Malky on the move?

[susie b 0]

I have read this morning that Coventry have made an offer for Malky and aren''t alone in their interest.  Do people think our Braveheart could be on the way out or will he stay to fight for a place?  I would be sorry to see him go, personally, but I wouldn''t blame him if he feels that he will have very limited opportunites after the signings we''ve made.

                                                                                           

[Gentleman Jim 0]

Hope he doesn''t go, I think he still has a lot to offer City.

[alex_ncfc 662]

Someone just mentioned it on 606 and it''s on the official Coventry site too. Looks like he''s off!

[Pyro Pete 1,897]

I feel it would be very unwise to let Malky go. We do not have any sort of strenght in depth defensively.

So far I''ve seen nothing Fleming has done that Malky couldn''t do better. Doherty had a patchy track record with Spurs at centre back, Helveg has had a modest start with us, and Shackell is too inexperienced.

Keep Malky. He played superbly against Spain on Friday night and showed he can compete against the best.

[Al Yellow 0]

Apparently a fee has been agreed with Coventry then, official site, I''m distraught. Malky has been a great player for us and I would loved to have seen him play in the Premiership. He had a great game for Scotland on Friday and must surely be pushing for a first team spot (although I think Charlton has been excellent so far). Looks like the Saltire will only be coming out when Holt scores from now on.

[Tilt 12]

It was announced by PA 15 mins ago:

"Coventry today announced they have opened negotiations with a view to bringing

Norwich and Scotland international defender Malky Mackay to Highfield Road on a

full-time basis.

The Sky Blues have confirmed a deal has already been agreed with the

Premiership outfit, however talks with Mackay are on hold as the 32-year-old is

on Scotland duty north of the border ahead of tomorrow''s World Cup qualifier

against Slovenia. "

[Tufnell Park Canary 0]

It''s a sad thing, but if the offer is for a decent amount of money I think we should let him go. He''s 32 and he''s served city well, but as the club moves on into a new era some of the old stalwarts will inevitably leave. Iwan has gone and Malky is on his way.

We will need to replace him though...

[rich 0]

which begs two questions what did malky do wrong and why not buy a striker because now were well short of cover.  If fleming or charlton gets injured doherty can''t play up front and at the back.

I worry about our squad depth

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

Blimey.  I''m torn on this one.  Part of me would hate to lose Malky.  He''s been so great to us over the years and seems such a top bloke.  But the other part of me knows that deep down he won''t cut it in the Prem.  It seems like a Roberts situation here.  Although he''s a city legend he''s moving on.  I think the club are being quite sensible about this but at the same time it''s a dreadful shame

[Alan 0]

I don''t think it''s sensible to sell Malky at the moment. As others have said we don''t have enough defensive cover and Doherty may be playing up front anyway. Charlton may be good on the ground but is too short to be good in the air especialy at set pieces.

[hucks fizz 0]

i for one will be totally gutted for him if he does go.

surely,as one of the main guys who got us to the premiership he should of been given a chance to prove himself???

i''m not saying he could handle the likes of man utd etc (but then who can),but surely he''d of more than handled himself against the lesser teams.

for me,we could be loosing a very good player and  i will be gutted if he goes.

he scored so many valuable goals for us.

if he does go,i wish him all the best.

 

 

[Bayern Eunuch 0]

Should keep some of the grumblers happy (especially those who think he ''can''t cut the mustard'' despite not playing).
Perhaps they can now start campaigning to get rid of another player who had a significant contribution to our promotion (watch out Gary Holt!)

[IPYellows 0]

Has NW gone mad? Malky has been an absolute rock since Worthy made him first choice after ousting Matt Jackson. As good as Flem in my opinion. Ok we know he he''s not the quickest but makes up for this by his excellent positional sense. He is also a natural leader and well respected by all. I think his presence alone has been well missed and i''m convinced with him in the team we wouldn''t have looked as disorganized as we have this season to date especially when defending set pieces. There''s the small matter of him grabbing 4/5 goals per season and creating a few more by his presence alone in the opposition area. Another area I think we''ve looked a little toothless so far. STAY AND FIGHT FOR YOUR PLACE MALK''S!

[can u sit down please 0]

The man is a legend but this is not the time to be sentimental.

We will never forget Malky but the offer is right for us and right for him. Now behind Fleming,Charlton and Doherty his chances look limited and at 32 he is not getting any younger so needs to play all he can.

Im sure he is on a few quid as well probably a bit too much to be keeping the bench warm.

Agreed that if we go down he would be useful but even at times last yr his pace was exposed and we defend so deep becoz of this( we caught teams offside last yr the least in the div). I personally would also stick Shacks ahead of him now and i hear you say "but he lacks experience", what is the only way you get experience.......games.

All the best malky,you made my best mates (Scummer fan) life hell i cant thank you enough

CUSDP

[Stella Canary 0]

From a sentimental perspective it''s a nightmare - Malkay was superb for us last year and deserves his chance at playing in the top flight, but so did Iwan.

What''s important from this point on is good business and staying in the premiership.

But he will have to be replaced as all have said depth in squad is an issue for us.

All the best Malky.

[shropshire canary 0]

Like many of the previous posts here, I''ve very mixed feelings on this one. Will be sad to see Malkay go and he''s brought some great memories our way (one or two howlers as well mind!!), but we do appear to have plenty of depth in the centre half stakes and if we can get a sum anywhere near the 350k we paid 6 years ago it''s good business: good time to sell the guy, and probably best deal for him to keep his recently found International career going (see Brennan post for how this can all go wrong!)

If anything it''s a vote of confidence in Svensson and McKenzie - Doherty can''t be expected to play up front all season so these guy''s will get the chance to step up to the plate again. Roll on the 4-3-3/4-5-1 that saw us up in style at the end of last season!!

[Karl Pilkington 0]

I have to say this surprises me.

I have read many times that we have a one of the smallest squads in the premier and cant recruit till jan. So the way to solve it is to get rid of one of our most experianced players in a position that we would struggle to cover if we picked up injurys???

Is this another case of Worthy booting someone out who he has an argument with. Very Alex Ferguson!!

 

[Ayrton Twigge 0]

I can track back to last years home match v Cardiff, after Shackles performance, 90% of the sentiment on this board was - Malky''s a slow, clumsy, shirt-pulling hoofer. Amazing now that he''s off that 90% of posters want him to stay.

 

Gillingham v Coventry will be an ineresting match. When is it?

 

 

[Gentleman Jim 0]

As I have said I would be sad to see MM go but on the positive side it will hoist Jason Shackell up the pecking order a bit, I''m sure he will make good if given chance and I envisage by the end of season a starting line up with both he and Leon in it.

[RJ 0]

I would rather keep Malky and get rid of the overrated Helveg !!! - At least Malky always gives you 100%...

[kennyfoggo 0]

Sad...I feel the guy had done what was asked of him during the summer coming back fitter and slimmer.. He looked good the other night for scotland...  Sad that he won''t get a game in the prem, where he worked hard to get to.

If I am right there is only Fleming left in the squad that hasn''t been bought by Nigel..excluding those who came thro the ranks..

Although sadden by the news..I wonder how many of us would have accepted Harewood in a deal taking malkay to London, as the rumours suggested.. would we be so downcast...

 

Good luck Malkay if you do go you are still a star and scored against the scum twice.....

[Kings Canary 0]

Can someone help me on this one - are we allowed any more loan deals until January, or have we got what we''ve got until then?

If we can loan players, I wouldn''t be surprised if we get someone in that way. If we can''t I am surprised - its a long time until January and it only takes a couple of injuries and you''re screwed, malky would be good to have around.

[Pieman 0]

Bit gutted, but that''s football. We all know there''s no room for sentiment at this level, but I do feel we are still a bit thin on the ground. I would have thought Worthy would keep Malky til Jan, then at least we can replace him. If we get an injury or suspension at the back now we could well struggle . . .

[Tumbleweed 106]

A poor decision by Nigel. The man''s been a rock over the past few seasons and I felt would be a great squad man. OK his chances may be limited but there are others in the squad in that position too. His understanding with Flem was phenomenal and I will never forget his two goals against Wolves in the play off semi final which brought pure unadulterated joy to the whole ground. Its a strange decision if Nige continues to play Doc up front as it leaves us really short (in height and in depth) at the back.

[FatMan Fat 0]

This is a BAD day for N.C.F.C.

Malky has proven himself to be a magnificent player for us, and is still our natural Captain.  He has proved at International level that he is still a class act.

This is simply acase of NW falling out with yet another player - I posted some time ago that Worthington had yet again fallen out with a player, this time being Malky - at a time when we cant afford that to happen.  Anyone want to take bets that Brennan will be next to be shown the door?

[Temp the Revelator 0]

Sorry FatMan, I don''t agree.  IMO, this is another case like Iwan - we cannot allow sentiment to stand in the way of the basic fact that Malky will not cut it at this level.  There were plenty of people last season questioning his place in the team, and plenty who thought Shackell should be picked ahead of him.  With the arrival of Charlton, Helveg & Doherty, and the continuing football education of Shacks, Malky''s chances of playing are slim to none at all anyway.  And before anyone tries to correct me, Helveg has played at centre half on numerous occasions for his country, and is clearly a level up from Malky.

I admit that the timing of this move is a little odd, but I was only remarking to a Scottish workmate the other day that it would be in Malky''s best interests to go out on loan somewhere.  It was even rumoured round these ''ere parts he might be appearing at Gresty Road.

Good luck to you Malky, I have enjoyed watching your committed performances for us.

[DumbleDelia is Magic 0]

Got to agree with Temp there.  There has been absolutely no truth in the rumours that Malky has had a bust up with Nige.  Thats all paper talk and stuff on here.  Although I will be sad to see Malky go, we as a football club have to be sensible about this.  When a player is hardly making the bench, is coming to the end of his career and another club makes an acceptable bid, it should be accepted.  It''s sad but that''s football

[bananaman 0]

Yup, I''m gutted. But I, like others, think the "he''s fallen out with NW" rumours are easy meat for us all to gobble up.The fact is that Malks is just NOT QUITE (but only just) as good as what we have with Flem, Charlton and Doherty. Then you add Shackell into the mix and it''s likely that Malky wouldn''t play much. An international defender at 32 years of age will want to get on the pitch and play as often as possible.I actually feel more sad than when Iwan went, because it was obvious that Iwan couldn''t cut it in Div 1, so there was no chance of him doing a job in the prem. And his contract was up. But this is out of the blue.Bye Malks, and thanks.

[Brum Uni Canary 0]

I could see it coming. At the end of last season, it was quite evident that he was struggling to keep up running back after being caught out. However, I do believe he is valuable as a solid tackler and as an aerial presence. I watched the Scotland v Spain game and have to say he was very good both defending and in the box at set pieces - he was close to getting a goal and stopped some fast breaks by spanish forwards. His lack of fitness/pace was clear to see in that game too as he spent most of the time playing in front of the other defenders.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

I agree that ''bust up'' talk is fanciful. The truth is more likely to be that Malky wants regular first team football. He is no young pup and knows he is not to going to get it here.

So my guess is that NW and the club are being honorable by supproting a faithful pro in a move away. As opposed to selfishly holding him back. To actually let him go may be the way we say thank you to the player we love!!