Warnock's First Mistake?

" WAS THIS NEIL WARNOCKS FIRST MISTAKE? "

Saturday 5th November 2016

Neil Warnock may have made the first glaring error of his Cardiff City regime in leaving out Peter Whittingham from the starting lineup at St James' Park on Saturday.

Warnock plumped for Kieran Richardson and Joe Ralls in midfield against Newcastle United and the pair came up short.

Faced with a fluid, patient Magpies' midfield, the duo were often left chasing Jonjo Shelvey and Ayoze Perez's shadows as the home side dominated possession.

That Whittingham came on after 74 minutes and scored a goal to revive the Bluebirds' hopes, is instructive of his role in the team.

The midfield stalwart could also have made a telling difference with his qualities from set-pieces.

Bluebirds fans were disappointed at Whittingham's absence

Warnock did admit that 'Whitts was struggling' against Wigan Athletic last week, but there was no indication that the veteran boss might leave out his linchpin. But Warnock preferred Richardson's pace, presumably to deal with the threat of Shelvey, Perez and Isaac Hayden in the Newcastle side.

But the selection didn't go down well with Bluebirds' supporters.

Can't believe Ralls is picked ahead of Peter Whittingham who has stood out in recent games. Also need his expertise at set pieces!#CCFC

— Paul B (@bluebirds1899) November 5, 2016
Not the hammering i was expecting but still an awful performance. Whittingham should have started and we a goal scorer.

— Adam Jackson (@AdamJackson2009) November 5, 2016
No Whittingham but Ralls starts. Why

— Josh Coombes (@JCoombes91) November 5, 2016
Phil Smith's ratings

Richardson and Ralls failed to impress Wales Online's football writer, who was disappointed with how the Cardiff midfield ceded ground to Shelvey and company at St James' Park.

On the former United and Sunderland man Richardson , Phil wrote: "Picked ahead of Whittingham presumably for his pace and engine but this occasion largely passed him by."

And on Ralls , who has started every league game this season for Cardiff, Phil said: "Set-pieces were a disappointment in the first half and didn't impose himself enough on a strong Newcastle midfield."

Peter Whittingham has now scored against 40 different clubs in his career. Not bad for a midfielder. pic.twitter.com/oajP2MGlU5

— Cardiff City Stats (@CCFCStats) November 5, 2016
Even putting aside his experience and quality delivery from set plays, Whittingham offers a goal threat. The midfield talisman now has three goals in five games under Warnock and is eight away from a remarkable century for Cardiff City.

92 goals and counting. #HeDoesWhatHeWants pic.twitter.com/vn4TfLunLQ

— Cardiff City Stats (@CCFCStats) November 5, 2016
With Rickie Lambert Warnock's only genuine centre forward option and Craig Noone's goal drought continuing, Whittingham surely merits a place in midfield alongside the tireless Aron Gunnarsson.

Nah, right decision, maybe wrong replacement.

Scored against 40 different clubs. Unbelievable stat for a midfielder.

Thought O'keefe would've been the 1 to come in

Not sure, am told witts wasn't 100% this week.

May have been carrying a slight knock or one of the players said to be suffering with a bug - otherwise, yes - Warnock's first mistake.

Lets be fair though, those two playing in the middle for Newcastle are a league above what we've got here. I'm sure we still would have been chasing shadows. Maybe Okeefe would have been a better choice who knows.

" WAS THIS NEIL WARNOCKS FIRST MISTAKE? "

Saturday 5th November 2016

Neil Warnock may have made the first glaring error of his Cardiff City regime in leaving out Peter Whittingham from the starting lineup at St James' Park on Saturday.

Warnock plumped for Kieran Richardson and Joe Ralls in midfield against Newcastle United and the pair came up short.

Faced with a fluid, patient Magpies' midfield, the duo were often left chasing Jonjo Shelvey and Ayoze Perez's shadows as the home side dominated possession.

That Whittingham came on after 74 minutes and scored a goal to revive the Bluebirds' hopes, is instructive of his role in the team.

The midfield stalwart could also have made a telling difference with his qualities from set-pieces.

Bluebirds fans were disappointed at Whittingham's absence

Warnock did admit that 'Whitts was struggling' against Wigan Athletic last week, but there was no indication that the veteran boss might leave out his linchpin. But Warnock preferred Richardson's pace, presumably to deal with the threat of Shelvey, Perez and Isaac Hayden in the Newcastle side.

But the selection didn't go down well with Bluebirds' supporters.

Can't believe Ralls is picked ahead of Peter Whittingham who has stood out in recent games. Also need his expertise at set pieces!#CCFC

— Paul B (@bluebirds1899) November 5, 2016
Not the hammering i was expecting but still an awful performance. Whittingham should have started and we a goal scorer.

— Adam Jackson (@AdamJackson2009) November 5, 2016
No Whittingham but Ralls starts. Why

— Josh Coombes (@JCoombes91) November 5, 2016
Phil Smith's ratings

Richardson and Ralls failed to impress Wales Online's football writer, who was disappointed with how the Cardiff midfield ceded ground to Shelvey and company at St James' Park.

On the former United and Sunderland man Richardson , Phil wrote: "Picked ahead of Whittingham presumably for his pace and engine but this occasion largely passed him by."

And on Ralls , who has started every league game this season for Cardiff, Phil said: "Set-pieces were a disappointment in the first half and didn't impose himself enough on a strong Newcastle midfield."

Peter Whittingham has now scored against 40 different clubs in his career. Not bad for a midfielder. pic.twitter.com/oajP2MGlU5

— Cardiff City Stats (@CCFCStats) November 5, 2016
Even putting aside his experience and quality delivery from set plays, Whittingham offers a goal threat. The midfield talisman now has three goals in five games under Warnock and is eight away from a remarkable century for Cardiff City.

92 goals and counting. #HeDoesWhatHeWants pic.twitter.com/vn4TfLunLQ

— Cardiff City Stats (@CCFCStats) November 5, 2016
With Rickie Lambert Warnock's only genuine centre forward option and Craig Noone's goal drought continuing, Whittingham surely merits a place in midfield alongside the tireless Aron Gunnarsson.

No,I would drop Whittingham but also Ralls and Noon as well

Why would you drop whittingham?? There seriously are some numpties on this forum

Whittingham time and time again proves that he makes us tick ... no whitts = very little passing off the ball plus his set piece delivery is by far the best in our squad .. i just dont understand why fans on this board want to see him gone .. im afraid that once he is moved on even his harshest critic will see what he gave us and that there is no one in our current set up to replace him

I think we can all see why. Keep it tight, get the crowd uneasy and try to nick something in the last 20 mins. It all went tits up after 3 mins though.

I know he had some record for consecutive games a few seasons back but i think we do need to protect (rest/bench) him for about 10 games throughout the season and Newcastle away would have been one of those games in my book.

Why would you drop whittingham?? There seriously are some numpties on this forum

Yes I always thought you a numptie,bit surprised you admitted it

Why would you drop whittingham?? There seriously are some numpties on this forum

The man is an idiot. Whittingham could score the winning goal in a Champions League final and fools like Angelis would still find something to knock him for.