HAS BULUT RAISED EXPECTATIONS?

Erol Bulut still has a Cardiff City squad built on loans and free transfers, his biggest sin is raising expectations
By Glen Williams

The Bluebirds are on a poor run of form now but have arguable dropped into their rightful position in the table

Midway through the summer, Cardiff City were rock-bottom and managerless after two seasons which had drained the players, the staff, the board and, most importantly of all, the supporters.

Sabri Lamouchi had just been told he was not going to be offered a new contract and the Bluebirds went in search of their new man, their fifth permanent manager in two years. They were also under a transfer ban, to rub salt into the wound, and faced a summer of free transfers and loans once again. To say it looked an uphill task was an understatement.

Fast forward six months and, by and large, the feel is completely different around the club. Still trading in loans and free agents, Erol Bulut lifted the base quality of the squad and injected a new impetus and new life into the fan base. Given how incredibly strong the Championship is this season, to be sitting mid-table in the middle of the hectic Christmas period is some achievement given what has come before this.

Bulut is a fierce competitor and it comes across each time he speaks. He rarely praises individual players, speaks of ever-increasing standards and lofty targets. In many ways, his biggest sin is raising hopes and expectations among the Bluebirds supporters. He perhaps conceded as much in a mini-climbdown at the weekend following the 3-0 defeat at Hull City, when he stated that his target of staying around the play-offs might have been overly ambitious given the resources he has available.

But, in truth, it has been a breath of fresh air to see Cardiff once again in the conversation at the right end of the table. They have occupied play-off spots for a number of weeks already throughout this season, but after some bad form and poor performances, now find themselves in 12th position.

City overachieved in the first few months of the season, given their squad, and have underachieved over the last six weeks or so. But it all tends to even out in the end.

Of course, just because Cardiff's squad isn't of the requisite quality, yet, to be challenging in the top six, it doesn't mean the manager nor the team are immune from criticism. The performance levels of a number of players have dropped off in recent weeks and Bulut has to be culpable, too, for the lack of goals during this barren period. Save set pieces, City have rarely looked a threat from open play and the manner in which they mount attacks must be addressed.

They are too easy to defend against right now, whereas at the start of the season, the way they broke into the box, particularly out wide through Josh Bowler and Karlan Grant, was a real hallmark of their game. The midfield, which has suffered with injuries, is a problem area as well, meaning Cardiff are struggling to control games, which they were doing more regularly earlier in the campaign.

Things always look and feel worse amid a run of bad form and that's understandable, but Cardiff fans could scarcely believe it when they saw their side rocket into the top six not that long ago. Last season felt like a disaster from start to finish, but incredibly Cardiff are only five points better off right now than where they were at the same point last year. It's all optics and how you manage the good and bad spells.

And this is all said within the context of Cardiff now still being just three points off seventh place and six points away from the play-offs. Quite an achievement, really, considering they desperately need goals and a complete midfield restock. The Bluebirds play Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle and QPR, all teams below them with two of them in the relegation zone, within the next four matches and they will be hoping for a decent points return to bounce into January, when Bulut is hoping to do some work.

Crucially, Cardiff are able to spend money again and won't be fighting the division with one arm tied behind their back. Quality costs money, there's no getting around that. Yes, they have loosened the purse strings in terms of wages this season after back-to-back seasons of reality checks, but ultimately you are largely left with cast-offs or players deemed surplus to requirements when you are under the constraints of a transfer ban.

January will be intriguing. It is an opportunity to see how Bulut operates with the shackles released a little. Central midfield and attack are real priorities. Kieffer Moore is clearly a target, while the Bluebirds boss has his eyes narrowed in on Europe, too, with his contacts there, in a bid to try and get as much bang for his buck as possible.

Cardiff will also have Aaron Ramsey, one of the best players in the division, and Callum O'Dowda, whose absence has wrongly gone under the radar given how well he acquitted himself in his first season in the Welsh capital, back in the new year, too. Four or five new signings, plus those two back, and suddenly the Bluebirds' squad has a much-needed, brand new look to it.

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Difficult not to agree with the core of that...

We expected little of this season but Erol Bulut has raised expectations to the point that some are now have unrealistic expectations of this current squad...

Difficult not to agree with the core of that...

We expected little of this season but Erol Bulut has raised expectations to the point that some are now have unrealistic expectations of this current squad...

Too true Chris not long till January

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

Some very good points in the OP, I agree with the summary.

Roll on January when we will be able to spend money and further strengthen the squad. People need to remember we should have been relegated last season.

Very very difficult to turn that into a top six team in just a few months, especially when we wouldn’t pay any fees.

We are making good progress and I’m happy with the job Bulut is doing.

The trouble we have, is the poor form does continue we will be near relegation.

If we get Moore in January we must get a winger who can cross the ball.

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

Fair do's, Harry, you do provide some entertainment on here...!

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

Apparently, like NegativeNinian27, he can (make it up)...!

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

According to the Internet we have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship with Rambo and the two Greek Internationals our top earners.Where do you get your information from?
Also Spending big money on transfers is not the answer look what happened to Malky,Warnock and Ole when they were given big money?

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

According to the Internet we have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship with Rambo and the two Greek Internationals our top earners.Where do you get your information from?
Also Spending big money on transfers is not the answer look what happened to Malky,Warnock and Ole when they were given big money?

On some sites the rankings are different (see below as an indicator) and as Ned says above, 'wages paid' are only indicative of certain figures paid out be clubs over a season and do not include transfer monies, etc. that will raise the money spent by some clubs but certainly not ours of late significantly...

You seem selectively 'decided' on what you want to believe, so I have also included a site that tells us what each club spent on players and their net profits, too; and in this one we are a lowly 15th in the table, so we are (according to the same logic using a different approach) actually overachieving...

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/all-2 ... 13-306-000

https://the72-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/ ... ermarkt%2F

Cracking write up svennoooo

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

According to the Internet we have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship with Rambo and the two Greek Internationals our top earners.Where do you get your information from?
Also Spending big money on transfers is not the answer look what happened to Malky,Warnock and Ole when they were given big money?

According to the internet, the earth is flat.

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

According to the Internet we have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship with Rambo and the two Greek Internationals our top earners.Where do you get your information from?
Also Spending big money on transfers is not the answer look what happened to Malky,Warnock and Ole when they were given big money?

According to the internet, the earth is flat.

Silly response! Check Planet Football! Again where do you get your information from to disprove the internet research?

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

According to the Internet we have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship with Rambo and the two Greek Internationals our top earners.Where do you get your information from?
Also Spending big money on transfers is not the answer look what happened to Malky,Warnock and Ole when they were given big money?

According to the internet, the earth is flat.

Silly response! Check Planet Football! Again where do you get your information from to disprove the internet research?

Look at my post (above) for the answer to that last quip; or are you avoiding responding to that which doesn't suit (your agenda)...?

Planet Football, Planet Swamp, Planet Harry; you name 'em, they'll all have different figures to suit their agendas/wants...

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

According to the Internet we have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship with Rambo and the two Greek Internationals our top earners.Where do you get your information from?
Also Spending big money on transfers is not the answer look what happened to Malky,Warnock and Ole when they were given big money?

Well you didn't exactly prove your point about spending money as 2 out of your 3 got us promoted. Ever hear of the phrase "stop digging", it applies here.

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

According to the Internet we have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship with Rambo and the two Greek Internationals our top earners.Where do you get your information from?
Also Spending big money on transfers is not the answer look what happened to Malky,Warnock and Ole when they were given big money?

According to the internet, the earth is flat.

Silly response! Check Planet Football! Again where do you get your information from to disprove the internet research?

Look at my post (above) for the answer to that last quip; or are you avoiding responding to that which doesn't suit (your agenda)...?

Planet Football, Planet Swamp, Planet Harry; you name 'em, they'll all have different figures to suit their agendas/wants...

Exactly

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

According to the Internet we have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship with Rambo and the two Greek Internationals our top earners.Where do you get your information from?
Also Spending big money on transfers is not the answer look what happened to Malky,Warnock and Ole when they were given big money?

Well you didn't exactly prove your point about spending money as 2 out of your 3 got us promoted. Ever hear of the phrase "stop digging", it applies here.

You missed my point completely, yes they did well to get us promoted on very little money but when we got promoted they both wasted millions by buying crap players, that’s why we got relegated!

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

According to the Internet we have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship with Rambo and the two Greek Internationals our top earners.Where do you get your information from?
Also Spending big money on transfers is not the answer look what happened to Malky,Warnock and Ole when they were given big money?

On some sites the rankings are different (see below as an indicator) and as Ned says above, 'wages paid' are only indicative of certain figures paid out be clubs over a season and do not include transfer monies, etc. that will raise the money spent by some clubs but certainly not ours of late significantly...

You seem selectively 'decided' on what you want to believe, so I have also included a site that tells us what each club spent on players and their net profits, too; and in this one we are a lowly 15th in the table, so we are (according to the same logic using a different approach) actually overachieving...

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/all-2 ... 13-306-000

https://the72-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/ ... ermarkt%2F

What are you talking about, of course we came 15th in your table as we were not allowed to spend money? but whichever site I’ve found on the highest wages in Championship we come in 6th or 7th!

100% he has raised expectations. I cannot stand the comparison to last year when we play poor. Demand more. Generate the atmosphere. A HUGE second half to the season.

I think our league position is spot on, with most of those above us, probably in a better place. But get the juices flowing, a few quality additions and some of our stars back from injury, and we could be an outsider for the play-offs. Why not?.

Bulut has bought 9 players,many Internationals on big money!Cardiff City have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship so we should be challenging for promotion! My fear is that Dalman has recruited another big name Expensive Foreign Manager who doesn’t know the Championship,remember Ole!

We don’t have the 6th highest wage bill in the league, you can’t just make up facts

And how much has he spent on transfer fees? Nothing.

According to the Internet we have the 6th highest wage bill in the Championship with Rambo and the two Greek Internationals our top earners.Where do you get your information from?
Also Spending big money on transfers is not the answer look what happened to Malky,Warnock and Ole when they were given big money?

On some sites the rankings are different (see below as an indicator) and as Ned says above, 'wages paid' are only indicative of certain figures paid out be clubs over a season and do not include transfer monies, etc. that will raise the money spent by some clubs but certainly not ours of late significantly...

You seem selectively 'decided' on what you want to believe, so I have also included a site that tells us what each club spent on players and their net profits, too; and in this one we are a lowly 15th in the table, so we are (according to the same logic using a different approach) actually overachieving...

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/all-2 ... 13-306-000

https://the72-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/ ... ermarkt%2F

What are you talking about, of course we came 15th in your table as we were not allowed to spend money? but whichever site I’ve found on the highest wages in Championship we come in 6th or 7th!

Ah, great to see you decided to play...

Seemingly, unlike you, I know precisely where my comments and/or stats were coming from and why...

So now we are 6th or 7th, eh?

That's not the factual 6th you stated, is it?

The figures are, of course, twisted because we could not spend money on transfers. We then had to attract the best 'free' players we could to a club that had only narrowly avoided relegation, i.e. us...

Let's be honest here, few were expecting anything but a relegation fight even after the somewhat surprising appointment of Erol Bulut...

If, and I haven't looked, you were to see what clubs had spent on wages and transfers overall, I think we would be in the middle of the pack at this point in time...

For the future? I would expect us to rise back up the table on and off the pitch...!