' We can still get promotion,but we can also be relegated '
Wed Oct 15, 2014 7:29 am
Cardiff City CAN still win Premier League promotion but if Russell Slade doesn't get it right relegation is a real prospect
Oct 15, 2014
By Paul Evans
It must have been the pessimist in me that had me immediately thinking of Wolverhampton Wanderers when it was announced Cardiff City would be going ahead with building the Ninian Stand extension not too long after promotion to the Premier League was confirmed.
Earlier plans had been for the building work to commence if we had survived a season in the top flight.
Instead it started just three months after City had played their first game in the Premier League.
And, so, just as with Wolves in 2011-12, relegation was confirmed against a backdrop of extensions to stands being built to meet a demand for a division neither club were in any more.
Worse than that, though, Wolves’ decline didn’t end there.
While we were winning the Championship in 2012-13, they were suffering a second successive relegation.
What happened to Wolves is a reminder that it is possible to be playing in League One, just 15 months after you were entertaining the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool in the top flight.
City aren’t immune from the drop just because they have the advantage of that huge parachute payment over many of their rivals.
The truth as I see it, is that, so far, we have looked more like a side that may go down than a team which will be contesting a promotion place back to the Premier League.
For me, City’s current position of 15th flatters them when you consider the standard of football we’ve seen up to now.
An article showing that we were towards the bottom of the table in various important areas of performance stats for Championship clubs, reiterate that our current position closer to the drop zone than the top six is not a false one.
Yes, it’s perfectly possible that instead of the battle to get out of this division by going up that most expected, we could end up in a fight whereby merely maintaining our Championship status will be considered a victory.
And all this, despite the assurances of plenty of those within the game that the league takes shape after 10 to 12 matches have been played.
There are recent precedents which prove that City’s season can still turn out to be a triumphant one if Russell Slade can instil confidence, organisation and determination into the team.
For example, if you had talked to a Sunderland fan after our win at the Stadium of Light on Halloween night 2006, they would have laughed in your face if you had asked about their promotion prospects – whereas we were absolutely on fire as we sat four points clear at the top of the table, Sunderland were down in 15th looking over their shoulder at the bottom three.
Furthermore, a fortnight later Sunderland had slipped to 19th and, having played 17 matches, more than a third of their season had been completed.
Six months later their fans were celebrating winning the title, while we limped to a finishing position of 13th with our blistering start to the campaign a distant memory.
Three years earlier, Crystal Palace found themselves in the bottom three in December having played 22 matches following a 3-1 home defeat by Crewe, but this didn’t stop them taking the last play-off place.
They went on to beat West Ham at the Millennium Stadium to confirm their promotion.
Bringing things more up to date, Reading were in 14th place having played 17 matches after our win at the Madejski Stadium in November 2011, but they still ended up winning the title with 89 points.
So, especially in a league where fancied teams at the top of the table like Norwich, Forest and Derby are having problems winning at home, the truth is City can even afford to have a short ‘bedding in’ period under their new boss and still earn a play-off place or better.
Maybe this much hyped squad can show that they really are as good as many think they are.
Oct 15, 2014
By Paul Evans
It must have been the pessimist in me that had me immediately thinking of Wolverhampton Wanderers when it was announced Cardiff City would be going ahead with building the Ninian Stand extension not too long after promotion to the Premier League was confirmed.
Earlier plans had been for the building work to commence if we had survived a season in the top flight.
Instead it started just three months after City had played their first game in the Premier League.
And, so, just as with Wolves in 2011-12, relegation was confirmed against a backdrop of extensions to stands being built to meet a demand for a division neither club were in any more.
Worse than that, though, Wolves’ decline didn’t end there.
While we were winning the Championship in 2012-13, they were suffering a second successive relegation.
What happened to Wolves is a reminder that it is possible to be playing in League One, just 15 months after you were entertaining the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool in the top flight.
City aren’t immune from the drop just because they have the advantage of that huge parachute payment over many of their rivals.
The truth as I see it, is that, so far, we have looked more like a side that may go down than a team which will be contesting a promotion place back to the Premier League.
For me, City’s current position of 15th flatters them when you consider the standard of football we’ve seen up to now.
An article showing that we were towards the bottom of the table in various important areas of performance stats for Championship clubs, reiterate that our current position closer to the drop zone than the top six is not a false one.
Yes, it’s perfectly possible that instead of the battle to get out of this division by going up that most expected, we could end up in a fight whereby merely maintaining our Championship status will be considered a victory.
And all this, despite the assurances of plenty of those within the game that the league takes shape after 10 to 12 matches have been played.
There are recent precedents which prove that City’s season can still turn out to be a triumphant one if Russell Slade can instil confidence, organisation and determination into the team.
For example, if you had talked to a Sunderland fan after our win at the Stadium of Light on Halloween night 2006, they would have laughed in your face if you had asked about their promotion prospects – whereas we were absolutely on fire as we sat four points clear at the top of the table, Sunderland were down in 15th looking over their shoulder at the bottom three.
Furthermore, a fortnight later Sunderland had slipped to 19th and, having played 17 matches, more than a third of their season had been completed.
Six months later their fans were celebrating winning the title, while we limped to a finishing position of 13th with our blistering start to the campaign a distant memory.
Three years earlier, Crystal Palace found themselves in the bottom three in December having played 22 matches following a 3-1 home defeat by Crewe, but this didn’t stop them taking the last play-off place.
They went on to beat West Ham at the Millennium Stadium to confirm their promotion.
Bringing things more up to date, Reading were in 14th place having played 17 matches after our win at the Madejski Stadium in November 2011, but they still ended up winning the title with 89 points.
So, especially in a league where fancied teams at the top of the table like Norwich, Forest and Derby are having problems winning at home, the truth is City can even afford to have a short ‘bedding in’ period under their new boss and still earn a play-off place or better.
Maybe this much hyped squad can show that they really are as good as many think they are.
Re: ' We can still get promotion,but we can also be relegate
Wed Oct 15, 2014 11:31 am
No team has a right to be in any league. I remember Man Ure being in the old second division and us in the forth, but having said that I'd rather be where we are now than the dark old days. 
Re: ' We can still get promotion,but we can also be relegate
Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:12 pm
I don't think it'll be too long before we can decide if Russell Slade has got a positive reaction from the squad. Let's be honest, the football we have seen so far this season has been pretty poor compared to our previous seasons in the Championship. I tend to believe that the squad have been lacking in the fitness levels required at this level and in addition, the lack of continuity by constantly changing the team and formation hasn't helped. However, I remain confident that we already have a good enough squad in place to move up the league. If Russell Slade is to get us out of this negative patch, he needs a reaction in the next few games. Good luck to him. Only time will tell.
Re: ' We can still get promotion,but we can also be relegate
Wed Oct 15, 2014 7:23 pm
Mathematically, ALL the clubs could be promoted or relegated. We are not able to make any kind of meaningful predictions until after Christmas (especially after the January transfer window closes).
Just saying.
Just saying.
Re: ' We can still get promotion,but we can also be relegate
Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:03 pm
We need to have faith, the bookies don't often get it wrong,they made us favourites @7/1 before a ball was kicked , we have now drifted out to 25/1. In this division anything can happen, a good run and we will be back at 7s. We can but hope