" JUST ONE OF OUR LAST TWENTY ONE SIGNINGS HAS BEEN A HIT "

With all the talk among Cardiff City fans being of summer transfers, or the lack of them, we take a look at those who've been drafted in since last summer

By Gareth Rogers

Sunday July 5th 2015

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/foot ... ne-9591402?

Cardiff City's signings struggled to make an impact last season and quite frankly, fans will be hoping for better this year.

With the summer transfer window now in full swing, Bluebirds boss Russell Slade is still to make a major move but he needs to choose carefully as few of his buys have had the desired impact to date.

In reality, since Premier League relegation only the £4.5m signing of defender Bruno Manga can truly be considered a hit.

Slade and his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer both worked tirelessly to bring players in but a quick look through their list of transfers appears to shout out quantity rather than quality.

Stalwarts David Marshall, Peter Whittingham, Aron Gunnarsson and Craig Noone still provide the spine of the team, while Ben Turner, Joe Mason, Joe Ralls and even Matt Connolly could reasonably expect to be in the starting XI on August 8.

With that in mind, Gareth Rogers takes a look at those brought in during the last 12 months and judges whether they’ve been a hit, miss or maybe.

Bruno Manga £4.5m – HIT

The star centre-back was bought for big bucks from French outfit Lorient and slotted straight into the back four - as if he’d been there for years.

In fact, had he been signed a year earlier, a partnership with Steven Caulker could possibly have steered Cardiff clear of the Premier League’s drop zone.

Conjecture aside, the facts show that during January, while Manga was at the African Cup of Nations, Cardiff City shipped goals and slid down the Championship table.

Sadly, his player-of-the-year performance last season would not have gone unnoticed and a big-money bid seems inevitable.

Sean Morrison £2.6m – MAYBE

Manga’s centre back partner seems to be one of the few players Russell Slade and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer actually agree on.

Signed by Solskjaer, Morrison was a mainstay in the back four under the Norwegian, as he was under Slade, as he racked up 42 appearances.

But with Ben Turner’s injury worries behind him, Morrison’s place could be under serious threat if Manga somehow stays.

Adam Le Fondre £2.2m – MISS

If widespread reports are to be believed, the first choice strike target last summer was Bournemouth’s Lewis Grabban and his £3m release clause was met by Cardiff before he signed for Norwich.

But once Grabban had gone by the wayside, many fans thought they’d landed a better deal as Reading hot-shot Adam Le Fondre was snapped up for £2.2m.

Despite plenty of effort, strikers are judged on goals and Le Fondre simply didn’t score enough of them, even though he was given chance after chance by both managers.

As disappointing as it is, Le Fondre has to leave this summer and in an ironic twist, he’ll probably end up scoring a load of goals for one of Cardiff’s rivals.

Tom Adeyemi £800,000 – MAYBE

To be honest, Tom Adeyemi is a very capable Championship midfielder but the fact that he failed to dislodge the ‘old firm’ of Peter Whittingham and Aron Gunnarsson in an awful Cardiff City season, hardly inspires hope for the future.

On the face of it, he has the legs to be a box-to-box player and looked good in the early part of last season but has to start more than 11 times for £800,000 to be seen as value.

Anthony Pilkington £875,000 – MAYBE

A bit like Le Fondre, when Pilkington arrived excited fans thought they’d be watching a player who would pose plenty of problems for Championship defenders.

But injuries and poor performances from some of those around him meant the season ended without the Irish international ever hitting top gear.

His goal against Sheffield Wednesday gave a brief glimpse of what he’s capable of but more will be demanded next season.

Stuart O’Keefe £750,000 – MISS

On the day Cardiff City signed a Premier League midfielder that hardly anybody had heard of, alarm bells started ringing.

The facts are, O’Keefe had only made 26 starts in a professional career that had spanned seven years before his arrival and he only made four in four months last season.

He’s below the likes of Whittingham, Gunnarsson, Ralls, Adeyemi and probably Kagisho Dikgacoi in the queue for a starting berth and few would expect to see much of him next season.

Guido Burgstaller £500,000 – MISS

When the Austrian international arrived from Rapid Vienna, hopes were high that Cardiff had signed a star.

His pre-season performances looked full of energy and he even played in the first game at Blackburn.

But that was about all the fans saw of him and he was shipped out to Nuremberg the first chance Russell Slade got.

Alex Revell £160,000 – MISS

In fairness to Alex Revell, having been signed from Rotherham for next to nothing, hopes of a goal flurry were hardly high.

So his return of two goals in eight starts doesn’t look bad.

He always works hard and plays to the best of his ability but if Cardiff are serious about getting back to the Premier League they need a 20 goal striker and Revell just isn’t that.

Scott Malone £90,000 - MAYBE

Scott Malone was brought in as a bargain buy from Millwall and the Bluebirds fans who remember the wondergoal he scored against them in his Bournemouth days (Google it!) might have hoped for more of the same.

But so far, few have been inspired by what they’ve seen. The stats show he does come forward and put in telling crosses but many fans will tell you rival Fabio is more dynamic and carries a greater threat.

It looks likely that Malone will start the season on the left side of defence and nobody will be too disappointed with that.

Kagisho Dikgacoi Free – MAYBE

While it is mighty tempting to label the former Crystal Palace midfielder a miss, the fact he sat out the entire season means he must be a maybe.

There are rumblings of concerns about his fitness but we understand the South African star has been in for extra training over the summer.

So fans will be hoping he can regain the powerful presence he so often displayed against Cardiff in his Palace days.

Federico Macheda Free – MISS

Everybody remembers 17-year-old Macheda’s magic Manchester United winner against Aston Villa in 2009.

For some, Martin Tyler’s amazing commentary of the goal is etched on their brain but the Cardiff fans hoping to be thrilled by that level of verve and energy from the Italian have been sadly disappointed.

Even the Macheda who scored 10 goals for Birmingham the previous season would have done but ultimately, to see such a star name struggle for form and fitness and only return six goals in 25 appearances, was not enough.

Kenwyne Jones Swap - MAYBE

While the giant striker scored more goals than anybody else last season, he's hardly endeared himself to the Bluebirds faithful.

When he was traded for Peter Odemwingie, he came as a Premier League star and was dreadful in the Premier League relegation season.

He scored 11 goals last season but the acid test was, when he went on loan to Bournemouth, the Bluebirds' results improved if anything.

Fabio Free - MAYBE

The Brazilian, who once played in a Champions League final, was another who had plenty to prove after his dismal performances in the Bluebirds' relegation.

But he certainly improved at Championship level and was starting to find his confidence before Russell Slade apparently decided he was defensively vulnerable.

Danny Gabbidon Free – MISS

It was unfair to expect the Danny Gabbidon of 2015 to perform the same swashbuckling runs everybody enjoyed during his first spell at the club.

But he only appeared twice and the fact he wasn’t kept on as a coach after his spell as caretaker manager, has many questioning why he was ever brought in.

Javi Guerra Free - MISS

The deal for the hot-shot Spanish striker was struck midway through the Premier League relegation season and the fact that the Bluebirds went down cast doubt over the whole deal.

But, while Guerra did his bit and turned up in Cardiff, he was never given anything like the chance his goal record demanded and will leave this summer.

Matt Kennedy Undisclosed – MAYBE

This lad was closer than any other player to being a hit. While few people actually know what Cardiff paid Everton him, indications are that it wasn’t much compared to some transfers on this list.

He’s the one player on this list who has the pace and drive to go past defenders and should have been picked ever week. The fact he wasn’t makes his a maybe, but he should be right in the fight for a starting spot next month.

Eoin Doyle £750,000 – MAYBE

Another of Slade’s better signings, Doyle looked lively in his 16 appearances and chipped in with five goals.

He looked raw at times but caused defenders real problems when spinning into wide areas and it was easy to see how he scored 25 goals in League Two before arriving.

At 27 he’s no youngster but the Irishman certainly looks capable of scoring enough goals to make his £750,000 fee look value.

Lee Peltier (nominal fee) - MAYBE

It would surprise few people if Russell Slade makes Lee Peltier his captain next season.

The former Liverpool defender, who was Huddersfield captain before joining Cardiff, first played for Slade at Yeovil Town and is one of his trusted lieutenants in the dressing room.

He looks a solid defender, but little more, and needs to put in a string of tenacious performances in the Jason Perry or Andy Legg mould to really win over supporters.

Magnus Eikrem £1.75m - MISS

The Norwegian came from Heerenveen with a decent reputation as a Manchester United youngster and Solskjaer seemed confident he could make a top player of him.

But he is another who was hardly ever seen in the centre of midfield and was relieved to eventually leave for Malmo.

Mats Daehli £2.1m - MISS

What a tragedy it is that a man of Daehli's talent left Cardiff City without ever really showing the fans his exceptional talent.

He always looked comfortable on the ball and full of flair but if his fellow Norwegian Solskjaer couldn't get the best out of him, then it's unlikely Slade was ever going to. He was relegated from the Bundesliga with Freiburg last season.

Jo Inge Berget Undisclosed - MISS

The third Norwegian to join under Solskjaer was sadly another flop. Berget played in the FA Cup defeat against Wigan and that was about it.

He never looked like scoring for Cardiff but scored two in four games on loan at Celtic.

After leaving Cardiff, Berget joined Eikrem at Malmo and is banging in the goals with seven in 11 starts.

7 hits there for me

Seems to be having a dig at the club. A poor article.

Granted there have been some poor signings in that list however I believe quite a few more are not poor signings.

For example, you cannot say a striker is poor if they have no supply. Sometimes tactics/ team selection have a knock on effect.
Without doubt the stand out performer is Manga. There are quite a few maybe's there where the author should say yeah or nay. Many of the players have been at the club long enough.

Last edited by bridgendbluebird30 on Sun Jul 05, 2015 6:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

We had to wait a bit for Manga's debut and then lost him for a month. So he's a good addition but harsh to downplay our other signings

Poor article, some if those ratings were harsh.

Didn't know that about o'keefe though. 26 starts in 7 years and we paid £750k
Ffs.

Don't like that journalist at all.

Having said that, can't find a lot to disagree with in that article unfortunately.

He Could have also passed judgment on our last two managers - both would have been "MISS".

What a load od shite. over half those players he has called a miss hasn't had a chance yet and cost very little anyway, articles like this makes me understand when managers hate the press so much totally understandable

Pilkington is a great player

Fabio also been playing well for us

Easy article to compile. Clearly our signings have been poor based on the fact we got relegated from the Premier League and finished 11the last year when tipped for promotion.

There is no doubt the change of managers hardly helped.

Misleading article

Some of the players on that list could have been (and can be) heroes for us. The likes of Daehli, Guerra, Adeyemi and Burgstaller have loads of class but were never given a chance by a second rate managerial set up. Thats hardly their fault. Fabio is maligned by the management because he has a little too much class to be properly understood and others like Le Fondre demonstrated their worth elsewhere and were likely frustrated by our lack of creative quality.

Like most others I'm sure, I'll put this down to the silly season, writing something just out of boredom and I'll take it with a large pinch of salt.

Didn't know that about o'keefe though. 26 starts in 7 years and we paid £750k
Ffs.