MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 5:29 am
With the imminent release of the retained list...... 
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Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay has offered words of comfort to those Bluebirds players who do not make the Premier League grade as he prepares to announce his retained list for the new season.
With his Championship-winning squad already bursting with talent and more signings inevitable this summer, some of the Bluebirds who earned promotion in the first place might find themselves struggling to hold down a first-team place next term.
Mackay has already said he needs to be ruthless, but admits he knows how his players will be having endured the same rejection himself.
In his playing days Mackay earned promotion to the top flight three seasons running with Norwich, West Ham and then Watford.
But with the Canaries and Hammers he saw no top-flight action and had to move on until at Watford he finally made 14 Premier League appearances and took his first steps into management.
Mackay admits at the time he was disappointed, but believes in football even what appears at first to be a negative can turn into a positive.
And it is a message he is keen to pass on to those in the Bluebirds squad who he himself might now have to disappoint.
“When I was at Norwich I was surprised they had accepted a bid for me because I really thought I was going to be involved,” said Mackay.
“When someone accepts a bid for you that obviously sends you a huge message.
“Although I did not want to go to the place they accepted the bid from, within five minutes I was at West Ham which is a huge club.
“I was delighted by the chance to go there. I had a great year and we got promoted too.
“Then in the Premier League it was not a case of, ‘You’re not going to be involved here, bye bye.’ It was a case of you are going to be involved less.
“You will certainly play, but you won’t play every game, but you are absolutely here and one of us.
“But someone has come in for you although you don’t have to go. But at that point in my career I just felt I had to play every week.
“Then West Ham manager Alan Pardew was great to me. He said you don’t have to go, you’ve been a great servant here and you are someone I want around my first-team squad, but I just felt I needed to play every week.
“So, despite it being Watford, who had just avoided relegation, I decided to move. It obviously was not for financial gain, it was all about wanting to play football.
“Thankfully, maybe because I just put the football front and centre, fortune was smiling on me the day I made that decision.
“I had an incredible season at Watford and we went on to win in the play-offs. Then I went on and got my season in the Premier League. It’s funny, football is sometimes all about timing.”
Indeed, as he prepares to shatter a few Premier League dreams in Cardiff this close season, Mackay said in football that sometimes even the darkest cloud might turn out to have a silver lining.
“Football careers take many twists and turns,” added Mackay. “One minute you think you are going down a dark alley and the next minute something pops up and you are winning a trophy or a title.
“I went to Watford quite late in my career and people might have seen that as a step down or as winding down after West Ham, but within nine months I was in a play-off final beating Leeds United and then playing in the Premier League.”
Below is some basic player info
Leon Barnett 8 starts +0sub/0 goals: Will City try to bring the centre-half back next season? Did an excellent job for eight matches and City kept five clean sheets. He's now back at Norwich, having been recalled, but hasn't played since leaving Cardiff. Can't see him coming back to the Bluebirds.
Craig Bellamy 28 starts +5 sub/4 goals: Under contract through next season, having signed a two year contract when he signed from Liverpool. A major player in City's promotion season and will play a crucial role next season. His sheer presence, experience and know-how will be such a boost for the Bluebirds.
Kim Bo-Kyung 20 starts +8 sub/2 goals: Under contract until 2015. Will be a major hit at Premier League level. An absolute gem of a signing - and Malky Mackay held him back for exactly the right amount of time until he was ready. And boy did he fly.
Fraizer Campbell 9 starts +3 sub/7 goals: Under contract until 2016. Scored five goals in five games when he first arrived from Sunderland in a £650,000 transfer last January. Suffered a shin injury, but will be back fit and ready to compete with Maynard for that striking role.
Matthew Connolly 36 starts +0 sub/5 goals: Under contract until 2015. Versatile defender who joined City as a centre-half and then switched to right-back. Has had three successive promotions with Reading, QPR and Cardiff. Will again be challenging for a first team place next season.
Craig Conway 21 starts +6 sub/2 goals: Under contract for one more season. Hard working winger who loves running at defenders, willing to track back and help out defensively. Asked for a transfer last January, when his request was turned down showed he worked hard for a chance and grabbed it with both hands when it came.
Don Cowie 15 starts +10 sub/2 goals: Under contract until the end of next season. Made 25 Championship appearances over the season. There was such competition for places through midfield it became more and more difficult as even Whittingham spent time on the bench.
Rudy Gestede 5 starts +22 sub/5 goals: Under contract with City until the end of next season, having signed an extension. Big, strong centre-forward who has worked to improve his skills in attack and will continue to drive forward. His second half goals in the 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest showed how far he has come.
Aron Gunnarsson 35 starts +10 sub/8 goals: Under contract until 2016, having signed an extension. Still only 23, Gunnar's midfield link with Kim and Mutch at the end of the season was a joy to watch. Energetic, box-to-box midfield player who returned his best goals tally for a season with eight.
Heidar Helguson 27 starts +11 sub/8 goals: Out of contract and now back home with his family in Iceland. May have one final season of playing for his boyhood club Throttur Reykjavic. Brave, experienced striker who was joint top scorer for City with eight goals. Played a big role in City's success.
Mark Hudson 33 starts +0 sub/4 goals: Captain Fantastic. Player of the Year. Until contract through to the end of next season with an option for a further year. A leader who organised the back five with great authority before he was injured - and still played a crucial off-field role in the dressing room after he was hurt.
Filip Kiss 0 starts +2 sub/0 goals: Under contract until 2016, having spent a full season on loan from Slovakian club NK Maribor and then signed a four-year deal. The transfer fee was just under £500,000. Hard tackling midfield player, 22, who has failed to make a first team impact and now faces the task of doing that at Premier level.
Simon Lappin 2 starts +0 sub/0 goals: Glasgow-born full-back whose contract runs to the end of next season. He signed for City in January, an 18-months deal. Unlikely to play regular first team football with Taylor one of the first names on Mackay's team sheet and may go out on loan to play regularly.
Joe Lewis 0+0/0: Patient keeper who will launch a major bid to become City's first choice next season. Experienced Championship keeper and at 6ft 4ins a big figure in penalty area. Under contract until 2015, having signed a three-year deal when he made the switch to South Wales from Peterborough a year ago.
Stephen McPhail 0+0/0: Out of contract this summer and will be leaving Cardiff in search of first team football. Joined City from Barnsley in 2006 and has made well over 200 first team appearances. Didn't play a Championship match this season, but is going out to try and finish his playing days on a high.
David Marshall 46+0/0 goals: The best keeper in Championship football – and at last he is now a Premier player. Under contract until 2015, having signed a three-year extension a year ago. Close to a big breakthrough with Scotland - and playing at the top level with Cardiff will help his case.
Joe Mason 12 starts +16 sub/6 goals: Bargain buy from Plymouth for £250,000 two years ago. Under contract until 2016, having signed an extension. Six League clubs asked to take Mason on loan last season, bit City said no because he was a valuable squad member. Would have benefited from a spell out playing first team football and deserved more Bluebirds appearances.
Nicky Maynard 3 starts +1 sub/1 goal: Under contract until 2015, having signed for City from West Ham in a £2.75m transfer. Mackay insists Maynard would have scored 20-plus goals this season had he been fit, but knee surgery meant he made only four appearances and scored one goal. Promoted in each of the last two seasons, but didn't play in the Premier with West Ham. Will be back fit and firing for pre-season training.
Kevin McNaughton 24 starts +3 sub/0 goals: Out of contract this summer, already offered a new two-year deal. Loyal servant, fans favourite who signed for City in 2006. Likely to be a squad player in the Premier - and may yet feel he wants regular first team football.
Jordan Mutch 18 starts +4 sub/0 goals: Under contract until 2015. Quality midfield player who has drive, energy and a fierce shot. Still only 21 - his next birthday isn't until December - and we certainly haven't seen the best of Mutch yet. Can't wait to see him in the top flight.
Craig Noone 25 starts +7 sub/7 goals: Signed a four year contract, which runs until 2016, when City signed him from Brighton for £1m a year ago. Quick feet, tricky running and loves having a go at defenders. Needs to find more consistency and ensure his tracking back on defence is at a peak.
Ben Nugent 7 starts +5 sub/1 goal: Under contract until 2016, having signed an extension. Aged 20, big, strong and effective. Stays cool under pressure. Still raw, plenty to learn, but a young man with huge potential if he keeps listening to the Bluebirds coaching staff.
Joe Ralls 1 start +3 sub/0 goals: A teenager and one for the future. Quality central midfield player who slotted in at full-back for the first team last season and did well. Far and away the best player in the Premier Development League play-off final v Charlton last week.
Tommy Smith 19 starts +5 sub/1 goal: Under contract with City until the end of next season. Experienced at Premier level with Watford and QPR. Calm and focused under pressure, rarely concedes possession. Could be a solid squad player next season.
Andrew Taylor 43 starts +0 sub/0 goals: Consistently effective at left-back. Has committed to City until 2016, signing a contract extension. Premier and European experience at Middlesbrough, will be a major asset for the Bluebirds and surely one of the first names on the team sheet for that opening game of 2013-14.
Ben Turner 30 starts +1 sub/1 goal: Big Ben has committed to City until 2016, having signed a contract extension. Powerful defender, strong in the air and deceptively quick across the ground who will relish the chance to play Premier football. Still only 24-years-old.
Etien Velikonja 1 start +2 sub/0 goals: Cost £2m, under contract until 2016, but at the age of 24 badly needs to play. Signed a 4-year contract when he arrived. Scored 13 goals for development team, but lacks physical presence. Played 90 minutes at Macclesfield in FA Cup, started v Hull away in final game, but taken off at half-time.
Peter Whittingham 37 starts +3 sub/8 goals: Under contract until 2015. City's playmaker finished joint top scorer, but struggled to break in once the Kim/Mutch/Gunnarsson midfield unit hit form. His last 90 minutes was at Sheffield Wednesday in mid-March.
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Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay has offered words of comfort to those Bluebirds players who do not make the Premier League grade as he prepares to announce his retained list for the new season.
With his Championship-winning squad already bursting with talent and more signings inevitable this summer, some of the Bluebirds who earned promotion in the first place might find themselves struggling to hold down a first-team place next term.
Mackay has already said he needs to be ruthless, but admits he knows how his players will be having endured the same rejection himself.
In his playing days Mackay earned promotion to the top flight three seasons running with Norwich, West Ham and then Watford.
But with the Canaries and Hammers he saw no top-flight action and had to move on until at Watford he finally made 14 Premier League appearances and took his first steps into management.
Mackay admits at the time he was disappointed, but believes in football even what appears at first to be a negative can turn into a positive.
And it is a message he is keen to pass on to those in the Bluebirds squad who he himself might now have to disappoint.
“When I was at Norwich I was surprised they had accepted a bid for me because I really thought I was going to be involved,” said Mackay.
“When someone accepts a bid for you that obviously sends you a huge message.
“Although I did not want to go to the place they accepted the bid from, within five minutes I was at West Ham which is a huge club.
“I was delighted by the chance to go there. I had a great year and we got promoted too.
“Then in the Premier League it was not a case of, ‘You’re not going to be involved here, bye bye.’ It was a case of you are going to be involved less.
“You will certainly play, but you won’t play every game, but you are absolutely here and one of us.
“But someone has come in for you although you don’t have to go. But at that point in my career I just felt I had to play every week.
“Then West Ham manager Alan Pardew was great to me. He said you don’t have to go, you’ve been a great servant here and you are someone I want around my first-team squad, but I just felt I needed to play every week.
“So, despite it being Watford, who had just avoided relegation, I decided to move. It obviously was not for financial gain, it was all about wanting to play football.
“Thankfully, maybe because I just put the football front and centre, fortune was smiling on me the day I made that decision.
“I had an incredible season at Watford and we went on to win in the play-offs. Then I went on and got my season in the Premier League. It’s funny, football is sometimes all about timing.”
Indeed, as he prepares to shatter a few Premier League dreams in Cardiff this close season, Mackay said in football that sometimes even the darkest cloud might turn out to have a silver lining.
“Football careers take many twists and turns,” added Mackay. “One minute you think you are going down a dark alley and the next minute something pops up and you are winning a trophy or a title.
“I went to Watford quite late in my career and people might have seen that as a step down or as winding down after West Ham, but within nine months I was in a play-off final beating Leeds United and then playing in the Premier League.”
Below is some basic player info
Leon Barnett 8 starts +0sub/0 goals: Will City try to bring the centre-half back next season? Did an excellent job for eight matches and City kept five clean sheets. He's now back at Norwich, having been recalled, but hasn't played since leaving Cardiff. Can't see him coming back to the Bluebirds.
Craig Bellamy 28 starts +5 sub/4 goals: Under contract through next season, having signed a two year contract when he signed from Liverpool. A major player in City's promotion season and will play a crucial role next season. His sheer presence, experience and know-how will be such a boost for the Bluebirds.
Kim Bo-Kyung 20 starts +8 sub/2 goals: Under contract until 2015. Will be a major hit at Premier League level. An absolute gem of a signing - and Malky Mackay held him back for exactly the right amount of time until he was ready. And boy did he fly.
Fraizer Campbell 9 starts +3 sub/7 goals: Under contract until 2016. Scored five goals in five games when he first arrived from Sunderland in a £650,000 transfer last January. Suffered a shin injury, but will be back fit and ready to compete with Maynard for that striking role.
Matthew Connolly 36 starts +0 sub/5 goals: Under contract until 2015. Versatile defender who joined City as a centre-half and then switched to right-back. Has had three successive promotions with Reading, QPR and Cardiff. Will again be challenging for a first team place next season.
Craig Conway 21 starts +6 sub/2 goals: Under contract for one more season. Hard working winger who loves running at defenders, willing to track back and help out defensively. Asked for a transfer last January, when his request was turned down showed he worked hard for a chance and grabbed it with both hands when it came.
Don Cowie 15 starts +10 sub/2 goals: Under contract until the end of next season. Made 25 Championship appearances over the season. There was such competition for places through midfield it became more and more difficult as even Whittingham spent time on the bench.
Rudy Gestede 5 starts +22 sub/5 goals: Under contract with City until the end of next season, having signed an extension. Big, strong centre-forward who has worked to improve his skills in attack and will continue to drive forward. His second half goals in the 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest showed how far he has come.
Aron Gunnarsson 35 starts +10 sub/8 goals: Under contract until 2016, having signed an extension. Still only 23, Gunnar's midfield link with Kim and Mutch at the end of the season was a joy to watch. Energetic, box-to-box midfield player who returned his best goals tally for a season with eight.
Heidar Helguson 27 starts +11 sub/8 goals: Out of contract and now back home with his family in Iceland. May have one final season of playing for his boyhood club Throttur Reykjavic. Brave, experienced striker who was joint top scorer for City with eight goals. Played a big role in City's success.
Mark Hudson 33 starts +0 sub/4 goals: Captain Fantastic. Player of the Year. Until contract through to the end of next season with an option for a further year. A leader who organised the back five with great authority before he was injured - and still played a crucial off-field role in the dressing room after he was hurt.
Filip Kiss 0 starts +2 sub/0 goals: Under contract until 2016, having spent a full season on loan from Slovakian club NK Maribor and then signed a four-year deal. The transfer fee was just under £500,000. Hard tackling midfield player, 22, who has failed to make a first team impact and now faces the task of doing that at Premier level.
Simon Lappin 2 starts +0 sub/0 goals: Glasgow-born full-back whose contract runs to the end of next season. He signed for City in January, an 18-months deal. Unlikely to play regular first team football with Taylor one of the first names on Mackay's team sheet and may go out on loan to play regularly.
Joe Lewis 0+0/0: Patient keeper who will launch a major bid to become City's first choice next season. Experienced Championship keeper and at 6ft 4ins a big figure in penalty area. Under contract until 2015, having signed a three-year deal when he made the switch to South Wales from Peterborough a year ago.
Stephen McPhail 0+0/0: Out of contract this summer and will be leaving Cardiff in search of first team football. Joined City from Barnsley in 2006 and has made well over 200 first team appearances. Didn't play a Championship match this season, but is going out to try and finish his playing days on a high.
David Marshall 46+0/0 goals: The best keeper in Championship football – and at last he is now a Premier player. Under contract until 2015, having signed a three-year extension a year ago. Close to a big breakthrough with Scotland - and playing at the top level with Cardiff will help his case.
Joe Mason 12 starts +16 sub/6 goals: Bargain buy from Plymouth for £250,000 two years ago. Under contract until 2016, having signed an extension. Six League clubs asked to take Mason on loan last season, bit City said no because he was a valuable squad member. Would have benefited from a spell out playing first team football and deserved more Bluebirds appearances.
Nicky Maynard 3 starts +1 sub/1 goal: Under contract until 2015, having signed for City from West Ham in a £2.75m transfer. Mackay insists Maynard would have scored 20-plus goals this season had he been fit, but knee surgery meant he made only four appearances and scored one goal. Promoted in each of the last two seasons, but didn't play in the Premier with West Ham. Will be back fit and firing for pre-season training.
Kevin McNaughton 24 starts +3 sub/0 goals: Out of contract this summer, already offered a new two-year deal. Loyal servant, fans favourite who signed for City in 2006. Likely to be a squad player in the Premier - and may yet feel he wants regular first team football.
Jordan Mutch 18 starts +4 sub/0 goals: Under contract until 2015. Quality midfield player who has drive, energy and a fierce shot. Still only 21 - his next birthday isn't until December - and we certainly haven't seen the best of Mutch yet. Can't wait to see him in the top flight.
Craig Noone 25 starts +7 sub/7 goals: Signed a four year contract, which runs until 2016, when City signed him from Brighton for £1m a year ago. Quick feet, tricky running and loves having a go at defenders. Needs to find more consistency and ensure his tracking back on defence is at a peak.
Ben Nugent 7 starts +5 sub/1 goal: Under contract until 2016, having signed an extension. Aged 20, big, strong and effective. Stays cool under pressure. Still raw, plenty to learn, but a young man with huge potential if he keeps listening to the Bluebirds coaching staff.
Joe Ralls 1 start +3 sub/0 goals: A teenager and one for the future. Quality central midfield player who slotted in at full-back for the first team last season and did well. Far and away the best player in the Premier Development League play-off final v Charlton last week.
Tommy Smith 19 starts +5 sub/1 goal: Under contract with City until the end of next season. Experienced at Premier level with Watford and QPR. Calm and focused under pressure, rarely concedes possession. Could be a solid squad player next season.
Andrew Taylor 43 starts +0 sub/0 goals: Consistently effective at left-back. Has committed to City until 2016, signing a contract extension. Premier and European experience at Middlesbrough, will be a major asset for the Bluebirds and surely one of the first names on the team sheet for that opening game of 2013-14.
Ben Turner 30 starts +1 sub/1 goal: Big Ben has committed to City until 2016, having signed a contract extension. Powerful defender, strong in the air and deceptively quick across the ground who will relish the chance to play Premier football. Still only 24-years-old.
Etien Velikonja 1 start +2 sub/0 goals: Cost £2m, under contract until 2016, but at the age of 24 badly needs to play. Signed a 4-year contract when he arrived. Scored 13 goals for development team, but lacks physical presence. Played 90 minutes at Macclesfield in FA Cup, started v Hull away in final game, but taken off at half-time.
Peter Whittingham 37 starts +3 sub/8 goals: Under contract until 2015. City's playmaker finished joint top scorer, but struggled to break in once the Kim/Mutch/Gunnarsson midfield unit hit form. His last 90 minutes was at Sheffield Wednesday in mid-March.
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 6:13 am
You swine! 
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 8:00 am
Omg, I read the headline and ...... Swine
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 8:08 am
I guess those are your own thoughts on our players, wow, you must watch a different team to me week in week out. You really think most of those are good enough for the Premier League, I hope you're right, but I just can't see it.
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 8:09 am
Well you got me a treat with that headline!
PTBG!
PTBG!
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 8:35 am
Don't think Andrew Taylor will be one of the first names on the teamsheet for the opening Premier League game, a little matter of his sending off at Hull to deal with.
Sort of gives this away as a MediaWales article so toss a coin between Terry Phillips and the f**kwit Tucker.
Sort of gives this away as a MediaWales article so toss a coin between Terry Phillips and the f**kwit Tucker.
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 8:45 am
The young midfield we have is exciting.
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 8:58 am
rhondda 1015 wrote:I guess those are your own thoughts on our players, wow, you must watch a different team to me week in week out. You really think most of those are good enough for the Premier League, I hope you're right, but I just can't see it.
This is a copy/paste job from Walesonline, these are the opinions of the journo's not me!
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 9:15 am
Huckin Fell, Gav 
I thought my info was wrong and he WAS on his way to Everton!
You should take up 'fishing' as a sport, mate. You'd be a world champion! LOL
I thought my info was wrong and he WAS on his way to Everton!
You should take up 'fishing' as a sport, mate. You'd be a world champion! LOL
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 9:24 am
Sven Ghali wrote:Huckin Fell, Gav
I thought my info was wrong and he WAS on his way to Everton!
You should take up 'fishing' as a sport, mate. You'd be a world champion! LOL
I had no intention of misleading people with my subtle headline
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 10:16 am
Gavin wrote:Sven Ghali wrote:Huckin Fell, Gav
I thought my info was wrong and he WAS on his way to Everton!
You should take up 'fishing' as a sport, mate. You'd be a world champion! LOL
I had no intention of misleading people with my subtle headline
It was a beaut, mate
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 10:47 am
My heart actually sank when I saw the subject
Re: MALKY PREPARES TO BREAK BLUEBIRD HEARTS!!!
Thu May 16, 2013 11:20 am
Gavin wrote:rhondda 1015 wrote:I guess those are your own thoughts on our players, wow, you must watch a different team to me week in week out. You really think most of those are good enough for the Premier League, I hope you're right, but I just can't see it.
This is a copy/paste job from Walesonline, these are the opinions of the journo's not me!
