davieG Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 Last updated 12:26, Tuesday, 13 January 2009 Graham Kavanagh today revealed he snubbed interest from League One leaders Leicester and two Championship clubs in order to become Carlisle United's new player-coach. Graham Kavanagh The 35-year-old claimed his loyalty to the Cumbrians, and the chance to get a foot on the coaching ladder, had convinced him to make a permanent move to Brunton Park. "To get this opportunity, and still be able to play, was the key," said the former Eire international. "A couple of clubs in the Championship were interested, and a couple in League One including Leicester. But I felt loyal to Carlisle. They took a chance on me when they did, and it was a chance to get on the coaching ladder." Kavanagh signed an 18-month deal with United last Friday after a successful loan spell from Sunderland, and is now assisting boss Greg Abbott and number two Dennis Booth on the training ground. But he is adamant his own playing days are far from over. The former Wigan and Cardiff ace added: "Yes, I have comedown two levels, but I wasn't playing at Sunderland and when you are not part of it, it's really difficult. "Now I'm back involved, the excitement is there before and after the game. Your life is so affected by the results, but that is the buzz you live for. To feel wanted again at Carlisle made it an easy decision." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STUHILL Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 When I saw he had been released from Sunderland, I did think he could be a possible if we lost Davies, but he would only ever be a short-term solution for me as his best years are defineltly behind him and we will hopefully not be a league 1 club for long and I would doubt his usefulness in a championship side. A good signing for Carlisle tho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Monty Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 Solid midfielder but i only think he would be a squad player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 When I saw he had been released from Sunderland, I did think he could be a possible if we lost Davies, but he would only ever be a short-term solution for me as his best years are defineltly behind him and we will hopefully not be a league 1 club for long and I would doubt his usefulness in a championship side. A good signing for Carlisle tho! I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdb Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 clever player, and i think he'll turn out to be a successful coach/manager one day. i'm not sure in what role we wanted him, but as a player only i don't think we'd have needed him. would;ve been good to have around though i'd imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillehamring Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 i get the feeling he's refering to when we were interested a season or two back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 13 January 2009 Author Share Posted 13 January 2009 i get the feeling he's refering to when we were interested a season or two back Well he only signed for them last Friday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandannieldanok Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 Lucky escape, very few of this type of signing pay off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg_fried_rice Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 My old man would have chubbed in his pants if we had signed him. For the past 4/5 seasons he's been moaning that we need a 'Lennon-esque defensive midfielder' (despite the fact that good versions of those type of players are thin on the ground) - and he always wanted Kavanagh. I think Kingy is doing a great job as the holding midfielder so far this term, and Kavs is probably a season or so past it now. Squad player at best I think, looks like a good move for him and Carlisle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thracian Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 My old man would have chubbed in his pants if we had signed him. For the past 4/5 seasons he's been moaning that we need a 'Lennon-esque defensive midfielder' (despite the fact that good versions of those type of players are thin on the ground) - and he always wanted Kavanagh. I think Kingy is doing a great job as the holding midfielder so far this term, and Kavs is probably a season or so past it now. Squad player at best I think, looks like a good move for him and Carlisle. So far? Kingy, halfway through his first full season, has already passed Lennon's six goals in his entire four-year, 170-game City career and I don't see us leaking goals at the same time either. As for Kavanagh he's got four goals and one assist for Carlisle this season compared to Kingy's nine goals and three assists. And have we suffered defensively with the quietly efficient and much-understated King? Not a bit. Carlisle have conceded 36 goals with defensive hardcase Kavanagh while City have conceded 19, nearly half as many. I think King's becoming more appreciated now but at the beginning of the season when the subject came up it is quite frightening to that, given the choice, some folk wouldn't have given Kingy a look-in had they had the option of Kavanagh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillehamring Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 Well he only signed for them last Friday and when he said that he turned us down he was refering (perhaps) to when we were intereated in him a couple of seasons ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daggers Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 Kavanagh? He's no Levi Porter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thracian Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 Kavanagh? He's no Levi Porter. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Population-1 Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 Fully agree with Thrac's views on King - although the comparison with Lennon is unfair. Under MON Lennon was rarely allowed to venture into the box at set plays and a fair number of Kingy's goals this season have resulted in this way. Kingy promises to be an outstanding midfielder for this football club but is yet to surpass Lennon on this score. Without Lenny's disciplined midfield work we would not have been anywhere near the success we were in the late 90's. In fact, although there were many other factors in play, the loss of Lennon in 2000/01 no doubt instigated the demise of our side during that period. He was that important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend_in_blue Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 Fully agree with Thrac's views on King - although the comparison with Lennon is unfair. Under MON Lennon was rarely allowed to venture into the box at set plays and a fair number of Kingy's goals this season have resulted in this way.Kingy promises to be an outstanding midfielder for this football club but is yet to surpass Lennon on this score. Without Lenny's disciplined midfield work we would not have been anywhere near the success we were in the late 90's. In fact, although there were many other factors in play, the loss of Lennon in 2000/01 no doubt instigated the demise of our side during that period. He was that important. Completely agree with the views on King and Lennon here. You can't compare Lennon and King, they are different kinds of players, playing different roles in the team. For me, King is becoming more of an Izzet - if you're going to make comparisons. Plays the ball around well, gets forward and has an eye for goal. If King can improve even more, possibly in a more physical sense, I can see him being a great player. Then he'll probably leave though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB11 Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 Well he only signed for them last Friday And we weren't "League One leaders" a few seasons back either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartanowl Posted 13 January 2009 Share Posted 13 January 2009 Graham Kavanagh was a real disappointment for us. I thought he would be an experienced calming influence on he team and he was a real letdown. We had him on loan for 2 spells and he was slow, constantly looked off the pace, and his shooting and set pieces were poor. You haven't missed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carterfox90 Posted 14 January 2009 Share Posted 14 January 2009 he was a good player 5 years ago but a lucky escape for us thank god Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPH Posted 14 January 2009 Share Posted 14 January 2009 So far?Kingy, halfway through his first full season, has already passed Lennon's six goals in his entire four-year, 170-game City career and I don't see us leaking goals at the same time either. As for Kavanagh he's got four goals and one assist for Carlisle this season compared to Kingy's nine goals and three assists. And have we suffered defensively with the quietly efficient and much-understated King? Not a bit. Carlisle have conceded 36 goals with defensive hardcase Kavanagh while City have conceded 19, nearly half as many. I think King's becoming more appreciated now but at the beginning of the season when the subject came up it is quite frightening to that, given the choice, some folk wouldn't have given Kingy a look-in had they had the option of Kavanagh. please tell me you didnt just compare King to Lennon? half way through his first full season in the first division . NOT the prem. There is a long long way for him to go yet and as brilliant as he is doing in the first division, he'll get less space next season presuming we get promoted and even less in the prem should he still be here when that ( hopefully) happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoneDog Posted 14 January 2009 Share Posted 14 January 2009 I used to rate him alot but his best years are way behind him so it would have been a waste of time signing him now. We would of got 6 months from him max. No need cos we are gonna piss this league anyway, we don't need anyone else especially another 35 year old (quality under 30's welcome though). It's time to build a squad for the future. One of the reasons I want the long cup run is because we can handle anything this league has to offer with the squad we have and a cup run would not hinder us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thracian Posted 14 January 2009 Share Posted 14 January 2009 please tell me you didnt just compare King to Lennon? half way through his first full season in the first division . NOT the prem. There is a long long way for him to go yet and as brilliant as he is doing in the first division, he'll get less space next season presuming we get promoted and even less in the prem should he still be here when that ( hopefully) happens. Lennon didn't start life in the top flight and King's rate of goalscoring has still been far superior. I wouldn't dream of comparing the two. Lennon did a specialist job within a team of specialists. But he's nothing like King and had nothing like his range of capabilities. He was quite imply a very effective defensive and holding midfielder. King is equally happy attacking or defending. He is far more influential in the air and has shooting ability from a wide range of distances. Where they are similar is in their fulcrum role breaking up attacks and launching counter attacks quickly and simply. None of us can do more than judge King on his efforts so far but Lennon was never quick and King will be no more likely to be caught in possession further up the ladder than he is now because he so often re-distributes the ball within one or two touches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillehamring Posted 14 January 2009 Share Posted 14 January 2009 i like lemmons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOCCERROO FOX Posted 14 January 2009 Share Posted 14 January 2009 We haven't had much luck, Powell aside, with players coming here for one last pay cheque in there mid 30's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daggers Posted 14 January 2009 Share Posted 14 January 2009 i like lemmons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Flair Posted 14 January 2009 Share Posted 14 January 2009 So far?Kingy, halfway through his first full season, has already passed Lennon's six goals in his entire four-year, 170-game City career and I don't see us leaking goals at the same time either. As for Kavanagh he's got four goals and one assist for Carlisle this season compared to Kingy's nine goals and three assists. And have we suffered defensively with the quietly efficient and much-understated King? Not a bit. Carlisle have conceded 36 goals with defensive hardcase Kavanagh while City have conceded 19, nearly half as many. I think King's becoming more appreciated now but at the beginning of the season when the subject came up it is quite frightening to that, given the choice, some folk wouldn't have given Kingy a look-in had they had the option of Kavanagh. The way King goes about his business, it's often easy to not give him the credit he deserves. Thankfully, as you say, he is finally being appreciated for what he does and anyway the manager has always known what qualities King brings to the team. 9 goals as well this season is absolutely superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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