Higgy undr the cosh

What cracked me up was the comment that Karanka's meetings were so long that they had to break them up and do two meetings, even then they were getting on for "...20 minutes long." Queue the old pro's sucking their teeth & shaking their heads.

I wish all the business in meetings I attend could be dealt with in 40 minutes.

Compare that with a regular week in the NFL, it seems like endless meetings & 'film study':
 
Enjoyed that. The story about Juninho and Rav arguing and Rav's translater and Emerson having to translate what they were saying to Higgy is brilliant.

Regarding Karanka, I'm undecided on whether it was a case of Karanka's paranoia getting the better of him, or whether Higgy did overstep the line that day and was being too pally with Blackburn's staff.

It gives you just another insight anyway into what an intense character Karanka is, and how passionate he was.
 
Must admit I didn't realise Chris Brown played in the Gestede match (don't even remember him at Blackburn), or that he was the offender in question!

Was going to say I thought he retired years ago, that match was 8 years ago! 😧
 
I was confused about Rav's ability to speak or not speak English in the early days.

Also I had not appreciated what a total bellend the bloke was. Keying a club provided Range Rover having abandoned it at the airport. Or refusing to pay the milkman £4.50.

I suppose since Higgy was not actually there to witness these acts, they might just be made up stories that someone shared with him.

My recollection of the Blackburn incident was different to Higgy's, but AK was a total blender.

Overall and entertaining listen from Higgy.
 
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I suppose since Higgy was not actually there to witness these acts, they might just be made up stories that someone shared with him.

I think with these things there's a lot of "poetic licence" to create stories that can be told over and over and provide the speaker with a stream of gigs like this. There's probably a kernel of truth in there somewhere, but the stories will definitely "grow legs" over the years.
 
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Firstly, I am a huge fan of Higgy who IMHO is one of the most underrated and underappreciated players by others teams and their supporters. He was a class act for us and IMHO could have played for one of the big clubs and not looked too out of place. Secondly, I am also a huge fan of Karanka and his spell as manager has largely been the only positive times punctuating the depressingly negartive times we've had since relegation under Southgate.

I accept and understand that Karanka was intense and could be difficult at times - I don't necessarily see that as a negative the way some do however, the guy was absolutely committed to us and to our success even at the cost of his own personal stress and pressure that he put himself under. However, as much as a fan I am of Higgy I thought Karanka was correct to berate Higgy after the Blackburn incident. Dropping points should hurt and players and staff alike should feel it. Higgy was laughing on and joking on with the Blackburn bench adter Karanka had been sent off and to me, to publicly act in such a way undermined AK.

I have a lot of time for them both to this day, but IMHO it was Higgy in the wrong that day.
 
Firstly, I am a huge fan of Higgy who IMHO is one of the most underrated and underappreciated players by others teams and their supporters. He was a class act for us and IMHO could have played for one of the big clubs and not looked too out of place. Secondly, I am also a huge fan of Karanka and his spell as manager has largely been the only positive times punctuating the depressingly negartive times we've had since relegation under Southgate.

I accept and understand that Karanka was intense and could be difficult at times - I don't necessarily see that as a negative the way some do however, the guy was absolutely committed to us and to our success even at the cost of his own personal stress and pressure that he put himself under. However, as much as a fan I am of Higgy I thought Karanka was correct to berate Higgy after the Blackburn incident. Dropping points should hurt and players and staff alike should feel it. Higgy was laughing on and joking on with the Blackburn bench adter Karanka had been sent off and to me, to publicly act in such a way undermined AK.

I have a lot of time for them both to this day, but IMHO it was Higgy in the wrong that day.
Yeah totally agree.

Really good player and very likeable guy but I went off him a bit after he went to war with Aitor following that Blackburn thing. Higgy didn’t let it lie and became a bit of a rent-a-quote about it. No need, I bet those things happen every day.

I’m sure Karanka dried his tears with his Champions League medals after Higgy got fired by Hartlepool though.
 
Most of the stories people tell about Rav’s behaviour - the milk bill, taking the light fittings, etc - are probably absolutely b*llocks made up by people who took against him. I listened to the Golazzo podcast episode on Ravanelli again at the weekend and to be honest he doesn’t really seem to be someone who’d do that. He’d shout and scrap in the dressing room maybe but that’s a different matter.

But, then, the chances of Jon Parkin ever getting close enough to ask him about these things are incredibly small so the myth-making rolls on unchallenged.
 
Truth may well lie somewhere in the middle, lot of people have indicated karanka was difficult to work with, and from way hignett tells that story himself there karanka stepped forward and hignett step forward to punch him but was restrained. Sounds like their relationship was irreparable from there (regardless of who's fault it was) and imagine both have their own side to it
Karanka was so difficult even to the point of not allowing the school penalty shoot outs.
 
Most of the stories people tell about Rav’s behaviour - the milk bill, taking the light fittings, etc - are probably absolutely b*llocks made up by people who took against him. I listened to the Golazzo podcast episode on Ravanelli again at the weekend and to be honest he doesn’t really seem to be someone who’d do that. He’d shout and scrap in the dressing room maybe but that’s a different matter.

But, then, the chances of Jon Parkin ever getting close enough to ask him about these things are incredibly small so the myth-making rolls on unchallenged.
A lot of the stuff he was annoyed about was probably fair when you think of the culture and facilities as well compared to what he was used to, must have been like joining a pub team
 
Most of the stories people tell about Rav’s behaviour - the milk bill, taking the light fittings, etc - are probably absolutely b*llocks made up by people who took against him. I listened to the Golazzo podcast episode on Ravanelli again at the weekend and to be honest he doesn’t really seem to be someone who’d do that. He’d shout and scrap in the dressing room maybe but that’s a different matter.

But, then, the chances of Jon Parkin ever getting close enough to ask him about these things are incredibly small so the myth-making rolls on unchallenged.
In some areas of France people strip the house of everything before passing it on then there is a complete new start for the next person. Leaving your old stuff, even down to fixtures and fittings is an insult.
 
Higgy should have sent the medical team on and subbed off Dimi.. instead of laughing about Karanka’s kick off with the Blackburn bench.

I get it, he’s a nice guy and he’s honest and genuine. But it that moment he needed to play the game. I’m guessing that things had not been quite right before that similar to how Downing viewed Karanka.

Higgy and Coops seemed to be the golden ticket at Hartlepool and it’s a shame that didn’t reach a full conclusion. How the fook Robbie Keane landed the assistants job over Hignett under Woodgate I do not know. Sounds like he’s after an U23s job.

VERY FUNNY the stories about Ravanelli lolllol
Higgy told me the story the week after he left the club. Surely he would hardly make it up if people had seen him laughing and joking with the opposition bench.
 
In some areas of France people strip the house of everything before passing it on then there is a complete new start for the next person. Leaving your old stuff, even down to fixtures and fittings is an insult.
I bow to your knowledge, I had no idea about that. Maybe Rav did take everything then. But he did it with a good heart and for the right reasons.
 
I bow to your knowledge, I had no idea about that. Maybe Rav did take everything then. But he did it with a good heart and for the right reasons.
I really have no idea though it could easily be an urban myth.
One thing that is not a myth, Fischer and me dropped into the Kings Arms , Hutton Rudby one Sunday afternoon and were astonished to see Ravanelli, Gordon McQueen and Rav's cousin playing darts.
We had become friend's with Ravanelli's cousin Silvio. And Gordon was always top company. If Rav wanted to play darts then they would have to take him down to Gordon's local.
 
Higgy told me the story the week after he left the club. Surely he would hardly make it up if people had seen him laughing and joking with the opposition bench.
I was right there, I love Higgy but remember being a bit pished off myself. It's one of them.. he was trying to calm Karanka down and de escalate the situation. Clearly had mates on the Blackburn bench and was trying to laugh it off. It's in a similar vein to being pals with Ravanelli when he fcuked the team off and giving it straight to his mate at Aberdeen even though his transfer depended on it.

If I was Hignett I would have found it hard to apologise to Karanka.. but then I would have kicked off at the Blackburn game and had the medical team take Dimi off on a stretcher rather than joking with the Blackburn bench at the expense of Karanka.
 
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