' Why Cardiff City's New Signing is a Significant Coup '

Why signing Jazz Richards is a significant coup for Cardiff City boss Paul Trollope

Wednesday 20th July 2016



BY PHIL SMITH



Richards brings both a great knowledge of Trollope's methods and will build a feel-good factor amongst fans



It is a real rarity in football for a transfer to suit all parties.

Normally, one club might feel that a player forcing their way out has robbed them of some of the players' real value. One set of fans may feel their team has overspent on a player they never really rated. There are a myriad of reasons these deals often frustrate and enrage.

So Cardiff City can quite rightly take a moment give themselves a pat on the back after their audacious swap deal to land Jazz Richards paid off.

Richards will presumably now join up with the squad on their pre-season tour here in Germany, and now has a week and four precious games to get to know his team-mates and ensure he is match fit ahead of the new season.

For Paul Trollope, it is the dream scenario.

He was told upon taking the job of Vincent Tan's determination to get more young Welsh talent into the team. That is easy to say but harder to carry out, and he will be thrilled to be backed with a player of genuine quality and no little experience.

Of course, concerns will be raised over the reaction from Craven Cottage. Fulham fans seem relieved to have Richards off their books, and it doesn't bode particularly well that the full-back struggled to get a game with such an abysmal defensive record in the Championship last season.


Who got the best end of the Jazz Richards and Scott Malone swap deal? Cardiff City and Fulham fans have VERY different views
Still, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

For one, defending is a collective effort and Richards will be playing alongside a significantly higher calibre of defender this campaign. The likes of Bruno Manga, Sean Morrison and Matthew Connolly are all among the best in this division and will be able to shepherd their new team-mate through those periods in games when the pressure is severe.

Richards also comes well drilled in the 5-3-2 system that Paul Trollope used at Shrewsbury. Having excelled there in games during qualification for Euro 2016, it will make it much easier for him to settle in. He'll be able to bring the added benefit of knowing how and why the formation has been so successful for Wales. He could be an obvious candidate to pass on the Head Coach's instructions during games, particularly in the opening part of the season.

Capable of playing off either flank, there is extra flexibility to celebrate. With the dynamic Fabio and the ever dependable Lee Peltier on the books, Trollope will at least feel the defensive side of his squad is well-stocked and gives him plenty of options.

As for Scott Malone, he was a player who never really caught the imagination of the Bluebirds' fans. He was always willing to get forward and often gave his team-mates an attacking option when possession was going stale. He didn't hide away from getting the ball and that was to his credit.


However, his positioning often left a lot to be desired and the end product rarely matched the intent.

He is a more than capable Football League player, and should relish the chance to work under a new boss and play in front of fans desperate for him to succeed. Almost the exact same applies to Jazz Richards.

First and foremost, this is a sensible signing that makes financial and footballing sense. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, it demonstrates the club's willingness and determination to tap into the feel-good factor around the Welsh game at the moment. Ordinarily, a former Swansea player would be greeted with a fair amount of scepticism, but the feats of Chris Coleman's team over the last couple of years seems to trump club rivalries in the eyes of the Bluebirds' faithful.

It's an addition met with almost universal approval from the fanbase. They will be patient and give him plenty of time and opportunity to show what he's capable of. That is invaluable for a player still only 25 years of age.

A couple more through the door and there will be a real buzz around the club as the new campaign comes ever closer.

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A very good article, and although he is no world beater he is going to be a good addition to the squad.

Very good point about our strength in central defence IF we manage to keep Bruno and keep him fit we have a very solid back three which will allow the wing backs to get forward.

Neither Fabio, Declan or Richards are particulately good defenders but all 3 can certainly get forward and cause major problems

In this modern age the classic Right/Left back is fast becoming as redundant as the classic ridgid 4-4-2 formation that they as best suited for.I'm hoping that this 5-3-2 formation will show Fabio to best effect.(When you think about it he was made for this.)

Good signing for your club & fantastic that Cardiff are looking to give Welsh players an opportunity, he was on loan at Palace & I thought he was a tidy player not spectacular, but he was given a torrid time by our wilf a couple of seasons back at selhurst.

Good signing for your club & fantastic that Cardiff are looking to give Welsh players an opportunity, he was on loan at Palace & I thought he was a tidy player not spectacular, but he was given a torrid time by our wilf a couple of seasons back at selhurst.

Pity your WILF couldn't give anyone a torrid time when he was on loan with us...the only torrid time he gave was to us fans who thought he was utter garbage!!!

Good signing for your club & fantastic that Cardiff are looking to give Welsh players an opportunity, he was on loan at Palace & I thought he was a tidy player not spectacular, but he was given a torrid time by our wilf a couple of seasons back at selhurst.

Pity your WILF couldn't give anyone a torrid time when he was on loan with us...the only torrid time he gave was to us fans who thought he was utter garbage!!!

In fairness to Zaha - his heart was never here after things had failed to materialise for him after the big money move to United and the atmosphere around our club was pretty toxic at the time.

Yes I would have liked to have seen him put in a lot more effort, like you would expect from any professional footballer who is on more money a week than most of us can make in a year, but regardless of that the lad is still an undoubted talent.

In this modern age the classic Right/Left back is fast becoming as redundant as the classic ridgid 4-4-2 formation that they as best suited for.I'm hoping that this 5-3-2 formation will show Fabio to best effect.(When you think about it he was made for this.)

Have to agree!

Richards seems to split opinions. Have a brother-in-law living in London and is a Fulham fan. He could'nt wait to see the back of him and reckons that apart from the odd game is a mistake waiting to happen. I can't say he has ever impressed me much, although to be fair he is not a player I have particularly followed. Hope he impresses our fans more than he has impressed many of the Fulham fans, and that our style of play will suit him more than Fulham's system.

Richards seems to split opinions. Have a brother-in-law living in London and is a Fulham fan. He could'nt wait to see the back of him and reckons that apart from the odd game is a mistake waiting to happen. I can't say he has ever impressed me much, although to be fair he is not a player I have particularly followed. Hope he impresses our fans more than he has impressed many of the Fulham fans, and that our style of play will suit him more than Fulham's system.

Always difficult to know whether it's the player or whether his poor performances are a reflection of the coaching, tactics and and management, or even other players around them.

Same can be said of many players we have had here over the the last few seasons... some were definitely not as bad as their performances made out - we have just been a very dull, boring and pedestrian side.

Hopefully that will change. Jazz has good pace, a decent pass and decent work rate. Let's hope the system, players and motivation will help him flourish for us,