' Ben Turner ? ? '

Why Ben Turner's Cardiff City future under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must also be in doubt following Mark Hudson exit


Wed Sep 03, 2014


Paul Abbandonato reckons the Bluebirds boss' capture of two new centre-backs throws major question marks over the future of Ben Turner.


The moment Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went on record as saying he wanted his Cardiff City team to play more a patient passing game, Mark Hudson’s fate as Bluebirds skipper was pretty much sealed.

It took right up to the final day of the transfer window for the most successful Bluebirds skipper in decades to be shipped out to Huddersfield, but it was pretty obvious Hudson would be leaving because he didn’t suit Solskjaer’s style.

Hudson displayed many qualities in the blue and red of Cardiff, but being a ball-playing centre-half wasn’t one of them.

By that token, I’m also yet to be convinced how big Ben Turner fits into the Solskjaer mantra of play when he returns from injury.

Turner, too, isn’t the most natural on the ball and I don’t believe Solskjaer has spent close on £10million for Bruno Magna and Sean Morrison to stick them in his Capital One Cup team.



Limitations

The higher up you go, the more your limitations are exposed and it’s fair to say Hudson and Turner found the Premier League tough going against the pace and movement of the best strikers in the country.

That said, those two were the rocks around which promotion was built last time out under Malky Mackay, and must have been hoping to be Championship pillars again under Solskjaer.

Let’s be honest, Mackay’s Bluebirds didn’t win the title in 2013 because of their adventurous, free-flowing football with goals raining in right, left and centre.

Their triumph was based upon organisation, defensive resilience and getting the ball away from the danger area as quickly as possible. They ground out results week in, week out. Boring, but damn effective.

Hudson and Turner, with Matt Connolly to their right and David Marshall behind them, were key to that formula, each carrying out their manager’s instructions with utter professionalism and dedication.

They were also, to be brutally honest, as big a threat as anyone for Bluebirds goals. Mackay placed great stock on scoring from set pieces and at that level, with Peter Whittingham whipping in the ball with pace and accuracy, Hudson and Turner were a constant danger.




Asking for more

But Solskjaer wants more from his centre-backs than the basics of heading the ball away, putting in stoic block tackles or being a menace from corners.

His Cardiff have to play with a bit of panache as well, something we should applaud, and it starts from the back with this modern-day tactic of the centre-halves splitting to receive possession from a short Marshall goal kick.

We haven’t seen Manga yet, nor enough of Morrison in a Cardiff shirt, to know if they will be comfortable with ball at feet.

But Hudson was aware he was no Franz Beckenbauer, while some fans used to cringe towards the end of last season whenever Turner was in possession. Too often the ball was invariably lumped deep, only to come straight back at Cardiff with more pressure subsequently piled on the defence.





From the first week he was in situ, Solskjaer argued the best way to ease that pressure was for Cardiff to keep hold of the ball themselves and it is a game plan he is still working towards.

Turner, something of a defensive colossus under Mackay at Championship level, is out until November. By then, Solskjaer will hope Manga and Morrison have bedded together as a partnership, so quite where big Ben would fit back in I’m not sure.

Mackay once called Turner a Cardiff City legend in the making. We’ll have to see, is the answer to that one.



Hudson and Turner made a great pair

Professional

As for Hudson, he was once dubbed by Mackay as one of the finest professionals he had worked with, a leader of men who set the right example on and off the field. His drive helped galvanise the Bluebirds dressing room, we were told.

Hudson will never be afforded the type of cult status given to the likes of Nathan Blake, Phil Stant, Robin Friday or Phil Dywer. But the fact is he is the man who skippered the Bluebirds into the Premier League and to within a penalty-kick of winning the Carling Cup final against Liverpool.

No other Cardiff captain has managed that feat. Ironic, isn’t it, that the very League success Hudson helped the Bluebirds achieve also proved to be the beginning of the end for him.

He's injured. Why is his future in doubt?

Ole wants panache from his centre backs....sounds good.....goodbye Ben Turner.....

Article is spot on in my opinion.

Ole wants panache from his centre backs....sounds good.....goodbye Ben Turner.....

Pancakes more like

Total bollocks. Priority for a defender is to be able to defend. Anything else is a bonus. I always laugh at the "good going forward" euphemism used for defenders, roughly translated as "can't defend for shit"...

I wouldn't say Morrison is a footballing CB and ole bought him, gut instinct says he likes Turner.

I don't understand this obsession with Hudson, he was just to old, on a big wage to injury prone and we moved the squad on.

Ole wants panache from his centre backs....sounds good.....goodbye Ben Turner.....

Total bollocks. Priority for a defender is to be able to defend. Anything else is a bonus. I always laugh at the "good going forward" euphemism used for defenders, roughly translated as "can't defend for shit"...

Here here my sentiments exactly. I know the game as changed a bit and you have to move with it but there's not much sense having all the style and grace if your gonna get knocked on your arse every time a cross comes in against a big centre forward. If one of your pairing can play a bit that's enough for me I'm not saying they can't have any ability but if your midfield come looking for the ball then the likes of Turner might not need to look for one of his 50 yard diagonal balls.

If we needed a footballing CB why is Cala not playing?

Can't work out why cala as been anonymous as well. Was expecting him to go in the window. Glad he hasn't mind.

We have loads of CB's whats the problem, he can't play football anyway!

I thing the days of the long diagonal ball are over so looks like Turners time could be up.

If we needed a footballing CB why is Cala not playing?

for me he doesn't have the pace required for this role - and is he another whose age might be against him?

Morrison is a big unit. With Big Ben the oppo just pressurised the other centre half and forced the ball across to Turner, who then gave a nothing ball to the left back who was already marked, or lumped it on one of his 60 yard diagonals.

I like Big Ben, will never forget his shirt off moment at Wembley, he played with surprising pace and blocked/headed/lumped well, but that has its limitations in the modern game.

You dont have to sacrifice good defending for a ball playing defender, you pay decent money and buy someone who can do both.

Fair comment, but when we are up north on a wet Tuesday halfway through the winter and the oppersition are kicking lumps out of us and bombarding the box with crosses.............you may just wish we had turner there.

He's injured. Why is his future in doubt?

Did you read the article??

It says "He doesn't fit into Ole's style of play"

I tend to agree, as I've never been an advocate of Turner's "Hoofball" tactics; although that's not to say he isn't a good defender, which he is

But if he isn't going to 'fit in' to Ole's overall plans (when fit), then (like hudson) there is no point in hanging around

I guess only time will tell