Comment: Time for Cardiff City to start believing in Premier League destiny
IF you didn’t believe before, you must at least be daring to dream just a teeny-weeny bit after events of the last few days.
Cardiff City 2 Leeds United 1. Millwall 0 Cardiff City 2.
A couple of entirely different testing circumstances which the Bluebirds have come through with flying colours to really put down their credentials as genuine Premier League contenders.
I’m going to put my own neck on the block and predict right here in this column that I believe this time next year, Malky Mackay’s team are going to be facing Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal in the most happening league in world football.
Yes, I know it’s far too early to be making such a definitively bold suggestion. Yes, I’m fully aware promotion is won in April or May, and certainly not in September.
Yes, football can sometimes be a hugely unpredictable game, lots can still go horribly wrong and I could be left with a rather large helping of egg on my face.
But forgive my enthusiasm because I can’t recall being quite as optimistic as I am today about the prospects for the Bluebirds.
The manner in which they put first Leeds and then Millwall to the sword has simply increased my conviction that this really could be the golden season.
Leeds was a niggly, uncompromising, horrible game. Stop start, stop start. Typical of a Neil Warnock team, you might say.
Warnock previously had the Indian sign on the Bluebirds in Cardiff. His Sheffield United team won promotion down here a few years back, his Queens Park Rangers took a big step towards the Championship title by drawing 2-2 a couple of seasons ago.
Last year, Warnock’s Leeds outfit clawed out a draw against a heavily-favoured Bluebirds team pushing for the top six under Mackay.
This time, though, Warnock was the beaten man, the Bluebirds displaying resolve to go with their undoubted flair and prevailing in a war of attrition.
So far, so good, but they had to follow it up with another victory at The Den.
My view beforehand was that Tuesday night would tell us a lot about this Bluebirds team. They had the ability to win the game, but Millwall on a Tuesday night is never an easy place to go.
Games like that are what win you promotion and the Bluebirds’ 2-0 victory in a hostile environment proved they have the mettle to grind out results away from home, as well as on their own Cardiff City Stadium patch.
The Bluebirds will face much better teams than Leeds or Millwall this season, but it was the circumstances in which they beat those two back-to-back which stood out for me.
They head back to London this weekend for a showdown with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, full of optimism and belief they can take another three points.
And why not? The defence has a more solid look to it than any City back four since the line-up of Kevin McNaughton, Roger Johnson, Glenn Loovens and Kerrea Gilbert were providing a foundation under Dave Jones’ table-toppers in 2006.
The two Craigs, Bellamy and Noone, offer more penetration, width and creativity from the flanks than City have had for years.
Tommy Smith is the sort of natural footballer we haven’t seen too often in a Cardiff shirt in recent times. The game appears to come so easily to him, he has time on the ball, is quick and has this knack of throwing defenders off balance with a drop of the shoulder.
Nicky Maynard looks quality up front. Pace, movement, awareness, just imagine what City will be like when he starts scoring.
The presence of those four means the heat is off Peter Whittingham, who last season was expected to produce the creativity pretty much on his own. Whitts can more than hold his own in the company of the others and is actually thriving amongst their presence.
Jordon Mutch brings solidity, flair and presence to the midfield.
Put together, it represents a potent mix... and we haven’t even mentioned the likes of Mason, Helguson, Velikonja, Gunnarsson or Kim Bo-kyung.
Other clubs must be casting envious glances the way of the riches at Mackay’s disposal.
Underpinning everything, of course, is the manager himself and the work ethic, organisation and discipline which he continues to instill into his team.
Mackay and his Bluebirds have twice been at something of a crossroads. When he first joined the club in the summer of 2011, he inherited a threadbare squad and was forced to wheel and deal at the lower scale of the transfer market.
Many of us feared the only way was down for City, but Mackay got the team punching above their weight and somehow conjured a top-six finish out of his players.
Crossroads number two arrived this summer. Surely the Bluebirds could not match those achievements again with the likes of Cowie, Gunnarsson and Conway still being their key players?
The Malaysian owners realised that, introduced their controversial rebranding... and backed it up with unprecedented spending powers for Mackay in the transfer market.
He was suddenly dealing with Rolls-Royces, in Championship terms, as opposed to the Ford Escorts of the previous summer. Players he had coveted for some time, but couldn’t possibly afford, were suddenly signing.
Gelling them together was going to take time, or so we thought. But the Bluebirds are up and running, one point off top spot, and could actually rise to the summit if they win at Palace and other results go their way this weekend.
Then, the following Saturday, Ian Holloway’s Blackpool high-fliers come to Cardiff City Stadium for what will be a rip-roaring encounter. Another of those matches which will tell us a lot about City’s realistic promotion chances.
Blackpool are flying and in Tom Ince and Matt Phillips possess two quality footballers to match anything the Bluebirds have... other than Bellamy, of course, who is clearly still far too good for this level.
Blackburn are also banging in the goals for fun. I had reservations about their promotion credentials because I’m not convinced about Steve Kean as manager, but there are very good players up at Ewood Park and they too are winning games.
The early indications are that it could be a shoot-out between those two Lancashire clubs and the Bluebirds for the two automatic promotion positions.
Brighton are currently in the mix and have a brilliant manager in Gus Poyet, but having lost Noone to Cardiff, I can’t see them going up.
Steve Bruce has pedigree as a manager, thus we shouldn’t write off his Hull side. Again though, I see them more as top-six candidates, as opposed to top two.
Bolton and Wolves, two highly-fancied sides at the start of the season, are bound to put it together at some stage, but aren’t doing so yet.
But if I were any of those other teams, I would be fearing the goal power in Cardiff’s side and depth in Mackay’s squad.
When injuries and suspensions bite, and they will at some point, this time City can replace like for like, rather than have to paper over the cracks.
Three wins on the trot, Wolves, Leeds and Millwall, can become four at Selhurst Park this weekend.
I know we shouldn’t be counting our chickens just yet, but I am, anyway.
The future is looking bright, the future is looking red.
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