Why Cardiff need to make a statement in the opening month
InsideCardiffCity
Monday August 1st 2016
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As Cardiff prepare to embark on another tough season in the Championship, we take a look at why Paul Trollope and his men must start as they mean to go on.
The Bluebirds begin the new campaign with a fresh start and a fresh sense of optimism with the renewed support of the fans and a new Head Coach. However, this Championship campaign is set to be the toughest for many a year and believe me, it will take no prisoners.
Premier League giants in Newcastle United and Aston Villa will begin the season as clear favourites having graced the top flight for so many years and with Newcastle conquering the Championship without breaking a sweat last time they were sunk to the second tier, they will have no fear this time around.
In comparison, Championship regulars Cardiff may be expected to fall down the pecking order, especially when compared to big spenders like Derby, Sheffield Wednesday and Wolves, who have been the subject of a takeover this summer.
However, Cardiff do have a number of aspects on their side and they will expectedly challenge for the top six again this season. The Bluebirds will benefit from a group of payers who have played together for a good couple of years, as well as a coaching team who have worked together previously and a Head Coach who seems to have real tactical nous.
The Bluebirds have the potential to achieve a top six finish this season despite the presence of top quality teams in the league, I have no doubt about that, but they’ll need to begin with a bang.
For the team and the manager’s sake, Cardiff will need to make a statement in the opening month of the season if they want to succeed this season.
It’s not all about sending out a statement though – It will be equally important for Paul Trollope to get off to a good start to remove any unwanted pressure moving further into the season.
Cardiff have been gifted with an opening month full of winnable fixtures and there isn’t one which makes you overly concerned. The Bluebirds face QPR, Blackburn and Reading at home with Birmingham and Fulham on the road and that gives them an opportunity to start the season as they mean to go on.
There aren’t any easy games in the Championship, that’s a given, but Cardiff need to install the belief they have in themselves into the fans and the best way of doing that is by grabbing the season by the horns and taking momentum into the rest of the campaign.
Last season, Russell Slade’s Bluebirds begun the season with three draws and that stumbling, faltering styled opening seemed to shape the opinions of fans, and that transferred to the pitch, it created a nervousness that cost the Bluebirds a number of last-minute concessions and slip-ups.
Cardiff don’t need that this season and hopefully the experience of slipping up and missing out will benefit them this time around. We experienced something similar under Dave Jones when his ‘nearly men’ of 2008/09 stuck together and went one better the following year.
Paul Trollope and his men have a great chance of reaching their objective of a top six finish this season but with the abundance of quality and indeed money in the division this season, they need momentum to take into as many games as possible – they simply can’t afford to be chasing and recovering.
A good start to the season won’t guarantee the Bluebirds anything, just as a bad start won’t define their season. However, a good start could shape their campaign, it will give the players and Head Coach alike, an opportunity to express themselves without the pressures attached to even the smallest of failures and that’s crucially important.
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