Fri Sep 11, 2020 12:17 pm
The key man
By Glen Williams
Friday 11th September 2020
I'm reticent to heap too much praise and expectation on a man whose reputation has grown incredibly over the last 12 months, but Kieffer Moore really does feel like an excellent signing.
And, unfortunately for him, expectation comes with the territory when you sign as a striker for a club as big and passionately followed as Cardiff City.
The one thing in his favour, of course, is that he does not have a tough act to follow.
Cardiff have been looking for a consistent, goalscoring striker for 10 years and there doesn't seem to have been this much positivity surrounding a striker moving to the Welsh capital for some time.
That is undoubtedly helped by his performances for the national team. He has become a key component to Wales' forward line under Ryan Giggs and, as such, he has endeared himself to thousands of fans in this corner of the world.
But now Bluebirds fans want that form to transfer to the domestic scene with Cardiff City and one can't help but feel that Moore's success will likely go hand-in-hand with Cardiff's fortunes this term.
Last season, no Cardiff City player reached double figures in terms of goals scored in all competitions.
Lee Tomlin was City's top scorer with nine, while Josh Murphy, Robert Glatzel and Danny Ward all registered eight with a further three players — Callum Paterson, Junior Hoilett and Joe Ralls — each finding the net seven times.
Now there is more than one way to skin a cat, of course, but having a consistent goalscorer leading the line week in, week out is a huge advantage.
The dearth of consistency in front of goal last term also led to Harris, and before that Neil Warnock, having to tinker with his side in order to strike the right attacking balance to ensure there was enough of a threat from all over the park.
If Moore, a bona fide colossus who can be bruising in the air and deadly with his feet, gets off to a strong start it might well hold the key to Cardiff's success.