' Did Slade change tactics after fans claims of boring? '

Did the manager change his tactics for this one?


This was the first match since a WalesOnline survey saw thousands of fans condemn Russell Slade.

The Bluebirds manager addressed the concerns of fans in an exclusive WalesOnline interview, but has anything changed?

Terry Phillips was at the Cardiff City Stadium to find out...

City set up with Peter Whittingham and Aron Gunnarsson sitting deep, working together. In wide areas full-backs Lee Peltier and Scott Malone linked well with wingers Matt Kennedy and Craig Noone.

Those partnerships were key factors. It was a fluid 4-4-2 with Eoin Doyle dropping deeper when Blackburn had possession, while full-backs and midfield men worked to get forward in support.

Doyle relished the challenge of a big workload and, running off the shoulders of defenders, he caused problems for Blackburn.




So how did the fans treat the manager?

Those fans who turned out loved it. There seemed to be a lot of doom and gloom before kick-off, but that lifted quickly when City started brightly and kept it going.

The official attendance was 19,057, although many season ticket holders did not turn up. They paid for their seats and are included, but my estimate would be a turnout of maybe 16,000.

The fans were singing ‘You are my Cardiff’ and enjoyed the match. No boos during this game.




Many fans reckon Cardiff will be relegated. Where does this result leave them?

City are now seven points clear of Millwall in the final relegation place. They still need wins, but they can take heart from a solid, encouraging display,

The teamwork and willingness of players to work for each other was good to see.

If City maintain standards they will finish in the top half of the Championship.

They won’t make the play-offs, but are now 15th and above Reading and Bolton on goal difference.




What about the style of football, which 94 per cent of fans dub ‘boring’. Any better versus Blackburn?

It was certainly far from boring in this one. City passed the ball better than I have seen for ages. Their first half display set the tone and got the fans behind them.

Those season ticket holders who did not attend missed a treat.




What was the impact of new head coach Paul Trollope?

He was opinionated, striding to the front of Cardiff technical area to shout instructions, and animated, He was pointing, shouting and putting his points across with vigour.

Russell Slade was at the front of the area, while Trollope stood back and stepped forward when he saw something he wanted to address.

Scott Young, too, was involved as City fought out a draw. The chemistry between those three men is going to be crucial.

Trollope has only been involved in three training sessions so far and won’t have made a huge difference, but the signs are good that he can work well with Slade.




Which of Slade’s January signings fared best?

Matthew Kennedy was a joy to watch. He was quick, clever and gave Blackburn defenders a torrid time. I can’t wait to see the 20-year-old winger, signed from Everton, again.

Kennedy was in with Conor McAleny injured.

Eoin Doyle, too, made an impression as he ran in behind defenders and worked hard, both helping out defensively and going forward.

Scott Malone and Lee Peltier both did well in the full-back positions, linking well with their wingers.




75 per cent of fans reckon Peter Whittingham should be omitted. How did Slade’s talisman fare?

In this form Whitts will be among the first names on Slade’s teamsheet. City need him on the ball and he had possession to play with.

Whitts in this form can be a matchwinner. He has been below his best, but he linked with Gunnarsson and was firing those passes which will help City as a team.

Now he must find consistency and repeat this level of display at Huddersfield.

An even bigger percentage say Fabio has been under-used. What was his role?

Fabio is injured and was not involved. It was a last minute decision on whether Fabio would be ready after a muscle injury.

He may be okay for the trip to Huddersfield on Saturday - Slade rates him 50-50 - but could not be considered for this one.

It’s Mark Hudson’s Huddersfield next, then Malky Mackay’s Wigan? What can Slade and his team expect?

Three successive draws. City are starting to lay some sort of foundation to build on. They need to maintain the tempo, enthusiasm and belief at Huddersfield.

They set new standards against Blackburn with the best team display for some time - those standards must be maintained.

Progress is slow, but it’s clear City are moving forward. They must keep moving forward.

We were entertained lady night and should have won. Kenwynne missed an easy header from a few yards out with the goalie beaten.
I left the ground buzzing last night because of the effort the players put in. Shame to concede a late goal.

Did the manager change his tactics for this one?


This was the first match since a WalesOnline survey saw thousands of fans condemn Russell Slade.

The Bluebirds manager addressed the concerns of fans in an exclusive WalesOnline interview, but has anything changed?

Terry Phillips was at the Cardiff City Stadium to find out...

City set up with Peter Whittingham and Aron Gunnarsson sitting deep, working together. In wide areas full-backs Lee Peltier and Scott Malone linked well with wingers Matt Kennedy and Craig Noone.

Those partnerships were key factors. It was a fluid 4-4-2 with Eoin Doyle dropping deeper when Blackburn had possession, while full-backs and midfield men worked to get forward in support.

Perfect analysis Carl exactly as i seen it
Doyle relished the challenge of a big workload and, running off the shoulders of defenders, he caused problems for Blackburn.




So how did the fans treat the manager?

Those fans who turned out loved it. There seemed to be a lot of doom and gloom before kick-off, but that lifted quickly when City started brightly and kept it going.

The official attendance was 19,057, although many season ticket holders did not turn up. They paid for their seats and are included, but my estimate would be a turnout of maybe 16,000.

The fans were singing ‘You are my Cardiff’ and enjoyed the match. No boos during this game.




Many fans reckon Cardiff will be relegated. Where does this result leave them?

City are now seven points clear of Millwall in the final relegation place. They still need wins, but they can take heart from a solid, encouraging display,

The teamwork and willingness of players to work for each other was good to see.

If City maintain standards they will finish in the top half of the Championship.

They won’t make the play-offs, but are now 15th and above Reading and Bolton on goal difference.




What about the style of football, which 94 per cent of fans dub ‘boring’. Any better versus Blackburn?

It was certainly far from boring in this one. City passed the ball better than I have seen for ages. Their first half display set the tone and got the fans behind them.

Those season ticket holders who did not attend missed a treat.




What was the impact of new head coach Paul Trollope?

He was opinionated, striding to the front of Cardiff technical area to shout instructions, and animated, He was pointing, shouting and putting his points across with vigour.

Russell Slade was at the front of the area, while Trollope stood back and stepped forward when he saw something he wanted to address.

Scott Young, too, was involved as City fought out a draw. The chemistry between those three men is going to be crucial.

Trollope has only been involved in three training sessions so far and won’t have made a huge difference, but the signs are good that he can work well with Slade.




Which of Slade’s January signings fared best?

Matthew Kennedy was a joy to watch. He was quick, clever and gave Blackburn defenders a torrid time. I can’t wait to see the 20-year-old winger, signed from Everton, again.

Kennedy was in with Conor McAleny injured.

Eoin Doyle, too, made an impression as he ran in behind defenders and worked hard, both helping out defensively and going forward.

Scott Malone and Lee Peltier both did well in the full-back positions, linking well with their wingers.




75 per cent of fans reckon Peter Whittingham should be omitted. How did Slade’s talisman fare?

In this form Whitts will be among the first names on Slade’s teamsheet. City need him on the ball and he had possession to play with.

Whitts in this form can be a matchwinner. He has been below his best, but he linked with Gunnarsson and was firing those passes which will help City as a team.

Now he must find consistency and repeat this level of display at Huddersfield.

An even bigger percentage say Fabio has been under-used. What was his role?

Fabio is injured and was not involved. It was a last minute decision on whether Fabio would be ready after a muscle injury.

He may be okay for the trip to Huddersfield on Saturday - Slade rates him 50-50 - but could not be considered for this one.

It’s Mark Hudson’s Huddersfield next, then Malky Mackay’s Wigan? What can Slade and his team expect?

Three successive draws. City are starting to lay some sort of foundation to build on. They need to maintain the tempo, enthusiasm and belief at Huddersfield.

They set new standards against Blackburn with the best team display for some time - those standards must be maintained.

Progress is slow, but it’s clear City are moving forward. They must keep moving forward.

It was Slade's preferred 4-4-2 and the tactics didn't seem to be that radically different, but the energy levels and desire appeared to be there for the first time in a long while. The ability of Kennedy to beat a man created space for City going forward, as Blackburn looked to get cover across to him very quickly - I thought it was an outstanding display from him.
One thing that really struck me was that after City were awarded a goal kick, the players were alert and running towards the half way line and seemingly wanting the ball from Marshall's kick, whereas in recent weeks players were walking back slowly with heads down and seemingly trying to avoid the ball coming their way.

I feel the tactics haven't really changed, but the attitude and level of application really has. The Trollope effect maybe?
Whatever it was, it was =certainly refreshing to leave the stadium feeling upbeat about the teams performance.

I dont think so, I dont think Slade would have known how to change it to be honest, if he did he surely would have done it weeks ago? if a manager is changing his plans on a wales online survey then thats quite worrying.

For me this is all down to Trollope, looks like he has come in and given us a new lease of life, tactically we couldnt have been more different. I dont agree it was slades same 4-4-2, we pressed a hell of a lot more, more eneergy to the team, at times we even set up in a 4-3-3, players interchanging Doyle moved wide at times to find space, christ he was even at left back at one point. We seemed to have a lot more fluidity to the team rather than being so rigid, players looked like they could make there own decisions.

The only annoyance of last night were poor subs, I would think down to Slade.

Carl, people need to realise change takes time. There is no miracle cure. Cuts take time to heal. Cardiff has been cut both on and off the field. Lets let the wounds heal and then we can push on.

The main changes I noticed were the whole team had been instructed to press higher up the pitch, whitts and gunnar to play deeper and fullbacks to push up and support the wingers.

I dont think so, I dont think Slade would have known how to change it to be honest, if he did he surely would have done it weeks ago? if a manager is changing his plans on a wales online survey then thats quite worrying.

For me this is all down to Trollope, looks like he has come in and given us a new lease of life, tactically we couldnt have been more different. I dont agree it was slades same 4-4-2, we pressed a hell of a lot more, more eneergy to the team, at times we even set up in a 4-3-3, players interchanging Doyle moved wide at times to find space, christ he was even at left back at one point. We seemed to have a lot more fluidity to the team rather than being so rigid, players looked like they could make there own decisions.

The only annoyance of last night were poor subs, I would think down to Slade.

Really Paul Trollope has one training session and we are a million times better

Come on Luke your hatred for slade is clouding your judgement

Maybe it's because he's got rid of a lot of shite and the team is starting to gel, Rome wasn't built in a day we have overhauled the squad mid season there been no pre season where the team can gel get a run of games together etc that's no easy task mid season

I actually think he'll do well here long term just needs the time to build an entire team most of his signings for peanuts have proven they ain't bad at this level so far

You could argue it couldn't get any worse and your probably right but sometimes you have to go backwards a mile to move forward I actually think people will be surprised just how well we will finish this season

Give him another window to bring in more and offload others a full pre season and some of us may be eating humble pie

IMO expectations should be in line with budgets and what you have in front of you


He was told who stays who goes and what he had to do he's started that and it cost us momentum big time, every player in that team didn't have a clue if they'd survive the cull or not, would you be giving it your all at work knowing you could be next out the door? Only human nature not to! Our side was no different it's no coincidence performances have improved since the window shut the squad is settling down and he will now have time to find his best side

My expectations were a relation battle knowing what was happening behind the scenes so I'm not overly fussed actually think most of the shite he's cleared out can only benefit the club long term

Now start of the season my expectations were autos ole had spent £10m on two centre backs brought in many others and yet we looked awful and he deserved to go

Slade came in expectations were still initially high but soon as all the players started being released and I knew tan had given up on promotion and saw the cuts to the playing staff it's only inevitable that expectations changed

Again some will argue that brentford and boureoth doing well true but you forget they have been playing together since start of the season no disruptions no cull of players and they've built to that level you can't expect sides to do that in a two months with massive changes I'm amazed dave jones held us together so long constantly chopping and changing the side season after season to keep club afloat, could he have done that in January and stopped a slide? Not a chance he needed the summer to sort it out and get is going again and a fine job he done