John Ward - Radio Cumbria Interview

Last updated : 26 July 2008 By Thetashkentterror

John Ward
United boss John Ward spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria on Friday evening as he talked about the new team strips that were unveiled at Brunton Park today, Ward also chatting about the transfer in of Michael Bridges and the transfer out of Joe Garner within the last 24 hours :


" It's the first time that I have actually seen the strips in full, but I am pretty impressed with them and very pleased with them. The feedback from the supporters that have been here tonight has been the same, they do like what they are looking at. So hopefully they will bring us a bit of luck as well.

" You have probably had more of the deckchair strip than I have, we were talking about it earlier and saying that if people have got that framed then I wonder what colour their lounges are that they have got it hanging in. You need to have some colour co-ordination for that, but I think that it has been reasonably popular in terms of it being totally different.

" We have gone a bit more conventional though, the black one certainly is slightly unusual in the colour of it because obviously it clashes with referees. We've actually, what you probably don't know, we've actually got to carry around four lime green shirts for referees and fourth officials if they are not prepared to have them when we get to the game. So we have got to have them in our kit bag, so that won't clash with them, but the white one is certainly a bright one, I don't know how it will wash up but it is a nice one, it's OK.

" I've been asked by a number of radio reporters quite considerable times about if we are getting any business done, and we have been working hard to do that. Seriously, it has taken me quite a number of weeks to get something sorted and get together with Hull City and talk to them. Then finally last week I was given permission to talk to Michael and found out that he was very keen to come. That was a big bonus for us, I think he had a couple of other offers as well in the pipeline but all the time was saying that he wanted to come to Carlisle. "



" I managed to get talking to Phil Brown, he had a game the same as us on Tuesday. I managed to speak to him on Wednesday, although he was at the League Managers Association golf day, and we finally got everything agreed with the football club at Hull City. They have been very good by the way, but we finally got everything agreed to get ourselves this year long loan deal. We'll see where it leads to after that but I'm really pleased we have got a player of Michael's calibre at the club.

" Everybody that I have spoken to, not just at Carlisle, tells me what a good lad Michael is. My immediate impression is that I have got a really top person, I have got a good player but I haven't got an ego, and I think that is important at our club. At Carlisle United you can't have an ego, you've got to work hard and get on with it. I understand that there possibly isn't a recall clause in the deal, there isn't, the club has made the deal, but I understand that there isn't a clause in there that says he can be recalled. That's how I understand it.

" I don't want anything big-time in this football club and Michael will add to that dressing-room as well as on the pitch as well. He's a good guy, and I think that as well as people know he has got this ability to play good football, I think that he has got the ability to help other people in this squad. If you are not going to listen to someone like Michael when you are Gary Madine's age, he is not 18 yet by the way, then you are not going to get anywhere. I think that Gary will learn, but I think that he will be good for other people.

" You forget that Danny Graham is not an old player you know, he is in his second year of league football and he has got some goals last year. We have got other good players that are going to learn, that told me that last time when he came he had an influence on players that are now developing into their own right. So Michael, I don't want to build him up too high with everything and expect too much off him, but it's good to have a guy like that in our football club.

" I think that the club made the decision to go public with the £1.14 million release clause, whether people think it is right or wrong to divulge it. What we have done is let everybody know the strange things if you like that go on in transfer deals and contracts. Without breaking anything personal, we let people know what the position was. Nottingham Forest have finally come up with that, it has been going on for a long, long time as everybody knows. They finally came up and met the criteria of that deal, and the club have decided to make the sale. "



" It's difficult to stop a guy who has got a four-year deal at a Championship club, and we can't offer him that situation here obviously in the Championship, it's difficult to keep him. I spoke to Joe last week when we were in Scotland and he indicated to me that he wanted to go and get this move done. That's fine, I respected that the way that he told me, I have had a terrific text off him tonight thanking myself and Carlisle United for the way that we have gone about everything.

" So we've seen a young man develop here and he is going to further his career a bit higher up, and I don't think that we can deny him that. There is a sell-on clause for us that has gone into the deal if Nottingham Forest were to sell him on, and that is something that we insisted upon and the club have done that, and quite rightly so.

" Again though, you are talking about the money and saying that that is a lot for Blackburn but you have to remember that he was there from 12-years old and he has developed as a young player there. We gave him the chance as a league player and he has taken that chance and been able to move on. Anybody that has got a chance to move on in life, it's difficult to stop them, and we have tried very hard. I think that because of the fact that it has gone on so long, hopefully that let's our supporters know that we have not wanted Joe to go easily.

" I've said all along that I would like to see Joe in a Carlisle shirt yet again, but we would have to wait until November or December for that to happen and unfortunately it won't. He goes though with real good wishes from myself and everyone at the club, I know that the players will wish him well and we'll follow his career very closely. I hope that he gets fit, well and plays football very well.

" To say that we still need another striker, you are probably knocking away Scott Dobie who has got three goals in pre-season. Danny Graham got 17 I think at the end for the end of last season, and went a long time without getting a goal, so hopefully there are better things in there. Michael adds to that group of players, so I am looking for other players, I want to add another face or two if I can. "



" The club have been very supportive of me getting Michael in, I think that is important to say, and they are very supportive of me trying to increase the squad yet again. Whether it be another striker or not though remains to be seen, we were looking at that because we knew that Joe wouldn't be back until around December. Now though if we stay free of injuries in that department then that is not the case, so it may not be a striker.

" We are going to keep him (Tyrone Cameron) again, I have spoken to Tyrone today, we have asked him to stay. He had a train ticket to go back to London tonight, he has thrown that in the bin, he spoke to his family and they told him to stay where he is and get your football on. So I'm really pleased with that, the fans will see him tomorrow as well.

" I'll probably start with young Tyrone in the side and give him at least the first-half of that and see how he copes at that level. We are going to throw him in at the deep end as we did on Tuesday and keep him through next week. Myself and my coaching staff think that we have got an interesting young player there.

" We haven't had easy pre-season matches yet, Partick Thistle was a tough old game. Certainly Chester I think, they look a good side, a good bet in League Two to be in that top part. So Preston and Middlesbrough both add to the interest because they are both from higher levels. They will be massive tests for us and we need to do well with the ball, we've worked over pre-season at passing and keeping the ball, we'll see if we can do that against this better opposition.

" He (Chris Lumsdon) is struggling a bit, he came back into training today and couldn't finish it, so we took him out. It was my decision to take him out of it because has got to get himself right and ready. He is very upset and disappointed because he is missing out on a very important part of pre-season, so we are going to have just look very carefully at Chris. We were hoping he would be cleared up by today but that has not happened. "