“ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

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“ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

Postby Forever Blue » Tue Jul 20, 2021 1:02 pm

“ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

The squad has been slimmed down once again and no money available to the manager.


City will depend on a lot of home grown Accademy players this season on low wages but raring to go.




Cardiff have a great early set of winnable fixtures - Barnsley, Blackpool, Peterborough, Millwall, Bristol City.



By Glenn Williams


Tuesday 20th July 2021


Cardiff City

The truth is it's really difficult to say what kind of campaign is in store for Wales' capital city club.

They had a near perfect transfer window last summer, Wilson, Seyi Ojo and Kieffer Moore among the exciting captures, and really should have challenged for promotion.

But there was always that nagging doubt about whether Neil Harris was the man to make the most of the sum of the parts available to him.

Not so, it transpired.

By the time owner Vincent Tan belatedly succumbed with the managerial change that so many felt was crying out to be made, the 15th-placed Bluebirds, six defeats on the trot, looked more like a relegation team than a promotion one.



In Mick McCarthy, this time they have a wily old campaigner who has been there, seen it and done it at this level.

The problem is McCarthy has had No money at all and only been able to sign free agents mostly lower league and a loan signing.

Part of you senses a Neil Warnock kind of special effect on the Cardiff team this season; the other part worries that the creative force isn't there and a place outside the top six is more likely.

Of course the dream would be, were McCarthy to land Wilson on loan for another year, and at some point Gareth Bale were to magically come on board, as the bookies still reckon he will, well that would alter the dynamics of everything.



Suddenly Cardiff would be top two material.

But that dream scenario isn't going to be happening any time soon. Big Mick appears to be going into the campaign with what he has and, I'm told, he is quite pragmatic about the Bluebirds' financial situation and ready to make the most of the players available.



Under McCarthy, Cardiff will be very hard to beat. That we know, but challenging for promotion is another thing.

He will set up again with Sean Morrison, Aden Flint and Curtis Nelson as a no-nonsense back three, ably supported on either flank by Perry Ng and new signing Ryan Giles, who brings much needed pace to the team.

We don't know yet how another new signing, Ryan Wintle from Crewe, will go.

But McCarthy and his Army of scouts know the lower leagues inside out and they have high hopes Wintle will bolster a midfield City will depend on.


Whoever is picked in midfield out of Wintle, Will Vaulks, Joe Ralls, Leo Bacuna and Marlon Pack, will put in a shift. There won't be many harder working teams than McCarthy's Cardiff.

The key to their fortunes, however, will be turning draws into victories.

The slimmed down squad seems more fit for purpose, even if the Wilson stardust is missing. McCarthy has managed to keep the core players that he wanted to - Morrison, Ralls, Vaulks, Nelson, Kieffer Moore, Alex Smithies among them.

He's brought in newcomers he feels will improve the side, including striker James Collins, while highly-rated youngsters like Rubin Colwill, Tom Sang and Joel Bagan will be afforded more opportunities.




Home grown players given a chance. That has to be a plus.

Kieffer, we know, will score goals. Lots of them.

If only those two creative berths right behind him could be sorted.

Then again, dare I mention the names Lee Tomlin and Josh Murphy, Cardiff's two big mercurial talents but who, for differing reasons, sometimes drive the manager and fan base mad.



Their talent is not in doubt, it's about seeing it on a more consistent basis.

If Tomlin can get fit, if Murphy can deliver more often, then Cardiff can be a real promotion force.

But those are two enormous ifs.

As things stand, anywhere between fifth and ninth could be on the cards.

Cardiff have a great early set of winnable fixtures - Barnsley, Blackpool, Peterborough, Millwall, Bristol City.

If they can get off to a flier, and with their fanatical fans back to roar on the team in decent numbers home and away again, then with early momentum who knows?


Sean Morrison and Ryan Bennett have key roles to play this season
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“ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

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Re: “ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

Postby AfricanBluebird » Tue Jul 20, 2021 1:25 pm

Hard to disagree with anything Glenn says here
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Re: “ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

Postby Forever Blue » Tue Jul 20, 2021 1:27 pm

AfricanBluebird wrote:Hard to disagree with anything Glenn says here



We have a great chance of a good start :bluebird:

Usually Glen Willians writes everything Dalman tells him.

But Spk to a couple of the reporters they are worried like me.

We have a fairly good squad , but not a promotion one in my eyes.
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Re: “ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

Postby Barclay1 » Tue Jul 20, 2021 1:55 pm

Lose Morrison and Moore and its a dreadful Championship squad.
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Re: “ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

Postby NPCF3 » Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:03 pm

Every game in the Championship is winable/losable.

To call Blackpool and Peterborough easy games must mean you have a very short memory as a City fan :old: :banghead:
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Re: “ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

Postby Forever Blue » Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:10 pm

NPCF3 wrote:Every game in the Championship is winable/losable.

To call Blackpool and Peterborough easy games must mean you have a very short memory as a City fan :old: :banghead:



Nothing is easy but if you have a quality squad or your challenging for Promotion then you look to win these type of games.

Blackpool were very tough and hard to best when Holloway was there a fact.
But they won’t be looked at as promotion material, by me no, maybe by you.

Here we go we will be making out that every team we play are promotion candidates :lol:

I never take any team for granted but you need a good start and for me we have the clubs to beat at beginning to get the points in :thumbright: :bluebird:
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Re: “ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

Postby skidemin » Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:23 pm

AfricanBluebird wrote:Hard to disagree with anything Glenn says here



well apart from Ryan Bennett having a key role unless of course the fix is already in for the first South Wales double ?
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Re: “ A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR CARDIFF CITY “

Postby Crayfish » Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:03 am

I am a bit more optimistic than most. We don't often have two really good scorers up front but this season we do. Would not surprise me to see them both played in home games and they will score goals. Moore won't be marked out of the game with the threat of Collins there.

The defence looks ok even quite good. The only drawback is the midfield which looks quite pedestrian. It would be greatly improved is Tomlin and Murphy were up for it and fit. Wintle will improve the passing and Giles might turn out to be very good paticularly at getting crosses into two forwards who are both good in the air.The days of us having a big lump up front who couldn't head the ball, Zohore and Glatzel, are gone.

Personally I think if we make a good start we could feature in the top six for hopefully a full season. I suspect MM will be better at getting the best out of players than Harris.

The joker in the pack will be the fact we seem to have the most talented set of youngsters emerging probably ever certainly I cannot remember when we have talked about young talent so much.

It also needs to be pointed out that only three clubs in the championship have spent more than a million pounds so far. Almost everyone is competing with hugely reduced budgets.
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