' 17 CARDIFF CITY SIGNINGS '
Sun Mar 24, 2019 10:22 am
What happened to Russell Slade's 17 Cardiff City signings
Dominic Booth
Sunday 24th March 2019
Russell Slade's time at Cardiff City tends to divide opinions among Bluebirds supporters.
Despite very nearly guiding Cardiff to the play-offs after 18 months of austerity-ridden times in the Welsh capital, Slade left his role in May 2016, leaving the club entirely a month later.
Despite his remit to reduce the club's wage bill and trim the size of his squad, Slade actually made 17 signings as Bluebirds boss.
Here are those signings and what has become of them...
Scott Malone
Slade recently said he believed Malone never got the credit he deserved in a Cardiff shirt.
The left-back who signed for £90,000 from Millwall was never really adored by the Bluebirds fans, but made 56 appearances before leaving for Fulham in a swap deal with Jazz Richards.
The 27-year-old is now at Derby, having made a good number of appearances in the Premier League last season for Huddersfield.
Alex Revell
Another cut-price January signing for Slade in his first window since taking over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in October 2014, Revell arrived from Rotherham for just £175,000.
He never really looked able to score a volume of goals in the Championship, netting just twice in the league for Cardiff in an ill-fated 12-month stay.
Dropped back down the leagues to MK Dons, then Northampton, and now Stevenage where he's done well and scored 13 times in just over a year.
Lee Peltier
One of Slade's best signings as Cardiff boss and still very much part of the furniture, having fitted in seamlessly with Neil Warnock's regime too.
Peltier was signed to bolster the full-back positions with defensive nous and courageous tackling, arriving from Huddersfield Town.
He's cemented himself as an unsung hero and despite now reaching the age of 32 he's still got a role to play at Cardiff City Stadium.
Stuart O'Keefe
O'Keefe is a curious case, having seemed so integral when he arrived from Crystal Palace. He's now a forgotten man at Cardiff, training with the club but not a part of Warnock's 25-man squad.
The highlight of his spell in south Wales came in netting crucial goals against Bristol City and Derby as Slade led a surge towards the play-offs in spring 2016.
Warnock has never been a huge fan and O'Keefe has sought regular football in loan spells at MK Dons, Portsmouth and Plymouth. His Bluebirds contract expires in the summer and a departure seems inevitable.
Eoin Doyle
Strikers were never Slade's forte and hence goals were a longstanding problem of his Cardiff tenure.
Doyle and O'Keefe were the 'big money' buys of that first January window at £750,000 apiece, but the Irishman plucked from League One Chesterfield was another who — despite a promising start — failed to hit the heights.
Darkness had descended by the time Eoin Doyle signed for Cardiff City
Doyle had amassed 32 goals in just 52 Chesterfield starts but scored five in half a season for the Bluebirds before being shipped to Preston on loan, and then permanently.
He's now back in League One with Bradford following loan stints with Portsmouth and Oldham.
Matthew Kennedy and Conor McAleny
We've paired them together because they came as a pair, both snared from Everton on deadline day in January (actually February 2) 2015.
Kennedy was a permanent arrival to add depth to Cardiff's flanks, while McAleny proved to be yet another striker signing who didn't work out for Slade.
The latter managed two goals in nine Cardiff appearances, including a memorable late leveller at Reading, before returning to Everton and is now playing for Kilmarnock on loan from Fleetwoord.
There were high hopes for Kennedy, who appeared in fits and starts for Slade and Warnock before switching to St Johnstone last summer.
Semi Ajayi
Arrived from Arsenal as a youth team player more than anything, Ajayi left Cardiff before making a single first-team appearance.
He's now thriving in the Rotherham defence, scoring an impressive eight goals for the Millers to keep their Championship survival hopes alive.
Sammy Ameobi
Another loan signing, a season-long deal from Newcastle United in 2015/16 that was never really one thing or the other.
Ameobi was dazzling at times but frustrated far too often and managed just a solitary goal in his campaign at Cardiff. He's since done well at Bolton.
Idriss Saadi
Saadi joined the Bluebirds from Clermont in the French league and looked to be a real up and coming talent — though one that was never fulfilled in south Wales.
The Algeria international played two league matches for Cardiff, spending a season on loan at Vincent Tan-owned KV Kortrijk in the Belgian world
Marco Weymans
Remember him? Not many will.
The Belgian defender was just a teenager and signed for Cardiff's youth team from PSV Eindhoven, before leaving two years later having made no first team appearances.
Gabriel Tamas
Cardiff signed former Watford, West Brom and Galatasaray defender Tamas after he impressed on trial, but the Romanian international was never given game-time by Slade.
He played just once, an FA Cup defeat to Shrewsbury, and cancelled his contract midway through the 2015/16 season by mutual consent.
Jordan Blaise
Our search for Blaise's footballing career before and after his time with Cardiff City didn't yield too many results.
The French centre-back was signed from Bordeaux but never made an impression on the first-team squad and is these days without a professional club completely.
Tony Watt
Arrived as The Man Who Scored A Winning Goal Against Barcelona... left after a fairly ordinary spell on loan at Cardiff from Charlton Athletic.
Watt scored twice in a nine-game stay in south Wales, actually playing for three different Championship teams in the 2015/16 season before the rules were changed.
Lex Immers
Slade recently gave thanks to Immers for the role the Dutchman played in adding goals and sparkle to the Cardiff frontline during the 2015/16 campaign.
Able to play as a No.10 or further up the pitch as a striker, Immers' form on loan from Feyenoord compelled Cardiff to pay for his services in the summer of 2016, though it quickly fell apart for him. Warnock wasn't a huge fan and Immers left in January 2017 to join Club Brugge.
He's now at Den Haag in his native Holland.
Kenneth Zohore
One of the more successful signings of
the Slade era, if not particularly impactful during the former Leyton Orient boss' time in charge. The big, bustling young Dane arrived on an initial loan deal from Kortrijk while Cardiff were under a transfer ban, signing permanently in the summer of 2016.
He featured in fits and starts under Slade and Paul Trollope and it was only until Warnock arrived that Bluebirds fans saw the best from Zohore.
Always inconsistent, but very dangerous on his day, he's still got a big Bluebirds future.
Tom Lawrence
It's probably a source of great regret to those who follow both Cardiff and Wales that Lawrence didn't stay a bit longer in the Welsh capital.
Stuart O'Keefe of Cardiff City heads celebrates his goal with Tom Lawrence of Cardiff City (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
He was one of many loan rangers in the 2015/16 season under Slade, joining in February 2016 until the end of the campaign from Leicester and impressing many, despite never finding the net in a Bluebirds shirt.
Lawrence has of course found major success in the Championship; first with Ipswich and more recently at Derby, as well as becoming a Wales mainstay.
Dominic Booth
Sunday 24th March 2019
Russell Slade's time at Cardiff City tends to divide opinions among Bluebirds supporters.
Despite very nearly guiding Cardiff to the play-offs after 18 months of austerity-ridden times in the Welsh capital, Slade left his role in May 2016, leaving the club entirely a month later.
Despite his remit to reduce the club's wage bill and trim the size of his squad, Slade actually made 17 signings as Bluebirds boss.
Here are those signings and what has become of them...
Scott Malone
Slade recently said he believed Malone never got the credit he deserved in a Cardiff shirt.
The left-back who signed for £90,000 from Millwall was never really adored by the Bluebirds fans, but made 56 appearances before leaving for Fulham in a swap deal with Jazz Richards.
The 27-year-old is now at Derby, having made a good number of appearances in the Premier League last season for Huddersfield.
Alex Revell
Another cut-price January signing for Slade in his first window since taking over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in October 2014, Revell arrived from Rotherham for just £175,000.
He never really looked able to score a volume of goals in the Championship, netting just twice in the league for Cardiff in an ill-fated 12-month stay.
Dropped back down the leagues to MK Dons, then Northampton, and now Stevenage where he's done well and scored 13 times in just over a year.
Lee Peltier
One of Slade's best signings as Cardiff boss and still very much part of the furniture, having fitted in seamlessly with Neil Warnock's regime too.
Peltier was signed to bolster the full-back positions with defensive nous and courageous tackling, arriving from Huddersfield Town.
He's cemented himself as an unsung hero and despite now reaching the age of 32 he's still got a role to play at Cardiff City Stadium.
Stuart O'Keefe
O'Keefe is a curious case, having seemed so integral when he arrived from Crystal Palace. He's now a forgotten man at Cardiff, training with the club but not a part of Warnock's 25-man squad.
The highlight of his spell in south Wales came in netting crucial goals against Bristol City and Derby as Slade led a surge towards the play-offs in spring 2016.
Warnock has never been a huge fan and O'Keefe has sought regular football in loan spells at MK Dons, Portsmouth and Plymouth. His Bluebirds contract expires in the summer and a departure seems inevitable.
Eoin Doyle
Strikers were never Slade's forte and hence goals were a longstanding problem of his Cardiff tenure.
Doyle and O'Keefe were the 'big money' buys of that first January window at £750,000 apiece, but the Irishman plucked from League One Chesterfield was another who — despite a promising start — failed to hit the heights.
Darkness had descended by the time Eoin Doyle signed for Cardiff City
Doyle had amassed 32 goals in just 52 Chesterfield starts but scored five in half a season for the Bluebirds before being shipped to Preston on loan, and then permanently.
He's now back in League One with Bradford following loan stints with Portsmouth and Oldham.
Matthew Kennedy and Conor McAleny
We've paired them together because they came as a pair, both snared from Everton on deadline day in January (actually February 2) 2015.
Kennedy was a permanent arrival to add depth to Cardiff's flanks, while McAleny proved to be yet another striker signing who didn't work out for Slade.
The latter managed two goals in nine Cardiff appearances, including a memorable late leveller at Reading, before returning to Everton and is now playing for Kilmarnock on loan from Fleetwoord.
There were high hopes for Kennedy, who appeared in fits and starts for Slade and Warnock before switching to St Johnstone last summer.
Semi Ajayi
Arrived from Arsenal as a youth team player more than anything, Ajayi left Cardiff before making a single first-team appearance.
He's now thriving in the Rotherham defence, scoring an impressive eight goals for the Millers to keep their Championship survival hopes alive.
Sammy Ameobi
Another loan signing, a season-long deal from Newcastle United in 2015/16 that was never really one thing or the other.
Ameobi was dazzling at times but frustrated far too often and managed just a solitary goal in his campaign at Cardiff. He's since done well at Bolton.
Idriss Saadi
Saadi joined the Bluebirds from Clermont in the French league and looked to be a real up and coming talent — though one that was never fulfilled in south Wales.
The Algeria international played two league matches for Cardiff, spending a season on loan at Vincent Tan-owned KV Kortrijk in the Belgian world
Marco Weymans
Remember him? Not many will.
The Belgian defender was just a teenager and signed for Cardiff's youth team from PSV Eindhoven, before leaving two years later having made no first team appearances.
Gabriel Tamas
Cardiff signed former Watford, West Brom and Galatasaray defender Tamas after he impressed on trial, but the Romanian international was never given game-time by Slade.
He played just once, an FA Cup defeat to Shrewsbury, and cancelled his contract midway through the 2015/16 season by mutual consent.
Jordan Blaise
Our search for Blaise's footballing career before and after his time with Cardiff City didn't yield too many results.
The French centre-back was signed from Bordeaux but never made an impression on the first-team squad and is these days without a professional club completely.
Tony Watt
Arrived as The Man Who Scored A Winning Goal Against Barcelona... left after a fairly ordinary spell on loan at Cardiff from Charlton Athletic.
Watt scored twice in a nine-game stay in south Wales, actually playing for three different Championship teams in the 2015/16 season before the rules were changed.
Lex Immers
Slade recently gave thanks to Immers for the role the Dutchman played in adding goals and sparkle to the Cardiff frontline during the 2015/16 campaign.
Able to play as a No.10 or further up the pitch as a striker, Immers' form on loan from Feyenoord compelled Cardiff to pay for his services in the summer of 2016, though it quickly fell apart for him. Warnock wasn't a huge fan and Immers left in January 2017 to join Club Brugge.
He's now at Den Haag in his native Holland.
Kenneth Zohore
One of the more successful signings of
the Slade era, if not particularly impactful during the former Leyton Orient boss' time in charge. The big, bustling young Dane arrived on an initial loan deal from Kortrijk while Cardiff were under a transfer ban, signing permanently in the summer of 2016.
He featured in fits and starts under Slade and Paul Trollope and it was only until Warnock arrived that Bluebirds fans saw the best from Zohore.
Always inconsistent, but very dangerous on his day, he's still got a big Bluebirds future.
Tom Lawrence
It's probably a source of great regret to those who follow both Cardiff and Wales that Lawrence didn't stay a bit longer in the Welsh capital.
Stuart O'Keefe of Cardiff City heads celebrates his goal with Tom Lawrence of Cardiff City (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
He was one of many loan rangers in the 2015/16 season under Slade, joining in February 2016 until the end of the campaign from Leicester and impressing many, despite never finding the net in a Bluebirds shirt.
Lawrence has of course found major success in the Championship; first with Ipswich and more recently at Derby, as well as becoming a Wales mainstay.
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Re: ' 17 CARDIFF CITY SIGNINGS '
Sun Mar 24, 2019 10:55 am
How can Dominic Booth say Tom Watt had a pretty ordinary spell here before departing? I thought he had a very good two months to the extent that we wanted to him to sign permanently and were about to pay £1 million for him but we were hit with a transfer ban just as he was about to sign. And whilst Tom Lawrence may have gone on to be a decent player, he certainly didn't show anything down here, though that may be cos he was played slightly out of position.
Re: ' 17 CARDIFF CITY SIGNINGS '
Sun Mar 24, 2019 10:58 am
JJ1927 wrote:How can Dominic Booth say Tom Watt had a pretty ordinary spell here before departing? I thought he had a very good two months to the extent that we wanted to him to sign permanently and were about to pay £1 million for him but we were hit with a transfer ban just as he was about to sign. And whilst Tom Lawrence may have gone on to be a decent player, he certainly didn't show anything down here, though that may be cos he was played slightly out of position.
I agree with you
Re: ' 17 CARDIFF CITY SIGNINGS '
Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:05 pm
JJ1927 wrote:How can Dominic Booth say Tom Watt had a pretty ordinary spell here before departing? I thought he had a very good two months to the extent that we wanted to him to sign permanently and were about to pay £1 million for him but we were hit with a transfer ban just as he was about to sign. And whilst Tom Lawrence may have gone on to be a decent player, he certainly didn't show anything down here, though that may be cos he was played slightly out of position.
Totally agree Booth probably didn't watch the games and just looking at the fact Watt scored two goals and making assumptions. Again spot on about Lawrence, he was awful but our rigid 4-4-2 at the time didn't help his form or progression.
I've always been highly critical of Slade and from a football point of view I still am but met him a couple of weeks ago and have to say what a very nice down to earth guy.