As predicted in my previous post we are now settling into our mid table position. At present we are 13th, and it would be nice if we could finish 12th or higher to say that we are in the top half of the table. The points total with 9 games to go is 48, just 2 short of the mathematically 'safe' figure of 50. It is now definitely time to look forward to next season, and hopefully everything is in place for a promotion push for next season. Lets hope that the "Warnock Factor" can make this a reality.
Despite some supporters criticising the owners, you can't really deny that the club have started to get things right since last October when Neil Warnock was appointed manager. He admitted himself that at first he thought his role was just to save the club this season, and then possibly retire or move on. But, he likes it here! And the fans have certainly taken to him! At the recent home game victory over Rotherham (Warnock's previous club), both sets of supporters were chanting his name at the end of the match!
Warnock takes his praise from both sets of supporters after the Cardiff v Rotherham game.
The good news is that he has signed a new contract until the end of next season, but his terms to the board were such that he wanted them to guarantee him the funds for an attempt at promotion to the Premier League. This assurance seems to have been forthcoming, and was announced a week before season tickets for next season went on sale - a good marketing ploy by the club. This has to be seen as good news.
Results since last post:-
CARDIFF 0 NORWICH 1
LEEDS 0 CARDIFF 2
DERBY 3 CARDIFF 4
CARDIFF 5 ROTHERHAM 0
CARDIFF 2 FULHAM 2
QPR 2 CARDIFF 1
BLACKBURN 1 CARDIFF 1
CARDIFF 1 BIRMINGHAM 1
At the time of our home defeat by Norwich, they were very much hoping for a playoff place to try to return to the Premier League. A decent Cardiff performance against a decent team, but this proved to be something of a false dawn for Norwich who haven't won a game since and sacked their manager after another poor result this weekend.
Then followed the defining week of the Bluebirds' season - 3 wins in 8 days which finally put any thoughts of relegation away. The week began with an away win at major rivals Leeds. After having a long run of success against Leeds stretching back to the FA Cup win in 2002, the Yorkshire team had won the last 3 fixtures 2-0. However, this time it was our turn. Leeds look certain of a playoff place this season, but goals from Sean Morrison and Kenneth Zohore saw them off, and most of the Leeds crowd too, who had started their journey home early leaving large parts of Elland Road empty with 15 minutes of the match remaining!
Kenneth Zohore sends the Leeds fans home with the second goal at Elland Road.
Just 3 days later saw another great away performance at high-flying (but subsequently under-achieving) Derby County. Cardiff came back from 2-0 to take the lead 3-2, followed by another Derby equaliser. But in stoppage time Rhys Healey was brought down in the box and Joe Ralls calmly stepped up to take the penalty and seal a 4-3 Cardiff win. Derby have become the latest team to sack their manager with Steve McLaren departing yesterday. Losing to Cardiff is clearly dangerous for opposition managers!
Kadeem Harris celebrates his second against Derby!
On the following Saturday came a fixture against bottom of the table Rotherham. Very often, we have struggled against some of the poorer teams in the league (Wigan earlier this season springs to mind), but this was not one of those occasions. Cardiff went into half time with a 2-0 lead, without really playing well. Neil Warnock clearly galvanised them for the second half, and within 15 minutes of the restart were 4-0 ahead. Kenneth Zohore continues his recent form with a second classy goal 10 minutes from the end. It was the first time we have scored 5 since our move to the new Cardiff City Stadium in 2009.
EVEN OUR BAD RUNS ARE PRODUCTIVE
Since the Rotherham game we haven't won in 4, but have managed 3 draws and a late away defeat. The best game of that run, and probably the best game of the season was the 2-2 draw with Fulham. 2 more Kenneth Zohore goals helped us to a draw against one of the form teams of the division. Fulham are playing very well at present and look like making a late run into the playoffs. The most pleasing aspect of this game was that we matched Fulham for much of it, and it is this as much as anything that creates optimism for next season.
KZ scores his first against Fulham
The last 3 games have featured late goals by our opponents which have cost us points. Our previous unbeaten run came to an end at Queens Park Rangers. Despite taking the lead in the first half, the Bluebirds finally lost to an 83rd minute goal. An away game at Blackburn on the Tuesday following again saw the Bluebirds take a first half lead (KZ again), which they hung on to until the first minute of stoppage time. The difference in this game to the others is that Blackburn (under a new manager) were the better team for most of the match, and in fact a point in such a game was a good result although disappointing at conceding so late. Last Saturday's home game against Birmingham was a little bit bland compared to some recent games. The manager of Birmingham, Gianfranco Zola, was rumoured to be one defeat away from the sack himself, and as a result set up his team in a very negative manner. After working hard to take the lead from a Joe Ralls penalty in the 53rd minute, Cardiff were unable to withstand a late Birmingham onslaught which resulted in an 89th minute equaliser.
TIME FOR EXPERIMENTATION
Now that the club is safe from relegation, Neil Warnock has admitted that he will be giving a few of the fringe players the chance to prove themselves if they want to be here next season. He seems to have a number of players and a suitable budget in place to strengthen the squad in the summer for next season. Things are looking up at Cardiff City, shown by the fact that there were queues to buy season tickets for next season on the first day of availability, and there is definitely a 'feel good' factor about. Lets enjoy it while we can!
