' CAN CITY SIGNINGS PUSH US ON? '

Written by Nathan Blake (for Wales Online)

Tuesday 2nd May 2016

Cardiff City’s dealings in the January transfer market might have been a bit left field, but the new signings could really give a boost to the latter part of the Bluebirds’ season.

There had been some eyebrows raised that new striker, Kenneth Zohore, was first signed by one of Bluebirds’ owner Vincent Tan’s other clubs, the Belgian side, KVK Kortrijk, and then loaned to Cardiff until the end of the season.

Sure, this may have been partly because of the transfer embargo Cardiff are under, but, I think, wider than that it is the way modern football is heading and it is not necessarily a bad thing.

I believe clubs should have feeder clubs or sister clubs if you like.

Kenneth Zohore has joined Cardiff City on loanKenneth Zohore has joined Cardiff City on loan

A lot of the bigger and not so big clubs do it now and have been doing it for years. It is something in many ways that should be encouraged.

Taking a different approach I think a club like Newport County even could benefit from linking up say with Cardiff City and the Bluebirds would benefit too.

Young promising Bluebirds players could cut their teeth in League One with the Exiles, like Tommy O’Sullivan and Jazzi Barnum-Bobb did at the end of last year. And I see no problem making that a more formal arrangement.

When it comes to Danish striker Zohore, I admit to not knowing so much about him, but he was highly-rated in Denmark and seems to know where the net is. He could rise to the occasion at Cardiff.

I certainly hope so, he’s a Bluebirds player now for the foreseeable future and needs to be backed.

The same goes for Tom Lawrence who has come in on loan from Leicester. The young midfielder is a bit more of a known quantity and certainly a player who should get supporters excited and they do need that.

People say securing Lawrence was a coup for Cardiff, but for me the opposite is true.

It is Lawrence who is getting the chance with the Bluebirds and he really has an opportunity now he needs to grasp with both hands.

I work a lot with young players and it can be difficult.

In Lawrence’s case you start at Manchester United, think you are getting the breakthrough then find yourself stalled.

He moves to Leicester, but then finds himself out again on loan. If you are not careful, forget loans at Cardiff, suddenly you are out on loan at Port Vale then Luton and wondering slightly where things took a strange turn.

The problem for a lot of these youngsters is that they play 15 league games and they think they have made it.

They haven’t, come back to me when you have played 100 league games and had a run in a side over a few seasons, then you can start thinking about having made it.

I’m sure that is not the case with Lawrence who is obviously a talent. But he’s got an opportunity now. With the Euros coming up in the summer, his time at Cardiff will be his chance to stake a claim to be on the plane in Chris Coleman’s squad for France.

You do wish Lawrence all the best in the Welsh capital and I hope he can make a difference up front because the Bluebirds front-line is pretty unorthodox.

That’s not to say it hasn’t been doing the trick. A great win away at Wolves was backed up in their following game on the road with that very good win at Huddersfield for Russell Slade and his men.

My concern is that draw with Rotherham sandwiched in between. The Bluebirds have been like that under Slade. Inconsistent is the word, able to pick up a run of results away from home say, then not able to follow it up in their home matches.

They have MK Dons at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday and they really need to back up up last weekend’s result with three points in front of their own fans.

The Bluebirds have added a bit of quality, let’s see them now translate that on to the pitch with the run of victories that seems to have eluded them so far this campaign.

To be honest they are a gamble in my opinion

Lawrence signed as a striker hardly prolific for Blackburn but who knows

Let's hope they fire us on

To be honest they are a gamble in my opinion

Lawrence signed as a striker hardly prolific for Blackburn but who knows

Let's hope they fire us on

Lawrence was used as a winger at Blackburn.

I don't think so, nothing to really push us on. More options but Slade generally sticks to the same 14 players or so

I don't think so, nothing to really push us on. More options but Slade generally sticks to the same 14 players or so

So what your saying is these guys wont get a look in right?

I don't think so, nothing to really push us on. More options but Slade generally sticks to the same 14 players or so

So what your saying is these guys wont get a look in right?

Slade has got form on this to be honest, but i think there will be more interest on whose is on the bench Saturday, than who is starting, because Slade will not change a winning team

I don't think so, nothing to really push us on. More options but Slade generally sticks to the same 14 players or so

So what your saying is these guys wont get a look in right?

Slade has got form on this to be honest, but i think there will be more interest on whose is on the bench Saturday, than who is starting, because Slade will not change a winning team

neither should he

With the new signings we'd set up well with 4-2-3-1 formation BUT Slades a 442 man as we know... Can't play all those attacking midfielders in a 442

With the new signings we'd set up well with 4-2-3-1 formation BUT Slades a 442 man as we know... Can't play all those attacking midfielders in a 442

Pretty hard to expect a player from Danish league football to spearhead the front line and expect him to score the goals needed for a playoff spot. How will he cope with Championship football?, were soon to find out, good lyck to him but it's a big ask

With the new signings we'd set up well with 4-2-3-1 formation BUT Slades a 442 man as we know... Can't play all those attacking midfielders in a 442

I'm all for the modern 4-2-3-1 formation being my favourite. But we need goals and I can't see Saadi, Macheda, Zohore, Pilkington or Lawrence (if he's played as a striker) getting a lot of goals playing as a lone striker.

I'd like to see Saadi partnered up with Zohore on Saturday to see what they're made of.

Forget about the play-offs. They are a lottery anyway and even if we somehow manage to get into them we'll be knocked out straightaway. Face facts the players we have are simply not good enough. Personally I am glad we wont be relegated and even gladder that Tan has not yet jettisoned us as at least we still have a club to support.

I don't think so, nothing to really push us on. More options but Slade generally sticks to the same 14 players or so

So what your saying is these guys wont get a look in right?

No not really saying that, I don’t really see how they all fit into a 4-4-2 and slades record of playing his own signings isn’t great. We now have more options but after a few weeks I bet we set up pretty much how we always have with the usual players. We don’t even know if most these players are good enough yet for a team supposed to be challenging for the play/offs.

Forget about the play-offs. They are a lottery anyway and even if we somehow manage to get into them we'll be knocked out straightaway. Face facts the players we have are simply not good enough. Personally I am glad we wont be relegated and even gladder that Tan has not yet jettisoned us as at least we still have a club to support.

If the playoffs are a lottery how do you know we'll be knocked out straight away!?

Forget about the play-offs. They are a lottery anyway and even if we somehow manage to get into them we'll be knocked out straightaway. Face facts the players we have are simply not good enough. Personally I am glad we wont be relegated and even gladder that Tan has not yet jettisoned us as at least we still have a club to support.

Exactly what you said its a lottery and who says we can't win both games in the semi finals and then the final will be a lottery, who knows what will happen, after everything that's happened to us it won't surprise me if they actually got promoted!

Forget about the play-offs. They are a lottery anyway and even if we somehow manage to get into them we'll be knocked out straightaway. Face facts the players we have are simply not good enough. Personally I am glad we wont be relegated and even gladder that Tan has not yet jettisoned us as at least we still have a club to support.

Miserable b*stard!

Surely if the play offs are a lottery that means we have a chance if we make it...

To be honest they are a gamble in my opinion

Lawrence signed as a striker hardly prolific for Blackburn but who knows

Let's hope they fire us on

Probably because he played on the wing

With the new signings we'd set up well with 4-2-3-1 formation BUT Slades a 442 man as we know... Can't play all those attacking midfielders in a 442

I'm all for the modern 4-2-3-1 formation being my favourite. But we need goals and I can't see Saadi, Macheda, Zohore, Pilkington or Lawrence (if he's played as a striker) getting a lot of goals playing as a lone striker.

I'd like to see Saadi partnered up with Zohore on Saturday to see what they're made of.

Same here.

Forget about the play-offs. They are a lottery anyway and even if we somehow manage to get into them we'll be knocked out straightaway. Face facts the players we have are simply not good enough. Personally I am glad we wont be relegated and even gladder that Tan has not yet jettisoned us as at least we still have a club to support.

Miserable b*stard!

Surely if the play offs are a lottery that means we have a chance if we make it...

On the face of it then a 1 in 4 chance. But that's assuming that we are equally as good as the other 3 teams which would be in them' And we won't be. So the chances are less than 1 in 4 so don't get too excited. As for being miserable maybe you're right' but I have been a City fan for a very long time so I think I should be excused.

If you asked the boo boys a simple question of being in the playoffs at end of season or slade sacked I know what they would say. Slade out posts when we are 4 points off playoffs is pathetic.

We have got rid of some attackers and now got 2 new ones in.. new breaths of fresh air in the changing room can only help and hopefully they can push us on.