' Ben Turner has his Say & Speaks out on who is to blame '

Thursday 8th May 2014.

In the wake of the Bluebirds' relegation back to the Championship, Ben Turner told Steve Tucker it was time for the squad to take their share of the responsibility.

Cardiff City colossus Ben Turner delivered a brutally honest assessment of the Bluebirds relegation before issuing an early Championship war cry!

The 26-year-old defender was part of the side which sank 3-0 against Newcastle at St James’ Park on the weekend to drop out of the top-flight after just one season.

It capped what has been a deeply disappointing campaign in a season which had been marked by controversy both on and off the pitch.

Turner, who managed 29 Premier League starts, said everyone at the club needed to take collective responsibility for relegation, and that each and every person in the Cardiff camp needed to examine the part they had personally played in a campaign, Turner admits was basically not good enough.

“We are all gutted. We gave it our all at Newcastle and we just didn’t get any breaks. We were the better side for most of the game. It is what it is though. We just did not get the results,” said Turner.

“We did keep going and we were thinking that it had to come. It just seems that nothing we do is good enough at the moment. The last few games it has just gone wrong for us if we are being honest. Unfortunately that has sent us down. We nearly took it to the last game, but we didn’t.

“It’s been a bitterly disappointing season. The first season up, to get relegated straight back down is awful. You finish one place outside the relegation zone the season is a success, you finish in the bottom three it’s a failure and we have failed. It was 38 games and over the 38 games we have just not been good enough. It’s been as simple as that.
We have to be honest. The only way to deal with what has happened is to be honest, honest as a group and honest with yourself. We all have to hold our hands up and say we just have not been good enough. There is no use at all in making excuses. You cannot look around to find anyone else to blame. “We must all look at ourselves.”

Once the self examination and inquests into the Bluebirds season have been concluded it will be time to start preparing for the realities of life in the Championship.

No longer will the Bluebirds been travelling to the likes of Old Trafford or the Emirates with trips to Brentford, Huddersfield and Millwall all scheduled for the next campaign.

There will also be extra games to contend with in what is often a packed and hectic second-tier schedule.

The change might well come as a surprise to some in the Cardiff camp, but not Turner who played a pivotal role in securing the Bluebirds promotion to the top-flight in the first place.

He was signed by former boss Mackay back in August 2011 for a £750,000 fee from Coventry.

There have been plenty of highs along the way for the centre-half, aside from promotion there was the memorable moment he scored a late equaliser in the Bluebirds Carling Cup final appearance against Liverpool back in February 2012.

“I’ve got two years left on my contract at Cardiff and I’m obviously committed to the club,” said Turner.

“I’ve been here three seasons and thankfully I’ve had more highs than lows.

“This is a low now, but it is what it is. I did not want to get relegated, but it’s happened.

“I hope my future lies with Cardiff. I will speak to the manager to make sure I’m wanted.

“Hopefully I will be and we get on with things and go again then.

“I’ve never backed down from a battle in my life. I’m not going to start now.

“Every season I’ve been at Cardiff has presented a challenge.

“My first season I was trying to secure my place in the side.

“The next season it was the challenge of getting promoted.

“This season the challenge was to try to keep my place and try to keep Cardiff in the Premier League, that was not a success.

“Next season it’s about getting Cardiff back in the top-flight and if I’m wanted, it’s game on as far as I’m concerned.”

For the Bluebirds now it is one last glamour tie against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea on Sunday before they go away ahead of preparations for the Championship season.

With nothing riding on the game really for either the hosts or the visitors many will see the game as meaningless.

Turner though insists the Bluebirds must try to give the home supporters at least something to cheer about.

He added: “I’m sure the fans have been looking forward to seeing Chelsea at the Cardiff City Stadium regardless of what has happened.

“It’s one of those occasions when we must pick ourselves up off the floor, dust ourselves down and be ready for the game.”

The fact Ben Turner is having his say is one of the reasons we are going down.

This hoofball oaf should have been nowhere near a PL first XI

To his defence I think Turner maybe be suffering from colour blindness due to the fact that since before the rebrand when we played in BLUE and after when we played in RED his passing ability ( long ball hoofs ) to find 1 of his own players never changed , or was he confused by the rebrand and started passing ( hoofing ) to the other team's players ?

To his defence I think Turner maybe be suffering from colour blindness due to the fact that since before the rebrand when we played in BLUE and after when we played in RED his passing ability ( long ball hoofs ) to find 1 of his own players never changed , or was he confused by the rebrand and started passing ( hoofing ) to the other team's players ?

Defo affected by the rebrand he was hoofing it to the blue shirts in the crowd instead of the red shirts of his team mates.

The number of times when he was defending the Canton goals and his hoofs would go out for a goal kick at the Family Stand were staggering.

He was good at attacking corners though fair play ...... nowt wrong with his disallowed goal against Spurs back at the beginning of the season . Never know but that goal COULD have gone a long way to us staying up ??

We all know of his poor distribution but to be fair to him he is one of the players who looks like he's fighting for the team. Unlike half the others.

The fact Ben Turner is having his say is one of the reasons we are going down.

This hoofball oaf should have been nowhere near a PL first XI

He could walk into any PL team, probably quite a few Pub League teams looking for a new centre half.

We all know of his poor distribution but to be fair to him he is one of the players who looks like he's fighting for the team. Unlike half the others.

Agreed

We all know of his poor distribution but to be fair to him he is one of the players who looks like he's fighting for the team. Unlike half the others.

I agree but surely he can practice on his passing and get better

Biggest scapegoat of the season. He hasn't done a lot wrong really, just lumps it quite a lot

A donkey who was out of his depth, would be more suited at Newport.

i like ben... he did ok in the champ, and will do again

but i must admit i gave up reading the quotes half way through

not interested in excuses or what any of the management or players have to say

Biggest scapegoat of the season. He hasn't done a lot wrong really, just lumps it quite a lot

And the winner of todays most contradicting post is..........

Biggest scapegoat of the season. He hasn't done a lot wrong really, just lumps it quite a lot

And the winner of todays most contradicting post is..........

I acknowledge that he gives away possession too much by hoofing it up field. But defensively he hasn't done too bad, just a few awful games

Biggest scapegoat of the season. He hasn't done a lot wrong really, just lumps it quite a lot

And the winner of todays most contradicting post is..........

I acknowledge that he gives away possession too much by hoofing it up field. But defensively he hasn't done too bad, just a few awful games

You do realise by him constantly giving away posession it puts the whole team under strain both physically and mentally.

You give it away in the PL you can be chasing shadows for 5 minutes, get it back, give it to Big Ben, hoof, and lets chase for another 5 minutes. And repeat.

To his defence I think Turner maybe be suffering from colour blindness due to the fact that since before the rebrand when we played in BLUE and after when we played in RED his passing ability ( long ball hoofs ) to find 1 of his own players never changed , or was he confused by the rebrand and started passing ( hoofing ) to the other team's players ?

was talking about that last night martyn and where people say things even themselves out over a season they certainly dont for the minnows in the premiership.
you can look at rooney and gerrard not getting sent off at the CCS zahas certain penalty at everton, caulker getting assaulted by skrtel of set pieces the same with frazier at home to west ham.
liverpool get 15 penalties we get one although attacking wise that was always going to happen but things certainly favour the big boys.

The criticism of Turner on here is shocking! The fella was a massive reason why we went up in the first place, yes his distribution ain't the best, but for me Caulker wasn't much better. Collectively, the team was nowhere near good enough to stay up and that's the plain fact of the matter.

Turner <3

He just didn't get a chance to practice his game much this season because he barely played, he was central to our promotion last season and a great defender. Hope to see him playing more next year.

Turner <3

He just didn't get a chance to practice his game much this season because he barely played, he was central to our promotion last season and a great defender. Hope to see him playing more next year.

He started 29 league games this season you big whopper!!

Turner <3

He just didn't get a chance to practice his game much this season because he barely played, he was central to our promotion last season and a great defender. Hope to see him playing more next year.

He started 29 league games this season you big whopper!!

I think Liles is getting confused with Hudson

Turner <3

He just didn't get a chance to practice his game much this season because he barely played, he was central to our promotion last season and a great defender. Hope to see him playing more next year.

He started 29 league games this season you big whopper!!

I think Liles is getting confused with Hudson

Or Connolly.

Turner <3

He just didn't get a chance to practice his game much this season because he barely played, he was central to our promotion last season and a great defender. Hope to see him playing more next year.

He started 29 league games this season you big whopper!!

Oh really?! Oops, better go read some stats

He may lump the ball up field but in fairness he doesn't have much to aim for. I don't exactly see players moving, creating space and wanting the ball a lot. He's not exactly playing for Barca is he? His defending is good, his ball distribution is limited, so it's up to the more able ball players to take it off him and pass it around and create. Unfortunately we haven't got those players so Turner gets blamed more than he should.

He may lump the ball up field but in fairness he doesn't have much to aim for. I don't exactly see players moving, creating space and wanting the ball a lot. He's not exactly playing for Barca is he? His defending is good, his ball distribution is limited, so it's up to the more able ball players to take it off him and pass it around and create. Unfortunately we haven't got those players so Turner gets blamed more than he should.

Dont be daft. Thats no excuse for punting it straight out for a goal kick ffs.

Cost us points with poor decision making/distribution directly resulting in conceding goals and dropping points.
When he rolls his left foot over the ball we all know what's coming next a big diagonal hopeful ball.