NEIL WARNOCK RECORD BREAKER OR MISERY MAKER?

Cardiff City boss, Neil Warnock: record breaker or misery maker?


Wednesday 6th Dec 2017


If you’re a follower of British football and over the age of ten it’s safe to say you’ve probably heard of Neil Warnock, the man is a colossus at the heart of British managers, particularly in the Championship. Why does he elicit such strong emotions on both sides of the debate? Let’s take a look.


“The Warnock Way”

Neil Warnock will be the first to tell you that there’s no such thing as the “Warnock Way” of playing, that he doesn’t set his teams up to stifle good football and all he’s interested in, is winning. Nevertheless, there seems to be a weekly barrage of critics saying he instructs his players to waste-time and consistently foul the opposition, but is this fair?

Having watched Warnock’s team very closely now for some 30+ games, it is clear to see that they have not been instructed the retain the ball and calmly look for an opening in the opposition. It’s also clear to see that so-called “wasted passes” from side to side in the defensive half of the pitch are not required so if you are a fan of the tiki-taka approach, then Warnock’s teams are possibly not for you. However, is this akin to Warnock adopting one-way football? Probably not.

Whilst it may be clear that ball retention and meticulous build-up play are not Warnock’s ideal, it is also clear that getting the ball into the opposition area as quickly as possible IS the intention. If that means pressing the opposition higher up the pitch into making mistakes or playing long balls to a central striker or even ensuring the ball is passed out wide to the wingers as quickly as possibly then so be it and boy is it producing results.


Winners aren’t always wanted

Whatever you make of Neil Warnock’s teams and style of play, one thing is certain, he gets results. He’s currently in the process of attempting to earn the 8th promotion of his long managerial career (which would be a record) and whilst you won’t hear him talk of the Premier League too often, it’s absolutely crystal clear to all watching that promotion is the goal, at all costs.

Having grown up in the nineties where Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson dominated the English game, it’s fair to say that not everyone likes a winner, particularly when they seem to win far more than they lose. Familiarity breeds contempt as they say, and Neil Warnock must be viewed as one of the most successful British managers of the last 25 years especially in the Championship.


The truth often hurts

Neil Warnock recently bemoaned the lack of interesting press conferences in modern football, that can’t be said of the man himself who seems to produce a tasty sound bite week after week, ensuring there’s never a dull moment in South Wales.

He recently admitted that he’s had to tone down his criticism of match officials as his wife and children have made him pay them the same amount he pays the FA each time (which must have cost him thousands over the years), however that doesn’t mean that you won’t hear the truth as he sees it before and after every Cardiff City game.

In an age where political non-comments seem to have seeped into modern football, Neil Warnock is a breath of fresh air.


In Summary

Neil Warnock seems to be a victim of his own success, opposition fans love to hate him and whoever he’s managing at that time think he’s the greatest thing since electronic season tickets. As a Cardiff City fan it would be fair to say that his integrity, passion and honesty have gone down a treat in an age where past managers have not enthralled supporters.

Long live Neil Warnock and long live his critics; it seems to spur him on!

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Personally I can't stand tiki-taka football. For it to be entertaining you need the best such as Barcelona, Spain, Brazil etc. to carry it out. Watching Championship sides do it (and Swansea for that matter) is like watching synthetic grass grow.

Fortunately our club has never been identified with that kind of football. That is why Warnock is a natural fit at CCFC. Get the ball forward quickly, fast tricky wingers, big lump up front, a hardworking tenacious midfield with a solid defence at the base.

That is Cardiff's playing identity and I love it.

Personally I can't stand tiki-taka football. For it to be entertaining you need the best such as Barcelona, Spain, Brazil etc. to carry it out. Watching Championship sides do it (and Swansea for that matter) is like watching synthetic grass grow.

Fortunately our club has never been identified with that kind of football. That is why Warnock is a natural fit at CCFC. Get the ball forward quickly, fast tricky wingers, big lump up front, a hardworking tenacious midfield with a solid defence at the base.

That is Cardiff's playing identity and I love it.

agree...all the complaints about our time wasting this year yet the year Swansea went up they effectively reduced every game to about 10 minutes ....pass number 21 tate to devries .how entertaining.

In NWs excellent The Gaffer book, he says football is a blame game. Striker blames the midfield, midfield blame defence, manager blames oppo players and ref etc. This 'amti-football' nonsense that NW attracts by some managers and fans is just that. Blame-game excuses for being quite often simply outplayed and outgunned by a well organised and motivated squad. And NWs direct style will deal with most tiki-taka teams who have ideas above their station. I also think that NWs career success means he attracts a bit of jealousy and jealous people try to pick holes in folks to make their insecure immature selves feel better.

To be fair on us chaps, over the years I don't think we've ever really moaned about another side's tactics when we lose, certainly not like the current crop of snowflakes do.

Personally I can't stand tiki-taka football. For it to be entertaining you need the best such as Barcelona, Spain, Brazil etc. to carry it out. Watching Championship sides do it (and Swansea for that matter) is like watching synthetic grass grow.

Fortunately our club has never been identified with that kind of football. That is why Warnock is a natural fit at CCFC. Get the ball forward quickly, fast tricky wingers, big lump up front, a hardworking tenacious midfield with a solid defence at the base.

That is Cardiff's playing identity and I love it.

Its strange as I hate watching teams like Reading, Middlesborough, Sheffield Wednesday, and Swansea play their tiki-taka football but I really enjoy watching teams like Fulham, Bristol City, Wolves, and Brentford play their football as unlike the former they move the ball with pace and their attacking movement is fluid with high pressure and high tempo, unlike teams like Reading and Swansea who just pass slowly back and for across their defence.

warnock is savvy. the reality is that many players at this level cannot play intricate passing football. if they do, it tends to be knocking it about the back and not what it is meant to be, which is keeping the ball high up the pitch.

for me the championship is about getting the ball forward quickly, defending aggressively, and keeping mistakes to a minimum. if that means row Z rather than playing it pointlessly around the back, so be it. plenty of pretentious cunts struggling at the bottom whine about our style of play, but we will finish above them.

First come across him as Scarborough boss in 87, we went for a midweek game, season the Wolves fan went through the roof.
Remember reading after that we should be banned from travelling away - can’t remember if anything happened, but we could play up a bit in those days.
Think he likes us now!