" Bruno Ecuele Manga? Joe Mason? "

I would rather see Cardiff City sell Bruno Ecuele Manga than let Joe Mason go - Scott Johnson

Wed 17th June 2015

By Scott Johnson

Columnist Scott Johnson believes the Bluebirds faithful would 'go bananas' if the popular 24-year-old was shown the door

If he is not for sale, state publicly that he is not for sale and kill the speculation dead.

The transfer speculation regarding Joe Mason acts as a perfect case study in why Cardiff City are driving their fans crazy at the moment.

Is he integral or expendable? No one knows.

Wolves have had a £1.5m bid rejected, but appear set to return with an improved offer.

It has been suggested that a £3m bid should be accepted, but I suppose that depends on how you look at it.

Do Cardiff need to sell to generate funds? Again, no one knows.

Public relations disaster
My personal take is that they should try to keep him, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it would be a public relations disaster if Cardiff were to sell him. Rightly or wrongly, he may be Cardiff’s most popular player.

His reputation was enhanced by his absence during a poor period for the club. On his return from loan and long-term injury, he inspired an upturn in Cardiff’s fortunes and despite looking a bit rusty, there were certainly flashes of the ability that made him so popular in the first place.

I think Cardiff fans would also go bananas if he were to be sold.


The squad has already been shorn of all its flair and craft, Mason is almost unique in the Cardiff ranks with his ability to link midfield and attack. His sale would do nothing for ticket sales and only reinforce the belief that this will be another season of transition.

It would also cost the club at least as much to replace him, so why bother?

He does not appear to be angling for a move, although no one could blame him if he did after a couple of years of being completely disregarded.

Also, if better clubs are after your players, you should probably start questioning your transfer policy.

Ideal foil
Russell Slade has developed something of a reputation for favouring graft over flair, which is not exactly a box office draw, but he clearly likes Mason.

He chose to bring him back and when he got in to the side, he played every game.

If Cardiff are in the market for a centre forward, Mason would be the ideal foil.

The Robin to his Batman.

Joe Mason's hat-trick for Bolton against Rotherham last season:


I would rather see Cardiff sell Bruno Ecuele Manga, a player they should never have signed in the first place, than Mason because they already have plenty of high calibre cover in that position. Parting with Mason would sell the team and supporters short. It would also set a downbeat tone for the rest of the summer’s transfer dealings.

But either way, a little more in the way of communication would be welcomed.

If Mason is for sale, set a price and explain why the club see him as disposable.

If he is not for sale, state publicly that he is not for sale and kill the speculation dead.

I would rather see Cardiff sell Bruno Ecuele Manga, a player they should never have signed in the first place, than Mason because they already have plenty of high calibre cover in that position. Parting with Mason would sell the team and supporters short. It would also set a downbeat tone for the rest of the summer’s transfer dealings.

A player they should never have signed in the first place ?????

What on earth is this guy talking about Annis ?? The same guy who was our player of the season.

I WOULD KEEP BOTH - THERE ARE 6 -9 OTHER PLAYERS I WOULD LET GO BEFORE THESE 2

I was thinking the same thing mate. If it wasn't for Manga we would have been relegated to League 1, fact.

Bloooooobirds.

For 3 million im happy for Mason to go, and definitely if it means Manga stays

For 3 million im happy for Mason to go, and definitely if it means Manga stays

I Agree with this 100%

Scott johnson your a complete an utter tw*t 2 think that

Not even a contest.

Manga is the best player at the club whereas Mason is an average player who could not even hold down a starting place at Cardiff or Bolton. He will never be a prolific goal scorer and any bid over 1m I would snap their hand off. Manga to stay. You need some quality in a team otherwise you will never get promoted!

I would rather see Cardiff sell Bruno Ecuele Manga, a player they should never have signed in the first place, than Mason because they already have plenty of high calibre cover in that position. Parting with Mason would sell the team and supporters short. It would also set a downbeat tone for the rest of the summer’s transfer dealings.

A player they should never have signed in the first place ?????

What on earth is this guy talking about Annis ?? The same guy who was our player of the season.

I WOULD KEEP BOTH - THERE ARE 6 -9 OTHER PLAYERS I WOULD LET GO BEFORE THESE 2

Tony, The guy in my opinion is talking total bollocks.

Manga, is our backbone and he has proved that

Can I have a pint of what ever he was drinking when he wrote this>

What is all the hype around Mason... He is massively overrated. Is he a number nine, number ten, not a winger... I was amazed that they were talking one million plus. Yes I like the kid but he has under achieved for us. 3m I'll drive him up for that... Bonkers money.

As for Manga... Best defender outside of the Premier League imo, class act. Keep him every day of the week.

Utter crap! So let's sell our best player last season. I like Joe but he hasn't lived up to his potential yet. With Alf almost certainly leaving we do need to keep him....though McAleny was better.

Total rubbish! Manga is the best defender in the league and a premier league calibre player while Mason is an average Championship striker. We don't have any other defenders in Manga's class but we have a few strikers on our books with comparable or superior records to Mason at this level. To be honest, bearing in mind what he has achieved at Championship level the last few seasons I would value him at between 500,000- 1m, If Wolves are stupid enough to give us £3m then I would snap their hands off. I do like Mason but there is no way I would keep him ahead of Manga or turn down £3m for him!

I think the point being we should keep THE TWO! Manga is far and away the best player at the club but Joe Mason represents the future with the likes of Ralls and Kennedy. We made enough of a mistake in selling Mats Daehli. If we keep on shooting ourselves in the foot we'll be hobbling around on crutches for years! Surely we have enough journeymen and has beens on much higher wages in the squad to get rid of. We might not have anyone who could command the sort of fee mentioned, apart from Marshall, but we could make a couple of bob elsewhere.

This Johnson guy talks really does write some rubbish. How on earth does he get a platform to put forward such drivel. He is a complete buffoon. ( Could say worse, of course )

I think the point being we should keep THE TWO! Manga is far and away the best player at the club but Joe Mason represents the future with the likes of Ralls and Kennedy. We made enough of a mistake in selling Mats Daehli. If we keep on shooting ourselves in the foot we'll be hobbling around on crutches for years! Surely we have enough journeymen and has beens on much higher wages in the squad to get rid of. We might not have anyone who could command the sort of fee mentioned, apart from Marshall, but we could make a couple of bob elsewhere.

In an ideal world I would agree, and there are plenty of players who I would get rid of before Mason, who I do like. However, if the bid is close to £3m I think that would be excellent business, not only because I don't think he is worth that much, but it might allow us to keep the likes of Manga, who is far more important. Indeed, if we were to get £3m for Mason it might allow us to bid for Frazier Campbell, who is probably on his way out of Palace, and is superior to Mason.

For 3 million im happy for Mason to go, and definitely if it means Manga stays

Agree.

This Johnson guy talks really does write some rubbish. How on earth does he get a platform to put forward such drivel. He is a complete buffoon. ( Could say worse, of course )

I agree. Not read anything by him that a) I agree with and b) makes any sense. It's as if he's given a header by his editor and told to write a story around it. It also gives the impression he's not a proper fan.

Manga is the one player I think we need to keep for next season.

Manga every time.

Need to try our best to keep Bruno Ecuele Manga. Absolute rock at the back.

I was going to write something regarding Johnson's bizarre comments, but my fellow contributor's has saved me the trouble with their savaging of this mans logic

Surely this is a ploy by the Echo to get a guest contributor to write such utter garbage that it will make their 'journalists' look decent. Their whole coverage of Cardiff City is disgraceful.

The article is utter utter tripe.

Why is that guy writing for the Echo in any case. Our own Carl Curtis was doing a fine job.

Why has the editor signed that article off ?

So we shouldn't of signed an international quality defender who I'm certain is premeirship standard? What is this guy on...

How did this Scott Johnson get employed? He's the most clueless journalist I've ever witnessed and these comments have taken his insane drivel to an higher level!

Hilarious article

Hello, Scott Johnson here. I come in peace!

I don't normally do this but I felt the need to defend myself here.

The first thing I wanted to make clear is that I have absolutely no input in the headlines for what I write. This is frustrating because I know most people formulate their opinion based on the headline. I have whole conversations with people sometimes before I realise they haven't even read the article!

In this instance, I think the headline was misleading and undermined the article. My point was that I think selling Joe Mason would be a big mistake. To serve the point, I said that I would rather lose Manga because at least we have cover in that position. Instead, it has become a popularity contest between the two, which was never my intention.

As for the article itself, I stand by it and don't mind if you guys call me all the tw*t's and arsehole's under the sun, I can take it! We're all entitled to our opinions. But contrary to popular belief, I never write anything just to get a reaction. If I've written it, I do mean it and it will always my idea because I'm not told what to write.

I don't normally contribute to messageboards, but I'm on Twitter (@Roathboy). So if you disagree with anything I write, come at me on there and I'll put my dukes up!

Hello, Scott Johnson here. I come in peace!

I don't normally do this but I felt the need to defend myself here.

The first thing I wanted to make clear is that I have absolutely no input in the headlines for what I write. This is frustrating because I know most people formulate their opinion based on the headline. I have whole conversations with people sometimes before I realise they haven't even read the article!

In this instance, I think the headline was misleading and undermined the article. My point was that I think selling Joe Mason would be a big mistake. To serve the point, I said that I would rather lose Manga because at least we have cover in that position. Instead, it has become a popularity contest between the two, which was never my intention.

As for the article itself, I stand by it and don't mind if you guys call me all the tw*t's and arsehole's under the sun, I can take it! We're all entitled to our opinions. But contrary to popular belief, I never write anything just to get a reaction. If I've written it, I do mean it and it will always my idea because I'm not told what to write.

I don't normally contribute to messageboards, but I'm on Twitter (@Roathboy). So if you disagree with anything I write, come at me on there and I'll put my dukes up!

Nonsense! You blocked me on twitter for telling you youre talking nonsense before this article!!

The whole article is tripe and its nothing to do with the headline.

I don't make a habit of blocking people, so if I blocked you, you must be a real piece of work!

I don't make a habit of blocking people, so if I blocked you, you must be a real piece of work!

Roach boy, you were arrogant and cocky to me on Twitter when I dared to question an article of yours .......perhaps you should screen grab this article and show it to the editor of the Echo.

You have to be a bit arrogant and cocky to put up with this sort of thing every week!

You can't please all the people all the time.