" SLADE MARKS HIMSELF 5 OUT OF 10/PLUS INSISTS "

Cardiff City boss Russell Slade marks himself 5 out of 10 but insists he's the right man for Bluebirds

By Chris Wathan

The Bluebirds boss Russell Slade dismisses criticism of Cardiff's style, stating: "People criticise Jose Mourinho for being boring"

Russell Slade has admitted he would only mark himself five out of ten for his time in charge of Cardiff City – but still insists he’s the man to take the Bluebirds into next season.

Facing questions on the morning WalesOnline and the South Wales Echo penned an open letter to Vincent Tan calling for change for the good of the club, the under-fire Cardiff boss conceded he failed to meet his objective of making the top six and that the side had underachieved this term.

Slade said he underestimated the difficulties he faced taking over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, although declined to comment when asked if anyone else could have done a better job.

Slade also:

*TOLD Bluebirds fans they should be thankful it hasn’t been worse after insisting the club is stabilised in the Championship after relegation fears

*DISMISSED criticism of his side’s style of play and claimed even Jose Moruinho has barbs over being boring

*ADMITTED it will be down to fans to decide if they still have belief in him but asked for a summer before being judged

*CONCEDED he needs a flying start to next season to change opinion and launch a promotion bid, maintaining it was not “insurmountable”

*CLAIMED he will have the financial backing of owner Vincent Tan to help him in a “massive” summer.

Speaking ahead of Cardiff’s final game of the season against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Slade was directly asked if he still believed he was the man to lead the Bluebirds.

He replied: “Yes. I believe in myself. I think the important thing is there is a growing unity in the changing room, a strong squad who are together, a nucleus of a strong squad that needs to be strengthened. We will try to do that despite the criticism, we’re trying to move forward and we will move forward.”

Asked about the fans’ view of him, Slade continued: “It is for the fans to decide, but they should decide over a period of time, and I don’t think this is the right time.

“We need to have a full pre-season, a summer where we regroup and maybe then that will be the time to have a look and see if there has been significant progress made.

“It’s a question of understanding. There are a lot of things that have been sorted out at the football club and at some stage you have to do that.

“We’ve been able to do that in the Championship. There was talk – you talked about it – relegation. I never saw that but you talked about it and that’s not happened so it was very important to stabilise the club, that’s the point I’m making.

“A lot of work has had to be done to get into the situation we’re at, but we’re in a good position – or a better position – to move forward. That’s what I would say to the fans.

“My point is it can get worse and it has got worse for some clubs in the past. What I’m saying is that we’ve got to a level where we’ve stabilised the football club and given the transfer window will be time to move forward again.”

Slade said he could not answer whether any other boss might have fared better, claiming his 700-plus games in the business suggested he ‘knows what he is doing’, but did admit his shortcomings this season when he was asked to grade his and his players’ performances.

“We are in mid-table so it would have to be somewhere in the middle. It would be a 5... we might even nick a 6 if we win tomorrow,” said Slade.

But he denied issues over the team’s style of play despite criticism that the Bluebirds have become a turn-off to the fans.

“People criticise Jose Mourinho for being boring and I know they are top of the Premier League and it’s different – but I don’t see it anyway. I don’t agree with it,” he said.

“Some of our performances, particularly away from home because I don’t think we’ve got it right at home, have been decent and far from boring.”

Asked to specify some of the problems he claims to have inherited after Solskjaer’s exit at a time Cardiff were looking increasingly unlikely like mounting a promotion bid, Slade opted against spelling out too much detail but did again point to a lack of fitness and foresight in transfer policy.

“Obviously the objective when I came in was to try and turn things around because it was a difficult situation the club were in, and to attempt to get in that top six,” he said.

“But when you looked a little more deeply, which I did, there were a lot of things that needed to be addressed.

“Yes, I expected us to be higher when you looked from the outside and saw the amount of players that were here but then there wasn’t the partnerships I thought might be here. A lot of players had been brought together with perhaps not enough thought put into them.

“There were just things that needed addressing that were not right in my professional opinion. I have highlighted some of them, I am not going to tell you every one of them, am I?

“What I am telling you is the fitness levels at the club were not at a level that would take the club forward. That was proved statistically because we could not score a goal after 60 minutes in games. My first problem was we needed to be in front after 60 minutes to get a result.

“Listen, it falls on my shoulders. The players will be the first to admit there has not been the level of consistency in individual or collective performances required to where we wanted to be. Excuses are useless. We are on 59 points, no-one is making excuses and nobody is happy with where we are.

“As a group we think we have underachieved? Do we think we can do better? Of course.

“Do we think a summer transfer window to improve will help? Yes, we do. Do we think we can improve the fitness levels before the next campaign? Yes, there is a lot of planning gone into pre-season to get that exceptionally strong and right so we can go off a good basis.

“I accept we need a good start but that is not insurmountable. Nothing is impossible, the season before (with Leyton Orient) I went the first eight games unbeaten, I won them. It might well take something like that but a good start would be imperative to any campaign if you want to do well.”

Slade insisted that dialogue is continuing over transfer to aid that aim and replied with a simple “yes” when asked if Tan was prepared to fully back it.

We are set-up like Real Madrid, and have the tactical discipline of Jose Mourinho's Chelsea. It's a winning ticket. Slade, you just opened my eyes. Sorry for ever doubting you.

honest and very plausible imo

lets be honest if rating all our managers in the last 40/50 years slade would not be in the bottom 6

honest and very plausible imo

Our club will NOT move forward with Slade as our manager !

honest and very plausible imo

Our club will NOT move forward with Slade as our manager !

Bookies favourites and biggest budget ever lavished upon a championship team, to being 'thankful' we were not relegated. The circus is in town

i think a 5/10 is fair

For the good of our club, Slade and Young must be replaced now!!

For the good of our club, Slade and Young must be replaced now!!

Correct

honest and very plausible imo

Our club will NOT move forward with Slade as our manager !

Bookies favourites and biggest budget ever lavished upon a championship team, to being 'thankful' we were not relegated. The circus is in town

And slade was no where near our club at that time ffs get real
But yes he did keep us up when many said we were defo getting relegated

I am 100% not a Slade fan,I dont think he will ever win us promotion and I dont feel he is the right man for City.

But if we finish 10th tomorrow,then Slade against mine and many more fans wishes has earned the right to be given a chance next season.
Why? because Slade even with his dire football will have taken us from 17th to finish 10th on a budget in my wich had No real money in it.

Will he take us up? NO, lets hope I am wrong.

I am 100% not a Slade fan,I dont think he will ever win us promotion and I dont feel he is the right man for City.

But if we finish 10th tomorrow,then Slade against mine and many more fans wishes has earned the right to be given a chance next season.
Why? because Slade even with his dire football will have taken us from 17th to finish 10th on a budget in my wich had No real money in it.

Will he take us up? NO, lets hope I am wrong.

Annis your nearly there but not quite 10th or 13th is just the same IMO

honest and very plausible imo

Our club will NOT move forward with Slade as our manager !

Bookies favourites and biggest budget ever lavished upon a championship team, to being 'thankful' we were not relegated. The circus is in town

And slade was no where near our club at that time ffs get real
But yes he did keep us up when many said we were defo getting relegated

I agree, Steve. Not fair just to blame Slade. The people who think they know best blocked Slade having his own staff, Never take responsibility

He thinks to highly of himself

Fair assessment from Slade.

He ain't far off with a 5. Reduced the wage bill and kept us up. I don't think he us gd for much else though.

Fair assessment from Slade.

And a fair assessment of slade by you

I feel sorry for Slade, he started off well, then was told not to play certain players because Tan wanted to sell them. Slade had to replace the high earners with cheap replacements and amazingly, he started turning things around. That was until further cut backs were made with Kenwyne Jones and Matt Connolly getting loaned out to weaken Slade's team further again.

I don't think any manager can succeed for us as long as Tan is in charge. If Slade goes, he will only get replaced by yet another yes man on a cheap wage who will be tasked with cutting the budget even further. What would be the benefit of doing that?

I think Slade has done quite well overall and deserves to build on saving us from relegation this season. We were 17th and in freefall when he took over. He's shaved 12 million off the wage bill and steadied the ship. Slade isn't the perfect manager, but we're Cardiff City, a club in serious financial trouble and we need someone like Slade to stabilise us on and off the pitch.

Don't forget, Slade got voted League 1 manager of the year and he took Leyton Orient to within a penalty shootout of Championship football, assembling that squad with 30 free transfers. Slade has proven he can assemble a squad to challenge with very little funds. Slade deserves at least a summer transfer window to prepare for a fresh, new season, without having to worry about drastically reducing the wage bill and clearing up the big mess left by a previous manager. It is only then we can fairly judge him.

we werent 17th when he took over


i seriously doubt the claim that the club took 12m off the wage bill in January

The players have TOTALLY under performed. He has underperformed. I see more of the same next season We've been here before only its a shock to our current fanbase. Welco to the wonderful world that is Cardiff City! Personally if they weren't fit enough i'd have them doing PT sessions all over the summer - every day! They are professional footballers and athletes for god sake. Do this and by the start of next season they'd be as fit as a butchers dog!

I want him gone but to almost get a top 12 finish after getting rid of all our only technically gifted players and replacing them with crap, ain't too bad is it lads

Russll Slade 3/10 very poor over all . management skills, and tactical skills need addressing .
needs to be sent on training courses during the summer, next season we may see an improvement with a 4/10

Fair assessment from Slade.

And a fair assessment of slade by you

We were in 13th position with 13 points when Slade unofficially took over (immediately before the Blackpool game)

We were in 14th position with 13 points when Slade officially took over (immediately after the Blackpool game).

On both occasions we were 1 point AHEAD of Bournemouth.

We have gone backwards under Slade. He does not deserve a summer of player recruitment. We need more than "players prepared to put in a shift" to be competitive at championship level. If he's allowed to recruit, Slade's small band of supporters will insist on giving him 10-12 games to bed those players in. However, if Slade then proves to be as mediocre as most fans currently think he is, we will have to write off the 15/16 season too while his replacement corrects the damage.

The Echo letter to Tan is guilty of some hyperbole, but this has been the worst season since the dark days of Hibbitt, Osman, and Neal, in terms of the quality of on-field play by CCFC. We are unable to retain possession and rarely look like scoring. When you also throw in the diabolical off-field management and disdain shown for fans by Tan, Dalman, Choo, Nash, et al, the lack of ST sales shouldn't surprise anyone. The irony is, by staying away fans will affect the playing budget. My family has renewed 4 STs for next year out of foolish loyalty to the club. We would not have renewed if we thought our non-purchase would convince Tan to fire Slade before we waste another season.

Hoping the club do the right thing next week and send Slade packing.

lets be honest if rating all our managers in the last 40/50 years slade would not be in the bottom 6

Well he is in mine and I have seen them all.

He is the only one who has made me consider doing something else with my Saturday afternoons. I can not abide the guy or his clueless coaching team. His football is not only boring, it is utter garbage. How he has the nerve to compare himself with Mourinho I do not know. It is laughable.

Bloody hell, he's The Special One now, even at 50% efficiency 5 out of 10).

Can you think of another job where being only half as good as you could be is acceptable?

His delusions of mediocrity are over-estimated. I'd give him 3 out of 10 for getting the wage bill down a bit, bug that is it.

It's a NO from me.

He is just a second hand car sales man.

He is just a second hand car sales man.

He thinks to highly of himself

I agree 100% with this statement

Bloody hell, he's The Special One now, even at 50% efficiency 5 out of 10).

Can you think of another job where being only half as good as you could be is acceptable?

His delusions of mediocrity are over-estimated. I'd give him 3 out of 10 for getting the wage bill down a bit, bug that is it.

It's a NO from me.

He gets the wage bill down by giving players a golden handshake big deal I'd give him 1 out if 10