Bluebirds need much greater star power to turn play-off agon
Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:15 am
Bluebirds need much greater star power to turn play-off agony into Premier League promotion next season
Our Bluebirds fan columnist reflects on Cardiff City's season and their gallant failure to reach Wembley
By Scott Johnson
Monday 3rd August 2020
Cardiff City just came up short due to a lack of class.
Just like last season, Cardiff have finished on a high. Of sorts. They didn’t make it to Wembley, but produced a performance at Fulham that made us proud as fans and you can’t really ask for more than that.
That was more than I was expecting after the first leg, which was as frustrating as it was disappointing.
If only Cardiff had been as proactive and courageous in the first leg, which played out in exactly the same fashion as their match three weeks earlier. In those two games, Cardiff made Fulham look unbeatable, but the sides had lost the same amount of games in the league.
They needed their high intensity players to press Fulham higher up the pitch.
Cardiff failed to bridge a gap in quality against very rich opponents in the Championship, and so did everyone else.
It was no surprise to see Leeds and West Brom go up automatically because they had very well remunerated, world-renowned managers in charge.
Fulham have the best-paid and probably generally best player in the league in Aleksandar Mitrovic, plus signed a raft of high-profile loans, which have since turned in to eight-figure signings. These include Bobby Decordova-Reid of course, who was signed from Cardiff right at the end of the summer transfer window and derailed their plans.
Brentford may have made more than they spent, but they still spent an awful lot.
If Cardiff are the best of the rest, then that is no mean feat.
This is the season where, even more than usual, money won out. The Champions League places are occupied by the four richest clubs in the country, as Leicester and Wolves were bumped. Free-spending West Ham and Aston Villa stayed up, while Watford and Bournemouth returned to where they once belonged.
Harris was bullish in his press conference after the game. He sounded like he had already drawn a line under the season and is intent on mounting another promotion challenge next year. Considering that his form since taking over was only bettered by Leeds, he has every right to be encouraged and optimistic.
To do so, there is a glass ceiling that he will need to smash through and he may need an injection of class to do so. Cardiff undermined their chances this season by parting ways with the likes of Decordova-Reid, Kenneth Zohore, Aron Gunnarsson and Bruno Manga.
Can they make the next step without players of that quality?
The difference between Cardiff and Fulham may well be that the Cottagers managed to keep hold of most of their good players and supplemented their departures with proven quality. Cardiff found a way to over-compensate, but it will be harder for them to do that again.
A lot depends on whether or not the club backs Harris, who has yet to spend any money.
What would constitute backing him though?
It could be argued that allowing him to keep this squad together would be backing enough. In the current economic climate, clubs in the second tier are on their knees and there will surely be pressure to sell again.
City could probably afford to lose a goalkeeper and a left-back, but not much else. Harris is a self-confessed fan of Danny Ward, but can the club afford to extend his terms? Time will soon tell.
Cardiff are far too reliant on Lee Tomlin, but players of his calibre do not grow on trees and tend to cost a premium. Can they afford to shell out that sort of money when they still have the Emiliano Sala ruling hanging over them and the end is in sight for their parachute payments?
Hopefully Cardiff are able to fund one last tilt at promotion with this group of players and a few additions. They don’t need much, but a couple of right-backs are a necessity, while a number nine and ten would also certainly help.
To stand any chance of beating Fulham, Cardiff needed to throw a little caution to the wind and gamble. The same is required in the transfer market if they are to go one step further next time.
Harris has the look of a man who knows where he wants to go and what he needs to get there. If this season was his probationary period, in my own opinion he passed with flying colours and deserves the tools he needs to finish the job.
It could prove the difference between next season resembling the first leg against Fulham, or the second.
Our Bluebirds fan columnist reflects on Cardiff City's season and their gallant failure to reach Wembley
By Scott Johnson
Monday 3rd August 2020
Cardiff City just came up short due to a lack of class.
Just like last season, Cardiff have finished on a high. Of sorts. They didn’t make it to Wembley, but produced a performance at Fulham that made us proud as fans and you can’t really ask for more than that.
That was more than I was expecting after the first leg, which was as frustrating as it was disappointing.
If only Cardiff had been as proactive and courageous in the first leg, which played out in exactly the same fashion as their match three weeks earlier. In those two games, Cardiff made Fulham look unbeatable, but the sides had lost the same amount of games in the league.
They needed their high intensity players to press Fulham higher up the pitch.
Cardiff failed to bridge a gap in quality against very rich opponents in the Championship, and so did everyone else.
It was no surprise to see Leeds and West Brom go up automatically because they had very well remunerated, world-renowned managers in charge.
Fulham have the best-paid and probably generally best player in the league in Aleksandar Mitrovic, plus signed a raft of high-profile loans, which have since turned in to eight-figure signings. These include Bobby Decordova-Reid of course, who was signed from Cardiff right at the end of the summer transfer window and derailed their plans.
Brentford may have made more than they spent, but they still spent an awful lot.
If Cardiff are the best of the rest, then that is no mean feat.
This is the season where, even more than usual, money won out. The Champions League places are occupied by the four richest clubs in the country, as Leicester and Wolves were bumped. Free-spending West Ham and Aston Villa stayed up, while Watford and Bournemouth returned to where they once belonged.
Harris was bullish in his press conference after the game. He sounded like he had already drawn a line under the season and is intent on mounting another promotion challenge next year. Considering that his form since taking over was only bettered by Leeds, he has every right to be encouraged and optimistic.
To do so, there is a glass ceiling that he will need to smash through and he may need an injection of class to do so. Cardiff undermined their chances this season by parting ways with the likes of Decordova-Reid, Kenneth Zohore, Aron Gunnarsson and Bruno Manga.
Can they make the next step without players of that quality?
The difference between Cardiff and Fulham may well be that the Cottagers managed to keep hold of most of their good players and supplemented their departures with proven quality. Cardiff found a way to over-compensate, but it will be harder for them to do that again.
A lot depends on whether or not the club backs Harris, who has yet to spend any money.
What would constitute backing him though?
It could be argued that allowing him to keep this squad together would be backing enough. In the current economic climate, clubs in the second tier are on their knees and there will surely be pressure to sell again.
City could probably afford to lose a goalkeeper and a left-back, but not much else. Harris is a self-confessed fan of Danny Ward, but can the club afford to extend his terms? Time will soon tell.
Cardiff are far too reliant on Lee Tomlin, but players of his calibre do not grow on trees and tend to cost a premium. Can they afford to shell out that sort of money when they still have the Emiliano Sala ruling hanging over them and the end is in sight for their parachute payments?
Hopefully Cardiff are able to fund one last tilt at promotion with this group of players and a few additions. They don’t need much, but a couple of right-backs are a necessity, while a number nine and ten would also certainly help.
To stand any chance of beating Fulham, Cardiff needed to throw a little caution to the wind and gamble. The same is required in the transfer market if they are to go one step further next time.
Harris has the look of a man who knows where he wants to go and what he needs to get there. If this season was his probationary period, in my own opinion he passed with flying colours and deserves the tools he needs to finish the job.
It could prove the difference between next season resembling the first leg against Fulham, or the second.
Re: Bluebirds need much greater star power to turn play-off
Mon Aug 03, 2020 8:46 pm
I don't think I've ever known anyone as negative as Scott Johnson.
Re: Bluebirds need much greater star power to turn play-off
Mon Aug 03, 2020 10:52 pm
worcester_ccfc wrote:I don't think I've ever known anyone as negative as Scott Johnson.
Not even thomasblue?
