‘A time for optimism at Cardiff City’?
Author: Michael Jones
Monday 9th May 2016
The interminable shadow of pessimism has finally been punctured, for me anyway. For the first time in a long and painful while, I am optimistic about what the future holds for Cardiff City.
An ultimately limp effort to book a play-off place ended last week at Sheffield Wednesday, but this season should not be seen as a failure. You have to listen keenly, but there are rumblings of satisfaction emerging from the Cardiff City stadium.
Russell Slade has done a pragmatic job, and has done what has been asked of him: cutting the wage bill, removing the Yaya-Toure’s of the team (ehem, Kenwyne Jones), and has, partly, implemented a philosophy of football played on the ground, with the faintest glimmers of movement, understanding and fluidity sprouting from the undergrowth of route-one football.
However, many fans will agree on one central point. Namely, that Slade does not possess the tactical brain necessary to lift the Bluebirds out of the Championship and into the Premier League. At times, we deplored his substitutions and his reticence to adapt the system.
Slade, for all his amiable qualities, never looked like inspiring a play-off challenge; in front of the media, he did not appear to have the passion, fire and determination to mount an attack on the top-6.
Yet, Slade undoubtedly deserved some credit and reward for his achievements. Thus, the decision to appoint him ‘Head of Football’ was a clever one.
Many top teams now have ‘directors of football’, who engineer a philosophy, maintain continuity and scout on behalf of the head coach. Moving Slade up to the boardroom is a progressive step, one that releases a sweet smell craved for by fans: long-term planning and direction.
It has been speculated that Slade’s appointment suggests Cardiff will bring in a manager who has not managed at this level before, and it is Slade’s role to guide and teach this hypothetical inexperienced manager. Consequently, questions have been raised as to whether a certain Craig Bellamy is in-bound.
Currently, however, I am content with witnessing City adopt sage counsel. Fan initiatives, season ticket reductions and various schemes designed to boost the atmosphere are all examples of the sensible aroma pervading at board-level.
For once, it appears as though they are genuinely engaging with the fans, recognising their importance and, whisper it in safe places, engendering a progressive ideology at the club.
http://insidecardiffcity.co.uk/a-time-f ... diff-city/?