BREAKING NEIL HARRIS:

“ TODAY NEIL HARRIS UPDATES CARDIFF CITY FANS “


Thursday 7th January 2021


Sean Morrison, Sol Bamba and Aden Flint are all out of contention for this weekend.



The Bluebirds travel to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup, with Neil Harris facing something of a defensive crisis.





NEIL HARRIS:


Jordi Covid?

Yes. He’s been fine but he’s had to self-isolate, which means he wasn’t on the training pitch. There’s no symptoms, and he’s absolutely fine, we just had to go through protocols. He’s back in full training now, but not sure he’ll make this one.

Harris



Morrison

Timing’s not ideal with the centre-half situation. But it was really good news with Sean. It’s not as severe. It’s very light ligament damage. Norwich there’s a very slim chance but certainly after that we hope to have him back.

Harris






Kieffer Moore

He’s doing brilliant. We hope to have him on the training pitch next week. Norwich is an outside chance. We probably won’t know until next Friday after training.

Harris





“ READ ALL NEIL HARRIS UPDATES BELOW “



Transfer window so far - close to anyone?

I haven’t spoken to the board since I came off the training pitch. We have made enquiries about players. I’ve watched a lot of players over the last six weeks. Thinking about the transfer window, there's areas I’d certainly like to strengthen. Right-back is one that’s well documented with the loss of Jordi. Cover that we couldn’t get at the end of the transfer window.

Neil Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


Postponement - freshened up the squad? Injured players maybe available?

It doesn’t look like it, no. No further injuries, just due to illness issues. We hoped to have Jordi back for this one but it doesn’t look likely.

Harris

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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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NEIL HARRIS:

Morrison

Timing’s not ideal with the centre-half situation. But it was really good news with Sean. It’s not as severe. It’s very light ligament damage. Norwich there’s a very slim chance but certainly after that we hope to have him back.

Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


Bamba

Sol’s not available. Still struggling with a back issue. Aden’s back on the grass, he’s coming along well but not close to match fitness. Benko’s gone back to Leicester, so the recognised centre-back we have is Curtis Nelson, but we have players that are able to play in that position if selected.

Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


Understand Benkovic recall?

No complaints whatsoever. It made sense to tie in the dates with Aden coming back. What we didn’t envisage was an injury to Aden, Sol and Sean all in the same week. You can’t foresee four centre-back issues in a week.

Harris



BULLSHIT ADEN WAS INJURED FIRST




on 17th December.


[quote] NEIL HARRIS: Aden is not going to be fit, realistically, until into February," the Bluebirds manager said.

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NEIL HARRIS:

A crisis?

Probably looking in from the outside. I wouldn’t use those words. It makes you rally and makes you step up. People need to stand up in the dressing room and be counted. What a great opportunity at Forest in the cup. Players should be thriving on that.

Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


More on targets

We’re always looking at the top end of the pitch. We’re always looking for goalscorers and goalscoring opportunities, and obviously the centre-half area we have to look at as well. See who’s available.

Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


How many would you like?

As it stands, ideally three. I’ve got to be honest. I know how tough it is. It’s difficult because people need to recoup money to sign other players. Until the industry starts to drop its expectations on wages, it’s very difficult for the merry-go-round to start.

We’re doing due diligence. The board have been massively supportive. I have to be patient and accept there’s a lot of dead ends at the moment because players are being picked for this weekend.

Neil Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:

Perry Ng

I saw the article. It’s a player I know and we have watched. So I can’t deny knowledge of the player. At the moment, though, that’s as far as it’s gone.

Neil Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


Kieffer

He’s doing brilliant. We hope to have him on the training pitch next week. Norwich is an outside chance. We probably won’t know until next Friday after training.

Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:



Covid tests - a concern?

Am I concerned about testing? Yes. And rightly so. 1 in 50 people have Covid in the UK, so of course I’m worried. We do questionnaires every day and there’s no issues within the camp. But until you get test results you don’t know.

The PFA have stepped up and done a brilliant offer in coming forward and supporting rapid testing twice a week. They do tremendous work behind the scenes. I’m a massive supporter of them and I’m glad they’ve stepped up when others haven’t. We’re at the same place we were back in March. I don’t mind that. It’s a sense of realisation for everybody. We’re still working and still playing, people can still watch the games and maybe break up their days a bit. There’s going to be tough times in front of us for sure.

Neil Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


Cup - You got to the final, can do a lot for a club?

I love the competition, but it’s not the same as it was in previous years. I’ve got a great affiliation with the competition, but it’s not the same without the fans. You take the fans out, you take away a chunk out of the FA Cup.

I’ll be picking a team accordingly to win the game. It’s important for players to put in a good performance. Results tend to follow off that.

We’re ready to go and we’re chomping to play. We want to get back to winning ways as soon as possible.

Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


Are you expecting outgoings this month?

Joe Day’s gone already to Bristol Rovers and I was fully supportive of that. It was a good move for him and his future. As always, I’m very sympathetic to any player that comes to see me and says they’d like to go in search of first team football, but where we’re standing at the moment. If they did that, it would have to suit the football club as well.

Other than Joe, I don’t think anyone could really leave the football club without me replacing them, especially when I’m saying to you guys that we need to add to the squad anyway. Do I foresee anyone going? I wouldn’t rule it out, I’ve got to be honest, but I don’t expect anyone to be leaving in the next few days.

Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


You braced for late business then?

I think so, will probably go to the wire.The FA Cup will be key in some respects. Who gets through this weekend, who might be needed in the next round later this month. Players that get through this weekend might be involved in the next round as well, delaying who’s available. People trying to get players in, speaking for a lot of managers at the moment, it’s tough. You want to get as much money as you can for a player and you want to spend as little as you can for someone else.

Until that settles a bit, I think it will be a little slow. What we’ve got to do in the meantime is keep pushing our targets, and keep having the right conversations.


Neil Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


You on the look out for permanent deals or loans?

You’re allowed five loans in a matchday squad, so ideally we’d like one or two more, but ideally we’re thinking about the bigger picture. We’re the model of a club that wants to find younger players and have our own players developing over a period of time. If we can sign permanent players then fantastic, but how many permanent transfers do you get in January? Very, very few.

Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:



Tom Sang

He’s trained a couple of days with us. Tom is Tom. He’s trained brilliantly. He’s got a real drive and passion for the game. That’s one of his biggest attractions for us, and his versatility. We’re really pleased with his loan. It’s his first loan in professional football.


Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:

Still on two buses?

We’ve always been on two buses. We feel very fortunate to do what we love. We’re appreciative that with hospital cases rising, it’s a difficult time out there. Nobody’s moaning, we’re just getting on with it.

Harris

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Harris facing defensive injury crisis

Leicester City's decision to recall Filip Benkovic has left Cardiff City extremely light of options at centre back.

Due to a number of cruel injury blows, the Bluebirds are left scrambling for a defensive partner for Curtis Nelson as they head into this weekend's FA Cup clash with Nottingham Forest.

Nelson is now the only recognised senior centre back who is fit enough to take the field at the City Ground this weekend, meaning Neil Harris has limited options with regards to how he lines up.

It is understood Sean Morrsion's ankle injury will keep him out of action this weekend and for the following league fixture against Norwich on January 16, with the hope being he can return for QPR later this month on January 20.

Sol Bamba is currently sidelined with a back issue and will also be unavailable for the Forest encounter this Saturday.

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NEIL HARRIS:


Second string players in the cup?

I think with the game being called off last Saturday, it gave me an opportunity to really think about this game. Having not played that game there’s a bit of freshness in the group. Will I be mixing things up a bit? Quite possibly, but because we’re not playing again until the next Saturday there isn’t quite so much demand on the legs.

Neil Harris

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Transfer window so far - close to anyone?

I haven’t spoken to the board since I came off the training pitch. We have made enquiries about players. I’ve watched a lot of players over the last six weeks. Thinking about the transfer window, there's areas I’d certainly like to strengthen. Right-back is one that’s well documented with the loss of Jordi. Cover that we couldn’t get at the end of the transfer window.

Neil Harris

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Someone in before next league game?

"Yes. I’d like to have had someone in yesterday if I’m honest.

You always want options, you want to boost your opportunities. January’s always a reactive window.

There’s players we’ve enquired about at other clubs that perhaps haven’t played a lot of football coming into this weekend, but now all of a sudden they’re in line for a start because it’s the FA Cup. So that’s probably why there’s not been a lot of movement before this weekend in this league or the Premier League. We need to add to the ranks, definitely. Strength in depth and to just freshen up as well. It always spurs people on."

Neil Harris

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NEIL HARRIS:


You haven’t had those conversations with any of your players so far then?

No. We’ve not had that. I think everyone sees that we’re a small squad and everyone’s got a chance of playing.

I think there’s a lot of players being involved this weekend not just for us but for other squads that maybe haven’t had a chance. They might be thinking that if they do well they might get an opportunity. If they get their head down and train hard and want to play. That normally lasts about 10 or 14 days in my experience. You get to the last bit of the window and they’re not actually going to get a chance, but again, anyone that goes out, we’ve got to replace them.

Harris

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You on the look out for permanent deals or loans?

You’re allowed five loans in a matchday squad, so ideally we’d like one or two more, but ideally we’re thinking about the bigger picture. We’re the model of a club that wants to find younger players and have our own players developing over a period of time. If we can sign permanent players then fantastic, but how many permanent transfers do you get in January? Very, very few.

Neil Harris

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Neil Harris says he wants three Cardiff City signings as he opens up on interest in Crewe Alexandra's Perry Ng

The Bluebirds boss has outlined what he wants from the January transfer window amid links to Crewe captain Perry Ng




By Tom Coleman


Thursday 7th January 2021


Neil Harris admits he'd ideally like to bring in three new recruits in the January transfer window, and has seemingly confirmed interest in Crewe Alexandra captain Perry Ng.

Harris admits that right-back is one area in which he is looking to strengthen over the coming weeks, particularly with Jordi Osei-Tutu's recent spell on the sidelines.

Ng is understood to have been identified by the Bluebirds as a potential option to help strengthen the squad ahead of the second half of the season.

But, despite admitting interest, Harris has seemingly played down suggestions that a move is imminent.

"It’s a player I know and we have watched," he said.

"So I can’t deny knowledge of the player. At the moment, though, that’s as far as it’s gone."

Asked how many new faces he'd like to have on board as part of an ideal transfer window, Harris added: "As it stands, ideally three. I’ve got to be honest. I know how tough it is. It’s difficult because people need to recoup money to sign other players. Until the industry starts to drop its expectations on wages, it’s very difficult for the merry-go-round to start.

"We’re doing due diligence. The board have been massively supportive. I have to be patient and accept there’s a lot of dead ends at the moment because players are being picked for this weekend.

"I haven’t spoken to the board since I came off the training pitch. We have made enquiries about players. I’ve watched a lot of players over the last six weeks. Thinking about the transfer window, there are areas I’d certainly like to strengthen. Right-back is one that’s well documented with the loss of Jordi. Cover that we couldn’t get at the end of the transfer window.

"We’re always looking at the top-end of the pitch. We’re always looking for goalscorers and goalscoring opportunities, and obviously the centre-half area we have to look at as well. See who’s available."

Harris will be banned from the touchline for this weekend's FA Cup clash with Nottingham Forest, and he says the trend of managers rotating their squads for cup matches has had an effect on transfer plans in this window.

"January’s always a reactive window," he added. "There’s players we’ve enquired about at other clubs that perhaps haven’t played a lot of football coming into this weekend, but now all of a sudden they’re in line for a start because it’s the FA Cup.

"So that’s probably why there’s not been a lot of movement before this weekend in this league or the Premier League. We need to add to the ranks, definitely. Strength in depth and to just freshen up as well. It always spurs people on."

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Harris not expecting outgoings - but admits anything's possible

Sol injured all of a sudden
I wonder if it has anything to do with Middlesbrough‘s interest in him. Hmmmmm

Tired of reading Harris's drivel to be hoenst