' SURELY NINE POINTS FOR CARDIFF? '

MY OPINION ' SURELY NINE POINTS FOR CARDIFF? '


The verdict on three games that could make or break Paul Trollope as Cardiff City face the league's worst defence and weakest attack


If Not We really are in for relegation battle for the season


Wednesday 21st September 2016

BY PHIL SMITH

It's going to be a big seven days for Paul Trollope but his opponents form is cause for some optimism


So where will Cardiff be come six o'clock next Saturday?

It is tempting and not unreasonable to fear the worst, but there remains every chance that the Bluebirds could head into that break with a sense of a storm weathered.

They may be struggling for that ruthless touch in both boxes but on Saturday they face the division's leakiest defence.

Next Tuesday night, it's the only team in the division to score fewer league goals in Derby County.


How many points can the Bluebirds land?




' ROTHERHAM AWAY '


Cardiff's lapses in concentration have been a source of bitter frustration for all this season but they have defended like Saachi's Milan in comparison with Rotherham's woes at the back.

The Millers have shipped a remarkable 20 goals in their eight league games, that stat not taking into account the four they conceded against League Two Morecambe in the EFL Cup.

After their 4-2 defeat to Blackburn at the weekend, Owen Coyle's team previously without a win in the league, Rotherham boss Alan Stubbs bemoaned his side's individual errors at the back.

Many ex-pros have discussed the problems managers who played at the top level can have coaching in the lower leagues, so is former Premier League stalwart Stubbs suffering that fate?

Alarm bells will truly and quite rightly be ringing should the Bluebirds' drought continue at the New York Stadium.

Rotherham have not looked like the force they were under Neil Warnock this season
A managerial hangover?

You'll remember Neil Warnock's complimentary words to Cardiff and their fans towards the end of last season.

Having instigated a stunning turnaround at Rotherham in the second half of last season, there were more than a few wondering if he could be the perfect fit for the Bluebirds after Russell Slade's departure.

What is unquestionable is that Cardiff's next opponents are struggling to maintain those extraordinary levels that saw them finish the campaign as one of the division's best teams.

For Alan Stubbs, it's been a tough fall from grace after ending Hibernian's century long wait for a Scottish cup.

There'll be plenty of nerves around come 3pm Saturday.

Can the Bluebirds keep it tight?

Rotherham have managed to score their fair share of goals, however, and Danny Ward has shown some good form in front of goal.

Rotherham have fielded him alongside Isaiah Brown in a 5-3-2 during the last two games. Brown is a 19-year-old loanee from Chelsea, and his new club will be hoping he can have a similar impact to Blues team-mate Tammy Abraham at Bristol City.

Brown scored on his debut against the Robins and so the Bluebirds will have to tighten up at the back.

Verdict: On every level this feels like a must win for Cardiff. Rotherham have pulled off some good results this season but it would not look good for the Bluebirds to fall four points behind them, as they will if they lose.






' DERBY COUNTY ' HOME


A painful transition

Having just fallen short of promotion season after season, Nigel Pearson was hailed as the perfect appointment to get Derby over the line.

What has perhaps taken many by surprise is the changes he has already made to the squad.

Chris Martin, one of the league's most highly rated target men, was loaned to Fulham as Pearson made room for Matej Vydra.

Pearson, clearly, was looking to streamline his XI and add extra pace, as he had done at Leicester.

Jeff Hendrick was sold to Burnley as he switched to a two in central midfield.

The results have been poor so far, with just two goals scored in eight league games.

If Cardiff can somehow get into the lead, they'll be facing a team whose confidence is surely similarly fragile.

Nigel Pearson has struggled to make an immediate impact at Derby
The star man in midfield

Likely to be best on show is the supremely talented Will Hughes, who returned from a long-term injury at the end of last season and almost hauled his faltering side over the line.

His continued form this campaign has been one of the few consolations and alongside Craig Bryson, they have real talent in midfield.

Out wide, Ikechi Anya and Tom Ince bring pace and flair in spades.

Regular observers of the Rams say they have seen an improved in recent games and so Cardiff will have to be at their best.

Could they click if they make a fast start to the game in South Wales?

Verdict: No matter how badly they are struggling, this is likely to be a daunting fixture for Cardiff given the individual talent in Pearson's ranks. They have to go out with no fear but if they can get positive results either side of this one, a point might be relatively well received.





' BURTON ALBION ' AWAY

A more pro-active 3-5-2?

Burton started the season on fire, shipping a few too many goals but scoring more than enough to make up for it.

A 1-0 win at home to Derby County was the point at which they had appeared to have found an eye-catching balance between attack and defence.

Lloyd Dyer may be 34 but remains a speedy winger and alongside Lucas Akins, has brought dynamism in the wide areas to make their brand of 3-5-2 seem a bit more aggressive than perhaps the one seen by Bluebirds fans this season.

With experienced heads at the back (including a certain Ben Turner), this has real potential to be a banana skin. They'll have to be smart not to be caught on the counter.

Ben Turner is a familiar face in the Burton side
Reasons for hope, however...

Burton's early season surge has faded just slightly and they are without a win in three.

That needs a bit of context, as the first two were actually pretty impressive draws away to Walter Zenga's Wolves and Slavisa Jokanovic's Fulham.

Last time out was a disappointing but certainly not scandalous 1-0 home defeat to Brighton.

They'll be tough to beat, make no mistake.

Verdict: A tough game, particularly if Cardiff's confidence is low from the two previous to it. Overall, should get three points from this one.



' SURELY NINE POINTS FOR CARDIFF? '

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Right now, and sorry for sounding pessimistic, but I can only see 3 or maybe 4 points coming from those games.

Not sure where the original post came from but its looks specially designed to heap more pressure on the manager.

Who among the real supporters would not mind 5 points though I will conceed that less than that would not be good for Trollope.

Not sure where the original post came from but its looks specially designed to heap more pressure on the manager.

Who amoung the real supporters would not mind 5 points though I will conceed that less than that would not be good for Trollope.

My opinion

Martin are you a Trollope Fan or believe he will come good?

' SURELY NINE POINTS FOR CARDIFF? '

We have three of the easier games ahead.

Rotherham worst defence in the Championship, for me they def look bottom 5 this season and will always struggle as they are a very very small club.Near the bottom.

Derby County always struggle at our place,don't travel well. Spent £millions,but club in disaray as the money did not guarantee them success last year or the year before. Derby struggling to score goals. Near the bottom.


Burton Albion will end up struggling another small club,great start, now struggling.


If we can't win these,then for me, the season will be all down hill as we are not buying Quality in Jan either.

Sorry but I just can't see any points from these three games at present

Like most fans I'm hoping but there are no easy games and I'm hoping some of the players will step up to the plate.Even under Malky we lost to Barnsley twice in one season when they were bottom and we were top.Ever since I can remember fans on here have been moaning about managers that only play 4-4-2(DJ on anyway)so I'm willing to give him a bit more time and don't forget Wales were absolute pants until the last tournament so this system does take time to bed in.

Three games and we should get nine points. Where have I heard that before - quite recently?

Like most fans I'm hoping but there are no easy games and I'm hoping some of the players will step up to the plate.Even under Malky we lost to Barnsley twice in one season when they were bottom and we were top.Ever since I can remember fans on here have been moaning about managers that only play 4-4-2(DJ on anyway)so I'm willing to give him a bit more time and don't forget Wales were absolute pants until the last tournament so this system does take time to bed in.

Malky, why always pick on him?
He was given a job and got us Wembley,play-offs,a Title,an amazing home run,Premier League and we were never relegated under him.

We are talking about our next three very important League games

I respect you about giving him more time, you will see that Ive not said sack him.
Waste of time as Tan won't bring any better in so we might as well give Trollope time

But I personally have No faith in him, But we are stuck with Trollope so lets back him at the matches

Annis I honestly cannot see us winning these 3 and if the unthinkable happens and we lose all 3 that surely will mean the axe for Trollope. We will have suffered 6 consecutive defeats and gained 5 pts from a possible 33. That is relegation form. Teza

Annis I honestly cannot see us winning these 3 and if the unthinkable happens and we lose all 3 that surely will mean the axe for Trollope. We will have suffered 6 consecutive defeats and gained 5 pts from a possible 33. That is relegation form. Teza

Terry, the problem is not just Trollope,its the famous committee above him

Rotherham - tight win - 3 points
Derby - big defeat - 0 points
Burton - bore draw - 1 point

4 points will not be enough from these games we need a minimum of 7

Annis I honestly cannot see us winning these 3 and if the unthinkable happens and we lose all 3 that surely will mean the axe for Trollope. We will have suffered 6 consecutive defeats and gained 5 pts from a possible 33. That is relegation form. Teza

Terry, the problem is not just Trollope,its the famous committee above him

You cant really blame the transfer commitee for this poor start, the squad we have is more than capable of doing well in this division . The problem lies somewhere between the manager and the players

I predict 4 points. Beat Rotherham draw with derby and lose at Burton.

Rotherham's away record is awful, but at home they are strong, they will get in our faces and I expect them to beat us.

Derby have started off poorly under Pearson but they have quality players. They're struggling to score, but it's just a matter of time before it comes together for them and they will probably put a performance together against us and comfortably beat us.

Burton are the type of team we can't deal with, as they're a tiny club raising their game fighting and scrapping for every point. Like Rotherham, we won't deal with them getting in our faces.

I think we will be lucky to get a maximum of 1 point from these 3 games the way things currently are, but I expect us to lose all 3 games. Trollope has turned us into a soft touch defensively this season and with nothing to offer going forwards, I don't see where our next point is going to come from.

Like most fans I'm hoping but there are no easy games and I'm hoping some of the players will step up to the plate.Even under Malky we lost to Barnsley twice in one season when they were bottom and we were top.Ever since I can remember fans on here have been moaning about managers that only play 4-4-2(DJ on anyway)so I'm willing to give him a bit more time and don't forget Wales were absolute pants until the last tournament so this system does take time to bed in.

Malky, why always pick on him?
He was given a job and got us Wembley,play-offs,a Title,an amazing home run,Premier League and we were never relegated under him.

We are talking about our next three very important League games

I respect you about giving him more time, you will see that Ive not said sack him.
Waste of time as Tan won't bring any better in so we might as well give Trollope time

But I personally have No faith in him, But we are stuck with Trollope so lets back him at the matches

Wasn't picking on Malky there Annis,just using those 2 results to illustrate my point.This current squad has the potential to pick up points at any ground so I wouldn't see anything less than nine points as total failure but I agree insomuch that the next 3 games are a good place to start picking up points.

Annis we could quite easily get beat in all three I'm afraid, that's my concern.

We are rock bottom of the league for a reason. The headline 'Surely nine points for Cardiff' is simply ridiculous.

Let take one game at a time, nine points from three games ffs when was the last time we won three league games on the bounce?

Looking forward to Rotherham I would be happy with a draw to stop the run we are on.

Rotherham 1 pt. 0-0
Derby 1 pt 1-1
Burton 0 pt. 0-2

is he real, maximum 1 point and I'm worried about that!

Football is a funny game, form means nothing in some matches as unexpected results shock the fans. Let's hope we are shocked and have something positive to say about them as our form has been diabolical

I'm usually optimistic but really cant see us winning any of these games. We make the lesser teams look like brazil and Derby are due a good performance. We are in massive trouble unfortunately

Who's knows but I would honestly be suprised if we get 4 points let alone 9. I think anything over 6 would be a miracle oj current form.

Might get one point out of that lot chief.

4 points max

4pts tops, how are we going to go from rock bottom to promotion form?

4pts tops, how are we going to go from rock bottom to promotion form?

Hi Roathy (1 post at the time of spotting and a new PB).

No easy games in the Championship Let's hope we start to turn this around

Annis I honestly cannot see us winning these 3 and if the unthinkable happens and we lose all 3 that surely will mean the axe for Trollope. We will have suffered 6 consecutive defeats and gained 5 pts from a possible 33. That is relegation form. Teza

Terry, the problem is not just Trollope,its the famous committee above him

You cant really blame the transfer commitee for this poor start, the squad we have is more than capable of doing well in this division . The problem lies somewhere between the manager and the players

Thomas, I blame the people who appointed Trollope,I blame the mess we are in and thats because of them, plus Trollope has to take the blame as well.

we arent in a position to expect to win three games on the bounce no matter what the opposition are.