' Nathan Blake Says ' " Cardiff City so far at best are "

Sport Football Football News Cardiff City FC
Cardiff City start to season a 5/10 at best and it's high time for some belief - Nathan Blake

Monday Nov 10, 2014


Our columnist laments the Bluebirds' away form which has seen recent defeats to Bolton and Millwall and a draw against struggling Birmingham


So, we head into the international break with more than a third of the season gone. The ideal time, I guess, to properly analyse Cardiff City’s start to the season.

And if I was a teacher giving a pupil a mark out of 10, the best I could offer would be a four, possibly a five at an absolute push.

It’s not been the most enjoyable experience over the past year, has it? Three different managers, four if you include the Scott Young-Danny Gabbidon combination, the Malky Mackay text business, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s flawed reign.

A right old roller-coaster ride. Typical Cardiff City, you might conclude!

In fact, the only reason I can stretch the mark to a four or five is because at least under Russell Slade we’ve put together three successive home wins which offer momentum and hope moving forward once the players regroup after the international matches.

That is the plus point thus far of the Slade reign. The negative, of course, is that fact that we just cannot win, or even score a goal, away from home. The 0-0 stalemate at Birmingham followed a 3-0 midweek defeat to Bolton and the 1-0 loss at Millwall.

Cardiff also lost, of course, 1-0 to Blackpool when Slade was in the stands just prior to his official unveiling as Solskjaer’s successor.



So why the problem? Why the dramatic difference not only in results, but also in level of performance home and away?

Because, I’m afraid, Cardiff’s players don’t appear as if they believe. And that’s wrong, because this is the best squad of players in the Championship. Bar none.

They should be putting ordinary teams like Birmingham to the sword, but if Cardiff don’t believe they can win this league, or even matches away from home at the moment, then they won’t do so.

There is a lack of conviction in their game and it means this group of players are not yet producing the results they are capable of. They are 12th in the table for a reason. Make absolutely no mistake, Cardiff have better players than sides like Bournemouth, who are second, Brentford, who are sixth, or for that matter other sides up and around the top.

But those others are doing well because they possess the very confidence and belief which I’m adamant is lacking in the Cardiff dressing room. With that type of aura, you can go some way in football.

Look, if you spoke to the players they would no doubt say ‘We do believe in ourselves. Nathan Blake is talking nonsense.’

But Nathan Blake has been there, seen it and worn the T-shirt. Saying you believe, and looking yourself in the mirror and genuinely knowing that is the case, are different things.

Cardiff need to start having a swagger about them, but I don’t see it. It’s like one step forward, one step back at the minute... which, in effect, means they are standing still.



I repeat, player for player they are better than any other side in the Championship. Yet they go away from home and they just play like an ordinary team.

The lack of confidence is affecting the strikers, as much as anyone else. Adam Le Fondre missed another great chance at Birmingham and he is displaying classic signs of a goalscorer shorn of belief who snatches at things. His partner, Federico Macheda, is only doing it in fits and starts.

Every forward goes through the type of barren run currently affecting Le Fondre and my advice to him is not to doubt himself. He’s a good player and if he can get a little run going of two or three goals, I’m convinced he will still end up with around 20 for the season.

But the lack of goals on City’s travels is not down to a couple of individuals. It’s a collective thing and I firmly believe Slade could do a lot worse than put Kenwyne Jones in there when he returns from the Caribbean.

He would be the ideal person to hold up play, link the midfield with the front men and, as we’ve already seen this season, he nets his share of goals, too.

Slade has preferred Le Fondre and Macheda as his first-choice strike force, but I think City are missing big Kenwyne and the sooner he is back the better.

To go back to that teacher’s mark, my early-season report on Cardiff would be ‘Have so much potential, must do better’.

Those players should look around the dressing room before a game and think to themselves, ‘Who in this division is better than us? Whose dressing room would we swap for this one?’

The answer to that is no-one’s. This Cardiff team need to start winning matches and they also need to begin doing it with some style, too. Yes, it is about results, but the ultimate is to win while playing well and entertaining the fans. When you have the best players, that’s not an unreasonable expectation.

Slade, to be fair, is having to bed in his ideas after the situation he inherited from the previous regime. It takes time.

But, by March, I want to see the Bluebirds flying... and proving they really are the No.1 squad in the Championship.

Actually for once Blake makes sense and tells it how it is ... we're a bog standard team mind, I watched Derby wipe the floor with Wolves and could only dream about City playing as well as them.

Totally agree with Blakey. Kenwyne Jones is the only forward playing with confidence, so should start every game until the others get theirs back. Whilst I would suggest that this bunch of players are not as good as many were proclaiming I do agree with Blakey that they are better than most in this league, so should be performing to a far higher standard. I think Slade already knows that he is missing a couple of loud and forceful characters in the dressing room. These lads need cajoling out on the pitch, we have no one doing that. He will undoubtedly get this type of player in come January.

I disagree to a point ..I don't believe Macheda and Le Fondre are good enough as strikers in this division..Le Fondre as a bench player yes. But we need better quality alongside Kenwyne.... Maynard is not the answer either

I don't think Whitts and Gunnarsson are a strong enough pairing in centre midfield.

As far our management team..they are out of their depth.

as I have said before at 53 if Slade was any good he would have been plying his trade in a higher division years ago.

I disagree to a point ..I don't believe Macheda and Le Fondre are good enough as strikers in this division..Le Fondre as a bench player yes. But we need better quality alongside Kenwyne.... Maynard is not the answer either

I don't think Whitts and Gunnarsson are a strong enough pairing in centre midfield.

As far our management team..they are out of their depth.

as I have said before at 53 if Slade was any good he would have been plying his trade in a higher division years ago.

so that's the strikers, centre midfield and management written off - surely time to have a go at the defence as well??

Leicester City had spent big for some seasons before they got up - we've spent big but have no team confidence, something I do agree with Blakey about. Team confidence takes TIME.

Absolute dogshit as always. "This is the best squad in the Championship, bar none" " Cardiff are far better than the likes of Bournemouth, Brentford etc" " The performances are down to confidence" This is all media bullshit.

The fact is we inherited a spirited but technically poor squad from Malky whose only real quality players left after we were relegated. Ole brought in maybe Daehli and subsequently Magna in terms of quality and this so called best squad in the Championship will be severely reduced come January! Of course we cannot rule out the additions of some cheap, journeymen ftom League 1. We are also a squad with a dearth of pace and hard tackling midfielders.

The fact is Malky failed where the likes of Steve Bruce and Tony Pulis succeeded in ditching the deadwood and acquiring sufficient playersbof Premier class and experience to maintain their League status (and subsequently build upon it). Ole then made mattered worse by possessing no management ability snd signing players for the sake of signing them. We then have two management rookies tear the squad apart and single out some players for ostracism. Finally we get a new manager with no experience beyond the lower leagues who appears to have good man management skills but very little else.

No we are nowhere near the "best squad in the Championship" and its not "all about confidence" The sad thing is this club was going nowhere fast when we rested on our laurels as soon as we got promoted!

Absolute dogshit as always. "This is the best squad in the Championship, bar none" " Cardiff are far better than the likes of Bournemouth, Brentford etc" " The performances are down to confidence" This is all media bullshit.

The fact is we inherited a spirited but technically poor squad from Malky whose only real quality players left after we were relegated. Ole brought in maybe Daehli and subsequently Magna in terms of quality and this so called best squad in the Championship will be severely reduced come January! Of course we cannot rule out the additions of some cheap, journeymen ftom League 1. We are also a squad with a dearth of pace and hard tackling midfielders.

The fact is Malky failed where the likes of Steve Bruce and Tony Pulis succeeded in ditching the deadwood and acquiring sufficient playersbof Premier class and experience to maintain their League status (and subsequently build upon it). Ole then made mattered worse by possessing no management ability snd signing players for the sake of signing them. We then have two management rookies tear the squad apart and single out some players for ostracism. Finally we get a new manager with no experience beyond the lower leagues who appears to have good man management skills but very little else.

No we are nowhere near the "best squad in the Championship" and its not "all about confidence" The sad thing is this club was going nowhere fast when we rested on our laurels as soon as we got promoted!

Couldn't disagree more.
We have a very good squad of players here but I don't believe Slade has found the right blend yet. Our 2 most skilful players haven't had a look in yet but in Ravels case he's virtually always injured.
Why shouldn't Slade bring in some of his own players (league 1 or elsewhere) he's our manager & it's up to him & we should support him & give him a chance.
We need a leader but Gunnar seems to be stepping up to the plate & is doing really well.
'The fact is Malky failed'? Did he? We were sitting quite comfortably above the relegation zone when he left to bring in OGS who didn't have a clue & took us down. Malky didn't take us down, he got us up!

Absolute dogshit as always. "This is the best squad in the Championship, bar none" " Cardiff are far better than the likes of Bournemouth, Brentford etc" " The performances are down to confidence" This is all media bullshit.

The fact is we inherited a spirited but technically poor squad from Malky whose only real quality players left after we were relegated. Ole brought in maybe Daehli and subsequently Magna in terms of quality and this so called best squad in the Championship will be severely reduced come January! Of course we cannot rule out the additions of some cheap, journeymen ftom League 1. We are also a squad with a dearth of pace and hard tackling midfielders.

The fact is Malky failed where the likes of Steve Bruce and Tony Pulis succeeded in ditching the deadwood and acquiring sufficient playersbof Premier class and experience to maintain their League status (and subsequently build upon it). Ole then made mattered worse by possessing no management ability snd signing players for the sake of signing them. We then have two management rookies tear the squad apart and single out some players for ostracism. Finally we get a new manager with no experience beyond the lower leagues who appears to have good man management skills but very little else.

No we are nowhere near the "best squad in the Championship" and its not "all about confidence" The sad thing is this club was going nowhere fast when we rested on our laurels as soon as we got promoted!

Couldn't disagree more.
We have a very good squad of players here but I don't believe Slade has found the right blend yet. Our 2 most skilful players haven't had a look in yet but in Ravels case he's virtually always injured.
Why shouldn't Slade bring in some of his own players (league 1 or elsewhere) he's our manager & it's up to him & we should support him & give him a chance.
We need a leader but Gunnar seems to be stepping up to the plate & is doing really well.
'The fact is Malky failed'? Did he? We were sitting quite comfortably above the relegation zone when he left to bring in OGS who didn't have a clue & took us down. Malky didn't take us down, he got us up!

We were not that comfortable above drop zone with malky! And personally I think would have gone down with him, and ole was a disaster no doubt about that! Not sure its confidence issue as under malky, ole, as just as bad away isn't it 21 games without win?

Absolute dogshit as always. "This is the best squad in the Championship, bar none" " Cardiff are far better than the likes of Bournemouth, Brentford etc" " The performances are down to confidence" This is all media bullshit.

The fact is we inherited a spirited but technically poor squad from Malky whose only real quality players left after we were relegated. Ole brought in maybe Daehli and subsequently Magna in terms of quality and this so called best squad in the Championship will be severely reduced come January! Of course we cannot rule out the additions of some cheap, journeymen ftom League 1. We are also a squad with a dearth of pace and hard tackling midfielders.

The fact is Malky failed where the likes of Steve Bruce and Tony Pulis succeeded in ditching the deadwood and acquiring sufficient playersbof Premier class and experience to maintain their League status (and subsequently build upon it). Ole then made mattered worse by possessing no management ability snd signing players for the sake of signing them. We then have two management rookies tear the squad apart and single out some players for ostracism. Finally we get a new manager with no experience beyond the lower leagues who appears to have good man management skills but very little else.

No we are nowhere near the "best squad in the Championship" and its not "all about confidence" The sad thing is this club was going nowhere fast when we rested on our laurels as soon as we got promoted!

Couldn't disagree more.
We have a very good squad of players here but I don't believe Slade has found the right blend yet. Our 2 most skilful players haven't had a look in yet but in Ravels case he's virtually always injured.
Why shouldn't Slade bring in some of his own players (league 1 or elsewhere) he's our manager & it's up to him & we should support him & give him a chance.
We need a leader but Gunnar seems to be stepping up to the plate & is doing really well.
'The fact is Malky failed'? Did he? We were sitting quite comfortably above the relegation zone when he left to bring in OGS who didn't have a clue & took us down. Malky didn't take us down, he got us up!

We were not that comfortable above drop zone with malky! And personally I think would have gone down with him, and ole was a disaster no doubt about that! Not sure its confidence issue as under malky, ole, as just as bad away isn't it 21 games without win?

Absolute dogshit as always. "This is the best squad in the Championship, bar none" " Cardiff are far better than the likes of Bournemouth, Brentford etc" " The performances are down to confidence" This is all media bullshit.

The fact is we inherited a spirited but technically poor squad from Malky whose only real quality players left after we were relegated. Ole brought in maybe Daehli and subsequently Magna in terms of quality and this so called best squad in the Championship will be severely reduced come January! Of course we cannot rule out the additions of some cheap, journeymen ftom League 1. We are also a squad with a dearth of pace and hard tackling midfielders.

The fact is Malky failed where the likes of Steve Bruce and Tony Pulis succeeded in ditching the deadwood and acquiring sufficient playersbof Premier class and experience to maintain their League status (and subsequently build upon it). Ole then made mattered worse by possessing no management ability snd signing players for the sake of signing them. We then have two management rookies tear the squad apart and single out some players for ostracism. Finally we get a new manager with no experience beyond the lower leagues who appears to have good man management skills but very little else.

No we are nowhere near the "best squad in the Championship" and its not "all about confidence" The sad thing is this club was going nowhere fast when we rested on our laurels as soon as we got promoted!

Couldn't disagree more.
We have a very good squad of players here but I don't believe Slade has found the right blend yet. Our 2 most skilful players haven't had a look in yet but in Ravels case he's virtually always injured.
Why shouldn't Slade bring in some of his own players (league 1 or elsewhere) he's our manager & it's up to him & we should support him & give him a chance.
We need a leader but Gunnar seems to be stepping up to the plate & is doing really well.
'The fact is Malky failed'? Did he? We were sitting quite comfortably above the relegation zone when he left to bring in OGS who didn't have a clue & took us down. Malky didn't take us down, he got us up!

We were not that comfortable above drop zone with malky! And personally I think would have gone down with him, and ole was a disaster no doubt about that! Not sure its confidence issue as under malky, ole, as just as bad away isn't it 21 games without win?

Allen, the way I look at it, is we were out of the bottom 3 which was a positive for me.
Look at the 3 clubs in the relegation zone now - the same 3 that got promoted. I actually think he would of kept is up but neither you are me are correct because it's all hypothetical now.
I think everybody on here can agree that OGS was a complete disaster though - except for partywithole wherever he is now!!

Cant argue with that from blakey lads.

Absolute dogshit as always. "This is the best squad in the Championship, bar none" " Cardiff are far better than the likes of Bournemouth, Brentford etc" " The performances are down to confidence" This is all media bullshit.

The fact is we inherited a spirited but technically poor squad from Malky whose only real quality players left after we were relegated. Ole brought in maybe Daehli and subsequently Magna in terms of quality and this so called best squad in the Championship will be severely reduced come January! Of course we cannot rule out the additions of some cheap, journeymen ftom League 1. We are also a squad with a dearth of pace and hard tackling midfielders.

The fact is Malky failed where the likes of Steve Bruce and Tony Pulis succeeded in ditching the deadwood and acquiring sufficient playersbof Premier class and experience to maintain their League status (and subsequently build upon it). Ole then made mattered worse by possessing no management ability snd signing players for the sake of signing them. We then have two management rookies tear the squad apart and single out some players for ostracism. Finally we get a new manager with no experience beyond the lower leagues who appears to have good man management skills but very little else.

No we are nowhere near the "best squad in the Championship" and its not "all about confidence" The sad thing is this club was going nowhere fast when we rested on our laurels as soon as we got promoted!

Couldn't disagree more.
We have a very good squad of players here but I don't believe Slade has found the right blend yet. Our 2 most skilful players haven't had a look in yet but in Ravels case he's virtually always injured.
Why shouldn't Slade bring in some of his own players (league 1 or elsewhere) he's our manager & it's up to him & we should support him & give him a chance.
We need a leader but Gunnar seems to be stepping up to the plate & is doing really well.
'The fact is Malky failed'? Did he? We were sitting quite comfortably above the relegation zone when he left to bring in OGS who didn't have a clue & took us down. Malky didn't take us down, he got us up!

We were not that comfortable above drop zone with malky! And personally I think would have gone down with him, and ole was a disaster no doubt about that! Not sure its confidence issue as under malky, ole, as just as bad away isn't it 21 games without win?

Allen, the way I look at it, is we were out of the bottom 3 which was a positive for me.
Look at the 3 clubs in the relegation zone now - the same 3 that got promoted. I actually think he would of kept is up but neither you are me are correct because it's all hypothetical now.
I think everybody on here can agree that OGS was a complete disaster though - except for partywithole wherever he is now!!

Having a party at ole's house!

I disagree to a point ..I don't believe Macheda and Le Fondre are good enough as strikers in this division..Le Fondre as a bench player yes. But we need better quality alongside Kenwyne.... Maynard is not the answer either

I don't think Whitts and Gunnarsson are a strong enough pairing in centre midfield.

As far our management team..they are out of their depth.

as I have said before at 53 if Slade was any good he would have been plying his trade in a higher division years ago.

so that's the strikers, centre midfield and management written off - surely time to have a go at the defence as well??

Leicester City had spent big for some seasons before they got up - we've spent big but have no team confidence, something I do agree with Blakey about. Team confidence takes TIME.

I'm not happy with our team or our players, the likes of maynard have had two years to get fit, le fondre and Macheda are both in shocking shape as is jones.

pick up your wages and who gives a shit type players.

who has the hunger or the ambition in this team?