' Cardiff City / Wolves '
Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:29 pm
A staggering year for Cardiff City and Wolverhampton Wanderers
Football 24/7
Monday 25th December 2017
Wolves sit on the summit of the Championship, 7 points clear of 2nd place Cardiff City
Wolves and Cardiff City have both experienced a staggering upturn in fortune in the last year, rocketing from the bowels of the league to the top two.
Nuno Espirito's side sits on the summit of the table, and Neil Warnock's high-flying Bluebirds are hot on the fox's trot in second.
This time last year, however, Wolves and City were languishing at the bottom of the table - while neither side was in any real threat of relegation, neither side's fortunes looked like turning as sharply as they have done.
Walter Zenga was dismissed just 14 games into his tenure at Wolves and was replaced by Paul Lambert on the 5th November. A slight improvement in results followed, with two good wins over the Christmas period, leaving the Foxes' in 18th place. A five-game winning streak towards the end of the season seemed to suggest that Lambert was beginning to coax the best out of his side, but he was then dismissed at the end of the season.
The man to take Wolves to the next level, accelerated by the financial muscle of the Fosun group was Nuno Espirito Santo.
Nuno Espirito Santo has worked wonders for Wolves
Nuno Espirito Santo has worked wonders for Wolves
Santo splurged £15 million on Ruben Neves - who had been linked with Manchester United and Liverpool - to complete one of the shocks of the transfer window. A number of other savvy, but expensive, acquisitions later and he had built a talented squad with fabulous technique. The questions marked hovered over whether this skilful squad could compete with the robust nature of the Championship.
Even as Wolves stormed the opening stages of the season, people still doubted whether it was simply early-season form. This point was exacerbated when Cardiff City bullied their way to a 2-1 win against Wolves; City played electric counter-attacking football that day and was wrongly cited as being illegally rough. It was a moment that highlighted Wolves' potential weakness - they responded emphatically, though, and sit seven points ahead of City on Xmas day.
And now to turn to the remarkable success Warnock has wrought at Cardiff City.
Warnock does not boast the financial power that Wolves do - they're one of the lowest spenders in the league, making their dramatic rise all the more impressive.
A flurry of cheap signings, Bosman purchases and rough diamonds filtered in over the summer: Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Loic Damour and Omar Bogle the pick of the bunch so far. It was clear from the first weeks of the season that Warnock had orchestrated a highly functional and effective outfit.
Direct, purposeful and incisive in their play they lacked the possession-based style of Wolves but had a punch to their attack that few teams could live with. A 3-0 demolition of Aston Villa one of the biggest indicators of their firepower.
Warnock has fostered a discernible team spirit and despite several key injuries his side continues to battle and grind out results.
When he took over from Paul Trollope, City was indeed rock-bottom, though relegation was never a concern when Warnock began to implement his blueprint. Meekness turned into resolve; aimlessness turned into purpose; apathy turned into excitement.
City was 20th with 23 points on Christmas Day last year; this year, they're 2nd with 47 points. Wolves were 18th with 25 points.
It has been an incredible turnaround and it would be no surprise to see both teams storm to automatic promotion.
Football 24/7
Monday 25th December 2017
Wolves sit on the summit of the Championship, 7 points clear of 2nd place Cardiff City
Wolves and Cardiff City have both experienced a staggering upturn in fortune in the last year, rocketing from the bowels of the league to the top two.
Nuno Espirito's side sits on the summit of the table, and Neil Warnock's high-flying Bluebirds are hot on the fox's trot in second.
This time last year, however, Wolves and City were languishing at the bottom of the table - while neither side was in any real threat of relegation, neither side's fortunes looked like turning as sharply as they have done.
Walter Zenga was dismissed just 14 games into his tenure at Wolves and was replaced by Paul Lambert on the 5th November. A slight improvement in results followed, with two good wins over the Christmas period, leaving the Foxes' in 18th place. A five-game winning streak towards the end of the season seemed to suggest that Lambert was beginning to coax the best out of his side, but he was then dismissed at the end of the season.
The man to take Wolves to the next level, accelerated by the financial muscle of the Fosun group was Nuno Espirito Santo.
Nuno Espirito Santo has worked wonders for Wolves
Nuno Espirito Santo has worked wonders for Wolves
Santo splurged £15 million on Ruben Neves - who had been linked with Manchester United and Liverpool - to complete one of the shocks of the transfer window. A number of other savvy, but expensive, acquisitions later and he had built a talented squad with fabulous technique. The questions marked hovered over whether this skilful squad could compete with the robust nature of the Championship.
Even as Wolves stormed the opening stages of the season, people still doubted whether it was simply early-season form. This point was exacerbated when Cardiff City bullied their way to a 2-1 win against Wolves; City played electric counter-attacking football that day and was wrongly cited as being illegally rough. It was a moment that highlighted Wolves' potential weakness - they responded emphatically, though, and sit seven points ahead of City on Xmas day.
And now to turn to the remarkable success Warnock has wrought at Cardiff City.
Warnock does not boast the financial power that Wolves do - they're one of the lowest spenders in the league, making their dramatic rise all the more impressive.
A flurry of cheap signings, Bosman purchases and rough diamonds filtered in over the summer: Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Loic Damour and Omar Bogle the pick of the bunch so far. It was clear from the first weeks of the season that Warnock had orchestrated a highly functional and effective outfit.
Direct, purposeful and incisive in their play they lacked the possession-based style of Wolves but had a punch to their attack that few teams could live with. A 3-0 demolition of Aston Villa one of the biggest indicators of their firepower.
Warnock has fostered a discernible team spirit and despite several key injuries his side continues to battle and grind out results.
When he took over from Paul Trollope, City was indeed rock-bottom, though relegation was never a concern when Warnock began to implement his blueprint. Meekness turned into resolve; aimlessness turned into purpose; apathy turned into excitement.
City was 20th with 23 points on Christmas Day last year; this year, they're 2nd with 47 points. Wolves were 18th with 25 points.
It has been an incredible turnaround and it would be no surprise to see both teams storm to automatic promotion.
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Re: ' Cardiff City / Wolves '
Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:37 pm
I'd take the current situation as it stands all day long! 
1st or 2nd place doesn't really matter (although the former would be nice again) and whilst I think Wolves aren't as good as they are being painted, the only thing that counts is Neil Warnock and his team getting us over the line!
I'm hoping the crowds increase as we continue to stay in the battle for the automatics and the so-called 'missing' supporters get down to the CCS to support their team!
1st or 2nd place doesn't really matter (although the former would be nice again) and whilst I think Wolves aren't as good as they are being painted, the only thing that counts is Neil Warnock and his team getting us over the line!
I'm hoping the crowds increase as we continue to stay in the battle for the automatics and the so-called 'missing' supporters get down to the CCS to support their team!