' Nathan Blake sums up OGS ...... '

.... Pretty well for me in his latest column.

Monday 17th Feb 2014.

Forget the fact Cardiff City crashed out of the FA Cup, that performance against Wigan looked like one from a team which has no hope of staying in the Premier League.

Now there are different ways to lose a game. You can come off having thrown everything at a side and still be beaten. Against the Latics the Bluebirds played badly against a decent Championship team, nothing more, and they got what they deserved, nothing at all.

There were one or two decent performances out there from the home side, but nothing more than that and in the end things just fell apart for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his men.

The situation has got me worried at Cardiff now. I know this was a cup game and a manager is always likely to make changes, but to me Solskjaer looks like a man nowhere near to knowing what his best team is.

I look at the Cardiff sides he has put out and I have no idea what the purpose of it is. What the thought behind it is. What the plan is. I’m still completely in the dark as to what Solskjaer’s footballing philosophy actually is and that is going to have to change soon. What was going on against Wigan?

Why employ two holding midfielders in the middle in Gary Medel and Magnus Eikrem?

They were playing at home against a Championship side. Then by the end Cardiff had two centre-halves pushed up front. That is honestly not something I’ve seen done since the 1970s and the whole thing smacked of real desperation.

I’ll give Solskjaer one piece advice about who to play up-front right now.

Play Fraizer Campbell, he is easily the most dangerous striker at the club right now.

I bet if you spoke to any Premier League centre-half and asked who they would rather play against, Campbell or Kenwyne Jones they would say Kenwyne because those defenders can head balls out of defence against big strong frontmen like him all day long. It’s on the deck they don’t like being turned and run at and that is what Campbell is best at.

But Solskjaer has got to start picking the same side irrespective of who is in it and picking it consistently. If he doesn’t, how are the Bluebirds ever going to build-up some momentum and gain some consistency. They are desperately lacking that right now.

I’ve lost count of the number of players Solskjaer has used since he arrived at the club and the different formations he has employed. I look at the team against Wigan and there is like three different teams out there in one.

What did he say then?

What did he say then?

its a secret.........Nathan is due to write some sense though,law of averages

Forget the fact Cardiff City crashed out of the FA Cup, that performance against Wigan looked like one from a team which has no hope of staying in the Premier League.

Now there are different ways to lose a game. You can come off having thrown everything at a side and still be beaten. Against the Latics the Bluebirds played badly against a decent Championship team, nothing more, and they got what they deserved, nothing at all.

There were one or two decent performances out there from the home side, but nothing more than that and in the end things just fell apart for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his men.

The situation has got me worried at Cardiff now. I know this was a cup game and a manager is always likely to make changes, but to me Solskjaer looks like a man nowhere near to knowing what his best team is.

I look at the Cardiff sides he has put out and I have no idea what the purpose of it is. What the thought behind it is. What the plan is. I’m still completely in the dark as to what Solskjaer’s footballing philosophy actually is and that is going to have to change soon. What was going on against Wigan?

Why employ two holding midfielders in the middle in Gary Medel and Magnus Eikrem?

They were playing at home against a Championship side. Then by the end Cardiff had two centre-halves pushed up front. That is honestly not something I’ve seen done since the 1970s and the whole thing smacked of real desperation.

I’ll give Solskjaer one piece advice about who to play up-front right now.

Play Fraizer Campbell, he is easily the most dangerous striker at the club right now.

I bet if you spoke to any Premier League centre-half and asked who they would rather play against, Campbell or Kenwyne Jones they would say Kenwyne because those defenders can head balls out of defence against big strong frontmen like him all day long. It’s on the deck they don’t like being turned and run at and that is what Campbell is best at.

But Solskjaer has got to start picking the same side irrespective of who is in it and picking it consistently. If he doesn’t, how are the Bluebirds ever going to build-up some momentum and gain some consistency. They are desperately lacking that right now.

I’ve lost count of the number of players Solskjaer has used since he arrived at the club and the different formations he has employed. I look at the team against Wigan and there is like three different teams out there in one.

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Five things we learned about Cardiff City's defeat at Wigan
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The Malky Mackay players, the Norwegians and then the others Solskjaer has brought in. There is no unity, no cohesion to things and if that does not change, and change fast, then the Bluebirds will be going down and going down in quite spectacular fashion.

The teams who have eased away from the relegation places after changing managers are the ones where that new manager has come in and picked his core of 16 or whatever players and then played them week in and week out.

Only if a player becomes fatigued are they rested and then only one or two at a time. Consistency is the key.

Cardiff are like Fulham I’m afraid. They never really got that bounce in results you often get when you change managers and the managers they brought in never really managed to find their strongest side quickly enough.

Look at Gus Poyet at Sunderland and Tony Pulis at Crystal Palace. They fastened onto their favoured group and have stuck with them. Solskjaer has to do that at Cardiff right now to give his side any chance at all of staying up.

The problem for Solskjaer now is that he has not got any more games to use to experiment with players and line-ups. He has to decide and decide now.

There’s 12 games left, soon that’s down to eight, then six and then you turn around and you’ve run out of games and you are adrift.

What did he say then?

its a secret.........Nathan is due to write some sense though,law of averages

Agree, but on this occasion I think he's speaking a lot of sense.

It's going to be hard without Mutch or Medel he will have to go back to a 3 with Eikrem and two of Cowie, Gunnar and Whitts. Two of Noone, Zaha and Dæhli with KJ up front.

What did he say then?

its a secret.........Nathan is due to write some sense though,law of averages

Agree, but on this occasion I think he's speaking a lot of sense.

all in all im shocked..it makes sense..............in OGS defence,i will say he has had to sort it out on the run..no pre season.......the football he is trying to play is as different as its possible to get from what MM did,no doubt training is different too..he has brought 7 in. and a big squad to start with a lot of sorting out.
i believe he will settle on 11 and keep us up once it all clicks

What did he say then?

its a secret.........Nathan is due to write some sense though,law of averages

Agree, but on this occasion I think he's speaking a lot of sense.

all in all im shocked..it makes sense..............in OGS defence,i will say he has had to sort it out on the run..no pre season.......the football he is trying to play is as different as its possible to get from what MM did,no doubt training is different too..he has brought 7 in. and a big squad to start with a lot of sorting out.
i believe he will settle on 11 and keep us up once it all clicks

That is very true regarding pre season but neither did Pullis & he seems to have his team flying & fighting for the cause.
I don't see that with City at the moment. He hasn't even got the players closing down, which is pretty basic.
Admire your optimism in staying up & believe me I hope your right but looking at it realistically I can't see us getting enough wins.

If we stay up, we stay up...if we go down, we go down. I gave Malky 3 transfer windows before I judged him and Ole will get the same.

What did he say then?

its a secret.........Nathan is due to write some sense though,law of averages

Agree, but on this occasion I think he's speaking a lot of sense.

all in all im shocked..it makes sense..............in OGS defence,i will say he has had to sort it out on the run..no pre season.......the football he is trying to play is as different as its possible to get from what MM did,no doubt training is different too..he has brought 7 in. and a big squad to start with a lot of sorting out.
i believe he will settle on 11 and keep us up once it all clicks

That is very true regarding pre season but neither did Pullis & he seems to have his team flying & fighting for the cause.
I don't see that with City at the moment. He hasn't even got the players closing down, which is pretty basic.
Admire your optimism in staying up & believe me I hope your right but looking at it realistically I can't see us getting enough wins.

Pulis had more time

What did he say then?

its a secret.........Nathan is due to write some sense though,law of averages

Agree, but on this occasion I think he's speaking a lot of sense.

all in all im shocked..it makes sense..............in OGS defence,i will say he has had to sort it out on the run..no pre season.......the football he is trying to play is as different as its possible to get from what MM did,no doubt training is different too..he has brought 7 in. and a big squad to start with a lot of sorting out.
i believe he will settle on 11 and keep us up once it all clicks

That is very true regarding pre season but neither did Pullis & he seems to have his team flying & fighting for the cause.
I don't see that with City at the moment. He hasn't even got the players closing down, which is pretty basic.
Admire your optimism in staying up & believe me I hope your right but looking at it realistically I can't see us getting enough wins.

Pulis had more time

Look at the singnings of both managers and ask yourself who got the match-fit regular starters & who got the benchwarmers, adapters & Cala

Blake's got it spot on, especially when he talks about the centre bks pushing up front.

What did he say then?

its a secret.........Nathan is due to write some sense though,law of averages

Agree, but on this occasion I think he's speaking a lot of sense.

all in all im shocked..it makes sense..............in OGS defence,i will say he has had to sort it out on the run..no pre season.......the football he is trying to play is as different as its possible to get from what MM did,no doubt training is different too..he has brought 7 in. and a big squad to start with a lot of sorting out.
i believe he will settle on 11 and keep us up once it all clicks

That is very true regarding pre season but neither did Pullis & he seems to have his team flying & fighting for the cause.
I don't see that with City at the moment. He hasn't even got the players closing down, which is pretty basic.
Admire your optimism in staying up & believe me I hope your right but looking at it realistically I can't see us getting enough wins.

Pulis had more time

Pulis didnt have to follow Malky............i didnt like Malkys football,but put my views aside..i think everyone would agree it was different.......

Blake's got it spot on, especially when he talks about the centre bks pushing up front.

thats the bit he got wrong...........if your upper cwmiawn wanderers or brazil if your behind with minutes left in a knock out competition..you have to throw caution to the wind..........he made a similar remark about us lossing 2 nil to west ham where if we had kept our shape we would only have lost by 1.........

Blake's got it spot on, especially when he talks about the centre bks pushing up front.

thats the bit he got wrong...........if your upper cwmiawn wanderers or brazil if your behind with minutes left in a knock out competition..you have to throw caution to the wind..........he made a similar remark about us lossing 2 nil to west ham where if we had kept our shape we would only have lost by 1.........

The trouble is our 2 centre backs were playing as strikers at the end and the rest of our attackers dropped deeper to accomodate them. One centre back would have been fine, but we pretty much ended the game with our defence playing up front and our attackers in defence!

What did he say then?

its a secret.........Nathan is due to write some sense though,law of averages

Agree, but on this occasion I think he's speaking a lot of sense.

all in all im shocked..it makes sense..............in OGS defence,i will say he has had to sort it out on the run..no pre season.......the football he is trying to play is as different as its possible to get from what MM did,no doubt training is different too..he has brought 7 in. and a big squad to start with a lot of sorting out.
i believe he will settle on 11 and keep us up once it all clicks

That is very true regarding pre season but neither did Pullis & he seems to have his team flying & fighting for the cause.
I don't see that with City at the moment. He hasn't even got the players closing down, which is pretty basic.
Admire your optimism in staying up & believe me I hope your right but looking at it realistically I can't see us getting enough wins.

Pulis had more time

Managers come in all the time and stabalise a club and you didn't have these excuses when you started the party. stop making excuses, the party aint happening so blow your party streamer half way and make your way to the champnionship grounds.

Nathan Blake= 'To state the obvious'

Well it didn't take long for fans ex players and co to turn on Ole.

It was a cup game for crying out loud; he sent the central defenders up top at the end to try to get a goal.

He would not have started the game v Hull with that X1.

OGS has to try different formations as the game suits. Versus Villa he went 4-4-2 and it nearly paid off in first half.

His problem is a lack of cover for Mutch. When Mutch plays the whole way City play is different to when he doesn't. I hate this sideways stuff from the full backs and midfield, fair play Cowie had a go at being more direct when he came on but City don't have the ability to play through the middle. Will we ever see a goal like that first one v Man U again?

KTC by the way is dire. Can't defend, and can't cross.

I have no doubts that OGS can succeed at some level if he is given time. However he will need to build a squad around the players that fits his style, and then after a while players will probably develop a lot under him. The team will be unpredictable in attack, and it works well as long as the opposition is not allowed to have too much possession or be too good with a counter attacking style (Mourinho). The complete switch of styles mid season in a relegation battle does not make sense unless the manager is given time to implement the changes. They way things develop, supporters seem to enjoy and expect a more traditional and defensive style with less squad rotation that in a way defines the club. Most supporters also want immediate results...but I am afraid OGS did not bring with him a magic wand from Norway ...and he is not interested in short term focus but want to implement changes to get a struggling team to flourish. In the end relegation seems likely, and the worst scenario is that OGS is sacked and another manager with a totally different style takes over. Then all these changes of managers will begin to really take its toll on results. Don't know what Tan thinks about all this and how resilient he is when things go bad, and the club is tied with a high wage structure. But if he also leaves, I am afraid he leaves a club in a mess.

Well it didn't take long for fans ex players and co to turn on Ole.

I wouldn't agree Blake has turned on him, more that's how he see's things at the moment.
I agree with what he says & I haven't turned on Ole just not at all impressed so far. However, it's early days.

Well it didn't take long for fans ex players and co to turn on Ole.

I wouldn't agree Blake has turned on him, more that's how he see's things at the moment.
I agree with what he says & I haven't turned on Ole just not at all impressed so far. However, it's early days.

Impressed with Ole As a man or as a Manager?

Well it didn't take long for fans ex players and co to turn on Ole.

I wouldn't agree Blake has turned on him, more that's how he see's things at the moment.
I agree with what he says & I haven't turned on Ole just not at all impressed so far. However, it's early days.

Impressed with Ole As a man or as a Manager?

I've said I'm NOT impressed with Ole so far.
As a manager of course. I don't know him as a man.

Well it didn't take long for fans ex players and co to turn on Ole.

I wouldn't agree Blake has turned on him, more that's how he see's things at the moment.
I agree with what he says & I haven't turned on Ole just not at all impressed so far. However, it's early days.

Impressed with Ole As a man or as a Manager?

I've said I'm NOT impressed with Ole so far.
As a manager of course. I don't know him as a man.

Sorry misread it.

Didn't Ole lose his first 5 matches at Molde ?

O don't think Eikrem is up to much, well not today... Medel out may not be a disastrous as many predict. He has been given the pacemaker role, and he slows the game. Very interesting to see what Ole does. Kim, Cowie and Deahli in the middle ?

Blake's got it spot on, especially when he talks about the centre bks pushing up front.

thats the bit he got wrong...........if your upper cwmiawn wanderers or brazil if your behind with minutes left in a knock out competition..you have to throw caution to the wind..........he made a similar remark about us lossing 2 nil to west ham where if we had kept our shape we would only have lost by 1.........

I see where your coming from, but why throw your centre bks up and let the attackers sit deep? it didn't make any sense, anyway less of negatives from me big games coming up time to concentrate on them.

He's right though CAMPBELL IS BETTER THAN KENWYNE.

He's right though CAMPBELL IS BETTER THAN KENWYNE.

Yeah, he is better. BUT jones has different qualities, e.g. air dominance, looks slow/lazy at times .
My guess is that different opponents needs different tools to penetrate.

He is right, i'd rather have Cala upfront than Kenwyne