' Idriss Saadi? / Frazier Campbell? '

' Idriss Saadi? / Frazier Campbell? '

Recall Idriss Saadi?

Try and bring back Frazier Campbell? Change formation? Our columnist weighs up the options

Thursday 4th November 2016

By Scott Johnson

Cardiff are struggling for goals and that is nothing new. It is a persistent problem that has now outlasted several managers and looks no closer to any sort of resolution. This issue was brought firmly in to focus at the weekend, when Neil Warnock’s men fashioned plenty of chances against struggling Wigan.


This season, Cardiff are not only struggling for goals, but also points, lurking just above the bottom three at present. But what are their options with regards to increasing their tally on both fronts?



' Make better use of Ricky Lambert '

Lambert was a big loss on Saturday. It was probably his kind of game and he wouldn’t have been dominated by Wigan’s centre backs like Anthony Pilkington, who is not a striker by trade, was throughout the contest. Having said that, Cardiff have not exactly played to Lambert’s strengths to date and they are struggling to make the most of their talented target man.

The former England international has superior touch and technique to most strikers at this level. He may not have the legs to be as rampaging as he once was, but he’s no Jones either, who used to lumber around listlessly. Lambert needs to be move involved in build up play and become the focal point for Cardiff’s attack. The service in to him from Junior Hoilett and Craig Noone also needs to improve, as crosses remain far too infrequent.

Back in 2006, Cardiff signed Kevin Campbell from West Brom and despite being a little older than Lambert at the time, boasted a similar skill set. Made to chase lost causes and work the channels, his abilities were wasted and he left the club as a flop after a year. Hopefully history does not repeat with Lambert and they manage to find a way of bringing out the best in him.





' Recall Idriss Saadi '

It’s difficult to assess a player that has played so little first team football for Cardiff, but Saadi looked an interesting signing when he arrived and showed promise in a brief cameo against Reading, almost a year ago to this day. Slightly different from Cardiff’s current stable of strikers, Saadi looked quick, explosive and direct.

He scored eight goals in seven games on loan at KV Kortrijk earlier in the season and Cardiff could certainly do with a scoring streak like that from someone at the moment. It was mystifying why Russell Slade was so unwilling to use him towards the end of last season, leaving him on the bench as an unused substitute on nine occasions.

He may be no more equipped to make an impact in Championship football than Frederic Gounongbe or Kenneth Zohore, but that is something that they will only establish by giving him a try. Halfway through a season long loan, that would require a termination of his current deal, but seeing as Vincent Tan owns both clubs, I’m sure that there is scope for him to return if Cardiff pushed for it. He might yet save them a fortune.




' Tinker with the formation '

The current 4-3-3 formation certainly looks an upgrade on the ambitious and ultimately flawed 3-5-2 favoured by Paul Trollope, but could a 4-2-3-1 be the best possible fit? It is the shape Warnock favoured during his time in charge at QPR and would allow Cardiff an extra attacking player.

Were Cardiff to station Whittingham and Gunnarsson as a deep-lying pair in midfield, it would afford them the opportunity to pick Hoilett, Noone and Pilkington as a three in support of Lambert. They could even push Pilkington further forward as a deep lying forward, a role he has enjoyed in the past.

Cardiff boast a wealth of options that enables them to play any number of different formations, but what they do lack is a goal machine and whatever shape they adopt is in some way trying to compensate for that fact.







' Try and find a goal machine '

Speaking of which, there is always the option of trying to acquire a goal machine. You tend to get what you play for in terms of strikers and Cardiff’s lack of investment in that area has left them with a rag tag bunch of forwards.


They could look to the players who have contracts expiring next summer such as Fraizer Campbell, Yaya Sanogo, Kyle Lafferty, who may be cut-price options in January. Alternatively, they could look to the loan market for the next Tammy Abraham, who is plundering the goals at Bristol City having joined from Chelsea. Abraham’s team mate Dominic Solanke or Arsenal forward Chuba Akpom would certainly fit the bill. They could even make a cheeky loan offer for Joe Mason, who is struggling for games after substantial recent investment at Wolves.

Were Cardiff prepared to spend a little money, then they could have the pick of the litter. Those days may be gone, but a predator in front of goal is all this squad really lacks and would surely rejuvenate Cardiff’s flagging campaign in an instant.

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Cambell has hardly kicked a ball in two years.. No guarantee he will hit the ground running. Just like the other magnificent of the future spine of England..

still Campbell has more pace than our strikers combined, reckon he'd do well with some pace outwide to supply him. we could always agree a loan with a view to purchase,

Get rid of the 2 we have who don't play and get these 2 in - or let NW get his strikers.

A few points to make from that:

Why not bring saadi in and send zahore the other way? he's still young and could probably benifit from regular football where as saadi has more of what we need - pace.

whitts play deep midfield? we've whitnessed his worst form and creativity from playing deep over the last couple of years. He needs freedom. Leave the tactics to Warnock, Scott.

Frazier campbell - yes, it would be the most exciting signing we've made for years and would ignite the fans.

Joe mason - really?????

Another goal for our Idriis tonight.

Send Zohore back to his parent club along with Fred on loan, take a punt on Matty Taylor from the Gas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHBdJwt_YE0 . Question is how much is he worth?

Just bought a zgemma box and realised there's a channel showing Belgian pro league, missed game last night but managed to record highlights. Idriss scored again, certainly a different option upfront for us, got to be worth a recall. I think we''ve all known for a while this is the key area to address for us.
Fingers crossed we make some tidy recruitment come Jan and address our attack

Just bought a zgemma box and realised there's a channel showing Belgian pro league, missed game last night but managed to record highlights. Idriss scored again, certainly a different option upfront for us, got to be worth a recall. I think we''ve all known for a while this is the key area to address for us.
Fingers crossed we make some tidy recruitment come Jan and address our attack

Yeah seen it earlier decent finish tbf