" Malky - Season Review of 2012/13 "

It has been well documented that Malky only had 10 senior players at his disposal when he arrived at the club less than two years ago, and I don't anyone could really argue that getting to the carling cup final and losing on penalties to one of the top two clubs in Britain on penalties and reaching the play offs was a huge success and over achievement in his first season.


However, the honeymoon was over as this season approached and only promotion would be viewed as a success. I watched the pre-season friendlies against Cheltenham and Newcastle and I was left licking my lips at the prospect of the new season.

The early optimism I felt soon turned to despair after watching us limp to a 1-0 last minute win against Huddersfield and getting hammered 4-2 up in ashton gate!

Malky then signed Noone and Maynard and it added much needed pace into our team and we suddenly looked like world beaters again, until Maynard was ruled out for the season with a cruciate knee injury.

Our away form was patchy to say the least but in our home games we were showing the grit and determination to grind out results which would prove to be the difference between us and the chasing pack. This grit and determination was no better highlighted than in the 1-0 victory over Boro when we had Nugent making his debut and Joe Ralls filling in at left back.

It turned out that the period from November 10th until February 24th was where our promotion was secured. The football (or the pitches) weren't pretty during this time and a neutral would have often left those games thinking "I wish i'd stayed at home!"
But nevertheless it was our desire and pure steel mentality that saw us extend the gap week after week as all the fancied sides buckled under the gruelling fixture schedule.

As Cardiff fans we are programmed to believe that in the end we'll f**k it up, and the closest I came to believing this was after the Leicester home game when we looked absolutely shot to bits! I could see us completely void of ideas and energy and thought "oh no not again."
But the win against Sheffield followed by the introduction of kim bo-kyung and Jordon mutch soon put those fears to bed.

In my view, Malky has excelled this season and has made himself a Cardiff City legend. He has brought in a blend of players that proved to be just right to tackle this league. There have been times when I have watched other teams and thought they looked much better than us. But it is no good winning 6-0 one week and then losing two or three games on the bounce. Malky's team have had enough character to bounce back after a defeat and make sure that there have been no Dave Jones slumps that have cost has so much in recent years.
His signings have come in seamlessly and carried on the job. Frazier Campbell and Leon Barnett are examples of this and have been proof that Malky's insistence on finding players with no egos has paid off.

Another thing that has stood out for me in our squad is the lack of sulking when a player gets dropped. A few times this season I would have felt hard done by if I was some of the players but when they have been called upon to come back into the side they have always given their all and done a job for the team and you can see in the celebrations of the last few day that nobody feels left out and it truly is ONE squad.

Malky's man management has been a breath of fresh air. He has helped Kim adapt to a new culture and language and seems to have been mindful of the fact that he hasn't had a proper break from football for 2 years. He has released him at the perfect time to be the catalyst for our final push.
I think he has wrapped Jordon Mutch in cotton wool and has often tried to boost his confidence and protect him in his press conferences constantly reminding everyone of his age.
He has dropped Gunnarsson a few times and brought him back in until he's got the best out of him.
He didn't push Conway out into the cold after he handed in his transfer request but instead gave him a chance to prove him wrong.
He has nurtured Nugent and Rudy and given them vital experience.

I could go on, but for me the biggest thing that pleases me about malky mackay so far during his tenure is the way he has completely transformed our whole club. I think Dave jones was just happy to be in control of the first team squad and think other areas of the club suffered because of this. Not so Malky Mackay, he has completely transformed out club in a similar way that Martinez did at Swansea. He has top class medical team, a scouting network that I believe we will reap the rewards of this summer as we find players none of us have even heard of. (we could usually predict DJ's signings)
He has put systems in place with Dick Bate for example leading our academy that will bear fruit in years to come and he is definitely building a club that, if he does leave will be in a far far healthier position than when he arrived less than 2 years ago!

Good read that thanks

Quality piece Gringo

Very well put totally agree with

Excellent read, enjoyed it Cheers

Great Post BUT I bet you can't name all the train stops on the Valleys lines!!!!!

Good read and a fair assessment

Thanks for the replies lads

Good OP and not far off how many of us feel about MM.

However, next season is going to be one hell of a test in so many ways. Not only have we got far superior opposition to play against but are we (us fans) going to be happy watching the same grinding type of football every week?

Personally I will put up with it as I know how important staying in the PL is to this club but say it is the same 2 or 3 seasons down the line, what then?

Also if our ultimate plan is to become the new Beatles in the Far East then we will have to change the way we play to attract these new long distance fans.

Will MM be the man to do that or will he become our version of Chelsea's Roberto Di Matteo i.e. delivering a big prize but sacked because the football wasn't entertaining enough?

Very good write up there mate

Agree with you about the leicester game,i never lost faith but honestly thought we were in trouble,especially after The excellent Mark Hudsons season had ended
The key to getting over the line was dropping Whitts who was desperate for a rest and the introduction of an invigorated jordan mutch and Kim
Also Leon Barnett played a massive part,the only thing I knew about him was that he couldnt get iN Norwichs side