Good Start to 2017.

Immediately following my last post, the away game at Brighton was postponed due to fog, and was therefore played later in January. Its been a successful month all things considered, with 4 league wins and 2 defeats. Our league defeats came in away fixtures at 2 of the top 3 teams in the division - Brighton and Reading. There was also a forgettable defeat to Fulham in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup.

Results since my last post:-

CARDIFF 1 ASTON VILLA 0

CARDIFF 1 FULHAM 2  (FA Cup)

BRISTOL CITY 2 CARDIFF 3

CARDIFF 1 BURTON ALBION 0

BRIGHTON 1 CARDIFF 0

READING 2 CARDIFF 1

CARDIFF 2 PRESTON 0

The first match of the New Year came against Aston Villa, who were just starting to get to terms with their relegation from the Premier League last season. Neil Warnock clearly set out the team to minimise the risk of conceding any goals, with Sol Bamba rather unusually playing as a defensive midfielder in front of the centre backs. The plan worked perfectly, as a slightly fortuitous goal from Joe Ralls after 15 minutes proved to be good enough for a 1-0 win. This was the first clean sheet for the defence for a while (and only the third of the season to that point), and further proof of how the manager has improved the team.

Joe Calls scrambles home the winner against Villa.

The following week saw a home tie against Fulham in the 3rd round of the FA cup. Neil Warnock clearly did not see this as a priority and put out a notably weaker side. The least said about this the better. The FA cup continues its decline as a competition.

Then came an eventful Severnside derby against our closest (geographical) neighbours Bristol City. Of course, the Neil Warnock era at Cardiff City began with the home fixture against them. When that match was played last October, Bristol City were in 6th place in the championship and playing well. However, they have had an alarming (for them) decline since, and when this match kicked off both teams had the same number of league points. The game turned out to be a 5 goal thriller, with Bristol taking the lead twice, but late goals from Kadeem Harris and a screamer from Anthony Pilkington sealed a late Bluebirds win!

Anthony Pilkington strikes a classy winner against the Wurzels!

The following home game against Burton Albion was a bit of an anti-climax and a dreadful game, only raised by a stoppage time winner from Rhys Healey - his first Championship goal for the club. Rhys has spent the first half of the season on loan at Newport County, but now has his chance to try to impress the new manager here.

Following his, there were 2 away games against teams hoping to make it into the Premier League next season. The team set up in a very defensive manner for the re-arranged Brighton fixture, and held on until the 76th minute before going behind. At Reading, manager Neil Warnock was disappointed not to come away with at least a point, but another creditable defeat against a very good side. What theses two matches clearly illustrate is how competitive the team has become, and are capable of giving anyone a game.

And so to last night's 2-0 win over Preston  (our 3rd home clean sheet in a row). In the first half the team put together one of their best performances for some time, looking very good when attacking and deservedly going in 2-0 up at half time. 

The highlight of the game, and probably of the season, was the fantastic individual goal scored by Kenneth Zohore. He latched on to a Peter Whittingham clearance inside his own half, then beat 3 defenders as he progressed up the field and chipped the ball over the keeper into the net. A fantastic goal, and well worth searching for on Youtube if you haven't already seen it. Take a bow, son!

Kenneth Zohore chips the keeper for a fantastic goal!

So - What now?

Well, the team is now in 15th position in the league - 11 points above the relegation places and 10 points below the playoff places. Although like most supporters I always fear the worst, I am fairly confident we can avoid relegation now. And it looks to be far too much to get into the playoff places. So, mid table is looking like our fate. I'm hoping we can at least finish the season in the top half of the table, and perhaps then our Malaysian owners may back Neil Warnock financially for another crack at promotion next year? Lets hope its onwards and upwards!

Half Way Point and leaving it late!

As we arrive at our final game of 2016 this evening away at Championship leaders Brighton, its time to try and assess the first half of the season, as 23 games have been completed. Its also a convenient time to compare the 2 managers we have had this season, and try to assess the record of the 2 men.

We reach the half way point of the season in 19th place, 2 places above the relegation zone, having previously been at rock bottom back in September.

Paul Trollope: Played 11 Win 2 Draw 2 lost 7 Goals for 8 against 19  (-11 gd)

Neil Warnock: Played 12 Win 4 Draw 4 lost 4 goals for 18 against 19 (-1 gd)

 Neil Warnock - made the team competitive again.

Paul Trollope - ironically now Assistant Manager at Brighton!

So, without setting the world alight, Warnock has clearly improved the team and the key improvement from my point of view is that the team is now capable of scoring goals, something that never looked likely before. Defence is still a concern, particularly as with Sol Bamba suspended for the last 3 games there have been 7 goals conceded. At the start of the season, most supporters would have thought that we had no problems with defence, but Warnock has already stated that this needs addressing and I think he will be looking at defensive options during the January transfer window, including a replacement goalkeeper for Ben Amos who has been struggling in recent weeks. Bizarrely, our only clean sheet in the Warnock era was a 0-0 home draw with top team Brighton!

RESULTS SINCE MY LAST POST:

CARDIFF 0 WIGAN 1

NEWCASTLE 2 CARDIFF 1

CARDIFF 3 HUDDERSFIELD 2

ASTON VILLA 3 CARDIFF 1

CARDIFF 0 BRIGHTON 0

IPSWICH 1 CARDIFF 1

CARDIFF 2 WOLVES 1

CARDIFF 3 BARNSLEY 4

BRENTFORD 2 CARDIFF 2

The last 3 games sum up our defensive problems despite our own never -say-die attitude. In the Wolves game, we fought back from an early Ben Amos error to take  the lead in the 86th minute and a deserved win. Against Barnsley we found ourselves 3-1 down at half time, again following defensive frailties and errors by Amos. But we then scored 2 goals in the 80th and 88th minute to draw level, only to concede in the 4th minute of stoppage time! And finally, in our last game at Brentford we led until the 81st minute, took the lead again in the 89th minute and yet again conceded a stoppage time equaliser! You definitely shouldn't go home early from our games at the moment.

One positive note from our recent fixtures is the form of Kenneth Zohore, who came on at half time in the game against Wolves and played the best we have ever seen since he came to the club. He has kept this form into the next 2 games, capping it off with an excellently taken chance against Brentford on Boxing day. Neil Warnock has said all along that we needed a fast and mobile striker in the January transfer window, but the form of Zohore may yet make him feel that we have the answer within the club already.

Kenneth Zohore celebrates his 89th minute goal against Brentford

THE TRANSFER WINDOW OPENS!

Now this is where Neil Warnock can really make a name for himself. His experience around the game, coupled with respect from many players within football, should put us in a strong position to acquire the players we need to move away from the relegation zone. There are some financial restrictions at the club, and I suspect still that any player in the squad is available for sale at the right price, even those whose place in the side appears sacrosanct. But I think the fans have a great belief and support towards Warnock and trust him to do the right thing. Lets hope he can do it.

The Warnock Factor.

How else can you explain it? The arrival of new manager Neil Warnock at Cardiff City was universally accepted by fans as a good move, but few could have predicted the immediate impact he would have on the team. NW had used his contacts straight away, bringing in a number of free agent transfers which immediately strengthened the squad. There have been 4 of these in total, with perhaps the most surprising being the arrival of Ivorian central defender Sol Bamba. NW had managed Bamba before, but most Cardiff fans felt that central defence was one of the stronger areas of the team. But what a difference he makes - he leads by example, and his performance against Bristol City was amazing considering he hadn't played a competitive game for anybody since his release by Leeds at the end of August. He even capped off an excellent defensive effort with a goal of his own!

 Sol Bamba smashes home his first Bluebirds goal!

Warnock has also brought 3 other players to the squad, all with excellent pedigrees. Canadian international Junior Hoillet (another to have previously been managed by him at QPR), former Arsenal and Roma striker Marouane Chamakh and experienced Premier League defender/midfielder Kieron Richardson. The latter 2 have 2 months to prove their worth to the team on short term contracts, but Richardson in particular looks a very useful signing.

But perhaps the most important factor in what Warnock has achieved is how the existing club players are performing. Most notable of these is Aron Gunnarsson, who is now playing in his best role as the deep lying defensive midfielder in front of the back four - the role in which he was so successful for Iceland in last summer's European Championships. Also, Peter Whittingham and Craig Noone are playing so much better and having much more influence on the team than they have had for some time.

Aron Gunnarsson

Matches since my last post:-

CARDIFF 2 BRISTOL CITY 1

CARDIFF 1 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 1

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1 CARDIFF 2


Cardiff 2 Bristol City 1

A Friday night game on TV against our second biggest rivals. The atmosphere was excellent from the start, and the performance of our players matched the occasion. As well as new players Bamba and Hoillet making excellent debuts, the performance of our regular players were also outstanding, especially the midfield trio of Gunnarsson, Ralls and Whittingham, and also Craig Noone out wide.

Craig Noone - back to his best.

A Peter Whittingham penalty and a Sol Bamba goal from a corner saw us home against top 6 team Bristol City.

Cardiff 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1

Five days later, some fans were a little worried that we might not be able to keep up the standards of the previous match. But we were not disappointed, as there was another good performance from the team against possibly the best opposing team we have seen at the Cardiff City Stadium this season. A good draw against a good side.

Nottingham Forest 1 Cardiff 2

This away game followed 3 days later, and yet again was shown live on TV. This was a far more comfortable win than the bare scoreline suggests. To be frank, Forest were awful at times during this game, especially defensively, and we probably should have scored 4 or 5. but the team ethic was clear to see, and a very enjoyable evening in front of the TV for me.

Joe Calls celebrates his goal at Forest.

Goals from Aron Gunnarsson and Joe Ralls clinched for Cardiff with Forest's only goal coming from a very late and slightly contentious penalty.

Today (Saturday 29th October 2016) is another home game against fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic. This could be harder than playing against high flying teams in the table, and lets hope for a further win today before next week's away trip to face table topping Newcastle United.

Big News from the Bluebirds!

Big news at Cardiff city during the last 24 hours. Following a continued run of poor form, Paul Trollope was finally sacked about 24 hours ago. However, the board immediately appointed well known manager Neil Warnock as his replacement.

Make no mistake, this is a big appointment for the club. Although now approaching his 68th birthday, Neil Warnock can be seen as a manager who knows how to get teams to perform and how to get results. During his career, which includes a number of Premier League clubs such as Sheffield United and Queens Park Rangers, he has achieved promotion 7 times and in more recent years has saved clubs from imminent relegation, most recently last season with Rotherham United.

The fans can be genuinely excited about this appointment. It is something of a coup for the club, as undoubtedly Warnock would soon have been in great demand from a number of other clubs. The recent form of the team, which has resulted in six defeats in the last seven matches, finally made Paul Trollope's position untenable. It was a brave experiment for the club to appoint him following his success as a coach with a Welsh international team, but he clearly seemed out of his depth managing a Championship side. Despite an away win at Rotherham(the only team below Cardiff in the table), a poor home performance against Derby County 3 days later suggested that the players had become confused with what they were expected to do and what tactics they were expected to employ. Last Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Burton Albion was too much for many of the die hard fans who follow Cardiff to away games, and there were calls for him to be sacked. Thankfully the board has reacted quickly to the situation.

We now look forward to the Neil Warnock era at Cardiff city. To make things really interesting, the first Game that Warnock will be in charge for is the Severnside derby against Bristol City on Friday, 14 October. Coincidentally, this game will be shown live on sky TV here in the UK. Let's hope for a bumper crowd and the atmosphere.

Interesting Times at Cardiff City!

RESULTS

ROTHERHAM 1 CARDIFF 2

CARDIFF 0 DERBY 2

BURTON ALBION 2 CARDIFF 0

The Only Way is Up

Worrying times at Cardiff City football club. For the first time in 12 years, we find ourselves at the very bottom of the Championship following four consecutive league defeats. Despite the acquisition of the experienced Rickie Lambert during the transfer window, Cardiff are still finding it difficult to score goals. To make things worse, there seems to be a general lack of confidence in the team. After Leeds United went ahead in the 60th minute last Saturday, you could see the body language of the players indicated that they felt that there was going to be no way back into the game for them. They badly need some form of confidence boost. Manager Paul Trollope is increasingly under pressure, and if results do not improve soon  he may find himself out of work.

Rickie Lambert.

In general, I like to take a positive attitude towards the team. Indeed, in some of the  home matches that I have witnessed this year there has been very little between the two sides playing. But Cardiff's inability to score goals, coupled with their increasing lack of confidence, has put them in a very difficult predicament. It is still a little early to talk about a relegation battle, but if results do not improve in the next three or four games then this is what we are facing for the rest of the season.

Matches since my last post:-

FULHAM 2 CARDIFF 2

CARDIFF 0 READING 1

NORWICH 3 CARDIFF 2

PRESTON 3 CARDIFF 0

CARDIFF 0 LEEDS 2

Despite conceding a late equaliser, the Fulham game was encouraging against a team who have made a good start to the season. The home defeat to Reading was not deserved, as Cardiff made plenty of chances but were unable to score, and Reading had one chance which they put away. A loss at Norwich, who I confidently expect to return to the Premier League this season is also no disgrace, especially at one of our most unlucky grounds. Reports suggest that the performance at Preston was very poor.

Last Saturday provided some encouragement for the first hour of the game. Cardiff probably should have been ahead just before half time when Aron Gunnarsson hit the post. But once Leeds went ahead in the 60th minute following an unfortunate penalty decision, Cardiff never looked like getting back into the game.

In general, Cardiff have played quite well at times in the 3 home games in which they have lost this season. But the capitulation after going 1-0 down on Saturday was worrying. Manager Paul Trollope badly needs to find a way to lift the confidence of the players, or its going to be a long season!

Paul Trollope - food for thought.

And So We're Back Again!

This years preseason predictions will take place after 4 games have already been played, as we didn't get back from our family holiday until after the start of the EFL season. It's been a bit of a mixed start for the Bluebirds, with one win, one draw, and one loss from the first  3 league games. Sandwiched in between those games was an extra time defeat in the EFL cup to Bristol Rovers.

The team is indeed using the 352 formation, as used successfully by Wales during the summers European Championships. It still seems to be a bit of a  “work in progress”,  but last night's first win of the season against Blackburn began to illustrate the benefits of the formation.

The new system has been slightly disrupted by a series of injuries to key players. New signing Jazz Richards was unavailable last night having picked up an injury last Saturday against QPR, and Stuart O'Keefe broke his arm in a freak accident at Bristol Rovers. There were some issues concerning the link play between the midfield and the strikers on Saturday, but this seems to have been addressed by last night. Encouragingly, the wingbacks seem to be getting forwards to provide width to the team, with Declan John in particular doing very well.

Wales international Emyr Huws

The main worry is the lack of goals in the team. It is difficult itself whether the team needs a new top quality striker, or whether a more creative midfielder may be required. It is hoped that the signing of Emyr Huws from Wigan may help in that respect. There has been some criticism from some fans about the abilities of Frederic Gounongbe, but he has not had a very much good quality service so far to fully pass judgement.

Results so far:

BIRMINGHAM 0 CARDIFF 0

BRISTOL ROVERS 1 CARDIFF 0 (after extra time)(EFL Cup)

CARDIFF 0 QPR 2

CARDIFF 2 BLACKBURN 1  

BIRMINGHAM 0 CARDIFF 0

I was unable to witness the first Game of the season due to my holidays. Accounts in the press suggest a good performance from Cardiff and they probably should have won the game. Freddie Gounongbe missed a very good chance.

BRISTOL ROVERS 1 CARDIFF 0

This game was moved to Thursday night to be shown live on Sky television. Approximately half of the team were rested, which resulted in a slightly disjointed performance. Although Cardiff dominated possession, they rarely looked like scoring. A fantastic 35 yard strike sealed the game for Bristol Rovers 5 minutes before the end of extra time.

CARDIFF 0 QPR 2

These two teams were clearly very evenly matched. Defences were well in control, and despite both teams having long periods of possession, neither side likely to score in open play. The first goal when it finally came was a header by former Cardiff player Steven Caulker following a free kick. The second goal came from a slightly dubious penalty. The main disappointment during this game came from Cardiff's inability to create chances for their strikers.

Declan John.

CARDIFF 2 BLACKBURN 1

Card's first win of the season came courtesy of Blackburn Rovers. Rather bizarrely, from  2 own goals from Blackburn centre half Shane Duffy. And to make matters worse for Duffy, he managed to get sent off for a second bookable offence in stoppage time at the end of the game! Therefore, after four games, no Cardiff player has scored a goal this season! The general performance was much better, although Blackburn were very poor side. Declan John in particular had a good game, as did Aaron Gunnarsson who was replacing O'Keefe in midfield.

Shane Duffy of Blackburn (22) heads his second own goal of the game!

PREDICTIONS:

This is the time when I usually try to predict the top six and the bottom three Championship teams for this season. A very difficult task as usual. 

The top six - Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa(last seasons three relegated Premier league teams) should all be up there. The other three places could go to any number of clubs - Derby, Brighton, Bristol City, Sheffield Wednesday and Brentford could all be involved. I'm not as convinced as in previous years that Cardiff can force their way into the top six, but the Championship is as wide open as ever and they have as much chance as a number of other teams. If I have to make a definite decision I would say that Derby, Brighton and Bristol City would be my choice after the first 3 mentioned.

Bottom 3 - Blackburn, Burton, and Rotherham may all struggle.

Midsummer update.

It seems hard to believe that it is only 11 days since Portugal beat France in the final of Euro 2016, especially when the new EFL season is now only 16 days away! Whatever happened to a break between seasons? Most of the league teams were back in pre-season training before the international season had even finished, and in the case of our own beloved Cardiff City this was actually more of a problem than we expected, due to the fantastic performance of the Wales team in reaching the semi-final of the Euros. Our own manager Paul Trollope was involved in the coaching team for Wales, and so was unable to take up his full time position with the club until 2 weeks ago. Thankfully, he has now  seen the impossibility of combining his coaching role with the Welsh squad and has now devoted himself completely to the Bluebirds.

Paul Trollope on duty with Wales

Comings and goings.

At this stage between seasons its difficult to finalise the complete list of ins and outs. The transfer window doesn't officially close until 31st August. This season, as an added complication, there is no "emergency" loan window for Football league clubs, so the players in your squad by the 31st August cannot be added to until the new window opens on the 1st January.

Two of our signings are already familiar to the club. Dutchman Lex Immers has now been signed to a permanent deal following his successful loan spell during the second half of last season. Also returning on a permanent deal is Danish under 21 international Kenneth Zohore who also showed good potential at the same time.

 Kenneth Zohore

Lex Immers

I'm particularly pleased about the return of Immers, as his inclusion really boosted the team after Christmas. In hindsight, it may well have been his injury during the last few games of  the season which prevented us from going on to get at least a playoff place.

A signing which had Bluebirds fans reaching for the Google search button was Frederic Gounongbe from relegated Belgian League 1 side Westerlo. He was a prolific scorer there in a struggling side - lets hope he can fill the need we have for a quality goalscorer.

Freddy signs!

Significant signing?

Perhaps the most significant signing of the closed season so far is of Welsh international Jazz Richards from Fulham. As a part of the deal, left back Scott Malone went in the other direction to Fulham. Jazz had been away with the Welsh squad at Euro 2016, and although he did not get any game time there he was under the coaching of Cardiff manager Paul Trollope. This seems to indicate a change of formation for the Bluebirds to the 3-5-2 system as employed by Wales (5-3-2 when defending). Considering the success the Wales had at the Euros with this formation, and Trollope being one of the coaches, this is an exciting development. Jazz has been playing as a wing-back successfully for Wales in the qualifiers, and at Cardiff we already have 2 natural wing-backs in Fabio and Declan John. If it works as well for Cardiff as it did for Wales we could yet have a very successful season. All we have to do now is sign Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey!

Jazz Richards on Wales duty.

Its a little difficult to say more at this time - there could be many changes before the season starts - but this is positive news and gives supporters a little hope. Hopefully we can keep hold of the players who ultimately did well for us last season and push on up the table. Now lets look forward to the opening game away at Birmingham city on the 6th August.

(Due to my annual holiday there is unlikely to be any more updates before the new season commences).