' KADEEM HARRIS? '
Mon Sep 26, 2016 5:25 pm
The rise of Kadeem Harris in the eyes of the Cardiff City fans... so is he finally ready to make it?
Monday 26th September 2016
BY PHIL SMITH
Harris fell out of the first team picture last season but has made a big splash over the last six weeks
Can Kadeem Harris pin down a starting spot?
It escaped few Bluebirds fans' attention that Saturday afternoon’s comeback started just three minutes after Kadeem Harris was introduced.
Harris had been hotly tipped to get the nod from the start but in the end a niggling injury he had been battling with during the week meant he had to settle for a fifth substitute appearance of the season.
In truth, that the turnaround coincided with his appearance was on this occasion largely coincidental.
The much needed response was owed for the most part to the delivery of Peter Whittingham in the first instance and in the second, the nous and experience of Rickie Lambert to find that much needed space and golden touch in the penalty box.
What is much harder to dismiss is that six of Cardiff’s eight goals this season have come when the 23-year-old has been on the pitch.
Given that has only made two starts, it’s an eye-catching stat. For all he may not have had a crucial hand in Cardiff’s win at Rotherham, he did show in his 36 minute cameo why his inclusion is so clamoured for along the fanbase.
For the first time in the game, the Bluebirds had a genuine counter-attacking threat. Whereas in previous weeks Cardiff have found themselves pinned further and further back as the game develops, here they were able to use exploit that by springing from deep.
Kadeem Harris has made a big impression in his two appearances this season
In Stuart O’Keefe and Peter Whittingham, Trollope has two excellent distributors of the ball who can open up games for wingers in space.
Harris was a nightmare for Rotherham, who had no choice but to commit players up the pitch knowing how easily this rapid runner could pick them off on the break.
In O’Keefe, Harris has a player who can not only find with him a pass but has the lungs to support his dribbles. Together they can add variety to Cardiff’s attack and give their under pressure boss new options.
But can Harris take it?
He seems on the cusp of a major breakthrough at Cardiff, though many will remember that he has been here once before in the 2014/15 season.
Promising beginnings under Russell Slade before frustrating exile
Cardiff’s lack of pace is nothing new. It’s an issue that has blighted them for the entirety of their time back in the Championship.
Malky Mackay’s promotion winning side had the likes of Craig Conway, Kim Bo-Kyung, Noone and at times Craig Bellamy to provide speed and creativity in the wide areas. Frazier Campbell and Joe Mason to an extent were able to bring it through the middle.
Slowly but surely that squad has been broken up and only an out of sorts Noone remains.
Kim Bo-Kyung was one of many excellent attacking players in the squad when Harris first signed
Russell Slade knew it was a problem as much as Paul Trollope does now, turning to Harris two months into his reign for his league debut.
Harris had by that point had already garnered a reasonable reputation.
It was the season before when he had ripped apart Brentford’s development side. In a Cardiff second XI featuring Matthew Connolly, Rudy Gestede and Rhys Healey, Harris was the stand-out player in a 3-1 win.
Four days later, the Bees snapped him up on loan, the then 20-year-old scoring on his debut and making a big impression in a side that would go on to be promoted from League One.
An injury prevented the extension of his loan but a year later he was in the Cardiff first team picture, finishing the season with eighteen appearances in all competitions and scoring twice.
Months later, however, he found himself on loan at Barnsley. Rave reviews followed for his League One performances but his loan ended in October and he entered a bizarre and frustrating period of exile from competitive football.
It wasn’t until six months later that Slade finally turned to Harris. With Cardiff drawing at home to lowly Bolton and with their season on the brink of ending, he was thrown on ten minutes from the end.
Harris stats
6
Crosses
33%
Success rate
A surprise return to prominence?
It’s an exaggeration to say that Harris’ rise to prominence this season came from nowhere, but nor were there many indications that he could become a fixture of Paul Trollope’s side.
Like Craig Noone, the switch to a 5-3-2 seemed to isolate the genuine wingers in the squad. Harris was far from a prominent part of pre-season, only appearing alongside established first teamers for the first time in the second half of Cardiff’s second Osnabruck tournament game.
Damningly, he simply looked to be offering cover at full-back as Noone and fellow youngster Matty Kennedy took up the wing positions in a 4-3-3.
When the same formation emerged in the latter stages of the EFL Cup defeat to Bristol Rovers, it was again Kennedy who crossed the white line.
Kadeem Harris in one of his early Cardiff appearances
But then Cardiff sold Fabio.
A key part of the pre-season preparations, the man who could provide the speed out wide to race on to Peter Whittingham’s long diagonals.
His transfer came out of nowhere but with Middlesbrough meeting his release clause without hassle, Cardiff were caught on their heels.
Harris made his first appearance in Gabio's old role in the latter stages of the Blackburn win and when a few days later the team travelled to Craven Cottage, they were outfought and outplayed in a galling first half.
Lacking speed and incision out wide, Trollope turned to Harris as a wing-back. Six minutes later, a 1-0 scoreline had been flipped to 2-1. A Fulham side that had been in complete control suddenly found themselves desperately back-pedalling and trying to plug gaping gaps in the defence.
Harris has been pushing and pushing ever since, exhilaratingly attacking space with his powerful running.
A brighter future?
With Harris surely likely to come into the starting XI against Derby, it’s worth going back to that loan spell at Barnsley.
Manager of the Tykes then was Lee Johnson, who had this to say about Harris: “The end product is an area of his game he has to improve but, in fairness, that’s probably why we’ve got him because, if that was top notch, then he would be in the Premier League.
“I’d love to take him back in the squad (in January). I think he’s got a bright future. We’re just grateful to Cardiff for letting us have him at the moment. He’s very close to being top drawer and, if he just steps over that line, then Cardiff – or whoever – have got a very good player.”
A year down the line, end product is still where the question marks lie. Despite his impressive showings, Harris has still only created one chance for his team-mates and averages less than a cross per appearance.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a run of games, for he clearly does. He also could do with greater consistency in terms of his selection. Paul Trollope had to use him in a varierty of roles but switching from right wing-back to left-wing to right-back will make his strive for consistency that much harder.
Can Harris make this second breakthrough last longer than the first?
The latter stages of the Rotherham win offered a glimpse into a potentially more promising future, with Harris and Noone driving at the defence from out wide.
Indeed, it was interesting that once Cardiff had gone ahead in the game, Noone also had his most influential spell of the season.
His delivery is not what it once was and he struggled again in South Yorkshire, but with Cardiff able to get the ball to him in better areas, he improved. Rather than being marked by two players, with three or four defenders already in the box, he was able to get the run and open up one on ones in space.
Both he and Harris need to find consistency if Caridff are to improve their end product.
The challenge for Harris is to turn another run of promising showings into the kind of long-term consistency that could see him make a real splash.
Monday 26th September 2016
BY PHIL SMITH
Harris fell out of the first team picture last season but has made a big splash over the last six weeks
Can Kadeem Harris pin down a starting spot?
It escaped few Bluebirds fans' attention that Saturday afternoon’s comeback started just three minutes after Kadeem Harris was introduced.
Harris had been hotly tipped to get the nod from the start but in the end a niggling injury he had been battling with during the week meant he had to settle for a fifth substitute appearance of the season.
In truth, that the turnaround coincided with his appearance was on this occasion largely coincidental.
The much needed response was owed for the most part to the delivery of Peter Whittingham in the first instance and in the second, the nous and experience of Rickie Lambert to find that much needed space and golden touch in the penalty box.
What is much harder to dismiss is that six of Cardiff’s eight goals this season have come when the 23-year-old has been on the pitch.
Given that has only made two starts, it’s an eye-catching stat. For all he may not have had a crucial hand in Cardiff’s win at Rotherham, he did show in his 36 minute cameo why his inclusion is so clamoured for along the fanbase.
For the first time in the game, the Bluebirds had a genuine counter-attacking threat. Whereas in previous weeks Cardiff have found themselves pinned further and further back as the game develops, here they were able to use exploit that by springing from deep.
Kadeem Harris has made a big impression in his two appearances this season
In Stuart O’Keefe and Peter Whittingham, Trollope has two excellent distributors of the ball who can open up games for wingers in space.
Harris was a nightmare for Rotherham, who had no choice but to commit players up the pitch knowing how easily this rapid runner could pick them off on the break.
In O’Keefe, Harris has a player who can not only find with him a pass but has the lungs to support his dribbles. Together they can add variety to Cardiff’s attack and give their under pressure boss new options.
But can Harris take it?
He seems on the cusp of a major breakthrough at Cardiff, though many will remember that he has been here once before in the 2014/15 season.
Promising beginnings under Russell Slade before frustrating exile
Cardiff’s lack of pace is nothing new. It’s an issue that has blighted them for the entirety of their time back in the Championship.
Malky Mackay’s promotion winning side had the likes of Craig Conway, Kim Bo-Kyung, Noone and at times Craig Bellamy to provide speed and creativity in the wide areas. Frazier Campbell and Joe Mason to an extent were able to bring it through the middle.
Slowly but surely that squad has been broken up and only an out of sorts Noone remains.
Kim Bo-Kyung was one of many excellent attacking players in the squad when Harris first signed
Russell Slade knew it was a problem as much as Paul Trollope does now, turning to Harris two months into his reign for his league debut.
Harris had by that point had already garnered a reasonable reputation.
It was the season before when he had ripped apart Brentford’s development side. In a Cardiff second XI featuring Matthew Connolly, Rudy Gestede and Rhys Healey, Harris was the stand-out player in a 3-1 win.
Four days later, the Bees snapped him up on loan, the then 20-year-old scoring on his debut and making a big impression in a side that would go on to be promoted from League One.
An injury prevented the extension of his loan but a year later he was in the Cardiff first team picture, finishing the season with eighteen appearances in all competitions and scoring twice.
Months later, however, he found himself on loan at Barnsley. Rave reviews followed for his League One performances but his loan ended in October and he entered a bizarre and frustrating period of exile from competitive football.
It wasn’t until six months later that Slade finally turned to Harris. With Cardiff drawing at home to lowly Bolton and with their season on the brink of ending, he was thrown on ten minutes from the end.
Harris stats
6
Crosses
33%
Success rate
A surprise return to prominence?
It’s an exaggeration to say that Harris’ rise to prominence this season came from nowhere, but nor were there many indications that he could become a fixture of Paul Trollope’s side.
Like Craig Noone, the switch to a 5-3-2 seemed to isolate the genuine wingers in the squad. Harris was far from a prominent part of pre-season, only appearing alongside established first teamers for the first time in the second half of Cardiff’s second Osnabruck tournament game.
Damningly, he simply looked to be offering cover at full-back as Noone and fellow youngster Matty Kennedy took up the wing positions in a 4-3-3.
When the same formation emerged in the latter stages of the EFL Cup defeat to Bristol Rovers, it was again Kennedy who crossed the white line.
Kadeem Harris in one of his early Cardiff appearances
But then Cardiff sold Fabio.
A key part of the pre-season preparations, the man who could provide the speed out wide to race on to Peter Whittingham’s long diagonals.
His transfer came out of nowhere but with Middlesbrough meeting his release clause without hassle, Cardiff were caught on their heels.
Harris made his first appearance in Gabio's old role in the latter stages of the Blackburn win and when a few days later the team travelled to Craven Cottage, they were outfought and outplayed in a galling first half.
Lacking speed and incision out wide, Trollope turned to Harris as a wing-back. Six minutes later, a 1-0 scoreline had been flipped to 2-1. A Fulham side that had been in complete control suddenly found themselves desperately back-pedalling and trying to plug gaping gaps in the defence.
Harris has been pushing and pushing ever since, exhilaratingly attacking space with his powerful running.
A brighter future?
With Harris surely likely to come into the starting XI against Derby, it’s worth going back to that loan spell at Barnsley.
Manager of the Tykes then was Lee Johnson, who had this to say about Harris: “The end product is an area of his game he has to improve but, in fairness, that’s probably why we’ve got him because, if that was top notch, then he would be in the Premier League.
“I’d love to take him back in the squad (in January). I think he’s got a bright future. We’re just grateful to Cardiff for letting us have him at the moment. He’s very close to being top drawer and, if he just steps over that line, then Cardiff – or whoever – have got a very good player.”
A year down the line, end product is still where the question marks lie. Despite his impressive showings, Harris has still only created one chance for his team-mates and averages less than a cross per appearance.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a run of games, for he clearly does. He also could do with greater consistency in terms of his selection. Paul Trollope had to use him in a varierty of roles but switching from right wing-back to left-wing to right-back will make his strive for consistency that much harder.
Can Harris make this second breakthrough last longer than the first?
The latter stages of the Rotherham win offered a glimpse into a potentially more promising future, with Harris and Noone driving at the defence from out wide.
Indeed, it was interesting that once Cardiff had gone ahead in the game, Noone also had his most influential spell of the season.
His delivery is not what it once was and he struggled again in South Yorkshire, but with Cardiff able to get the ball to him in better areas, he improved. Rather than being marked by two players, with three or four defenders already in the box, he was able to get the run and open up one on ones in space.
Both he and Harris need to find consistency if Caridff are to improve their end product.
The challenge for Harris is to turn another run of promising showings into the kind of long-term consistency that could see him make a real splash.
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Re: ' KADEEM HARRIS? '
Mon Sep 26, 2016 7:54 pm
loads of sense here however think coaching staff LL much prefer a safer/disciplined option ie ralls
Re: ' KADEEM HARRIS? '
Mon Sep 26, 2016 7:57 pm
If we are playing wingers then Harris should start, he has been our best attacking threat in wide areas everytime I have seen him play. He's pacey, direct and troubles defenders.
If we are playing wing backs then I don't think he should start because he gets caught out quite often and needs to work on his positioning.
If we are playing wing backs then I don't think he should start because he gets caught out quite often and needs to work on his positioning.