Fri Dec 24, 2021 10:30 am
Five centre-backs
For many, the breaking point with Mick McCarthy came an hour before City's clash with West Brom back in October.
When the team sheet was passed around he press box, the eyes were drawn to the defence. It read; McGuinness, Morrison, Flint, Nelson, Brown. Five at the back, all of whom are centre-backs, by trade.
Cardiff were on a woeful run, having lost their previous five games, shipping 11 goals in the process, and McCarthy believed the best way to stop the Baggies was to load the side up with defenders. Even Marlon Pack and Will Vaulks were picked, too, two defensive-minded midfielders.
The most galling part of it all, of course, was how monumentally it backfired as Cardiff lost 4-0.
That, on the back of the 5-1 drubbing by Blackburn Rovers the previous weekend, was the end of that, really. The fat lady was singing like a canary.