" Our miserly defence "
Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:34 am
Boss Malky Mackay pays tribute to miserly defence
Jan 15 2013
Malky
I’ve got to the point now where I have total faith that if a player is out I can bring someone else straight in to do a job. I didn’t feel like that last season.
“If Mark Hudson is out or Matt I know I have Kevin there and he can come in seamlessly and do just as good a job for us.
“It’s that sort of depth and peace of mind that has made all the difference so far this season.”
Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay has paid tribute to his defence, but also stressed that keeping out the goals is the responsibility of all of his table-topping side.
If the Bluebirds’ season so far has been impressive, it has also been far from pretty at times too.
The classic example must be the hard-fought, but deeply uninspiring 0-0 draw the Bluebirds played out at home to Ipswich on the weekend. Hardly a classic, it was nevertheless a result which, thanks to the frailties of their rivals, saw Mackay’s men actually extend their lead at the top of the Championship to eight points.
Cardiff may remain joint top scorers in the division along with Leicester, with both teams having found the net 48 times, but the Bluebirds have recently found the free-flowing and free-scoring days of earlier in the campaign harder to come by.
It seems the Cardiff back-line and goalkeeper David Marshall have become more important than ever as Cardiff have needed to eke out wins the ugly way to sustain their promotion push.#
The Bluebirds have the most clean-sheets so far this season, again along with promotion rivals Leicester.
And Saturday’s stalemate made it 11 shut-outs for the Bluebirds so far, with an impressive four coming in their last four league outings.
It is the Foxes who may currently hold the record for the fewest goals conceded this campaign with 23 while Cardiff have conceded 29, but the Bluebirds have incredible figures in front of their own fans.
In the Welsh capital the Bluebirds have conceded just eight goals in the league so far with the overall number only pushed up after a bizarre start to the season on the road where four goals were leaked at Bristol City, three at Nottingham Forest and five at Charlton.
Now, both home and away the Cardiff defence has tightened up, and Mackay admits it has been a back to basics approach which has led to the improvement.
“It’s just been all about bread and butter work in training really,” said Mackay.
“It’s been about getting the basics right, getting the shape and a lot of repetition in what we have been doing. We needed to instil certain values into the players and the most important of those has been the work-rate and the ability to work for each other.
“People talk about the back four or the back five with David Marshall, but defending is the responsibility of the entire team. We attack as one unit and we defend as one unit.
“I mean, when you see the likes of Craig Bellamy closing down a player so that they cannot play their best ball out, you see what we are trying to achieve.
“But my defenders have been good and our goalkeeper as well. They have very much taken on board everything me and my staff have been trying to do.
“I think perhaps the difference now has been the level of consistency they are managing.
“You need that across the back. You need an understanding and perhaps it was that which took a bit of time.”
The Bluebirds defence has been the department where players have been most familiar with each other.
Key members were all given the chance to settle in last campaign in Mackay’s first season in charge in the Welsh capital.
Skipper Mark Hudson and Ben Turner were mainly the first choice centre-half partnership for the majority of last season. And left-back Andrew Taylor has been first choice at left-back since his arrival from Middlesbrough in Mackay’s first summer as manager.
Goalkeeper Marshall too has prospered after Mackay arrived and unashamedly made his fellow Scot the Bluebirds’ first choice shot-stopper.
However, it has been at right-back where the big transition has been made this season.
Matt Connolly’s arrival from QPR this summer, for a fee in the region of £500,000, was hardly the most heralded piece of business when the likes of Craig Bellamy and Nicky Maynard were factored in.
But the 25-year-old has been thrust into a more vital role than perhaps anyone at first predicted.
With his ability to play at centre-half or at full back, he was forced to a job at the heart of defence first of all, with Turner injured ahead of the trip to Bristol City.
Alongside Hudson, after that inauspicious start at Ashton Gate, Connolly soon established himself so firmly that the fit-again Turner found his route back to the first team blocked.
It proved only temporary as the away day jitters persisted, this time at Forest, forcing Mackay into decisive action.
Back came Turner, but more interestingly Connolly was moved to right-back meaning long-serving fans’ favourite Kevin McNaughton no longer found himself first choice for just about the first time in his near seven seasons in the Welsh capital.
Recent form shows Mackay seems to have been proved correct in his decision, but the Bluebirds’ boss maintains it was the type of conundrum which shows exactly what he was aiming to do at the club. We knew we needed quality cover in defence in the summer and that is what we set about doing,” added Mackay.
“The summer was all about bringing in the players I felt could take us to the next level and Matt Connolly is a good example of that.
“For what we paid for him he has proved an excellent signing. Really value for money. When I talk about the sort of professionals I want at this club Matt is the sort of player I was thinking about.
“But I’ve got to the point now where I have total faith that if a player is out I can bring someone else straight in to do a job. I didn’t feel like that last season.
“If Mark Hudson is out or Matt I know I have Kevin there and he can come in seamlessly and do just as good a job for us.
“It’s that sort of depth and peace of mind that has made all the difference so far this season.”
Jan 15 2013
Malky
I’ve got to the point now where I have total faith that if a player is out I can bring someone else straight in to do a job. I didn’t feel like that last season.
“If Mark Hudson is out or Matt I know I have Kevin there and he can come in seamlessly and do just as good a job for us.
“It’s that sort of depth and peace of mind that has made all the difference so far this season.”
Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay has paid tribute to his defence, but also stressed that keeping out the goals is the responsibility of all of his table-topping side.
If the Bluebirds’ season so far has been impressive, it has also been far from pretty at times too.
The classic example must be the hard-fought, but deeply uninspiring 0-0 draw the Bluebirds played out at home to Ipswich on the weekend. Hardly a classic, it was nevertheless a result which, thanks to the frailties of their rivals, saw Mackay’s men actually extend their lead at the top of the Championship to eight points.
Cardiff may remain joint top scorers in the division along with Leicester, with both teams having found the net 48 times, but the Bluebirds have recently found the free-flowing and free-scoring days of earlier in the campaign harder to come by.
It seems the Cardiff back-line and goalkeeper David Marshall have become more important than ever as Cardiff have needed to eke out wins the ugly way to sustain their promotion push.#
The Bluebirds have the most clean-sheets so far this season, again along with promotion rivals Leicester.
And Saturday’s stalemate made it 11 shut-outs for the Bluebirds so far, with an impressive four coming in their last four league outings.
It is the Foxes who may currently hold the record for the fewest goals conceded this campaign with 23 while Cardiff have conceded 29, but the Bluebirds have incredible figures in front of their own fans.
In the Welsh capital the Bluebirds have conceded just eight goals in the league so far with the overall number only pushed up after a bizarre start to the season on the road where four goals were leaked at Bristol City, three at Nottingham Forest and five at Charlton.
Now, both home and away the Cardiff defence has tightened up, and Mackay admits it has been a back to basics approach which has led to the improvement.
“It’s just been all about bread and butter work in training really,” said Mackay.
“It’s been about getting the basics right, getting the shape and a lot of repetition in what we have been doing. We needed to instil certain values into the players and the most important of those has been the work-rate and the ability to work for each other.
“People talk about the back four or the back five with David Marshall, but defending is the responsibility of the entire team. We attack as one unit and we defend as one unit.
“I mean, when you see the likes of Craig Bellamy closing down a player so that they cannot play their best ball out, you see what we are trying to achieve.
“But my defenders have been good and our goalkeeper as well. They have very much taken on board everything me and my staff have been trying to do.
“I think perhaps the difference now has been the level of consistency they are managing.
“You need that across the back. You need an understanding and perhaps it was that which took a bit of time.”
The Bluebirds defence has been the department where players have been most familiar with each other.
Key members were all given the chance to settle in last campaign in Mackay’s first season in charge in the Welsh capital.
Skipper Mark Hudson and Ben Turner were mainly the first choice centre-half partnership for the majority of last season. And left-back Andrew Taylor has been first choice at left-back since his arrival from Middlesbrough in Mackay’s first summer as manager.
Goalkeeper Marshall too has prospered after Mackay arrived and unashamedly made his fellow Scot the Bluebirds’ first choice shot-stopper.
However, it has been at right-back where the big transition has been made this season.
Matt Connolly’s arrival from QPR this summer, for a fee in the region of £500,000, was hardly the most heralded piece of business when the likes of Craig Bellamy and Nicky Maynard were factored in.
But the 25-year-old has been thrust into a more vital role than perhaps anyone at first predicted.
With his ability to play at centre-half or at full back, he was forced to a job at the heart of defence first of all, with Turner injured ahead of the trip to Bristol City.
Alongside Hudson, after that inauspicious start at Ashton Gate, Connolly soon established himself so firmly that the fit-again Turner found his route back to the first team blocked.
It proved only temporary as the away day jitters persisted, this time at Forest, forcing Mackay into decisive action.
Back came Turner, but more interestingly Connolly was moved to right-back meaning long-serving fans’ favourite Kevin McNaughton no longer found himself first choice for just about the first time in his near seven seasons in the Welsh capital.
Recent form shows Mackay seems to have been proved correct in his decision, but the Bluebirds’ boss maintains it was the type of conundrum which shows exactly what he was aiming to do at the club. We knew we needed quality cover in defence in the summer and that is what we set about doing,” added Mackay.
“The summer was all about bringing in the players I felt could take us to the next level and Matt Connolly is a good example of that.
“For what we paid for him he has proved an excellent signing. Really value for money. When I talk about the sort of professionals I want at this club Matt is the sort of player I was thinking about.
“But I’ve got to the point now where I have total faith that if a player is out I can bring someone else straight in to do a job. I didn’t feel like that last season.
“If Mark Hudson is out or Matt I know I have Kevin there and he can come in seamlessly and do just as good a job for us.
“It’s that sort of depth and peace of mind that has made all the difference so far this season.”
Re: " Our miserly defence "
Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:41 am
“But I’ve got to the point now where I have total faith that if a player is out I can bring someone else straight in to do a job. I didn’t feel like that last season."
Except up front surely!
Except up front surely!
Re: " Our miserly defence "
Tue Jan 15, 2013 7:57 am
Deano1 wrote:“But I’ve got to the point now where I have total faith that if a player is out I can bring someone else straight in to do a job. I didn’t feel like that last season."
Except up front surely!
well as he is talking about the defense.....
