Can Slade reconnect a faltering Cardiff side? Poll

Cardiff City manager Russell Slade needs to reconnect faltering team with the Bluebirds fans
15 October 2014 12:56 PM By Paul Abbandonato
Jury still out on new Cardiff boss, so Slade has to hit ground running in opening match against Nottingham Forest
Action Images / Andrew Couldridge
Slade salutes Leyton Orient's faithful after a shock win over Aston Villa
The talking is almost over. After what appears an eternity, Russell Slade finally takes charge of his first Cardiff City match this weekend.

It was way back on September 18 that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked and the Bluebirds have lacked direction and leadership since.

Not that they had too much of either commodity under the hopeless Solskjaer anyhow.

However, Nottingham Forest on Saturday needs to be a fresh start and Slade has to put down an instant marker on the team.


As the new manager of Cardiff, we should get behind Slade and back him to be a success with the Bluebirds.

There is no denying, however, that his appointment has underwhelmed an awful lot of Cardiff fans and the jury is out on how well a bloke who has Leyton Orient, Scarborough, Grimsby and Yeovil on his CV can manage the egos inside the Bluebirds dressing room and the expectations that go with being Wales’ biggest football club.

Some of those expectations and demands may be unrealistic and unfair, given Cardiff are only a Championship team, but the fan base is so huge, the passion so overwhelming, that Slade will quickly learn it is light years away from any other job he has taken on.

Video - Russell Slade on how he will handle Vincent Tan:

Russell Slade on Vincent Tan
The pressures that go with Cardiff City manager are enormous, many have cracked under the intensity and scrutiny, and it isn’t in Slade’s favour that he wasn’t the People’s Choice. Nor, of course, is that his fault.

However, he is Vincent Tan’s choice, the Bluebirds owner believing Slade has served his time in the lower leagues and deserves his opportunity at the higher level.

So the best way to begin winning over the cynics will be to hit the ground running with a top team performance against second-placed Forest.

Slade is at least talking a good game, stating: “It will be down to us to set the intensity and intent that is required from the very first minute. I want to see my side never give up and if the supporters see that I’m sure they will get right behind their team.”

With respect, though, offering 100 per cent in the Bluebirds shirt should be an absolute basic requirement from any professional footballer handed the privilege to wear it.

The fans take that as read, although it’s fair to say it didn’t always seem to happen under the Solskjaer watch.


Cardiff City fans will be hoping to see more intensity and intent than has been on show so far this season

What we need to see is shape, organisation, tactical nous and a mix of defensive solidity with offensive flair and goal threat.

Plus, of course, consistency of selection which was another thing desperately missing under Solskjaer and was fundamental to the chaos and confusion that dominated his horrendously disappointing nine-month reign in charge.

Solskjaer and Slade are chalk and cheese. One is high profile and glamour, the other (and I don’t think he will be offended by this) more a pie and mash manager.

But Slade has done the hard yards in Leagues One and Two and is adamant he is ready for the daunting challenge ahead.

He has certainly taken no messing to date. The players are not fit enough, he quickly decreed, so Slade has had them in for double training sessions.

He has also determined some players are lacking mentally and wants to bring warriors into the side, men who will offer the leadership, aggression and determination that has been missing.

Slade will have seen things in training that will determine his first team selection, but there is nothing like the heat of match-day battle, with the Cardiff City Stadium crowd justifiably demanding and the opposition players in your face, to sort out men from the also-rans.

As such, it will take time for Slade to work out his best XI... but time is something he doesn’t really have.

The Cardiff City first team based on the fans' player ratings so far this season:


VIEW GALLERY
Too many Bluebirds fans are already sceptical about this appointment and will quickly say ‘Well what did anyone expect’ if Cardiff aren’t quickly winning matches under Slade.

However, there are three major pluses going in his favour.

The first is that, misgivings or not, the Bluebirds fans will give the new man a warm ovation when he is unveiled as manager just before kick-off on Saturday.

The second is that he inherits the strongest squad in the Championship. Cardiff may languish down the table, but that’s only because they are punching below their weight and the sum of the parts did not work under Solskjaer.

The third is that if his Bluebirds get things right, are spirited, committed, fiery and winning, Slade will discover that a rocking Cardiff City Stadium is a galaxy away from anything he has experienced at his other clubs.

It’s ironic, isn’t it, that for years we have bemoaned the apathy and lack of atmosphere at Wales internationals in the capital, yet the best occasion I’ve witnessed at the ground this season was for Wales versus Bosnia on Friday night. Closely followed by Wales versus Cyprus three days after.

That is the type of rip-roaring 90 minute match-day experience we have become accustomed to with the Bluebirds down the years.

Slade needs to get the Cardiff team back in tune with their fans. It starts with Forest.

we'll have an idea about the answer to your question after maybe 6 games, until then its just complete guesswork.

Well, if he cant, were in some difficulty. Relegation would be a possibility. But, hopefully, he can.

I just hope he starts by laying down a marker and makes it crystal clear the whole team will be picked on merit, current form, fitness and attitude and that past reputations count for nothing. No one should be ruled in or out.

I think its going to be a resounding no,

I dare not say this now but will most likely soon "what the heck was Tan thinking"