Despite the best of intentions, I made no further blog posts for the 2020/21 season after October 2020. The constant absence of spectators from games just wore me down after a while, and it was difficult to get a good impression of how the team was really doing without seeing them in front of me through my own eyes, rather than on a TV screen.
I've never paid for subscription services to watch on the club streaming service, and chose not to spend money on it last season. I don't know if it sounds better when there are fans in attendance, but I found the commentary very poor and dispiriting last season, and made an early decision to only watch those games televised live by SKY. The Cardiff City Player is always about a minute behind real time (the SKY 'red button' too), and it is infuriating to see that a goal has been scored via some other form of media so long before you see it on the screen.
I wouldn't say that I have lost my enthusiasm for the game or for Cardiff City - its just not the same without fans. Here's hoping that we'll be allowed back in the Cardiff City Stadium next season.
Performance Rating for the season? 7/10.
It was an up and down season where at different times we flirted with the playoffs, relegation and mid-table obscurity. We got rid of 1 manager and brought in a new one. We had two major winning runes and one major losing run (which cost Neil Harris his job). Our final position of 8th was probably a true reflection of our performance - 10 points away from the playoffs but the best of the rest.
What can we expect next season?
Firstly, there is a reasonable chance that we may actually get crowds back for the start of the new season. At the time of composing this post (27June 2021) it seems unlikely that full crowds will be allowed, but I'm pretty sure that season ticket holders at least should be able to have some sort of access to home games at the start of the season in August. Of course, this depends on the progress of the pandemic which remains impossible to predict accurately.
What about the progress of the team? Well, this too is becoming increasingly difficult to predict. The financial pressures on the club (and most other teams in the Championship) mean that there is not a huge amount of cash to splash around on new players. However, we have made a few signings already of some out of contract players, notably the experienced Luton Town striker James Collins, and former Crewe Alexandra midfielder Ryan Wintle who had been identified as one of the best free agents in the lower leagues. Let's hope he has the same impact as Perry Ng who we signed from Crewe last season. Also signed was Mark McGuiness, a former Arsenal youngster who played last season at Ipswich Town in League One.
James Collins at Luton
3 notable players from our promotion season will be leaving the club following the end of their contracts Sol Bamba (now thankfully over his cancer scare), Joe Bennett and Junior Hoillet. All of these players will be remembered fondly by Bluebirds fans, although my own favourite memory from these 3 is Hoillett's goal against Wolves in the Premier League - my favourite moment from that season.
The main opposition to the team will, as usual, come from teams relegated from last year's Premier League. Perpetual yo-yo teams Fulham and West Brom will still be difficult to beat, and despite a dreadful season Sheffield United still have an experienced group of players. Manager Mick McCarthy has a lot of experience in this league and so could move us up into the playoffs or promotion, but equally it could all go badly wrong! But, the excitement for football fans remains the same in what appears to be the most open Championship season for many years.
