' Cardiff City Legend hits out at Tan,Ole and City players '

' Cardiff City legend Phil Dwyer hits out at Vincent Tan, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Bluebirds players '

Thursday Apr 10th 2014

By Terry Phillips

Phil Dwyer, a hero among Cardiff City fans, has launched a scathing attack on the team following recent performances


Cardiff City legend Phil Dwyer says he is appalled at the way the Bluebirds have thrown away their Premier League chance.

Dwyer, a Bluebirds icon from the 1970s, has always dreamed of watching his home-town team play top flight football again.

And his message to Vincent Tan, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the players is: “You have let supporters down!”

Dwyer was still in school when the Bluebirds were last in Division One more than half a century ago, while has been a regular spectator at Cardiff City Stadium this season.

He admits he was devastated by City’s shocking team display against Crystal Palace, saying: “It was terrible. I’m not sure what the manager is trying to do.

“They had no shape and City scarcely had a strike on target, while we are conceding far too many goals. It looked as though the players had never met each other before.

“Bluebirds fans are devastated. It wasn’t good enough. City fans never like their team losing, but if you put up a fight they’ll stick with you. I know that from experience. But there was nothing against Palace to stick with.

“I played for City for 15-odd years and never thought I would see my club play in the top division. When we got there at the end of last season everything was going so well.

“It’s incredibly upsetting to see this chance wasted. The Bluebirds are going down. Right at this moment it’s difficult to see where another win will come from during the run-in.

“We’ll see how good a manager Ole is. He has to prove himself over these next few fixtures. He has to bring the players together and shake them up.

“The performance against Palace was not good enough. Not for Cardiff’s passionate supporters. Nowhere near.”

Dwyer, who made a club record 573 appearances for Cardiff between 1971 and 1985, enjoyed the Bluebirds’ Championship title triumph last season and wanted to see the team scrap for top-flight existence again next season.

But the 60-year-old former Wales international defender’s confidence in the club has been tested by a failure to show they have the intensity and commitment to avoid relegation.

“The manager has brought players in, but they haven’t made an impact,” said Dwyer. “We need points and the players are not producing. Cardiff City’s Premier League place is on the line – and personally I can’t see any way they can keep it.

“Only one of the players brought in by Solskjaer has made any sort of impact and that’s Mats Daehli. He is a teenager who looks the one who could make something happen.



“He’s a good prospect, but at 18, it’s unfair to put that pressure on him.

“What about the other signings – Zaha, Eikrem, Jones and Co. What’s happened to them?

“Cardiff City had to keep their place in the top division. It’s unforgiveable to be going down in the way they are. They need to be playing Manchester United and Liverpool. The Bluebirds don’t want to go back to the Football League.

“It’s not Solskjaer’s fault as such. Vincent Tan has made some poor decisions. I don’t think he understands football. He’s a businessman and seems to be exceptionally good in that area, but it was, to me, a bad decision to bring Solskjaer in.

“He seemed to think Solskjaer played for Manchester United and would automatically be the right man, but we needed somebody with proven Premier League experience.

“Tony Pulis, for instance, hasn’t done too badly for Crystal Palace. He knows what it takes to be in the top division. He would have been a good choice as Cardiff manager, even more so because he was a Bluebirds fan growing up.

“Again, he might have kept City up and if not we’d have gone down scrapping the whole way.

“City also needed two, three or four experienced players who know the Premier League and what is required. They might just have kept us up.

“I’ve attended most of Cardiff’s home fixtures and it’s been so frustrating. The keeper throws to a full-back and the ball goes on towards halfway, but teams in the Premier League let you do that.

“Then, for City, there is usually only one player at most up front. I can’t explain how frustrating that is. Fans want to see fervour and passion. They want players to give 100 per cent match-in, match-out.”


Solskjaer has been Cardiff manager for 13 Premier League matches since taking over from Malky Mackay. He has won two, draw two and lost nine, earning eight points from a possible 39.

The Bluebirds are second from bottom in the Premier League table with only Sunderland, who have two games in hand, below them. They are, effectively, seven points from security because their minus 35 goal difference is second worst only to Fulham’s.

Dwyer says: “I can’t see how City can do it. They might pick up two or three points before the end of this season, but that’s about it.

“I will back the Bluebirds to the end and have hope, but they have to win at Southampton and that looks so unlikely.”

Can't argue with a single word of that.

Well the passionate supporters bit you can,when we are winning we make an effort,but when we are losing,which is very often this season the support from the stands is terrible

Well said Joe And from a true Cardiff City legend
.

While I largely agree, particularly with the sentiment of a wasted opportunity, I find some of what Mr. Dwyer has said to be contradictory. For example:

"They had no shape and City scarcely had a strike on target, while we are conceding far too many goals. It looked as though the players had never met each other before" and

“It’s not Solskjaer’s fault as such".

don't, IMHO, sit well together. Shouldn't the players be working together in training to gel as a team? If they are still running about with no clue as to what their teammates are doing or what they should be doing, shouldn't the manager shoulder the blame?

While I largely agree, particularly with the sentiment of a wasted opportunity, I find some of what Mr. Dwyer has said to be contradictory. For example:

"They had no shape and City scarcely had a strike on target, while we are conceding far too many goals. It looked as though the players had never met each other before" and

“It’s not Solskjaer’s fault as such".

don't, IMHO, sit well together. Shouldn't the players be working together in training to gel as a team? If they are still running about with no clue as to what their teammates are doing or what they should be doing, shouldn't the manager shoulder the blame?

i think Joe is being kind to OGS,.taking over mid term,and with not a lot of quality here,but yes if you come to the conclusion there is no shape and the players seem to be strangers to each other..you cant look any further than the manager.....

I think he has hit the nail on the head. (Frustrating is a really appropriate word)....I still think Ole needs to have next season to prove himself though. A rest in the summer, cash to build his own team. A chance to study what has gone wrong this season and who knows.

I think he has hit the nail on the head. (Frustrating is a really appropriate word)....I still think Ole needs to have next season to prove himself though. A rest in the summer, cash to build his own team. A chance to study what has gone wrong this season and who knows.

My only concern with bringing in his own players is that during january we signed unproven, inexperienced Norwegian players.


Will he do that again!
We failed to sign a proven striker

Even with the personnel he has we should still have some form of a structure which we did not have v palace. We had no line of 4 once across the back and I do not know who was playing where from midfield up!

Campbell on the one wing, daehli and zaha both on the other wings at the same time, then daehli in the middle running backwards with the ball.
Upfront somewhere u had Kenwyn Fred keenor statue jones. Who is not even as good as rudy was.

I hope ole makes changes this week dropping, Taylor, turner, ktc, daehli and jones.

We signed 3 right backs this season and with 5 games to go its looking probable that we go back to super Kev ! Says it all about our shit transfer business!

Yep....I don't care what anyone says or whatever statistics they come up with....under Malky we looked like a team. We were a tight unit. Saturday's game was the complete opposite. Dispirited, disjointed and all over the place. I want OGS to do well because I want us to do well and he's a decent guy, however there are plenty of worrying signs that don't exactly fill me with confidence.

All correct

Although another Cardiff fan under the delusion that any respectable experienced manager would have even considered coming to Cardiff

Dwyer was a legend for Cardiff City but I'm disappointed that he said this.

He never once played in the top league and was in a team that were up and down division 2 and 3 went down 3 times while he was there.

Come on Joe get off the bandwagon and start supporting our club.