The striker Warnock thought could have been the missing piec
Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:48 pm
The striker Neil Warnock thought could have been the missing piece of Cardiff City's puzzle
By Ian Mitchelmore
Friday 19th October 2018
Neil Warnock hasn't been afraid to launch the proverbial rocket into the off-colour Kenneth Zohore this season and his latest comments spell more bad news for the forlorn Cardiff City striker.
Warnock issued an ultimatum to Zohore earlier in the season, suggesting that the Danish striker needs to improve his attitude.
And as Cardiff's winless run continues into its eighth game a fortnight ago — with Callum Paterson the latest to be tried in the problem centre forward position against Tottenham —Warnock revealed the one player he thought could cure the Bluebirds' ills in front of goal.
That man? Fulham's Aleksandr Mitrovic, who will be lining up for Cardiff's opponents tomorrow (Saturday afternoon).
Although Warnock admitted Cardiff were never truly in the hunt for Mitrovic in the summer, due to a lack of funds, he is a big admirer of Fulham's No.1 striker.
"I think if we’d had got Mitrovic, we’d be in a better position than we are if I'm honest," said Warnock when asked who he considers Fulham's biggest danger man.
"We couldn’t afford Mitrovic but if I could have done, I would have loved somebody like him.
"I think he epitomises English football really: he can handle himself, he knows how to get the free-kicks off the referees, he’s a threat and he just wants to play."
Warnock's comments on the Serbian international are in stark contrast to his recent musings on Zohore.
The 24-year-old has scored just eight goals in his last 44 Cardiff appearances and has been in and out of the first team this season.
"He's got to get that hunger back that he had, we can only do so much," said Warnock before Cardiff's 2-1 defeat to Burnley which Zohore then started but was removed after 70 minutes.
"As a manager you try everything to try and get someone firing on all cylinders," added the veteran boss at his pre-Fulham press conference.
"You put your arm around (him), you give him a shouting, you do all sorts of things.
"Apart from cooking him a meal I don’t know what else to do with Ken!
"He’s got to really find his form himself, got to stand up and say ‘I want that shirt’. He’s got every attribute but it’s disappointing he’s not got to that level.
"But there's still opportunities for him. I think Ken will be here longer than me though if I’m honest."
The form of Zohore and Cardiff's other struggling strikers prompted former Bluebird Nathan Blake to claim the current crop should be "embarrassed" that Paterson was selected up front versus Spurs.
Mitrovic was always destined to make his loan move to Craven Cottage from Newcastle United a permanent one in the summer and his transfer for a reported £22million was agreed in July.
And on the player who scored 12 goals for Fulham in the second half of last season to fuel Slavisa Jokanovic's side promotion bid — plus a further five in the Premier League so far this term — Warnock spoke in glowing terms.
He is also wary of Fulham's strength in depth after a summer spending spree in excess of £100million.
"I would think he's the main man but they've got people from all over the world, top players," Warnock added.
"It’s a good test for us. We were told last year how good Fulham were but it didn’t phase us. We just kept plugging away and we managed to get that automatic position.
"It’s different this season as we haven't invested that sort of money, but we feel we've got an opportunity. We’ve got to keep firing and the lads have to come up with a clean sheet and a couple of goals.
"I don't think money is everything and I said that to Vincent last summer.
"But if we’d had signed a Mitrovic I'd have been delighted. We were looking at players at £10-12million that were no better than Ken.
"So it’s difficult to improve a squad at this level unless you’ve got that £20million to £30million to spend on a player."
By Ian Mitchelmore
Friday 19th October 2018
Neil Warnock hasn't been afraid to launch the proverbial rocket into the off-colour Kenneth Zohore this season and his latest comments spell more bad news for the forlorn Cardiff City striker.
Warnock issued an ultimatum to Zohore earlier in the season, suggesting that the Danish striker needs to improve his attitude.
And as Cardiff's winless run continues into its eighth game a fortnight ago — with Callum Paterson the latest to be tried in the problem centre forward position against Tottenham —Warnock revealed the one player he thought could cure the Bluebirds' ills in front of goal.
That man? Fulham's Aleksandr Mitrovic, who will be lining up for Cardiff's opponents tomorrow (Saturday afternoon).
Although Warnock admitted Cardiff were never truly in the hunt for Mitrovic in the summer, due to a lack of funds, he is a big admirer of Fulham's No.1 striker.
"I think if we’d had got Mitrovic, we’d be in a better position than we are if I'm honest," said Warnock when asked who he considers Fulham's biggest danger man.
"We couldn’t afford Mitrovic but if I could have done, I would have loved somebody like him.
"I think he epitomises English football really: he can handle himself, he knows how to get the free-kicks off the referees, he’s a threat and he just wants to play."
Warnock's comments on the Serbian international are in stark contrast to his recent musings on Zohore.
The 24-year-old has scored just eight goals in his last 44 Cardiff appearances and has been in and out of the first team this season.
"He's got to get that hunger back that he had, we can only do so much," said Warnock before Cardiff's 2-1 defeat to Burnley which Zohore then started but was removed after 70 minutes.
"As a manager you try everything to try and get someone firing on all cylinders," added the veteran boss at his pre-Fulham press conference.
"You put your arm around (him), you give him a shouting, you do all sorts of things.
"Apart from cooking him a meal I don’t know what else to do with Ken!
"He’s got to really find his form himself, got to stand up and say ‘I want that shirt’. He’s got every attribute but it’s disappointing he’s not got to that level.
"But there's still opportunities for him. I think Ken will be here longer than me though if I’m honest."
The form of Zohore and Cardiff's other struggling strikers prompted former Bluebird Nathan Blake to claim the current crop should be "embarrassed" that Paterson was selected up front versus Spurs.
Mitrovic was always destined to make his loan move to Craven Cottage from Newcastle United a permanent one in the summer and his transfer for a reported £22million was agreed in July.
And on the player who scored 12 goals for Fulham in the second half of last season to fuel Slavisa Jokanovic's side promotion bid — plus a further five in the Premier League so far this term — Warnock spoke in glowing terms.
He is also wary of Fulham's strength in depth after a summer spending spree in excess of £100million.
"I would think he's the main man but they've got people from all over the world, top players," Warnock added.
"It’s a good test for us. We were told last year how good Fulham were but it didn’t phase us. We just kept plugging away and we managed to get that automatic position.
"It’s different this season as we haven't invested that sort of money, but we feel we've got an opportunity. We’ve got to keep firing and the lads have to come up with a clean sheet and a couple of goals.
"I don't think money is everything and I said that to Vincent last summer.
"But if we’d had signed a Mitrovic I'd have been delighted. We were looking at players at £10-12million that were no better than Ken.
"So it’s difficult to improve a squad at this level unless you’ve got that £20million to £30million to spend on a player."
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Re: The striker Warnock thought could have been the missing
Fri Oct 19, 2018 3:09 pm
As much as I like Warnock's honesty, I'm not sure praising the striker we will be facing tomorrow is the best way to go about things. I would have preferred him to talk up one of our strikers; Bobby Reid maybe...
Re: The striker Warnock thought could have been the missing
Fri Oct 19, 2018 3:56 pm
£22 million is below average price these days for a proven Premier goalscorer.
Re: The striker Warnock thought could have been the missing
Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:13 pm
City Slicker wrote:£22 million is below average price these days for a proven Premier goalscorer.
I wouldn't say he was a proven Premier scorer when they signed him.
Re: The striker Warnock thought could have been the missing
Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:18 pm
2blue2handle wrote:City Slicker wrote:£22 million is below average price these days for a proven Premier goalscorer.
I wouldn't say he was a proven Premier scorer when they signed him.
Maybe not but I think his potential was there for all to see. £22 million wasn't an exorbitant amount of money to pay for him given his age and international status. That's the going rate for an average Premier class striker these days.
Re: The striker Warnock thought could have been the missing
Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:20 pm
City Slicker wrote:2blue2handle wrote:City Slicker wrote:£22 million is below average price these days for a proven Premier goalscorer.
I wouldn't say he was a proven Premier scorer when they signed him.
Maybe not but I think his potential was there for all to see. £22 million wasn't an exorbitant amount of money to pay for him given his age and international status. That's the going rate for an average Premier class striker these days.
The money spent on reid,smithies and cunningham would have got you a mitrovic so neil is talking shite here sorry.
Re: The striker Warnock thought could have been the missing
Fri Oct 19, 2018 10:20 pm
City Slicker wrote:2blue2handle wrote:City Slicker wrote:£22 million is below average price these days for a proven Premier goalscorer.
I wouldn't say he was a proven Premier scorer when they signed him.
Maybe not but I think his potential was there for all to see. £22 million wasn't an exorbitant amount of money to pay for him given his age and international status. That's the going rate for an average Premier class striker these days.
It was a decent gamble but still a gamble.
I also disagree we would be much better off, creating chances is more a problem than the strikers.
Re: The striker Warnock thought could have been the missing
Sat Oct 20, 2018 3:53 am
Love Warnock but come off it Neil, you were looking for strikers in the 10-12 Million range but they were no better than Zohore. Do you honestly think Zohore is in that price range now. 12 Million spent in the right countries abroad would buy some decent players.
Re: The striker Warnock thought could have been the missing
Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:45 am
The budget thing is getting tiring now ! We are 8 games into the season, can’t change what we have until January so let’s all move on ! Zohore needs to step up , he is enjoying a job that we would all love to have and we really need a win today to lift everyone. 
