" WHAT WE LEARNED "
Sun Apr 19, 2015 1:06 pm
" Cardiff City 0-0 Millwall: Boring, boring Bluebirds.... but a good afternoon for the anti-Russell Slade brigade "
By Steve Tucker
Steve Tucker analyses what we learned from Cardiff's stalemate amd questions if any progress has been made under manager Slade
BORING, BORING CARDIFF!
It has to be said that Bluebirds fans have not been over-burdened with quality play from their side for quite some time.
Not even during the Premier League promotion season could you say the Bluebirds were an attractive side to watch and maybe you have to go back to the Dave Jones days (Chopra and Bothroyd anyone?) to recall a time when Cardiff played the game with a bit of swagger and style.
But Russell Slade’s current crop of Bluebirds really do take boring, mundane football to a whole new dimension.
You can’t really recall when the men in the famous blue shirts went out and were this ineffectual.
Slade’s Cardiff were virtually clueless against Millwall, disjointed and fragmented, verging on the disinterested with that apathy spilling over into the stands and into the season ticket sales office.
How Slade is going to turn this into some kind of attractive team in time for next season defies belief really at this point.
He is suddenly going to have to prove some kind of mix of Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola for sure!
The new players brought in by Slade simply do not look up to the job whilst the older heads seem to have gone off the boil too.
Dull barely covers what this showing against the Lions was actually like.
Worrying times indeed.
A GOOD AFTERNOON AT LEAST FOR THE ANTI-SLADE BRIGADE
Let’s be honest there are plenty of fans who would willingly drive the Cardiff boss to the station with a one-way train ticket in his pocket.
There has been talk of a so-called up-turn in results and progress, but this match emphatically showed that the Bluebirds have not gone anywhere in the six-plus months Slade has been in charge.
Other than, of course, to get rid of some decent players and bring in replacements of lesser quality.
It is hard really to see what the Cardiff boss is attempting here. Two wingers, but minimal width and no service.
A midfield in Peter Whittingham and Aron Gunnarsson who lag 20 yards behind the front two, with the result that Joe Mason and Eoin Doyle did not even get a sniff of goal.
And let’s be honest, defensively too the Bluebirds look, well, totally average.
They started against Millwall with two full-backs capable of keeping them up next season one hopes. A similar centre-half in Sean Morrison too, with even Bruno Manga, a beacon of quality for much of the campaign, seemingly also dragged down to the ranks of the also-rans.
Many want a new manager in before next season. On this evidence who the heck is going to argue with them convincingly?
WHO WILL PUT THE BALL IN THE NET?
Despite talking about the lack of service to the front men the focus does fall on Joe Mason and Eoin Doyle and neither convinced in against the Lions, it has to be said.
Mason looked jaded, which is hardly surprising. He has just returned from injury and has seen a lot of action. At least he has already proven he has what it takes at this level.
More worryingly, Doyle has not. The striker has not done too badly in terms of goals compared to appearances with two in eight starts and five substitute appearances for his new club.
The problem for him is in converting chances. In the Championship he is going to get fewer opportunities, particularly in a team playing as Cardiff are right at this moment and you sense he is going to have to be more prolific to win people over.
The jury is still very much out on Doyle and if he starts next season leading the Bluebirds’ line, wow, the pressure is going to be massive on him.
Again when it comes to Slade’s Bluebirds, there are far more questions than answers.
THE ENIGMA THAT IS CRAIG NOONE
Reports that Norwich are still interested in the winger and will come back in for him got a mixed reaction from Cardiff fans on social media.
There were those who insisted he should be held onto, but there were plenty urging the Bluebirds to get rid if £2m was on offer.
Looking at what Noone has done for Cardiff since he joined the club that apathy seems ridiculous.
He was great in the promotion campaign and one of the very few Cardiff players to at least look reasonable in the Premier League. The problem is that, despite Slade’s confidence in him, for too much time this season the wideman has obviously been under par.
Have his injuries finally caught up with him or is it the fact that Cardiff are under-performing as a whole that has affected Noone?
Hard to know. Suffice to say though, he was the best Bluebirds player against the Lions and, if he is sold in the summer, the signal that would send out would be an incredibly negative one.
Cardiff need to keep players like Noone, but will they?
MILLWALL DESERVE TO BE RELEGATED
Cardiff were awful, but so too were Millwall.
Presented with a Cardiff side in such abject form really should have handed desperate Millwall the boost their relegation battle needs.
But the Lions proved punchless themselves and were probably left frustrated that they did not take the three points in the end.
In the second-half in particular Millwall had a couple of really good chances that they failed to take. That is the difference between relegation and maintaining your Championship status.
If Millwall dominated the second-half and probably did enough to deserve the three points they were really strange in the first-half. That opening period looked like it was being contested between two sides who were just playing out the season and more interested in perusing holiday brochures.
That might be true of Cardiff, of course, but Neil Harris’ men are fighting for their place in the Championship.
Millwall just did not really look like a side doing that for too much of this game.
By Steve Tucker
Steve Tucker analyses what we learned from Cardiff's stalemate amd questions if any progress has been made under manager Slade
BORING, BORING CARDIFF!
It has to be said that Bluebirds fans have not been over-burdened with quality play from their side for quite some time.
Not even during the Premier League promotion season could you say the Bluebirds were an attractive side to watch and maybe you have to go back to the Dave Jones days (Chopra and Bothroyd anyone?) to recall a time when Cardiff played the game with a bit of swagger and style.
But Russell Slade’s current crop of Bluebirds really do take boring, mundane football to a whole new dimension.
You can’t really recall when the men in the famous blue shirts went out and were this ineffectual.
Slade’s Cardiff were virtually clueless against Millwall, disjointed and fragmented, verging on the disinterested with that apathy spilling over into the stands and into the season ticket sales office.
How Slade is going to turn this into some kind of attractive team in time for next season defies belief really at this point.
He is suddenly going to have to prove some kind of mix of Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola for sure!
The new players brought in by Slade simply do not look up to the job whilst the older heads seem to have gone off the boil too.
Dull barely covers what this showing against the Lions was actually like.
Worrying times indeed.
A GOOD AFTERNOON AT LEAST FOR THE ANTI-SLADE BRIGADE
Let’s be honest there are plenty of fans who would willingly drive the Cardiff boss to the station with a one-way train ticket in his pocket.
There has been talk of a so-called up-turn in results and progress, but this match emphatically showed that the Bluebirds have not gone anywhere in the six-plus months Slade has been in charge.
Other than, of course, to get rid of some decent players and bring in replacements of lesser quality.
It is hard really to see what the Cardiff boss is attempting here. Two wingers, but minimal width and no service.
A midfield in Peter Whittingham and Aron Gunnarsson who lag 20 yards behind the front two, with the result that Joe Mason and Eoin Doyle did not even get a sniff of goal.
And let’s be honest, defensively too the Bluebirds look, well, totally average.
They started against Millwall with two full-backs capable of keeping them up next season one hopes. A similar centre-half in Sean Morrison too, with even Bruno Manga, a beacon of quality for much of the campaign, seemingly also dragged down to the ranks of the also-rans.
Many want a new manager in before next season. On this evidence who the heck is going to argue with them convincingly?
WHO WILL PUT THE BALL IN THE NET?
Despite talking about the lack of service to the front men the focus does fall on Joe Mason and Eoin Doyle and neither convinced in against the Lions, it has to be said.
Mason looked jaded, which is hardly surprising. He has just returned from injury and has seen a lot of action. At least he has already proven he has what it takes at this level.
More worryingly, Doyle has not. The striker has not done too badly in terms of goals compared to appearances with two in eight starts and five substitute appearances for his new club.
The problem for him is in converting chances. In the Championship he is going to get fewer opportunities, particularly in a team playing as Cardiff are right at this moment and you sense he is going to have to be more prolific to win people over.
The jury is still very much out on Doyle and if he starts next season leading the Bluebirds’ line, wow, the pressure is going to be massive on him.
Again when it comes to Slade’s Bluebirds, there are far more questions than answers.
THE ENIGMA THAT IS CRAIG NOONE
Reports that Norwich are still interested in the winger and will come back in for him got a mixed reaction from Cardiff fans on social media.
There were those who insisted he should be held onto, but there were plenty urging the Bluebirds to get rid if £2m was on offer.
Looking at what Noone has done for Cardiff since he joined the club that apathy seems ridiculous.
He was great in the promotion campaign and one of the very few Cardiff players to at least look reasonable in the Premier League. The problem is that, despite Slade’s confidence in him, for too much time this season the wideman has obviously been under par.
Have his injuries finally caught up with him or is it the fact that Cardiff are under-performing as a whole that has affected Noone?
Hard to know. Suffice to say though, he was the best Bluebirds player against the Lions and, if he is sold in the summer, the signal that would send out would be an incredibly negative one.
Cardiff need to keep players like Noone, but will they?
MILLWALL DESERVE TO BE RELEGATED
Cardiff were awful, but so too were Millwall.
Presented with a Cardiff side in such abject form really should have handed desperate Millwall the boost their relegation battle needs.
But the Lions proved punchless themselves and were probably left frustrated that they did not take the three points in the end.
In the second-half in particular Millwall had a couple of really good chances that they failed to take. That is the difference between relegation and maintaining your Championship status.
If Millwall dominated the second-half and probably did enough to deserve the three points they were really strange in the first-half. That opening period looked like it was being contested between two sides who were just playing out the season and more interested in perusing holiday brochures.
That might be true of Cardiff, of course, but Neil Harris’ men are fighting for their place in the Championship.
Millwall just did not really look like a side doing that for too much of this game.
Re: " WHAT WE LEARNED "
Sun Apr 19, 2015 1:16 pm
Well it has been 4 seasons since Dave Jones got the sack and it has to be said the quality of football since his departure has declined.
Most know I was not a fan of DJ and that was because I believe he was given the best chance ever to get us in the premier and he simple blew it. What I find confusing is that Jones was a defender but his time here he got the attack right but not the defence. If Malky or Slade could hit a fraction of Chopra or Bothroyd we might find ourselves in a total different situation.
What we learned......we need strikers.
Most know I was not a fan of DJ and that was because I believe he was given the best chance ever to get us in the premier and he simple blew it. What I find confusing is that Jones was a defender but his time here he got the attack right but not the defence. If Malky or Slade could hit a fraction of Chopra or Bothroyd we might find ourselves in a total different situation.
What we learned......we need strikers.
Re: " WHAT WE LEARNED "
Sun Apr 19, 2015 4:04 pm
I wrote this on another thread
This is our worse set of forwards since we got to the championship.
A fading disinterested Kenwyne Jones
A home sick ALF
A crocked Maynard
A limited trier in Revell
A even more limited Doyle
A poor Joe Mason who has only scored 15 Championship goals in about 70 games for us
An overrated Noone scoring just 1 goal
A china teapot of a player in Pilkington 1 goal.
A league 1 Kadeem Harris - He nearly 22 now and a speed player, so this is his time
Guerra's story will hopefully come to light
The way we butchered good chances this season will be my overriding memory. Is KJ really that much better than Leo Fortune West ?
This is our worse set of forwards since we got to the championship.
A fading disinterested Kenwyne Jones
A home sick ALF
A crocked Maynard
A limited trier in Revell
A even more limited Doyle
A poor Joe Mason who has only scored 15 Championship goals in about 70 games for us
An overrated Noone scoring just 1 goal
A china teapot of a player in Pilkington 1 goal.
A league 1 Kadeem Harris - He nearly 22 now and a speed player, so this is his time
Guerra's story will hopefully come to light
The way we butchered good chances this season will be my overriding memory. Is KJ really that much better than Leo Fortune West ?
Re: " WHAT WE LEARNED "
Sun Apr 19, 2015 4:47 pm
Couldn't agree more with this, I keep saying that Slade has achieved his goals of reducing the wage bill, ensuring championship survival and a manager coming in before the summer would have a platform to take us forward. We haven't been entertained for a fraction of games over the last four or five years, but even hoofball would create for a more interesting spectacle and we would create more chances than what we are witnessing at the moment. I am glass half full person, but I can't ever remember being as bored by the football as this. Nothing happens in most of the games! 
Re: " WHAT WE LEARNED "
Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:24 pm
Stringfellow wrote:Couldn't agree more with this, I keep saying that Slade has achieved his goals of reducing the wage bill, ensuring championship survival and a manager coming in before the summer would have a platform to take us forward. We haven't been entertained for a fraction of games over the last four or five years, but even hoofball would create for a more interesting spectacle and we would create more chances than what we are witnessing at the moment. I am glass half full person, but I can't ever remember being as bored by the football as this. Nothing happens in most of the games!
If you look at it closely and logical, this another bullshit myth created by Slade in his interviews. No way we are close to being sustainable economically for being a mid table championship club. Also the 12 million shaved off any wage bill is just bullshit.
That would average 23k a week on the players leaving. Look at the players who left!? rubbish! And mutual agreement rarely come free. So not even economics justify the means to his limited football philosophy. As it stands, this club is dead in the water and isn't moving before change!
