The Callum Paterson and Robert Glatzel dilemma and why it hi

The Callum Paterson and Robert Glatzel dilemma and why it highlights Cardiff City's muddled transfer logic

Our fan columnist Scott Johnson gives his views on Cardiff City in the transfer window and why some decisions leave fans scratching their heads

By Scott Johnson

Tuesday 5th January 2021

Cardiff City kept Robert Glatzel but sold Callum Paterson in the last window (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
Here we are again. The transfer window has swung open and the solution to all Cardiff’s problems lie in wait. That seems to be the general consensus, anyway.

The reality is that the January window bears little resemblance to the summer incarnation. Clubs are far more tentative and are bound to be more cautious than ever this year. Why would you consider loaning out your fringe players when Covid-19 can infiltrate the camp at any time and lay low a proportion of your squad?

Cardiff certainly need something. Supporters, too. A pick-me-up or a little bit of hope.

It felt like Cardiff nailed the last transfer window. Kieffer Moore and Harry Wilson looked set to elevate an already solid and functioning core, but it has not quite worked out like that.

Wilson has only shown flashes of his brilliance, whereas Moore has proved a great success, improving every week, until injury saw him sidelined. Cardiff’s form has collapsed in his absence, but it was patchy even when he was present and correct.

Part of the problem is that Robert Glatzel has not exactly thrived in Moore’s absence.

A big reason for that is because he is a mere single part of a malfunctioning whole. Moore can drag Cardiff through games with the force of his will, but that is a rare quality and it would be unfair to expect Glatzel to do the same. It would also be unfair to expect Glatzel to play like Moore and thrive off the same service, as they are very different players. That is exactly what he is expected to do, though.

Glatzel has undoubted talents, but Cardiff does not appear to be a great fit for him.

We are now 18 months down the line and Glatzel looks no more suited to Cardiff or the Championship as a whole. He does not appear to enjoy the rough and tumble of the division, nor the hard, selfless running that Cardiff still bizarrely demand of their strikers. I don’t envy him. Playing up front for Cardiff is not an easy task and probably not exactly what he signed up for.

All of that is exactly Moore’s bag, but it is a huge ask to expect him to do it twice a week, every week, and three times during international breaks. Him pulling up at some stage felt inevitable.

It is therefore still mystifying that Callum Paterson was deemed surplus to requirements because surely he represented the ideal deputy to Moore.

Paterson was a calculated risk when Neil Warnock signed him for a relatively small compensation fee when his contract at Hearts expired. He was sidelined with a major knee injury at the time and it was nearly five months before he made his debut, but he became an immediate fan favourite.

Signed as a right-back, he worked his way up the pitch until he was asked to fill in up front. It was a position he thrived in. Not the most technically gifted, but far better than some give him credit for, he always put in a shift and despite not moving like a striker, his endeavour more than compensated for that.

The Cardiff team at the time was built around Kenneth Zohore’s strengths, but his weaknesses meant Cardiff could never rely on him. Paterson not only tided Cardiff over, but he bailed them out. Like Leandro Bacuna, who is currently performing the same function at right-back, he stepped in to a problem position and made it work.

Paterson left for little more than Cardiff paid for him, despite the enhancement of his reputation and status as a Scottish international. He was last seen scoring the winner for a struggling Sheffield Wednesday side against Derby at the weekend.

Neil Harris never really appeared to get Paterson, but it would certainly help his cause were Paterson still around. I know that Paterson’s sale paved the way for Wilson’s arrival, so it made business sense on the one hand, but Cardiff do miss him.

Paterson and Glatzel are both 26, but it doesn’t feel like they’re the same age.

Robert Glatzel of Cardiff City (R) reacts after missing a penalty
Glatzel has shown glimpses of promise but has not really thrived in Kieffer Moore's absence
Paterson looks and feels like a veteran. Grey hair will do that for you, but he was also a prodigy and has played professionally for a long time now. It feels like we talk about Glatzel as if he was still a prospect that is yet to really come good, but he’s in the prime of his career and cost a lot of money.

When you pay a reported £5.5m for a player at this level, they need to be the full package and a game changer. Glatzel looks no closer to being that than when he first arrived.

Whether or not Glatzel succeeds at Cardiff is partly down to him, but I don’t think Cardiff is built for a player of his characteristics to succeed, so the club have to shoulder the greater responsibility.

The fact that Cardiff saw fit to pay that much for him at the time and that they thought he was a good fit still baffles me. If Cardiff were to evolve and play more football, then Glatzel would have a better chance, but what comes first; the evolution or the signings to facilitate it?



Cardiff often get it right, as Moore and Wilson attest, but the purchase of Glatzel and the sale of Paterson highlight Cardiff’s sometimes muddled thinking when it comes to transfer dealings.

It felt like Paterson, despite being exactly the kind of player that traditionally thrives at Cardiff, was always considered a stopgap, whereas Glatzel represented a more sophisticated, aspirational upgrade.

Until Cardiff upgrade themselves, it feels like we may never see the best of Glatzel and may as well carry on signing Patersons.

I thought this as soon as Moore got injured, Paterson would have been the perfect replacement for us. Glatzep is a decent player and finisher but not suiting how we play

Even the very best clubs have examples of players purchased for a tidy sum who somehow never quite fitted into the team's style of play. Remember that Chelsea had Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah on their books. Whatever happened to them ?!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Still it keeps lazy journalists in a job.

Still think getting rid of patterson was a mistake but for 350 grand it was a joke and clearly bad judgement by a poor manager
Harris also lied and said it was nothing to do with him and Dalman put that right in a statement and then Patterson openly told people he didnt want to leave he loved Cardiff so all this had a really bad smell of bad management and sadly we are still seeing it.

People go on about Patterson like he's scoring for fun. He's scored 4 goals and had 1 assist in 20 appearances. He has 1 more goal and 1 less assist than glatzel after playing almost twice as many minutes than him. I liked Patterson as a player and you cant fault his passion. But we need to expect more from our players than just putting an effort in. We need better footballers. We brought in Moore who is clearly a much better player and also brought in Wilson who is one of the best players in the league. If Patterson leaving allowed for those signings to happen then it was good business. His high wages were probably the reason why we had to take a smaller transfer fee for him.

Even the very best clubs have examples of players purchased for a tidy sum who somehow never quite fitted into the team's style of play. Remember that Chelsea had Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah on their books. Whatever happened to them ?!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Still it keeps lazy journalists in a job.

not quite the same though...2 very much young fringe players compared to someone with a fella who played over a 100 first teams games for us....

Don't get the argument. I liked Patterson while he was here, loved to get stuck in. But that was it!

A prolific striker he wasnt. Most if not all of his goals were scuffed shots or deflections at best.
How many decent shots did he take? how many of them were any good?
How many times did he try and take on defenders to get in the box?

Watching Moore, Glatzel, Harris and our other attackers doing what proper strikers do is a hell of a lot better to watch than what Pato did in that position.

Patterson will be remembered fondly for his character and versatility, but never for his striking ability.

I am not sure how it works in pro football but I assume players are deprecating assets, so when a player signs an extension their value increases and the closer to the end of the contact the less value is on the balance sheet.

One year into his four year contact Glatzel would have been worth 75% of his £5.5mill fee (just over £4 mill) whilst Paterson would have been valued at £600K.

I am sure if we thought we could have got £4 mill for Bobby G he would have gone, but someone was willing to pay book price for Paterson.

At the time we were talking about a playing through the thirds passing game. On paper that’s Bobby G over Paterson who is a lump it up there and let me battle for it type. Keiffer has proved with Wales and Cardiff that he is a back to goal line leader, but with Wales it’s not so one dimensional smacking down the middle and let me scrap for it and quite frankly Paterson has only ever shown that.

I am sure under different circumstances he would have preferred to keep Paterson, but seeing as there is not a clamour for any of our mark to book assets, he was the one they decided to let go as we deemed to be quite strong at centre forward. If we let Glatzel go for a million, we’d have to lose £3 million on the ledger and that’s probably not too good with FFP.

Again it not the premier league that caught us out, it’s the championship after relegation transfers that kills us and leads us to a journeyman accountant led few seasons.

I am not sure how it works in pro football but I assume players are deprecating assets, so when a player signs an extension their value increases and the closer to the end of the contact the less value is on the balance sheet.

One year into his four year contact Glatzel would have been worth 75% of his £5.5mill fee (just over £4 mill) whilst Paterson would have been valued at £600K.

I am sure if we thought we could have got £4 mill for Bobby G he would have gone, but someone was willing to pay book price for Paterson.

At the time we were talking about a playing through the thirds passing game. On paper that’s Bobby G over Paterson who is a lump it up there and let me battle for it type. Keiffer has proved with Wales and Cardiff that he is a back to goal line leader, but with Wales it’s not so one dimensional smacking down the middle and let me scrap for it and quite frankly Paterson has only ever shown that.

I am sure under different circumstances he would have preferred to keep Paterson, but seeing as there is not a clamour for any of our mark to book assets, he was the one they decided to let go as we deemed to be quite strong at centre forward. If we let Glatzel go for a million, we’d have to lose £3 million on the ledger and that’s probably not too good with FFP.

Again it not the premier league that caught us out, it’s the championship after relegation transfers that kills us and leads us to a journeyman accountant led few seasons.

you think bobby reed and glatzel are worth the same ?

I am not sure how it works in pro football but I assume players are deprecating assets, so when a player signs an extension their value increases and the closer to the end of the contact the less value is on the balance sheet.

One year into his four year contact Glatzel would have been worth 75% of his £5.5mill fee (just over £4 mill) whilst Paterson would have been valued at £600K.

I am sure if we thought we could have got £4 mill for Bobby G he would have gone, but someone was willing to pay book price for Paterson.

At the time we were talking about a playing through the thirds passing game. On paper that’s Bobby G over Paterson who is a lump it up there and let me battle for it type. Keiffer has proved with Wales and Cardiff that he is a back to goal line leader, but with Wales it’s not so one dimensional smacking down the middle and let me scrap for it and quite frankly Paterson has only ever shown that.

I am sure under different circumstances he would have preferred to keep Paterson, but seeing as there is not a clamour for any of our mark to book assets, he was the one they decided to let go as we deemed to be quite strong at centre forward. If we let Glatzel go for a million, we’d have to lose £3 million on the ledger and that’s probably not too good with FFP.

Again it not the premier league that caught us out, it’s the championship after relegation transfers that kills us and leads us to a journeyman accountant led few seasons.

you think bobby reed and glatzel are worth the same ?

Bobby G = Glatzel.

I started calling him Bobby G as one of the 62's had a go at the forum for calling him unsavoury names like "useless" or "the German" and they were right, he is a Cardiff City player, tries hard so should have some respect.

In reality, i doubt on what we have seen so far we'd get the same as Paterson, unless he could get a move back to Germany and we do a golden handshake on the wages front.

I am not sure how it works in pro football but I assume players are deprecating assets, so when a player signs an extension their value increases and the closer to the end of the contact the less value is on the balance sheet.

One year into his four year contact Glatzel would have been worth 75% of his £5.5mill fee (just over £4 mill) whilst Paterson would have been valued at £600K.

I am sure if we thought we could have got £4 mill for Bobby G he would have gone, but someone was willing to pay book price for Paterson.

At the time we were talking about a playing through the thirds passing game. On paper that’s Bobby G over Paterson who is a lump it up there and let me battle for it type. Keiffer has proved with Wales and Cardiff that he is a back to goal line leader, but with Wales it’s not so one dimensional smacking down the middle and let me scrap for it and quite frankly Paterson has only ever shown that.

I am sure under different circumstances he would have preferred to keep Paterson, but seeing as there is not a clamour for any of our mark to book assets, he was the one they decided to let go as we deemed to be quite strong at centre forward. If we let Glatzel go for a million, we’d have to lose £3 million on the ledger and that’s probably not too good with FFP.

Again it not the premier league that caught us out, it’s the championship after relegation transfers that kills us and leads us to a journeyman accountant led few seasons.

It seems people have an unrealistic view on how clubs sell players. People act as if there is a line of clubs queueing up for our players and we can demand however much money we want for them. We needed Flint and paterson off the books and 1 club came in for both of them. That put Wednesday in a stronger position to negotiate. Its not ideal Flint was sent back but we saved 6months of his wages. Paterson is worth more than 450k but nobody else wanted him and thats what Wednesday were willing to pay.