Cardiff City have steadied the ship once again/ BUT

Cardiff City have steadied the ship once again with Mick McCarthy and he looks a good fit, BUT what happens after that?


The problem is that no-one seems to know what Cardiff is supposed to be,even our owners.


Cardiff may admit to not having a philosophy, but I think they would find things easier if they found one.


viewtopic.php?f=2&t=220078



By Scott Johnson



Friday 29th January 2021



Dave Jones, Malky Mackay, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Russell Slade, Paul Trollope, Neil Warnock, Neil Harris, Mick McCarthy.

The only thing these guys have in common is that they’re Cardiff City’s last eight managers.


They do not belong in a list together for any other reason because they have no shared profile or methodology. A cavalier idealist, a lower league journeyman, a radical young coach, an experienced force of nature, an ambitious up-and-comer and a wise, old owl.

During a recent Zoom meeting between Mehmet Dalman, Ken Choo and a group of supporters, it was asked why the club struggle to convey their philosophy to supporters, only to be told that they didn’t have one.


viewtopic.php?f=2&t=220078




This is a modern football club who in my personal view appear to be making it up as they go along, and you can feel it.

That is never more apparent than when they’re on the lookout for a new manager. There may not be an ethos guiding them, but a pattern has certainly emerged.

You only had to glance at the betting odds to see the direction the club were taking again. It was the likes of McCarthy, Tony Pulis, Mark Hughes and you know Sam Allardyce would have been on there too if West Brom had not snapped him up recently.




The message was clear; its time to steady the ship. Again.

McCarthy is there to be Cardiff’s Tippex. To correct their mistakes and give them a fresh start. That seems to be the logic behind only offering a six-month deal, to give the club some space and time to gather their thoughts.

The reality is that if you only offer a short-term deal, you will only attract certain types of managers anyway. Primarily firefighters, which is just as well because that was seemingly exactly what Cardiff were looking for.

McCarthy looks a good fit for the current remit. He won’t be phased by anything he finds at Cardiff, having managed for nearly 30 years in the Football League, Premier League and at international level. Coming off the back of a short, disappointing spell at APOEL and having not managed domestically since 2018, he probably needs Cardiff as much as they need him, too.

Dalman didn’t have a bad word to say about McCarthy's predecessor Harris in the aforementioned meeting, but he was clearly angry about how Cardiff have fared this season. He expected far more and he is certainly not alone in that regard.

He explained that now was not the time for another young manager, but you have to wonder why Cardiff bother appointing managerial prospects.

The club is just not built for young managers, or players for that matter, to succeed. At a sign of choppy waters, the board and supporters set off distress flares and a veteran is brought in to restore order.

Without an ethos and path to follow, I feel they just go round in circles.



The problem is that no-one seems to know what Cardiff is supposed to be,even our owners dont. Success is the goal for all teams and Cardiff are no different, but you need a road map otherwise you get lost. When you lose your way, you end up trying to spend your way back on course and that money is wasted on the next manager if they have a polar opposite approach to team building.

Solskjaer’s continental sophisticates are no good to Slade and his workhorses are of no use to Trollope, who wants to play with wing backs and abandon. Different managers always have different ideas, but the wastage at Cardiff over recent years has been remarkable and this is often why.

McCarthy is here until the end of the season and he has the chance to earn a longer stay. I would be surprised if he didn’t get Cardiff back on track and remain in charge because it’s a good, underachieving squad, in need of a different voice and ideas.

The difference between McCarthy and Harris was evident in his first few press conferences. Harris was always eager to please and would take a crack at any question posed, but McCarthy is more comfortable in his own status and if you ask what he perceives to be a stupid question, expect him to bat it back with a sigh.

Cardiff’s first game of his tenure was a mixed bag, with more lofted, high balls than I think I’ve seen this season. The first half was as bad as anything served up in the tail end of Harris’ reign, but they rallied in the second half.

Despite poor form and low confidence, City dug in to earn a draw from a two-goal deficit. After seven consecutive defeats, they stopped the rot and have something to build upon.


McCarthy is Cardiff’s parachute, but what if it doesn’t open this time? There are no guarantees in football, but I think it’s unlikely that he will take them down and the top six is likely out of reach, so the comfort of mid-table would probably represent progress, everything considered.

Then what though? More parachutes? Covid issues and financial uncertainty aside, what happens next season and beyond?

I personally feel there is a disconnect between what some supporters want, what Cardiff are and what may or may not be possible. You can’t please all of the people all of the time, but that seems to be harder at Cardiff than most other clubs because lots of people appear to be pointing in different directions.



Cardiff may admit to not having a philosophy, but I think they would find things easier if they found one.

Everyone could then get on board and maybe we could take this steady boat out to sea.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

bit early to be claiming any ship has been steadied.... we got 1 point midweek coming back from 2 nil down when it really should have been 3..... meanwhile Rotherham won and closed the gap to 7 points but have 2 games in hand...

bit early to be claiming any ship has been steadied.... we got 1 point midweek coming back from 2 nil down when it really should have been 3..... meanwhile Rotherham won and closed the gap to 7 points but have 2 games in hand...

Totally agree

Well pre-mature all this. Lose to Millwall this weekend and it will be back to smelt down.

Worrying Rotherham looked a good side against boro. Most clubs in this division seem to be able to play at a high tempo and pass the ball to feet.i honestly think we need to improve rapidly or we are going down.

Worrying Rotherham looked a good side against boro. Most clubs in this division seem to be able to play at a high tempo and pass the ball to feet.i honestly think we need to improve rapidly or we are going down.

That threat is still there.

As you say Rotherham look a good side and Derby/ Nottingham Forest are capable of overtaking us. it could be a tight finish to the season if we do not improve soon.

Worrying Rotherham looked a good side against boro. Most clubs in this division seem to be able to play at a high tempo and pass the ball to feet.i honestly think we need to improve rapidly or we are going down.

That threat is still there.

As you say Rotherham look a good side and Derby/ Nottingham Forest are capable of overtaking us. it could be a tight finish to the season if we do not improve soon.

We are still to play Rotherham this season, the rearranged away game in a couple of weeks time, and finally our last game of the season, at home. This game could be a real cliffhanger, for both clubs???

bit early to be claiming any ship has been steadied.... we got 1 point midweek coming back from 2 nil down when it really should have been 3..... meanwhile Rotherham won and closed the gap to 7 points but have 2 games in hand...

I agree especially after that absolutely shocking game of football I endured.

An away point is a start though but I just want to see some decent fast passing football.
I’m sick of the ball constantly up in the air.

Worrying Rotherham looked a good side against boro. Most clubs in this division seem to be able to play at a high tempo and pass the ball to feet.i honestly think we need to improve rapidly or we are going down.

That threat is still there.

As you say Rotherham look a good side and Derby/ Nottingham Forest are capable of overtaking us. it could be a tight finish to the season if we do not improve soon.

We are still to play Rotherham this season, the rearranged away game in a couple of weeks time, and finally our last game of the season, at home. This game could be a real cliffhanger, for both clubs???

I've not look at the fixture but that sounds scary.

I contacted Scott Johnson and he said that’s not his headline , it’s media Wales and he does not agree himself with it either

bit early to be claiming any ship has been steadied.... we got 1 point midweek coming back from 2 nil down when it really should have been 3..... meanwhile Rotherham won and closed the gap to 7 points but have 2 games in hand...

I agree especially after that absolutely shocking game of football I endured.

An away point is a start though but I just want to see some decent fast passing football.
I’m sick of the ball constantly up in the air.

i was very happy to take a point
but truth be told the disallowed goal.... the foul was by Flint ...and the corner which led to our 1st goal { although we did not score directly from it } should have been a goal kick ... im not fussy ill take as many of those decisions as we can get...but steadied the ship...?

bit early to be claiming any ship has been steadied.... we got 1 point midweek coming back from 2 nil down when it really should have been 3..... meanwhile Rotherham won and closed the gap to 7 points but have 2 games in hand...

I agree especially after that absolutely shocking game of football I endured.

An away point is a start though but I just want to see some decent fast passing football.
I’m sick of the ball constantly up in the air.

You won't see it this season!

Well pre-mature all this. Lose to Millwall this weekend and it will be back to smelt down.