'He's bullied them!' Mick McCarthy hails Cardiff City's

'He's bullied them!' Mick McCarthy hails Cardiff City's unsung hero and why he is not anxious about Kieffer Moore transfer talk

The Bluebirds came away from Blackpool with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Leandro Bacuna and Kieffer Moore

By Glen Williams

Saturday 14th August 2021


Blackpool's manager Neil Critchley greets Cardiff City's manager Mick McCarthy (Image: Dave Howarth - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Mick McCarthy heaped praise on the role James Collins played in Cardiff City's convincing 2-0 win over Blackpool.

The Bluebirds were dominant at Bloomfield Road, with two second-half goals through Leandro Bacuna and Kieffer Moore just rewards for a terrific performance.

But while the goalscorers and impressive backline will take the plaudits, McCarthy reserved praise for the role City's summer signing played in the victory.




MICK McCARTHY:

"He works his socks off!" McCarthy said of Collins.

"He's chasing those centre-halves around, he's bullied them, he's barged into them, he's won headers.

"He had a chance under the bar and it was behind him, he was really mad about that.

"But, sometimes, when it's 70 minutes and Kieffer comes on, [Collins' work] is what opens up the chances.



It was, of course, brilliant to see Moore open his account for the season.

A trademark header at the back post saw him register his first goal of the campaign and City fans hope many more will follow.

The only possible downside is that, should Moore begin the season well, it could throw him in the shop window before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month.

But McCarthy played a straight bat to any talk of him leaving this summer.

"I don't get anxious about those things," McCarthy said.

"What's the point? There's nothing I can do about it.

"If someone came in and offered huge bucks for him, I don't know, would we sell him? No idea.

"I won't worry about it until it happens.

"I'm not going to lay awake thinking about that. Just enjoy him while he is here."

To well taken goals kiefer Moore goal was superb a great cross from Giles and a great header to put us two up looked to me we could have scored a few more today

To well taken goals kiefer Moore goal was superb a great cross from Giles and a great header to put us two up looked to me we could have scored a few more today

Too often we’ve seen wide players (at best) running past the full back and knocking an over / under hit cross. I was screaming for Giles to take him on but he had such confidence in his own crossing ability, just steadied himself and a clipped cross gave KM the perfect opportunity to score. Think we’ll see a few of those 1-2s this season.

Agree with Mick today.

Collins could have had two or three goals today but his all-round play was excellent.

I don't think Moore will leave. There hasn't even been any genuine interest in him this summer and I don't think things will change enough for someone to put in an offer over the next couple of weeks or so.


I think a lot of teams will see how he fares with another season in the Championship before considering making a move for him. Will be important for Premier League clubs to see if there's any sort of consistency.

The same goes for Perry Ng, who I think is destined to play in the Premier League regularly at some point in the future - hopefully with us.