Why Cardiff MUST beat Rotherham
By Jamie Kemble
Wednesday 21st September 2016
Cardiff have made their worst start to a season in 12 years and have lost all of their last four matches, anything but a win against Rotherham will add even more concern to Paul Trollope’s tenure as Head Coach.
Like Cardiff, Rotherham have made a poor start to the season, winning just the one game at home to Brentford. The Millers are currently just one point above Cardiff and a Rotherham win would extend the gap between the two sides to four points.
Who knows, the result of this match might be significant further down the line if both Rotherham and Cardiff are still in and around the relegation places at the end of the season.
A fifth straight defeat or another game without a win would also increase the pressure on the team going into a home game against Derby next Tuesday. The spotlight would very much be on the future of Paul Trollope and the negative atmosphere would not help the players.
The Championship is a league of momentum – When teams are winning they tend to go on a long undefeated run and when teams are losing it’s hard to break the losing habit. If Rotherham claim all three points on Saturday, I really fear for Cardiff this season and the players’ confidence may be at an all time low.
A victory at the New York Stadium will be no given, Rotherham are undefeated at home in the League so far this season, winning one and drawing three by the scoreline of 2-2. Also Cardiff lost away to Rotherham last season and Cardiff’s away form has been far from good for the last few season, so a win will be no easy task.
Before the start of the season, Paul Trollope stated that the playoffs are the target this season. This target would look totally unrealistic with a defeat to Rotherham and the fans would, perhaps, be right to call for a new Head Coach.
This is an unfamiliar position for Cardiff to be in and expectations are high from the Cardiff fan-base. For Cardiff to be bottom of the league with the current squad Trollope has at his disposal would not be acceptable after nine games, and I feel a change would have to be made with a defeat at Rotherham…before it’s too late.
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