Well, I didn't post at all last season and perhaps that was a good thing. The season started poorly, then got worse, and then following the sacking of the manager we managed to avoid relegation with plenty of time to spare and playing better football, albeit with a number of very shrewd loan signings. It was very depressing for a time, and losing home and away to both of our closest rivals, Bristol City and Swansea, certainly didn't help.
But now, for the first time in a few years the club has had a major change of personnel, with 13 new signings (so far) coming through the door to (hopefully) revitalise the first team squad. Manager Steve Morison assures us that these were the players he has identified and who have bought into the idea of how we are going to play. Pre-season has looked promising, but most people agree that we're going to need at least one more striker before the season commences.
However, the first game of the season arrived with no new strikers, and so we had to make do with Max Watters up front - someone who has yet to fulfil the promise which prompted us to sign him from Crawley Town 18 months ago. To make things more worrying, our first game of the season was at home to the Championship favourites, Norwich City, relegated from the Premier League last season.
The starting 11 only contained one player who started in the first game of last season, and there were 7 players making their first team debuts for the club!
But we needn't have worried. An excellent team performance saw Cardiff come out as 1-0 winners in a very intense game. The only goal of the game scored by another of our new boys, Romaine Sawyers. The players were obviously extremely fit, and all seem to have bought into the way the manager Steve Morison wants to play. The passing was crisp and intricate, and the defensive play was sound. There were no bad performers, although Max Watters still looks a bit out of his depth up front. But 3 players really stood out for me.
Firstly , Nigerian left back Jamilu Collins, who was excellent in defence and attack, and looked a real find, having spent the last couple of seasons with Paderborn in Bundesliga 2. Also impressive was centre back Cedric Kipre, on loan for the season from West Bromwich, who looked in control all afternoon. Also, less surprisingly, was Ryan Wintle in midfield, constantly organising the players around him and setting a good example to others.
In my opinion we still need an experienced striker or two - newspaper reports have linked us with one or two already - if we are truly to challenge at the top end of the table this season. But, all things considered, this was a very encouraging start.
