Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:07 am
Gabbidon: Defence is my only Cardiff concern
Saturday 18th December 2021
Former Cardiff City centre back Danny Gabbidon has praised the Bluebirds' resilience but is concerned that the defence has shown no sign of improvement despite the change of management.
The Bluebirds have the second-worst defensive record in the league behind Peterborough United and it is crippling their chances of getting away from the drop zone.
With each passing match Cardiff are seemingly scrapping to get back into the match after going behind early and that was once again the case against Birmingham City last weekend.
Having gone 2-0 down, second-half goals from Kieffer Moore and Mark McGuinness earned a dramatic late draw at St Andrew's. But while that draw felt like a win for many, given the circumstances, Gabbidon said he is yet to see a marked improvement in the defence under the new coaching setup.
"He's done well since he's come into the team, Mark McGuinness," Gabbidon said on BBC's EJFOF. "They are still nowhere near good enough defensively, they don't look like keeping a clean sheet. But on an individual basis, I think he's come into the team and done pretty well, got a couple of goals.
"It probably suits the way Cardiff are looking to play now. He is a bit better on the ball, a bit more composed.
"That was a big goal, but they've got to start defending better. The two goals were poor, basic goals to concede. It's great resilience to come back, but you can't keep going behind in games and clawing your way back. That's the only worry for me.
"Steve Morison, since he's come in, hasn't done a bad job. It's still a mixed bag. If you look at the last five games it's two wins, two losses and a draw. Sometimes they aren't there in the first half and they come to life in the second half.
"Sometimes as a manager, when you come in, one of the easiest things to do is to get the team more defensively solid. It's much harder to stick ball in the back of the net and get the team going forward. It's much easier to come in and work with the defence and make sure you're hard to beat. Players understand that a bit more.
"That's my only concern, we haven't really seen that yet. They are still defending poorly and conceding poor goals.
"But what we have seen is more chances, more possession. There have been improvements, but I'd like to see the team defending better.
"Great to get something from the game, great to get something from it. But there is still a lot of work to be done all around the pitch.
Former Wales striker turned pundit and commentator Iwan Roberts praised Cardiff's character on the podcast.
They have made it hard for themselves but Roberts said, to their credit, they wouldn't be where they are without the fight they continue to show in the dying moments of matches.
"Kieffer Moore getting his goal, five for the season for him. He was on about seven or eight this time last season, so he's not too far away from his goal tally at the same time last season.
"Then Mark McGuinness scored, another vital goal like up at Preston, on 91 minutes, the scenes there and the celebrations... I bet it would have felt like a win.
"The one thing we've always said about Cardiff is that they've got character. What they maybe haven't got is the quality that other teams in the Championship have. No one has ever questioned the character and once again they showed it at St Andrew's."