SOL BAMBA: CITY'S NATURAL LEADER?

Sol Bamba has proved he's a superstar for Cardiff City and it's about time he was handed the armband
By Nathan Blake


Nathan Blake believes Sol Bamba is becoming Cardiff City's most prized asset following his colossal performance against Leeds


He didn't score or capture the headlines like Junior Hoilett and Kenneth Zohore, but for me Cardiff City's player of the week is Sol Bamba - or 'BeckenBamba'.

I love him. He's the type of player I'd want to play with. A leader. I know Sean Morrison is actually the Cardiff skipper but I've said it since he's been here that I think Bamba is the real captain of the team.

He may not have the official armband, but he bosses, organises and leads by example in every other sense.

Why BeckenBamba? Because Warnock once joked about Bamba thinking he was Beckenbauer when bringing the ball out of defence. He's certainly cool in possession, produced some incredibly calm moments against Leeds on Tuesday night despite the white-hot atmosphere and highly pressurised sense of occasion.

That night, of course, he played in the centre of midfield. Took to it like a duck to water.

Bamba always shows his defensive quality, but if you keep an eye on him when the ball has moved away, like on Tuesday with Pablo Hernandez, he was organising Morrison, Bruno Manga and even, at times, Craig Bryson, in front of him. He was just immense. It was down to Bamba that Hernandez, Leeds' main playmaker, was kept so quiet.

Cardiff didn't even really miss Aron Gunnarsson. It didn't matter. We didn't think 'Oh heck, we're missing Gunnarsson and Ralls'. In fact, there's actually an argument for saying that the midfield against Leeds was actually a better trio.

More creativity, more legs, and Bamba was there to mop up everything. Does Neil Warnock go with the same line-up against Derby?

Whether they can do that consistently game after game is up for debate, but Bamba's performance was huge and the others just followed.

In terms of the defence, I think there's always going to be a dilemma when you've got three or four good centre-halves. Personally, my first choice pairing would be Bamba and Bruno Manga, although Warnock clearly disagrees.

Morrison and Bamba have been his first choice and, to be fair, Morrison has been playing well.

But I just think Manga and Bamba are more athletic, quicker and better in the air defensively. Not necessarily at the other end as I feel Morrison is the biggest threat there, particularly when it comes to scoring from set pieces.

But defensively, it's Bamba and Manga every day for me.

In my opinion Morrison's biggest problem comes against players when they have the ball at their feet and they can shift it quickly. For me, he isn't totally comfortable with the ball over his shoulder and on the turn either.

He could do with someone like my mate Darren Campbell getting hold of him and teaching him some running techniques!

For someone who hasn't got great pace, he often plays too tight and too high.

But I see little reason not to go with a three-man defence, with Bamba in the middle, Morrison on the right and Manga on the left, although Warnock is likely to instead opt to play Morrison in the centre.

There is merit to that idea as it protects him from that ball over the shoulder, allowing the other two to deal with it.

All things considered, three at the back looks a good system and gives us an extra body in midfield, while also offering more freedom to the wing backs.

But there are plenty of other possible set-ups Warnock can go with. In fact, I'd say Cardiff can comfortably play four or five different systems. For a side going for promotion, such flexibility is a massive bonus.

It's just more feathers in Warnock's cap.

But while the defensive set-up is important, there is still plenty to ponder at the other end.

I still believe Lee Tomlin is in the picture - he came on and did a fantastic job against Sheffield Wednesday the previous week.

It's difficult because when you see people play, you can judge performances, but when you don't know them or know their personality, it's difficult then to understand why they're not in the team.

But remember this is a nine-month season. A hard old haul. Tomlin will be called upon at some point, I have no doubt about that.

The great thing about the side is that everyone involved - subs, non-subs and first team players are together. That performance against Leeds will have sent their confidence sky-high, although the difficulty is to repeat it on Saturday, which I doubt they'll do.

I expect them to fall below the standard they set on Tuesday because of energy levels. They put so much into that game and it's going to be difficult to emulate that performance four days on.

But I do think that what they've done psychologically is set themselves up so that they will expect to beat Derby.

Warnock obviously won't let standards slip too far, but at this moment in time you've got a very confident squad and that's always a good thing.

The Bluebirds to round off a great week with a narrow win and retain their place up at the top of the table.

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Agree with a lot of that and would love to see Sol Bamba as captain but no real issues with Sean Morrison in that role as things stand; he is obviously doing something right with City sat at the top of the pack!

Also agree on the Aron Gunnarsson comment and I think Neil Warnock may well have learned something with his omission (through illness) from the Leeds game with Ralls the more likely returner against Derby

This morning's Press Conference should be very interesting

Can't see any reason to change the captain.
Bamba is vocal and a leader , he doesn't need an arm band , but Sol also can be a bit of a loose cannon when it comes to authority (Ipswich) so maybe best to leave things as they are.
Also isn't it nice that players who we thought are irreplaceable (Gunners) can be replaced, without losing momentum .
I for one felt not too confident when I seen the team for Leeds. But it shows we do have some strength in depth.
It also proves what a good manager we have .

He doesn't need an armband to be a leader. Changing it now would just unsettle Morrison. Warnock had a chance to change it pre season but stuck with Morrison for a reason so let's support his decision.

Would be odd to change captain after 10 games of the season especially after the start we have had.

Can't see any reason to change the captain.
Bamba is vocal and a leader , he doesn't need an arm band , but Sol also can be a bit of a loose cannon when it comes to authority (Ipswich) so maybe best to leave things as they are.
Also isn't it nice that players who we thought are irreplaceable (Gunners) can be replaced, without losing momentum .
I for one felt not too confident when I seen the team for Leeds. But it shows we do have some strength in depth.
It also proves what a good manager we have .

Spot on. This is a nothing article, why on Earth would you need to change the captain of a side top of the league and only 10 games in? Daft. Bamba a big leader, doesn't need the armband. And totally agree, he's a loose cannon. I love the guy but he's a bit of a nutcase. Need someone more calm and collected. Morrison, Peltier and Gunnarsson are top 3 for that role.

Can't see any reason to change the captain.
Bamba is vocal and a leader , he doesn't need an arm band , but Sol also can be a bit of a loose cannon when it comes to authority (Ipswich) so maybe best to leave things as they are.
Also isn't it nice that players who we thought are irreplaceable (Gunners) can be replaced, without losing momentum .
I for one felt not too confident when I seen the team for Leeds. But it shows we do have some strength in depth.
It also proves what a good manager we have .

Spot on. This is a nothing article, why on Earth would you need to change the captain of a side top of the league and only 10 games in? Daft. Bamba a big leader, doesn't need the armband. And totally agree, he's a loose cannon. I love the guy but he's a bit of a nutcase. Need someone more calm and collected. Morrison, Peltier and Gunnarsson are top 3 for that role.

fully agree..not sure where Nathan is coming from tbh.
unless its some sort of nutcase alliance thing.

If it ain't broke.... he'll be asking to change the manager next

A captain isn't just a leader on the pitch, and from the way we're performing, Morrison deserves more credit than he's given. As some one else has said, Bamba can be a bit of a hot head, which isn't nessesarily a good thing for a captain.

Besides that, we need leaders all over the pitch, not just the captain, so I think Warnock got it spot on keeping Morrison as captain.

I also don't agree with Blake that Manga and Bamba are our best defensive pairing

Love everything about Bamba and he looks like a natural leader however, he has shown a number of times that he sometimes loses it completely, so unless Morrison is injured or the team goes on a disastrous run, there's no need to change anything at this stage.

I agree with the poster above as much as a fan of bamba I am he can at times be a loose canon both physically and verbally.
10 games in, top of the championship, scoring goals from all over the pitch....no need for change.

morrison is the better player of the two for me. more consistent and reliable, and makes fewer errors (anyone remember bamba losing his head against ipswich last season?). he goes under the radar for this reason. bamba was outstanding against leeds, though. easily his best game of the season.

he's very vocal and is clearly respected like the other players. gunnarsson is also the same. as others have pointed out, it doesnt really matter who is the armband, as there is nothing stopping players organising each other.

its a good problem to have, though. a couple of years ago we had at best one or two leaders, now we have organisation and accountability throughout the team. top marks to warnock.

I watched him today and the way he reacts to situations and he is not captain material for me. He is very passionate but a moaner, he moans at others if it's their fault or his fault.