AREAS TO ADDRESS BEFORE PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON STARTS

4 ISSUES THAT REALLY NEED SORTING AT CARDIFF CITY IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS
By Ben Barkworth


Neil Warnock has multiple areas to address ahead of the new season.

The Bluebirds achieved an unlikely automatic promotion as Warnock worked his magic once again with another club.

Cardiff have a tough task ahead of them because they have to replicate their success in the Premier League.

There is hope, though, because all three promoted clubs avoided the drop in the Premier League last season through smart investment as well having talented managers who got the absolute maximum out of their teams.

Here are four issues that need to be solved in the coming weeks…


Replace Aron Gunnarsson
Gunnarsson’s contract with Cardiff is due to end in June and he appears unwilling to extend his stay even though the club have offered him a new one. Therefore, they need to bring in a midfield replacement for him as quickly as possible.

Ideally they need someone who has proven quality at this level, but a squad player could also be useful because Warnock used the depth of the squad to his advantage last season by making the team better than the sum of its individual parts.


Replace Junior Hoilett
Hoilett is another player who looks likely to leave as a free agent due to not signing a new contract with little change in that regard even though they achieved promotion. He will be harder to replace than Gunnarsson because he had a bigger role and was significant in the final third with nine goals and 11 assists.

To replace him they need to acquire someone who can provide instant results at this level with Jay Rodriguez, Luciano Narsingh or Adama Traore being examples of the kind of players they should be looking at. The relegated clubs and the top Championship sides are the best places to look unless they have an extensive scouting network in one of the other top European leagues.


Another striker
Gary Madine joined from Bolton in January, but he is yet to score in 13 league appearances. Cardiff also have Kenneth Zohore who scored nine league goals, but neither are prolific. They did require a collective effort in front of goal last season with set pieces being a key area.

A clinical striker would be an important improvement to this squad in order to ensure they have a significant threat in the attacking phase as well as a dangerous counter-attack. Warnock is able to create a defensively solid team due to his impressive organisational skills, so this would be the extra element which could be crucial in bringing in additional points.


Transfer strategy
There are specific areas that need to be improved as mentioned above, but they also need a clear transfer strategy. Targeted signings have to be a priority rather than a broad sweep of what is available. Brighton and Huddersfield are excellent examples of clubs that found specific targets that would be ideal fits for their system.

This approach allowed them to maximise the financial resources at their disposal and made up for the gap with more established teams. They were rewarded with Premier League survival. Warnock needs to be properly backed in the transfer market if they are to achieve their pre-season aims.

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Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

has to be about money / length of contract..
yes he was without a club but Warnocks take on that was that he had asked him to hold off signing for anyone as he {Warnock } was sure he would get a club and would love to sign him..same with Sol..dont think it was a case of there being nobody out there remotely interested.

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

has to be about money / length of contract..
yes he was without a club but Warnocks take on that was that he had asked him to hold off signing for anyone as he {Warnock } was sure he would get a club and would love to sign him..same with Sol..dont think it was a case of there being nobody out there remotely interested.

Agreed, got to be about the cash, I don't believe Warnock on that one though the holding off bit, Bamba maybe as it was only a month but Hoilett was without a Club for nearly 5 months after 'failing to agree a new contract with QPR'. If he did wait for Warnock to get a new Club (which could have been anywhere in the country) that is some loyalty which would make his failure to sign even more peculiar to me

I really cannot see Hoilet not signing according to wol they have days to accept, seems to me that means that Warnock has two players in mind that if Hoilet and Gunners don't sign he wants to sign the new players quickly

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

has to be about money / length of contract..
yes he was without a club but Warnocks take on that was that he had asked him to hold off signing for anyone as he {Warnock } was sure he would get a club and would love to sign him..same with Sol..dont think it was a case of there being nobody out there remotely interested.

Agreed, got to be about the cash, I don't believe Warnock on that one though the holding off bit, Bamba maybe as it was only a month but Hoilett was without a Club for nearly 5 months after 'failing to agree a new contract with QPR'. If he did wait for Warnock to get a new Club (which could have been anywhere in the country) that is some loyalty which would make his failure to sign even more peculiar to me

we just dont know whats been offered...or maybe promised.or infact what the boy is being advised..
every year its if they dont sign the 1st piece of paper put in front of them...f**k em.{ im aware you havent said that }
lets be honest if it were you or i seeing some of the dross in the prem earning double or treble what you get youd probaly be tempted to negotiate a bit harder on the back of promotion..

Cant imagine the season without Hoilett in the prem..thought he would be one of our key player's again,would take some replacing!

A lot of this not signing is down to these so called agents telling players to hold out etc drives me mad, holliet as an example cardiff played him nearly every game offered him a new contract in prem starting 11 every time and is still dithering surely as a group what they achieved in the season just gone you would think they all want to stick together and stay together like a band of brothers but these f.....g agents get in the way

Cant imagine the season without Hoilett in the prem..thought he would be one of our key player's again,would take some replacing!

Hoilett must be flirting with some London Club. A big shame this and will cause more uneccessary investment

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

I'm with you on this. It is baffling!

Obviously there will be a reason but I doubt it'll be the money. Possible the length of contract and/or maybe even home-sickness or family reasons?

Either way, it'll come out in the wash but my feeling is he will stay!

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

I'm with you on this. It is baffling!

Obviously there will be a reason but I doubt it'll be the money. Possible the length of contract and/or maybe even home-sickness or family reasons?

Either way, it'll come out in the wash but my feeling is he will stay!

Same here. 9 goals and 11 assists is hell of a return. Maybe he thinks he can do better.

He dragged his feet last season too and remember he would only sign a one year contract, which at the time I thought said alot about his commitment here. Gladly that didn't transcend onto the pitch.

Cant imagine the season without Hoilett in the prem..thought he would be one of our key player's again,would take some replacing!

Hoilett must be flirting with some London Club. A big shame this and will cause more uneccessary investment

Why’d you think a London club?

Possible his agent has other offers on the table, maybe even from teams whose divisional status next season is yet undecided.

Same with gunnnerson for me really, if he signs then you know there’s no issue with commitment on the pitch, it’s still a bit worrying though

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

I'm with you on this. It is baffling!

Obviously there will be a reason but I doubt it'll be the money. Possible the length of contract and/or maybe even home-sickness or family reasons?

Either way, it'll come out in the wash but my feeling is he will stay!

I don't think its baffling at all. I'm not sure what Junior Hoilett is worth in the current market, 4 - 5 million maybe. As I say I don't know but what ever it is his agents will want a very large % of that as a signing on fee. Its as simple as that but he's only worth it if there's someone else willing to pay it.

Huge credit to Warnock though. We're about to receive wealth like we've never received before but he' wont be railroaded into a deal he thinks is'nt good for the club.

If Hoilett is here next season in cost terms it will be like a new signing. On the plus side we would have paid hardly anything above wages the first time around.

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

You don’t know why he hasn’t signed because you know absolutely zilch about his contract offer. There could be a dozen reasons why he hasn’t signed or there could be just one little issue to be ironed out with no big deal.
Modern contracts are more complicated than just sign for X amount of money for X amount of years.
Also, there’s very little loyalty in football these days so as he’s at his peak age wise he could be looking for the best deal he can get. Unfortunately, all City players are not like Whitts in that respect.
My gut feeling is he’ll stay though.

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

You don’t know why he hasn’t signed because you know absolutely zilch about his contract offer. There could be a dozen reasons why he hasn’t signed or there could be just one little issue to be ironed out with no big deal.
Modern contracts are more complicated than just sign for X amount of money for X amount of years.
Also, there’s very little loyalty in football these days so as he’s at his peak age wise he could be looking for the best deal he can get. Unfortunately, all City players are not like Whitts in that respect.
My gut feeling is he’ll stay though.

Very well said, especially the last sentence

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

You don’t know why he hasn’t signed because you know absolutely zilch about his contract offer. There could be a dozen reasons why he hasn’t signed or there could be just one little issue to be ironed out with no big deal.
Modern contracts are more complicated than just sign for X amount of money for X amount of years.
Also, there’s very little loyalty in football these days so as he’s at his peak age wise he could be looking for the best deal he can get. Unfortunately, all City players are not like Whitts in that respect.
My gut feeling is he’ll stay though.

Thank You for pointing out the obvious, it's called speculation, its what 99.9% of the board is based upon.

I don't live life with my head up my arse mate, I'm more than aware of how contracts work, and Junior and the Club have known his contact was up for quite some time now, he dithered last year and only signed for a year and has form for letting his contracts run out and then leaving (at QPR).

The baffling comment in my post refers to the point it's not been sorted. I'm 99.9% certain they would have been talking/negotiating for months and still not come to an agreement despite the fact you would have thought he would be happy at Cardiff.

With all that in mind I think he's gone, the fact they haven't done a deal he's been happy to sign suggests to me both party's are miles apart, we will see tomorrow, I hope I'm wrong.

Personally, I'm hoping Junior Hoilett stays (why wouldn't he?) and that would be a big boost!

The Junior one is bugging me Sven, I don't get why he hasn't signed. I mean we took him on when he didn't have a Club, he has the chance of Premier League Football, he plays every week and I would have imagined we are offering him a decent package. You would have thought it would have been a forgone conclusion if he was happy and settled in Cardiff.

You don’t know why he hasn’t signed because you know absolutely zilch about his contract offer. There could be a dozen reasons why he hasn’t signed or there could be just one little issue to be ironed out with no big deal.
Modern contracts are more complicated than just sign for X amount of money for X amount of years.
Also, there’s very little loyalty in football these days so as he’s at his peak age wise he could be looking for the best deal he can get. Unfortunately, all City players are not like Whitts in that respect.
My gut feeling is he’ll stay though.

Thank You for pointing out the obvious, it's called speculation, its what 99.9% of the board is based upon.

I don't live life with my head up my arse mate, I'm more than aware of how contracts work, and Junior and the Club have known his contact was up for quite some time now, he dithered last year and only signed for a year and has form for letting his contracts run out and then leaving (at QPR).

The baffling comment in my post refers to the point it's not been sorted. I'm 99.9% certain they would have been talking/negotiating for months and still not come to an agreement despite the fact you would have thought he would be happy at Cardiff.

With all that in mind I think he's gone, the fact they haven't done a deal he's been happy to sign suggests to me both party's are miles apart, we will see tomorrow, I hope I'm wrong.

I didn’t say you had your head up your arse mate, in fact you’re one of the better posters on here!
You said you didn’t get why he hasn’t signed and I gave you a few reasons why perhaps he hasn’t. Still we’re both in agreement that we hope he signs
With regards to Gunnarsson, personally, I hope he goes because we can and need to get better.
I also think that he may stay as well though!

Knowing Cardiff... the first we'll know about Junior and Gunners status going forward will be when the sticker firm are unrolling giant stickers of them on the stadium or the new kit pictures get released