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' CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY? '

Wed Jun 28, 2017 6:05 pm

WHY WARNOCK’S CARDIFF MUST LOOK TO LAND THIS £2.98M-RATED PL OUTCAST THIS SUMMER
By: Marcus Oades


Wednesday 28th June 2017



Cardiff City will be one of those sides targeting a promotion push next season after securing a top half finish in the Championship last term.

The Bluebirds made a poor start to the campaign under Paul Trollope, who paid for that with his job after winning just two of his 11 league matches in charge, a run which plunged them to 23rd in the division.

However, Neil Warnock made a return to football by replacing the 45-year-old at the South Wales outfit, and he fared much better with 15 victories in his 35 league games in charge, sealing a 12th place finish in the second tier for the Bluebirds.

But now the former Sheffield United and Crystal Palace chief will be thinking how they can be challenging for a return to the Premier League next season, and it’s clear that reinforcements will be needed for them to bridge that 18-point gap to the play-off places.

And one man he could look to bring to the Cardiff City Stadium is West Brom winger Callum McManaman, whose future at The Hawthorns remains far from certain.

The 26-year-old moved to the Baggies back in 2015 after impressing at Wigan Athletic, but he has since made just 25 appearances for Tony Pulis’ side, failing to net in any of them.

He spent last season on loan at Carlos Carvalhal’s Sheffield Wednesday but still failed to show the sort of form that earned him a £4.75 million move to West Brom two years ago, managing just 12 appearances for the Owls, and failing to net in any of them.

And his apparent struggles since moving to the Midlands has raised doubts about his future at the club, and Warnock should give him a lifeline by considering a move for the winger this summer.

And that’s because Cardiff will be looking up rather than down next season, and need strength in several areas to sustain a challenge at the top.

And although things haven’t worked for McManaman at West Brom, you can’t forget how good and impressive he was for Wigan prior to that move.

The 26-year-old scored 17 goals and laid on seven assists in an arguably weak Wigan team during his time there, with his direct running, pace on the flanks, and fine crossing ability showing him to be one of the better wingers near the bottom of the Premier League in 2012 and 2013.

And if Warnock is able to get that out of him again, and offer him the fresh start that he probably needs to resurrect his career, then Cardiff could be beneficiaries of a very talented Championship player.

His contract expires at the Hawthorns next summer, and is highly unlikely to be renewed, and although Warnock has many options down the flanks, adding someone who possesses potential like the £2.98 million-rated McManaman (as per Transfermarkt) would not go amiss.

Re: CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY?

Wed Jun 28, 2017 6:06 pm

A great call IMHO, if the boss could make not happen :ayatollah:

Re: CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY?

Wed Jun 28, 2017 6:13 pm

really liked him at Wigan, hasn't done a lot since.

Re: CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY?

Wed Jun 28, 2017 6:17 pm

Pacy, direct and has got a bit of bite to his game which I'm sure Warnock would love.

Re: CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY?

Wed Jun 28, 2017 6:21 pm

Would love this, hasn't played a lot but think Warnock will help bring the best out of him

Re: CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY?

Wed Jun 28, 2017 6:35 pm

Like posters have said above I thought he was brilliant at Wigan back at the start of the decade. Surprised to find out he is now 26 which just shows how long he has been off the radar.

However, a near £3m transfer fee is a no goer although maybe WBA would like to do a swap for Rickie Lambert? ;)

Re: ' CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY? '

Wed Jun 28, 2017 6:52 pm

Why do people think he would be any better here ? since Wigan, nothing. no thanks.

Re: ' CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY? '

Wed Jun 28, 2017 7:10 pm

We dont need him or another winger, give Kennedy his chance instead he has gone out on loan and done enough to prove he is worthy of playing a run of games for us, he should be given a chance before we consider bringing anyone else imo.

Re: ' CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY? '

Thu Jun 29, 2017 10:28 am

I hate this "City must look at this player"type of journalism.Its just one journo's opinion and is not the same as being "linked" or an ITK scoop.Anyone can say look at this or he'd go well there or but theres usually nothing behind it and you could say the same thing about any player thats running down his contract.A good fit?The only thing I know about NW is that you can't second guess the bugger and he only takes opinions on a player by the people he has specifically instructed to scout for him.

Re: ' CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY? '

Thu Jun 29, 2017 11:37 am

Sneggyblubird wrote:I hate this "City must look at this player"type of journalism.Its just one journo's opinion and is not the same as being "linked" or an ITK scoop.Anyone can say look at this or he'd go well there or but theres usually nothing behind it and you could say the same thing about any player thats running down his contract.A good fit?The only thing I know about NW is that you can't second guess the bugger and he only takes opinions on a player by the people he has specifically instructed to scout for him.


Your point is valid but some (like me) find these articles interesting as I had completely forgotten about Callum McManaman and was surprised to find how old he is now.

Re: ' CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY? '

Thu Jun 29, 2017 11:38 am

TrueBlue99 wrote:We dont need him or another winger, give Kennedy his chance instead he has gone out on loan and done enough to prove he is worthy of playing a run of games for us, he should be given a chance before we consider bringing anyone else imo.


That is a very good point.

Re: ' CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY? '

Thu Jun 29, 2017 6:48 pm

Tony Blue Williams wrote:
TrueBlue99 wrote:We dont need him or another winger, give Kennedy his chance instead he has gone out on loan and done enough to prove he is worthy of playing a run of games for us, he should be given a chance before we consider bringing anyone else imo.


That is a very good point.


I really hope Kennedy is given a chance. We've seen how Warnock has got Harris playing and for me technically Kennedy is probably a better player. Given a proper pre season with the managers confidence in him and I think he could play a big part.

Re: ' CALLUM A GOOD FIT FOR NEIL WARNOCK'S CITY? '

Thu Jun 29, 2017 7:15 pm

I really rated Callum McManaman, but you've got to question his professionalism off the pitch if Pulis doesn't pick him. He's behind James McClean in the pecking order, who I don't rate as Premiership quality.