DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS ASSESSMENT OF GARY MEDEL ?

As a City fan, what are your feelings on Gary Medel's performances over the course of last season compared to his recent display at the World Cup ?




This is Steve Tuckers damning verdict.

Football correspondent Steve Tucker says Gary Medel's passion for his country was not replicated during his first season with Cardiff City


Medel is class, but was rarely class for the Bluebirds.

Gary Medel's tears as Chile exited the World Cup at the hands of Brazil were extremely moving, but Cardiff City fans could be forgiven for asking where that passion was as the Bluebirds meekly dropped out of the Premier League?

The midfielder’s waterworks as he and his plucky team-mates crashed out on penalties against the hosts is set to become one of the defining images of the tournament with Medel himself rightly earning plaudits from all quarters as he fought through the pain-barrier to rally to the Chile cause.

We know there is no greater motivator than proudly wearing the badge of your nation on your chest, no bigger honour than carrying the hopes of your countrymen on your shoulders, but why, for the second-half of last season at least, did Medel turn in a series of barely adequate performances and basically look uninterested in Cardiff’s plight?

Where was the weeping and chest-beating then?

Where were the heroics in his final game as the Bluebirds were thumped 4-0 at Sunderland and saw their fate virtually sealed?

A week later at Newcastle Medel was not even playing as relegation was confirmed for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men after just a single season back in the top flight.

In one of the biggest ironies you are ever likely to see the Cardiff manager said he was not prepared to risk Medel’s ‘World Cup dream’ by playing him while carrying a slight injury in the still vital final two games of the campaign.

Far from instilling wonder and pride then, the sight of Medel strapped up, fighting through an agonising muscle-tear for Chile on the weekend actually looked rather galling to your average Cardiff supporter.

I’ve got nothing against having pride and passion when playing for your country, but how about displaying some for the club that pays your wages too?

Medel is a talented player, there is no doubt about that, but Cardiff barely ever got the best from him. In the end his time in the Welsh capital has to be seen as a failure.

The man who arrived with great fanfare from Sevilla at the start of the campaign branded ‘El Pitbull’ finished proceedings basically as ‘El Poodle.’

The midfielder remains the Bluebirds record-signing having been brought in by former boss Malky Mackay in a deal worth anywhere between £9m and £11m depending on your propensity for paranoia.

Whatever, the Bluebirds never got their money’s worth from the player whatever the final price.

Sure Medel started well enough for Cardiff, thrillingly so, to be fair. Early in the campaign there was a string of man-of-the-match performances as Mackay employed him just in front of the Bluebirds back four.

Medel impressed hugely back then, strong in the challenge with a massive engine and displaying a range of passing that took the breath away.

Whether the Bluebirds utilised him correctly is an on-going argument, but what is certain is that those early outings were as good as Medel was ever going to play in a Cardiff shirt.

If one was to draw up a graph of Medel’s showings for the Bluebirds it would resemble a good downhill ski-run. The law of diminishing returns indeed.

The real turning point for Medel, if not for Cardiff themselves, came with the sacking of Mackay in late December.

As we all know now, Solskjaer came in and failed to perform any miracles.

For Medel himself it was a watershed moment, not only did his performances for the Bluebirds start to falter in the new year his interest in the club seemed to wane too.

Although you can hardly blame him, the farce of the stand-off between club-owner Vincent Tan and Mackay and the subsequent dismissal of the Scot was enough to make anyone throw up their hands in despair.

It was an act of self-sabotage by the Bluebirds hardly likely to inspire anyone.

Solskjaer never got the best from Medel that much is evident. Whether that was the fault of the manager or the player or a combination of both is unclear, but it was totally obvious to anyone who watched the second half of the season.

Indeed the way things tailed off at the end, as Medel was allowed to ‘focus’ on the World Cup despite the Bluebirds fighting for the lives, was pretty shameful and set the completely wrong tone.

Solskjaer has now said Medel is too good for the Championship which is true.

We are after all talking about a player with the best pass completion rate in the World Cup, a man named in many expert’s team of the tournament so far.

It is hard indeed to picture him trotting out at Brentford away if one is being honest.

The only good news for Cardiff from Brazil is that Medel’s performances for Chile should bump up the price of his transfer fee.

They will need that to happen if they are to recoup an outlay which looked on the high side even during a summer of questionable profligacy in the Welsh capital.

In the end the Chilean will always be filed in the ‘what might have been’ category in the Welsh capital.

As he heads off to Valencia or Inter Milan or wherever, one can only wish him luck, but is also left to reflect on a player who seemed to have every attribute needed to become a legend at Cardiff, but who somehow failed to make the grade.

Medel is class, but was rarely class for the Bluebirds.

Medel is a fighter, but sadly, unlike for his country, he just never fought hard enough for the Bluebirds cause.

Ah, Steve Tucker.

That football expert.


A bit above his head to recognise a player playing carrying an injury.


http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/foot ... ar-7345116?

Poll on wales On-line at £13.8m

think the article is very unfair.............there seems to be no balance about anything Cardiff anymore, who else did either manager sign that was so much better?

[quote="simon.wiesenthal"]think the article is very unfair.............there seems to be no balance about anything Cardiff anymore, who else did either manager sign that was so much better?[/quote]

also as been discussed big difference playing for chile with established partnership in defence, to playing with city team only playing defensively minded? he was good at 1st but due to way we played things tailoured off same as other players did.
article not very good in that respect

My brief assessment is that he is a very good player but his style of play is not suited to premier league.

Great player but was expected to carry a substandard squad through a whole season.

Good players still need a good squad around them. We didn't have anywhere near good enough around him all over the park.

Seems fair.

Steve Tucker. 'Sports Jounalist'. Has he ever written anything decent? I watched Blakey's Bootroom once as I thought there maybe some unique insight but all I got was Statements Of The Fucking-Obvious from both and if Steve could have crawled any further up NB's arse he could have flossed his teeth from the inside. He seems pleasant enough but looks like he needs a wash.

I agree with what Tucker says, until he got to this part:

Medel impressed hugely back then, strong in the challenge with a massive engine and displaying a range of passing that took the breath away.

Don't rate Steve tucker. But I think you gotta take into consideration that a player that can't get into the WBA side and another player that was released by forest has been excelling for chile. These players thrived within Chiles formation, the back four for Chile are far from world class individual IMO Chiles coach deserves a lot more praise.

I would love to know what Gary really thinks of his time in Cardiff, sold on the move by Malky, turns up to a foreign club in turmoil, blue fans, red team, nothing but defensive tactics, a crazy owner, fallings out with manager and owner, new manager, having to change to attacking tactics and all the while having to try and stay in one of the strongest leagues in the world with a championship squad.

You really let us down Gary.