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The Stoat 11:17 Wed Jan 19
Hayden Mullins

Got the elbow from Colchester

https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town/mullins-sacked-by-colchester-8633448

the straw 1:37 Fri Jan 21
Re: Hayden Mullins

ornchurch ammer wrote...

Re: Hayden Mullins
I still maintain that Mascherano, good player that he was, didn’t have the legs to play in a midfield 4. Would have been great in a central 3

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Yep that's exactly how I saw it at the time as well. JM defo was not effective at CM in a 442. It was tricky because we all loved that 2005/6 team but to get the best out of the 2 Argentines we really needed to change our system to get the best out of them (and they were so obviously our best two players). Problem was we didn't own them. So to change everything just for those two was very risky. It was a an absolute mess.

El Coucho 1:16 Fri Jan 21
Re: Hayden Mullins

Chigwell makes a good point. I suspect Gerrard would have stood more chance of being closed down before that goal if Mullins was playing.

ornchurch ammer 10:46 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

I still maintain that Mascherano, good player that he was, didn’t have the legs to play in a midfield 4. Would have been great in a central 3 but we didn’t play that way then.

He ended up playing at the back for Barca where he didn’t have to do so much running.

Long time ago now so it doesn’t really matter but Mullins never let us down.

Barty 10:24 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

Never had "the footballing brain", an old fashioned battling defenive midifled destroyer who got picked ahead of Javier Mascherano lol

Dr Matt 10:06 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

At least Mullins knew that being a defensive midfielder meant protecting your back 4 and being disciplined.

Not running 40 yards upfield to get some personal glory…

Nagel 7:55 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

Syd Puddefoot 7:26 Thu Jan 20

Yep. Exactly. Curbs looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights most of that season. Didn't have a clue what to do. It was the last minute 4-3 loss to Spurs that seemed to galvanise the players, immediately before 'that' run. I don't think Curbs had much to do with it.

Huffers 7:31 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

He was good at conceding 6 to Reading.

Syd Puddefoot 7:26 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

southbankbornnbred 12:02 Thu Jan 20

“Then along came Curbs, of all folk, to turn it around. Hardly the most happy-go-lucky of coaches, but certainly knew how to shore-up the team and get them focused again. Then we went on 'that' run and the rest is history”

As I recall it we won the first game with him in charge and it then took him 3 months for the second, which was courtesy of that non-goal goal at Blackburn.

Shore up the team and get them focused? don’t make me laugh, bloke was useless.

SurfaceAgentX2Zero 6:42 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

Although, obviously, there was some bemusement that journeyman Mullins was keeping superstar Masherano out of the team, I don't remember much, if any, antipathy towards him as a player. Probably because he was an honest, hard-working pro. West Ham fans will rarely turn on those. I'd shake his hand.

Chigwell 6:36 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

I was sorry for Mullins when he had to miss the 2006 Cup Final because Howard Webb had sent him off for a minor indiscretion. He was a solid honest player with good discipline.

southbankbornnbred 12:04 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

Back to Mullins, though: he's a highly regarded coach and should have no problem finding a good role as a #2 to a decent manager. Maybe needs another season or so as a deputy at the highest level. But he has the right mindset and skills to be a good manager for a time to come.

southbankbornnbred 12:02 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

Boleyn - it wasn't like we had a massive drop-off in form when Mascherano arrived, though: we'd only won one game out of the three we'd played.

We were just utterly shit at the start of that season - with Mullins in the side, with Mascherano in the side etc etc. As we all know, things had been happening behind the scenes with Pards and the atmosphere was bleak. The dressing room was dysfunctional - some of the players were gambling their careers away.

Sat in the middle of it all were these two Argentine superstars who barely spoke a word of English and didn't have a clue what was going on most days. And, of course, they weren't even owned by the club.

Then along came Curbs, of all folk, to turn it around. Hardly the most happy-go-lucky of coaches, but certainly knew how to shore-up the team and get them focused again. Then we went on 'that' run and the rest is history.

TheBoleynBoy 11:47 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

He obviously wasn’t a better player than Mascherano but at the time he was in form and Mascherano wasn’t.

Mascherano played 7 games for us, we lost all 7 and we didn’t score in them 7 games.

Mullins came back in and simply kept him out the team with his work rate and even added a few important goals for us at the time.

Mascherano instead of trying to regain his place, got the hump, threw his toys out the pram and wanted to move on in January..which is what opened a whole can of worms for us.

Russ of the BML 11:45 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

I always felt a bit sorry for Mullins because he played and did pretty well. But everyone in the ground knew Mascherano was a special talent, even back then, and clearly should've been playing.

Mullins was used by Pardew in a power struggle with the board and when Mullins was having a stinker he kept him on when the crowd were screaming for Mascherano. That was totally unfair on Mullins.

Mr Kenzo 10:56 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

Better player than Mascherano apparently

Sven Roeder 10:20 Thu Jan 20
Re: Hayden Mullins

Should go back to his previous full time job as Watford Caretaker Manager In Waiting

twoleftfeet 11:23 Wed Jan 19
Re: Hayden Mullins

Could still do a job DM, Moyes will be all over this.