And then Waghorn was gone too.
Credit to Sevco, they’ve found a way to get rid of more of their dross than I would ever have believed even if this is another player sold at a loss. Ignore talk of a £1 million fee. The English transfer market is insane, but it’s not yet run by gibbering loons.
The clear-out at Auchinehowie is almost complete.
Caixinha has gone further than I thought he would in routing the dissident factions, and so his dressing room will be a little more harmonious than if he let these guys stay … but there’s a major downside to what he’s doing here and it’s pretty obvious when you look at it.
He’s betting everything on his Latin footballers. And when I say everything, that’s exactly what I mean. Their club is putting its future in their hands. If he’s got this wrong – and yesterday they were less than brilliant; they were saved by another ridiculous refereeing decision – there will be a reckoning to end them all.
None of these players was exactly sought after. Mexico has been just about raided by foreign clubs and yet Pena and Herrera weren’t wanted by anyone. No-one had ever heard of their Portuguese players, all but Alves. The “future Colombian international” was playing in Finland. He stands the best chance of being a success; he’ll cope with the weather anyway, although whether he can handle the physical nature of the Scottish game is another thing.
All these guys are used to playing on surfaces where they and the ball can roll.
Wait for the first weekend of rain. Wait for the first freezing midweek night match. The risks inherent in what they’re trying to do here barely need pointing out. And this presupposes that any of these guys is a good footballer in the first place, which remains to be seen.
None was a show-stopper yesterday, that’s for sure.
Herrera had one header; that aside he was wholly anonymous. It’s no coincidence that their best two players on the day were those who’ve played their whole careers in the UK. And so too have most of the guys they’ve gotten rid of, including McKay, Garner and O’Halloran, who all scored on their debuts for their new clubs. I expect Waghorn to become a better player on his return to England, and there would be a certain delicious irony if all of them went on to a storming season.
Caixinha had to act; none of these guys rated him as a manager.
He’s cut down the support network around Miller and the Scottish contingent and they should be very afraid of what he might do next. He’s now in command of a dressing room which he largely put in place himself and in some ways that’s good and in some ways not. If he succeeds (haha, stop laughing, I can hear it) he’ll be labelled a miracle worker, and he’ll be entitled to the credit. But if he fails then this is on him, and there’ll be no saving him from his fate. And it’s certain.
For the record, here’s my prediction.
If he survives until Christmas it’ll be because there’s no money to sack him.
There’s no chance whatsoever of this ending in anything but disaster.