Why Ben Turner and Mark Hudson reunion would boost Cardiff City's Championship chances - Steve Tucker
Who will line up at centre back has become a hot topic for Cardiff City fans. Here, Steve Tucker makes a case for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to reunite Ben Turner and Mark Hudson.
There are plenty of fascinating questions still to be answered about what kind of Cardiff City side Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will field next season.
Will David Marshall still be in goals? Who will get the nod up-front out of a large stable of strikers? But perhaps the most intriguing is just who will the Bluebirds’ boss pair at centre-half?
We say pair, despite the fact that last season the Norwegian surprised many by going with three at the back on occasion. With the Bluebirds now favourites in the Championship and looking to dictate matters rather than react to them, it seems almost certain Solskjaer will go with a traditional flat back-four this time around.
Replacing Steven Caulker -
The mystery right now is who will Solskjaer bring in to replace Steven Caulker, who looks certain to hit the exit button this summer to return to the Premier League.
Although the bigger question might be, do Cardiff really need to bring in anyone at all at all - even if last season’s skipper does depart?
Bids have apparently been placed for Southampton’s Jose Fonte and Solskjaer has also been linked with a raid on former club Manchester United for promising young defender Michael Keane, but would this dismiss the assets already under the Cardiff manager’s nose?
Even without Caulker, the Bluebirds still look very well served when it comes to centre-halves. They have the men who defended so resolutely to lift the Championship title and see the Bluebirds promoted to the Premier League in the first place still at the club. Mark Hudson, Ben Turner and Matt Connolly are still in the Welsh capital and when you factor in the addition of smooth Spaniard Juan Cala, Solskjaer right now is better served in the heart of defence than his predecessor Malky Mackay ever was.
Youngster Ben Nugent, who looked to be on the verge of a break-through under Mackay, has been allowed out on loan to Yeovil, whilst 21-year-old Uruguayan Maximilano Amondarain remains an unknown quantity, albeit an unknown quantity with three years of a four-year deal still left.
But of the serious contenders in place already for next season it is Hudson who presents the strongest argument for inclusion. There are widespread rumours linking him with a move away, with former club Crystal Palace and rivals Leeds United apparently sniffing around.
But if Hudson is allowed to go it could prove a big mistake by Solskjaer.
Cardiff City's promotion season
The commanding centre back was superb in Cardiff’s promotion campaign. After all he was not named Player of the Season for nothing. He anchored the back-line, usually alongside Ben Turner, with the Bluebirds very resolute when it came to not conceding goals.
Indeed it could be argued that with the Cardiff hardly hot-shots up-front that year, it was the likes of Hudson and his defensive colleagues upon which the taming of the second-flight was built.
And that is another point about Hudson, the guy is a leader of men, a reassuring and stirring figure on the pitch. He proudly wore the Cardiff armband and it could be argued it was a presence like his, a player to rally around when the going gets tough, that the Bluebirds missed as they floundered in the top-flight. Hudson managed just two starts in the Premier League last season before his campaign was curtailed by injury.
Some might point to the fact Hudson is now 32 years old, but that is hardly a great age and he is scrupulous in keeping himself fit. Hudson remains one of the most professional members of the Cardiff squad. To let him go now would be losing a man who again could be a massive asset to the Bluebirds promotion push
In their most recent preseason friendly out in Austria, Solskjaer paired Hudson with Cala who was experiencing his first action of the summer. It seems a partnership that could well work in the Championship with the uncompromising Hudson complimenting the Spaniard who likes to get the ball down and play. The same could be said of pairing Cala with Turner.
Dividing opinion -
Turner has been a player who has divided opinion virtually since he arrived at the club three years ago. The 26-year-old is often seen as lacking any finesse at all and his distribution branded woeful, but every time he has been taken out of the side Turner just seems to keep roaring back and defying his critics in the process. If at times he was found out in the Premier League he is tried and tested at Championship level and would appear to have a very big season in front of him now. The Bluebirds are going to need to scrap if they are to get out of the second-flight and Turner is certainly a man you want around when it comes to a fight.
There would be plenty who might argue that despite the presence of Cala in the Cardiff squad, despite even the arrival of a new centre-half this summer, it could well be the old ‘meat and potatoes’ pairing of Hudson and Turner which might prove the rock on which the next Bluebirds promotion push is built on. Indeed if the Cardiff are to have a bright future next term it might be a nod to the past that paves the way.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/foot ... rk-7470879?
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.