Fri Sep 30, 2016 9:14 am
' How you can sum up Paul Trollope So Far '
By Scott Johnson
Friday 30th September 2016
If anything were to sum up Paul Trollope’s reign thus far, it would probably be the sight of Bruno Ecuele Manga, brought on late in the game against Derby with Cardiff two goals down, to be stationed on the left wing, up front and on the right during a five minute cameo. It feels like any grand design has gone out the window. Now it’s a case of throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.
Very few teams have as much second tier experience as Cardiff City. It is a division they know like the back of their hands, but they increasingly look out of their league at this level.
It takes so little to beat Cardiff these days. You can imagine visiting sides regrouping at half time with the realisation that this is all Cardiff have got. If they up their tempo slightly in the second half, it will be enough to comfortably earn three points.
It’s easy to forget the Cardiff City Stadium was something of a fortress last season. That now feels like another lifetime ago. Come back Russell Slade, all is forgiven.
I wrote something towards the end of last season saying that I felt Slade had done enough to earn a new deal, but that it was still an underwhelming prospect. There would have been mutiny had he remained, but I don’t think Cardiff would have capitulated like this on his watch. If nothing else, he ensured the basics were in place, whereas in his absence, everything has become rather chaotic.
If anything were to sum up Paul Trollope’s reign thus far, it would probably be the sight of Bruno Ecuele Manga, brought on late in the game against Derby with Cardiff two goals down, to be stationed on the left wing, up front and on the right during a five minute cameo. It feels like any grand design has gone out the window. Now it’s a case of throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.
Of course, the biggest problem is not down to Trollope. This squad is flawed by design, and I’m being kind by suggesting that there was a design somewhere along the line. During the summer, Cardiff saw fit to dispense of both their goalkeepers and undermine a solid defence by bringing in Bolton’s back-up on loan, plus a goalkeeper released by Portsmouth last season.
They also brought in two broadly similar strikers, with little or no experience of British football, let alone the division, that are presently ill-equipped to lead the line at Championship level. When that became abundantly clear, they added Rickie Lambert, who is a quality player, but expecting him to carry this team was a big ask. Having played very little football in recent years, Cardiff threw him straight in and it was no surprise to see him pull up against Leeds.
Lex Immers was also brought in, who is a technically gifted, if a little one-paced, central midfielder. He was soon joined by Emyr Huws, who is also a technically gifted, if a little one-paced, central midfielder. It seems very unlikely that both could be stationed in the same midfield, so why buy both?
Yet the glaringly obvious flaw in this squad remains a staggering lack of pace. I would be amazed if there was a slower side in the whole of the Football League. It’s been so long since Cardiff boasted genuine, blistering pace and it continues to hamper their prospects.
Everyone else seems to have so much more speed and intensity. Leicester have demonstrated how effective a quick ball over the top to a pacey forward can be and now it is all the rage. When Cardiff face these qualities, they wilt and it does not bode well.
Cardiff showed highlights of the 6-1 hammering of Derby during the 2009/10 season on the big screen ahead of the game on Tuesday. The darting runs, forward passes and cutting edge displayed really brought home how static and devoid of ideas the current side have become.