players I said if we're going to be successful it would be on a solid base. "I spoke to the defenders and we've been solid today. We're a quiet side and John Mackie is a big noise. He's an asset to this football club when fully fit and he's worked so hard to be fully fit. "He wasn't fighting with people like he was last year and that's because he's got his pace back. "He makes sure people do their jobs right at the back and he doesn't let people relax. You need a few more of those voices and that's what he is. Ling was full of praise for Andy Scott's fantastic strike, his fifth of the season, which settled the match. "It was a wonderful goal - he's said the best three goals of his career have come this year and he did catch it sweet. "That's ten from the two wide boys now but all eleven players worked their socks off from Jabo Ibehre and Lee Barnard back to Lee Harrison. "We weren't spectacular, but we controlled it totally in the second-half. "We nullified them and then we put our game on to them - our passing game worked and we had all the chances. "Lee Barnard took his chance with both hands and Brian Saah never lets you down and the players that haven't been playing regularly did a good job." ANDY SCOTT believes his strike against Mansfield, the 80th of his career, could well be his best ever. Scott delivered an unstoppable shot five minutes after the break to settle the Field Mill encounter, and was understandably delighted with both the goal and the result. "As soon as I hit it I knew it would go in - it sat up lovely and it was like one of those golf shots you hit which you know is perfect when you hit it, he smiled. "Three of my best ever goals have come this season and that's one of them - I was delighted. Hopefully I can add a few more now. "That was a real team effort. When you play away in this league you have to win 1-0 sometimes when it's not pretty. "Everyone defended well and worked hard and we deserved it in the end. We nullified each other in the first half, it was scrappy and no-one passed it. "We knew we could get a goal so we wanted to keep a clean sheet and the return of John Mackie gives us a bit more experience and talking on the pitch "We let ourselves and the fans down last week and we desperately wanted this win. Scott knows that the testing winter period will bring more difficult away matches in unpleasant surroundings for him and his teammates, but he is sure they have got what it takes to pass with flying colours. "We have to battle and go to places like Mansfield, Darlington and Rochdale but it's only 90 minutes of football out in the cold. "You've got grind out results up north when the weather's not going to be nice but it will be a nice coach journey home after this win." |
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