Bristol City defeat cranks up discontent at Cardiff City but issues run far deeper than just Neil Warnock's future
The Bluebirds lost to Swansea City two weeks ago and Bristol City on Sunday
By Glen Williams
Monday 11th November 2019
After the heights of a resilient win over Birmingham City, Cardiff City came crashing back down to earth on Sunday with their second derby defeat in 14 days.
Many will say they were unlucky, that they played some of their best football all season, but two derby losses, without scoring a goal in either, has stirred ire among sections of the Bluebirds fan base and is utterly inexcusable among others.
Neil Warnock put the Robins defeat down to not taking chances, but, in truth, they have lacked that top quality in the final third all season and it was bound to come back and bite them at some point.
It means that win against Birmingham City is the Bluebirds' only triumph in their last six outings. When you throw South Wales and Severnside derby defeats in among that, the picture darkens drastically.
Many just cannot put their finger on why this City side isn't clicking this season.
Yes, they have made personnel changes over the summer, but as has every other side. Their strikers are hardly firing, but rarely has this club in recent times seen a frontman bag 20 goals in a season.
On the surface, it just appears to be many aspects operating five percent below where they need to be and, when added together, it accounts for a large deficiency.
The defence has leaked far more than it would have liked. The forwards have not contributed the goals they would have liked. The attacking players have not been as consistent as they would have liked.
It's all just been a little lacklustre so far and the discontent among City fans has grown with each disappointing result.
The Bluebirds had gotten themselves out of jail a couple of times this season, Huddersfield Town and Luton Town at home and Hull City away spring to mind, but, as was always going to happen, their luck ran out against Bristol at Cardiff City Stadium.
They remain in 14th place in the Championship, but for the first time this season, there is now a sizeable chasm between the Bluebirds and the play-off spots - seven points.
Warnock always attests that he will walk away from the job if he feels he is no longer up to it or he can offer no more.
Some corners of social media believe that time to be now, with calls for Craig Bellamy or Chris Hughton, among others, to take the reins ahead of the January transfer window.
Some want Craig Bellamy to be the next Cardiff City manager
An outpouring of gratitude towards the manager is often a key theme in their posts on social media, but they do not want his tenure to end on a sour note. Of course, Warnock does not want that to be the case either.
The Cardiff City board rightly hold Warnock in incredibly high esteem and the manager is in constant contact with CEO Mehmet Dalman about future plans. So it is right to think that if Warnock does leave it will be the right time for all parties.
But is that what this team needs? A freshen up? New ideas? New personnel on and off the pitch in the next transfer window? The situation is vexed and the solution is certainly difficult to pin down.
If ever a manager was to get a team out of this sort of strife and turn this plight into a promotion push, however, one would have to think Warnock is near the top of that list. If he was able to do that then swathes of Bluebirds fans would laud him as the best manager the club has ever had.
The belief among some supporters, however, does appear to be dwindling.
Now it's just a case of whether Warnock has the belief to stop this tide turning.
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