Steve Tucker Says He is totally giving up on Ole & his Spine

Football News Cardiff City FC
By Steve Tucker
Steve Tucker: I give up on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Cardiff City after this spineless debacle
23 Feb 2014 17:02
Football writer Steve Tucker delivers his grim verdict on the Bluebirds' chances of survival after the 4-0 mauling by Hull

Sunday 23rd February 2014.

By Steve Tucker

Cardiff City scrapped their trip to Abu Dhabi after this hammering ... which was just as well really as it was those of us who had to watch it who really needed a holiday afterwards.

Indeed by the end of this dismal, dismal day for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his men the Cardiff fans had voted with their feet.

The stadium was half empty, rather like it might be next season when the club is back in the Championship.

Yes, I’m giving up.

You could not blame the supporters. You work hard, you pay your money, you make the effort to go and see your side on the weekend ... and you are rewarded with a spineless, inept showing which you would suggest warranted a return to the drawing board, if it weren’t for the fact you are unsure if Solskjaer knows where the drawing board is.

That the Bluebirds are set to be relegated is one thing, let’s be honest it was always a distinct possibility, but that they look like dropping through the Premier League trap-door without even putting up a fight is quite another.

This was Cardiff’s worst defeat since they lost 5-1 at Newcastle in 2010, their worst in the Welsh capital since they succumbed 4-0 at home to Cambridge United way back in April 2000.

That it came at the hands of workmanlike Hull says everything.


Again it was a case of, another game, another change of formation and personnel and another defeat for Solskjaer and already you begin to wonder if the Norwegian is up to the rigours of top-flight management.

Being brutally honest, personally I have seen nothing yet to suggest he is.

Seven Premier League games in charge, five defeats, a draw and just the one win. Indeed the Bluebirds have not even scored a league goal in more than five hours of football and that under a man who was brought in to inject some creative flair into the side.

Of course no one said it was going to be easy for Solskjaer. Coming in halfway through a campaign and being charged with trying to keep the club up was always going to be a tough ask.

What is worrying, however, is that right things do not seem to be improving or even the same, the Bluebirds are going backwards.

What is becoming apparent is that Solskjaer’s movements in the January transfer window have not brought in the players needed to turn things around. The problems within the Cardiff squad have not been addressed.

We knew that the Bluebirds had a problem scoring goals and, as we can see, nothing has changed on that front.

The home side actually started the game the brighter here and took the game to the Tigers, but again they just could not find a cutting edge in the final third. Kenwyne Jones saw a shot stopped and Fraizer Campbell wastefully headed over what was to prove the Bluebirds best chance of a deeply frustrating afternoon.

But what is most alarming is that defensively the Bluebirds look absolutely appalling.




Former manager Malky Mackay was criticised by many for his cautious, defensive-minded approach. Whether that criticism was justified or not is down to personal opinion.

But, watching this, one could not help thinking that discipline and that regimented set-up Mackay employed is something the Bluebirds could certainly do with again.

Across the back against Hull, Cardiff were caught out of shape and dogged by individual errors. In the first-half Hull really only had two shots on goal, but unlike their hosts they took their chances with the minimum of fuss.

After 18 minutes Tom Huddlestone rifled home a shot that took a deflection off Andrew Taylor on the way in as if to prove that when you’re down and out good luck is not something that can be relied upon.

Then Tigers frontman Nikica Jelavic grabbed the first of his brace as the Bluebirds were ripped open again.

Fabio back in at right-back was wayward in his defensive duties again and Juan Cala, on his Premier League debut, in my opinion showed no discernible improvement on those he has replaced in the Cardiff side.

But it was not just down to the back-line of course, throughout the pitch the Bluebirds failed to hold their ground.

Thanks to Solskjaer’s team selection they had lost the battle in midfield from the very start. The pairing of Magnus Eikrem and Don Cowie looked painfully bland and was never a match for Hull’s central three.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not given up yet

Further forward the Bluebirds never managed any sustained threat. Even the reliable Craig Noone was wasteful and the front pairing of Jones and Campbell never really hit it off.

Wilfried Zaha meanwhile put in his worst showing for Cardiff since arriving on loan and looked like a luxury in a side which cannot afford luxuries.

The way Solskjaer set up here meant you needed wide-men who are going to have half a mind on defensive duties, but Zaha offers no protection when the Bluebirds do not have the ball.

His withdrawal and the introduction of Mats Daehli at half-time made no difference whatsoever mind. The Norwegian teenager is obviously packed with talent, but just not ready to make the sort of impact needed at this level.

The second-half saw the Bluebirds demoralised even further with another strike from Jelavic and a final nail from Jake Livermore completing the agony for the home side. It was a shambles and shameful really.

Because, as we say, for the mistakes on the pitch, the one thing that cannot really be ignored is the lack of fighting spirit the Cardiff players showed throughout. The Bluebirds were meek and mild, seemingly resigned to their fate.

The Cardiff fans will forgive ineptitude, lack of skill and even talent, but they will never forgive lack of effort. Somebody needs to inject some fire into the players’ bellies, a bit of passion and verve.

If the Bluebirds are to go, then at least they should go with guns blazing, not tamely.

Sadly, it looks very much like relegation is what awaits Solskjaer and his men.

Before this encounter the Cardiff boss said he figured his side needed five more wins to be secure with obviously this clash with Steve Bruce’s Hull identified as one of them.

Five wins from their last 11 games looks an impossibility in honesty particularly on the evidence of their display here.

Indeed the Bluebirds have only won five games of the 27 they have played, so the chances of doubling that tally before the end of the campaign look remote.

Very remote indeed.

Last edited by Latest News on Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Tucker is such a clown

Tucker is such a clown

On that Craig, I agree 100% with, 99% of his media stories are total crap in my opinion

I gave up on reading anything Steve Tucker writes

Think what you will of Tucker , but I can find little in this article to disagree with !

Who cares what Steve Tucker says when he sucks Malky off

Dave Jones wishing Tucker a shit journey home was the much needed comment to put Tucker in his place

Think what you will of Tucker , but I can find little in this article to disagree with !

Coco, I honestly never read the article, because usually he writes crap. I will now read it

Tucker loves using the word 'indeed'. A shocking journalist, indeed.

What he's written is absolutely right though. Anyone who thinks we have a chance of staying up is a madman.

Think what you will of Tucker , but I can find little in this article to disagree with !

Coco, I honestly never read the article, because usually he writes crap. I will now read it

I'm not his biggest fan Annis !

Think what you will of Tucker , but I can find little in this article to disagree with !

Coco, I honestly never read the article, because usually he writes crap. I will now read it

I'm not his biggest fan Annis !

Coco, your right it makes true reading oops

Tucker is such a clown

So what is it that you disagree with in that.

I thought it was spot on

Tucker is such a clown

On that Craig, I agree 100% with, 99% of his media stories are total crap in my opinion

Agree with you both. Nice fella in the flesh but writes shit.

Always find him very irritating and factually inaccurate. But this time he summed up my feelings mostly anyway Just hope it doesn't happen again. Still think o.g.s. needs more time though

I thought his comments on a half empty stadium, not only at the game, but possibly next season,, & the inept & spineless performance suffered by hard working fans very appropriate.

100% accurate. It was the gutless performance that wound me up the most on Saturday not the scoreline.

Typical Tucker, and MediaWales article, if you ask me which contains lots you can agree with but then gets lost because of the emotive embellishments.

Tucker may have decided to give up and many of us, myself included, can understand if this article was written immediately after the game ended Saturday but clubs have escaped from worse positions than we are in. West Brom had only 18 points after 27 games back in 2004/05 but stayed up so it is still possible.

Like all fans I was down on Saturday night because of the manner of the defeat but like thousands of offers I'll still be there for the nest game telling myself "If only we can win this one" or "If only we can get a draw at Spurs" you just never know.

OGS has come into a club in turmoil and there is only one person responsible for that and his name is Tan, but I will stay with OGS and our players until our fate has been decided, If that means we are relegated I'll be back next season because that's what fans do.

Relegation is part and parcel of football but nothing beats staying up by winning your last game and beating Chelsea would make that really special.

Maybe right on some things but then was stating obvious about half empty stadium! Also indicated was diffucult to stay up from start season? Which tbh with what we spent shouldnt have been the case! Was a bit lazy in what he wrote as nothing average city fan didnt already know?