Harris Insists A Great Leap Forward Is Coming / be patient

Cardiff City’s Neil Harris Insists A Great Leap Forward Is Coming . . . But The Stats Stack Up Otherwise



NEIL HARRIS:

“The way we are going at the moment we are not going to make the top two,” admitted Harris.

“The aim at the start of the season was to make the top six,we were never expected to make the top two,with a small squad,the top six is where we want to be, be patient and we will get there."


Sunday 27th Dec 2020


By Terry Phillips

Neil Harris still insists Cardiff City can pass teams on the way up the Championship, even though his team is back in reverse gear.

The Bluebirds manager was in defiant mood, despite losing at home for the fifth time this season after a Sergi Canos’ hat-trick gave his Brentford side a 3-2 Boxing Day win.


Cardiff are now back in 12th spot, have lost three of their last four games, and are seven points adrift of the play-offs.


The club’s chairman, Mehmet Dalman, said after the last transfer window that he expected the team to be in the top six at the turn of the year . . . or else.

Actually, he didn’t spell out any consequences. He didn’t need to. But Harris will know that mid-table for much longer is unlikely to be tolerated, even if he reckons his team can motor pass six other teams before the regular season ends.

Losing five times at home already this season is not a hopeful sign. The leading five teams in the table have all lost at home just once.




NEIL HARRIS:

“The way we are going at the moment we are not going to make the top two,” admitted Harris.

“The aim at the start of the season was to make the top six,we were never expected to make the top two,with a small squad,the top is six where we want to be, be patient and we will get there."


“It grew last year and we had to close the gap and go past teams. We will go past teams this year, but you can’t let teams get away from you."

“We have to respond against Wycombe on Tuesday and Rotherham on Saturday, because we want to build momentum and consistency.

“Other than winning four games in five, we haven’t had any consistency all season. We have to address that quickly.”


Harris added: “For 49 minutes I thought we were bloody excellent. Our discipline without the ball and game plan were spot on.


“We contained them to next to nothing and we were comfortable in the game. We got a worldie goal from Will Vaulks and then we threw three goals into our own net – I am lost for words, really.






Brentford boss Thomas Frank:

Was full of praise for the character shown by his side as they fought back from a goal down and extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to 14 games.


A second-half hat-trick from Canos may have earned Brentford the points but Danish manager Frank told his players as they took to the field after the half-time break – when they trailed 1-0 to Vaulks’ wonder goal – that they were not going to lose.

“We were okay in the first half but then they scored a spectacular goal. After that, we moved up to another level,” said Franks.

“I didn’t think they had much in the second half apart from set-pieces. They are strong and always good at set-pieces.

“Our attitude, hard work and togetherness was bang-on today. We really stepped up in the second half.




— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) December 27, 2020


“As the players went out for the second half I told them we aren’t going to lose the game. We played quicker, took less touches and took the throw-ins faster.

“We showed a lot of character – we are confident, but humble.”

Frank was happy to single out Canos for special praise after the 23-year-old Spaniard turned the game on its head in the second half after Cardiff had taken the lead with a stunning goal from Vaulks.

The Wales international scored from six yards inside his own half in the fourth minute of added time at the end of an otherwise very ordinary first half.


But Canos then struck three times in the space of 23 minutes after the interval to put Brentford in the driving seat.


“The first goal was an incredibly difficult technical skill. The second was another wonder goal, while the third one was maybe a cross, but don’t tell anyone,” said Frank of Canos.

“He has come back from a big injury and people should not doubt how difficult that is. But he has never been fitter and better than he is now and this will give him a massive confidence boost and hopefully take him onto the next level.”

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Sat Dec 12 CARDIFF CITY 0 SWANSEA CITY 2


Wed Dec 16 CARDIFF CITY 3 BIRMINGHAM CITY 2


12:30pm Sat Dec 19 Norwich City 2 Cardiff City 0


Sat Dec 26 CARDIFF CITY 2 BRENTFORD 3



Tue Dec 29 Wycombe Wanderers A


Sat Jan 02 Rotherham United A CANCELLED COVID


Sat Jan 09 FA Cup 3rd rd Nottingham Forest v Cardiff City 12pm live on BT


Sat Jan 16 NORWICH CITY H


7pm Wed Jan 20 QUEENS PARK RANGERS H


Sat Jan 23 Barnsley A

Sat Jan 30 MILLWALL H

Sat Feb 06 Bristol City A

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he's lost the plot

:laughing5:

he's lost the plot

“We have to respond against Wycombe on Tuesday and Rotherham on Saturday.

so does he know something the media and fixture list doesn't know about Rotherham?

:laughing5:

he's lost the plot

“We have to respond against Wycombe on Tuesday and Rotherham on Saturday.

so does he know something the media and fixture list doesn't know about Rotherham?

I agree with Wycombe 3pts no matter what , Rotherham cancelled COVID

I can’t take him seriously

Has Rotherham been cancelled officially, I cant see anything on Rotherhams or our website confirming it?

Sounds like he’s been reading too much Chairman Mao

On an average season a club needs to be around 35 points after 23 games to have any chance of making the playoffs, in reality that will mean we will need to win 13 of our remaining 23 games and pick up a draw or two on the way. The issue is that the 5th & 6th placed clubs is currently on 37 & 36 points respectively after 21 games so it is possible that this season it will take more than 75 points to make 6th place.

I have little confidence that we will beat Wycombe so this mythical "Great Leap" forward or not I simply cannot see us getting anywhere close to the playoffs. Someone at the club needs to give NH and his sidekick Sam Dingle the big sit down and say thanks but no thanks and send them on their way.

Sadly NH has been like a lamb to the slaughter as he has done everything our board has asked without pushing back so the issues within the club go far beyond the Manager. The board have a terrible record of appointing new managers, Warnock aside, but the next one is vital and as we have one game between now and the cup tie at Forest this is the best time to make a change.

But make no mistake they need to pay for the right guy and they need to support him during January with the Manager making the decisions. Eddie Howe is the standout available but I cannot see the board paying for him but he would build a team and a style given time. Nigel Pearson would sort out the team who lets face it look a rabble at times.

In the next few days we will see just how serious the club are about this season and if they leave NH in place for me they simply don't give a toss as long as the manager keeps saying YES.

Isit just me who thinks our squad isn’t even that good?you look at the bench yesterday got gavin whyte who isn’t good enough Murphy should have gone a long time ago not really much options to change the game

Unfortunately we have no one at senior level who you could say is a football man and im sure this restricts NH.
An owner from afar, a chairman who wanted out last season and we still can only guess what went on for him to want out.
And a CEO who is just Tans eyes and ears and importantly an accountant.
I have no faith in who they are likeky to choose as whoever replaces NH will always have substantial barriers in place to being succesfull.
Whilst NH needs to go, i do feel he has brought this on himself by not insisting on bringing in another RB and a striker.

On an average season a club needs to be around 35 points after 23 games to have any chance of making the playoffs, in reality that will mean we will need to win 13 of our remaining 23 games and pick up a draw or two on the way. The issue is that the 5th & 6th placed clubs is currently on 37 & 36 points respectively after 21 games so it is possible that this season it will take more than 75 points to make 6th place.

I have little confidence that we will beat Wycombe so this mythical "Great Leap" forward or not I simply cannot see us getting anywhere close to the playoffs. Someone at the club needs to give NH and his sidekick Sam Dingle the big sit down and say thanks but no thanks and send them on their way.

Sadly NH has been like a lamb to the slaughter as he has done everything our board has asked without pushing back so the issues within the club go far beyond the Manager. The board have a terrible record of appointing new managers, Warnock aside, but the next one is vital and as we have one game between now and the cup tie at Forest this is the best time to make a change.

But make no mistake they need to pay for the right guy and they need to support him during January with the Manager making the decisions. Eddie Howe is the standout available but I cannot see the board paying for him but he would build a team and a style given time. Nigel Pearson would sort out the team who lets face it look a rabble at times.

In the next few days we will see just how serious the club are about this season and if they leave NH in place for me they simply don't give a toss as long as the manager keeps saying YES.

Excellent summary

Could be Comical Ali, Baghdad, 2003..this is getting weird. I’m not sure if Harris actually believes what he says, or he’s just bored in the job so nothing really matters any more.

Not entirely sure what NH could do different than what he is doing at the moment. Yesterday he picked the team most of us would have picked and played them in the formation most people would have thought best. We maybe simply are not good enough. Wilson and Ojo are both underperforming at the moment,our midfield is very pedestrian without Tomlin. He doesn't seem to be getting the best out of the players but not sure anyone who we could realistically get could do much better.

Maybe we just have to accept we are having a mid table nothing season and give a few of the youngsters a go. Let's have a real go in the FA cup as there will almost certainly nothing else to play for.

Someone should tell arris the 11 clubs above us are also looking to leaf frog and keep pushing on for the promised land
or does he think they are going to stop and let us catch
The man talks more drivil than me.

In terms of what Harris is trying to change - does anybody know ?
What 'style' of play did he achieve at Millwall ?

If we are gong back to long, flickons and set plays etc then lets do that , whatever it was that enabled us to win 4 on the trot - do that. And dont do whatever it was that gave us 4 defeats in a row.

They say football is a simple game - it couldnt be any more simple for us. We wont have enough players coming in to make a difference anyway.

Posted in October we would not get in top 2. Cannot see the playoffs. Get rid and get a new Manager a chance to sort out the mess for next season.

With the exception of Murphy whatever the story is there, that was about as good as we are yesterday.

It's almost exactly the same story as the last premier league relegation. It's not the premier season its the transfers for the next championship season that hamstrung us for the next three seasons.

Warnock earned the right to fcuk up, but he did it well, and when he realised this squad is crap he slung his hook and got out. He makes his main dosh on bonuses and this squad wasn't going to earn him a penny.

Harris = Slade, same job.

Harris needs to start begging around the premier league clubs to get a U23 fast winger and a right back on loan. Its a sellers market this window so i only see movement one way, out.

Not entirely sure what NH could do different than what he is doing at the moment. Yesterday he picked the team most of us would have picked and played them in the formation most people would have thought best. We maybe simply are not good enough. Wilson and Ojo are both underperforming at the moment,our midfield is very pedestrian without Tomlin. He doesn't seem to be getting the best out of the players but not sure anyone who we could realistically get could do much better.

Maybe we just have to accept we are having a mid table nothing season and give a few of the youngsters a go. Let's have a real go in the FA cup as there will almost certainly nothing else to play for.

You’ve said that your not sure what else Harris could do...but then gone on to allude to exactly what he could do.

The players look devoid of confidence - as a team he is quite clearly setting us up not to lose and appears to have created a group of individuals, rather than a team pulling in the same direction. Passes go backwards or sideways, rarely do we transition quickly and he seems to have employed an approach that is to play for long throws abs corners (although notice that these seem to do more in setting up an attack for the opposition than creating anything ourselves).

Players like Wilson and Ojo seem to be woefully out of form and confidence which has to be down to the manager as we know how good they are at this level. He often has them out of position and more concentrated on defending - how many times yesterday did Ojo have stop and cut back to try and get a cross in.

Bacuna has done a reasonable job at RB, but Harris has weakened two parts of the pitch by putting him there - as our full backs barely get forward he might as well play a left footer in there who can actually have the right positional sense...it might also be worth promoting an academy player up.

He’s been here 12 months now and I still couldn’t tell you what type of team he wants us to be - he doesn’t communicate it and there is certainly little evidence out on the pitch.

Personally I would move him on now - give Bamba the job whilst we sort our a full time replacement. For me it would be Pearson who is someone that is tried and tested at this level and can make an instant impact as he showed at Watford.

Yes Neil,,, we all saw the evidence of this Great Leap Forward last night,,,, and it would appear that the only people with the patients you are asking for is the transfer committee.