" FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO "
Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:07 pm
In Saturday's edition of the paper I wrote this piece but due to size it was edited down to fit the page it was on, here is the full unedited version that you may want to read and debate some of the comments made :
What a difference a few days can make in football and in particular the Championship. On Sunday afternoon I witnessed probably the hardest working first half performance I have ever seen from a City side. Many can say that Bristol City are a team that will struggle throughout the season but regardless of the opposition I believe when a team works as hard and for each other as they did on Sunday then the opposition would have struggled whoever they may be in this league.
I was enthused by the work ethic throughout the team and I told anyone who would listen that if they had not yet been to watch the new era under Malky Mackay then they need to do so. I don’t think there are many, if any, City fans out there who believe that we have a squad capable of sustaining a promotion push with the numbers and the players we currently have, but no-one can deny that the performance against our rivals was as much about the result as the effort put in by the players to achieve it.
When Aron Gunnarsson went off injured early on, I suspect most were expecting a defensive player to come on in place of him but Malky certainly surprised me when he opted for the young and promising attack minded Joe Mason. Mason’s contribution and impact on the game was instant, sitting just behind the front two of Miller and Earnshaw, at the top of the diamond shaped midfield. For a youngster to take the game immediately by the scruff of the neck belied his years. The vision, balance and awareness of Mason gives genuine hope that Malky has brought in a player who will be an asset to Cardiff City for years to come on that performance against Bristol City.
The high energy tempo of the players which was encapsulated by the performance of Don Cowie is what City fans love to see, Malky Mackay promised before the season start that each of his City players would come off the pitch sweating and each would put in a shift.
The hope of a first ever 3 match winning start to a season for City was very much in the offering when newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion visited the CCS on Wednesday evening, they were certain to provide a different test to what we had faced against West Ham and Bristol City, and so proved the case. Brighton are very much an unknown entity at this early stage but so are Cardiff with the amount of new players and rebuilding that has gone on over the summer.
The biggest surprise was the lack of pressing the opposition when we were not in possession of the ball. The energy and work rate when the team was defendin, which was so evident against Bristol City, was sadly lacking this time around. It is too early to be over critical as we are all aware that it does take time for a squad to settle and for players to get to know each other’s style and movement. We created enough chances in the first half to have taken the lead and maybe if we had then we would be reflecting on a much different score line and outcome.
With the diamond formation that Malky has implemented there is a lot of space for our fullbacks to exploit ahead of them and overlap our midfield. Andrew Taylor does not seem to get as much an opportunity to go marauding down the flanks as Kevin McNaughton because Craig Conway plays a wider position on the left than Don Cowie does on the right, who plays tighter in field supporting the middle two.
Fans favourite McNaughton is exactly that for the fully committed displays he constantly gives to the shirt but there is certainly a downfall to his game and that is his distribution, too many times on Wednesday and in previous games down the years, has he gone down the flank but failed to find his target with the resulting pass or cross.
Horses for courses as the saying goes and on Wednesday I felt we also missed a ball winner in the centre of midfield, Peter Whittingham and Joe Mason can both find a pass but unless we are closing the ball down and regaining possession then we could have the best passer of the ball in the world but we would still come up short unless we have the ball.
Another area I feel we are lacking is up top, as much as I feel both Earnie and Miller will score goals for the team, I believe we need a striker to compliment them, a player who can take the knocks and hold the ball up for the rest of the team to push up from the back. Whether Rudy Gestede can be that player remains to be seen but in fairness to him, he certainly impacted when he came off the bench against West Ham and again versus Brighton.
Another slight concern I have is the lack of pace at centre half, both Hudson and Gerrard are excellent when facing the ball but when they are turned or are behind play then they struggle to get back in front, both players faced that problem on Saturday and Wednesday and both were highlighted with goals conceded.
We know that Malky wants more players, we know that we need more players but on the same token we must be patient and realise that this is a rebuilding process that will take time and not everything will fall into place straight away. Malky is putting his stamp on this side and we cannot expect it to be perfected within 3 games, the work rate I have seen so far I very am pleased with, the quality and strength in depth of the squad is something that we know is being worked on and it is very much a work in progress and one result is not going to change my opinion that Malky Mackay is taking us forward.
We may not finish as high as we have in previous seasons but that is immaterial as long as we are building for the future. With young players being given the opportunity to work alongside the experienced players is surely going to strengthen our position over the years to come.
There will obviously be downfalls along the way but to gain 6 points from the first available 9 is still a very good start to the campaign and the biggest positive is that we have the opportunity to turn around a disappointing result so soon afterwards starting today with Eddie Howe’s Burnley. Burnley have had a disappointing start with a draw and a loss in their first two games but they have had a full seven days to recover, as they did not play midweek, and they will certainly want to get their season going with a victory in front of their home crowd, hopefully City can bounce back and remain amongst the early pace setters and possibly we will see some new faces coming in next week to add strength to the squad.
http://www.annisabraham.co.uk/books/buy-books/
What a difference a few days can make in football and in particular the Championship. On Sunday afternoon I witnessed probably the hardest working first half performance I have ever seen from a City side. Many can say that Bristol City are a team that will struggle throughout the season but regardless of the opposition I believe when a team works as hard and for each other as they did on Sunday then the opposition would have struggled whoever they may be in this league.
I was enthused by the work ethic throughout the team and I told anyone who would listen that if they had not yet been to watch the new era under Malky Mackay then they need to do so. I don’t think there are many, if any, City fans out there who believe that we have a squad capable of sustaining a promotion push with the numbers and the players we currently have, but no-one can deny that the performance against our rivals was as much about the result as the effort put in by the players to achieve it.
When Aron Gunnarsson went off injured early on, I suspect most were expecting a defensive player to come on in place of him but Malky certainly surprised me when he opted for the young and promising attack minded Joe Mason. Mason’s contribution and impact on the game was instant, sitting just behind the front two of Miller and Earnshaw, at the top of the diamond shaped midfield. For a youngster to take the game immediately by the scruff of the neck belied his years. The vision, balance and awareness of Mason gives genuine hope that Malky has brought in a player who will be an asset to Cardiff City for years to come on that performance against Bristol City.
The high energy tempo of the players which was encapsulated by the performance of Don Cowie is what City fans love to see, Malky Mackay promised before the season start that each of his City players would come off the pitch sweating and each would put in a shift.
The hope of a first ever 3 match winning start to a season for City was very much in the offering when newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion visited the CCS on Wednesday evening, they were certain to provide a different test to what we had faced against West Ham and Bristol City, and so proved the case. Brighton are very much an unknown entity at this early stage but so are Cardiff with the amount of new players and rebuilding that has gone on over the summer.
The biggest surprise was the lack of pressing the opposition when we were not in possession of the ball. The energy and work rate when the team was defendin, which was so evident against Bristol City, was sadly lacking this time around. It is too early to be over critical as we are all aware that it does take time for a squad to settle and for players to get to know each other’s style and movement. We created enough chances in the first half to have taken the lead and maybe if we had then we would be reflecting on a much different score line and outcome.
With the diamond formation that Malky has implemented there is a lot of space for our fullbacks to exploit ahead of them and overlap our midfield. Andrew Taylor does not seem to get as much an opportunity to go marauding down the flanks as Kevin McNaughton because Craig Conway plays a wider position on the left than Don Cowie does on the right, who plays tighter in field supporting the middle two.
Fans favourite McNaughton is exactly that for the fully committed displays he constantly gives to the shirt but there is certainly a downfall to his game and that is his distribution, too many times on Wednesday and in previous games down the years, has he gone down the flank but failed to find his target with the resulting pass or cross.
Horses for courses as the saying goes and on Wednesday I felt we also missed a ball winner in the centre of midfield, Peter Whittingham and Joe Mason can both find a pass but unless we are closing the ball down and regaining possession then we could have the best passer of the ball in the world but we would still come up short unless we have the ball.
Another area I feel we are lacking is up top, as much as I feel both Earnie and Miller will score goals for the team, I believe we need a striker to compliment them, a player who can take the knocks and hold the ball up for the rest of the team to push up from the back. Whether Rudy Gestede can be that player remains to be seen but in fairness to him, he certainly impacted when he came off the bench against West Ham and again versus Brighton.
Another slight concern I have is the lack of pace at centre half, both Hudson and Gerrard are excellent when facing the ball but when they are turned or are behind play then they struggle to get back in front, both players faced that problem on Saturday and Wednesday and both were highlighted with goals conceded.
We know that Malky wants more players, we know that we need more players but on the same token we must be patient and realise that this is a rebuilding process that will take time and not everything will fall into place straight away. Malky is putting his stamp on this side and we cannot expect it to be perfected within 3 games, the work rate I have seen so far I very am pleased with, the quality and strength in depth of the squad is something that we know is being worked on and it is very much a work in progress and one result is not going to change my opinion that Malky Mackay is taking us forward.
We may not finish as high as we have in previous seasons but that is immaterial as long as we are building for the future. With young players being given the opportunity to work alongside the experienced players is surely going to strengthen our position over the years to come.
There will obviously be downfalls along the way but to gain 6 points from the first available 9 is still a very good start to the campaign and the biggest positive is that we have the opportunity to turn around a disappointing result so soon afterwards starting today with Eddie Howe’s Burnley. Burnley have had a disappointing start with a draw and a loss in their first two games but they have had a full seven days to recover, as they did not play midweek, and they will certainly want to get their season going with a victory in front of their home crowd, hopefully City can bounce back and remain amongst the early pace setters and possibly we will see some new faces coming in next week to add strength to the squad.
http://www.annisabraham.co.uk/books/buy-books/
Re: FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO
Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:11 pm
Great Article Carl
Re: FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO
Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:12 pm
Forever Blue wrote::ayatollah:
Great Article Carl
You didn't even read it did you
Re: FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO
Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:14 pm
nice piece carl,
only one thing i am debating is where people think will finish at end of season...
are we wrong to expect a push for the play offs again??
the one thing burning on my mind is that if we were content on finishing mid table this year , why did we replace a manager who was more than capable of doing this.
surely , if you replace a manager it is because he has failed and you want to better what he could not do.
i also dont think that mm has come here for consolidation and mid table, he wants to challenge.. yes he has a rebuilding to do and so far has brought in some promising players none of whom i would describe as average unlike djs signings..
i just hope we can add a little bit of quality and experience to this side whereas we can have someone who can change a game in an instance or grab the game by the scruff of the neck when things need sorting on the pitch..
only one thing i am debating is where people think will finish at end of season...
are we wrong to expect a push for the play offs again??
the one thing burning on my mind is that if we were content on finishing mid table this year , why did we replace a manager who was more than capable of doing this.
surely , if you replace a manager it is because he has failed and you want to better what he could not do.
i also dont think that mm has come here for consolidation and mid table, he wants to challenge.. yes he has a rebuilding to do and so far has brought in some promising players none of whom i would describe as average unlike djs signings..
i just hope we can add a little bit of quality and experience to this side whereas we can have someone who can change a game in an instance or grab the game by the scruff of the neck when things need sorting on the pitch..
Re: FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO
Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:21 pm
Blackwood_Bluebird wrote:nice piece carl,
only one thing i am debating is where people think will finish at end of season...
are we wrong to expect a push for the play offs again??
the one thing burning on my mind is that if we were content on finishing mid table this year , why did we replace a manager who was more than capable of doing this.
surely , if you replace a manager it is because he has failed and you want to better what he could not do.
i also dont think that mm has come here for consolidation and mid table, he wants to challenge.. yes he has a rebuilding to do and so far has brought in some promising players none of whom i would describe as average unlike djs signings..
i just hope we can add a little bit of quality and experience to this side whereas we can have someone who can change a game in an instance or grab the game by the scruff of the neck when things need sorting on the pitch..
When I say we may not finish as high as previous seasons, I mean we are rebuilding and as long as that is bringing in players who can be here for years to come and provide us with value to the squad then that is as important as finishing high in the league and then failing. The last season of loans was ridiculous and I called for change back in February.
Re: FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO
Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:30 pm
When I say we may not finish as high as previous seasons, I mean we are rebuilding and as long as that is bringing in players who can be here for years to come and provide us with value to the squad then that is as important as finishing high in the league and then failing. The last season of loans was ridiculous and I called for change back in February.[/quote]
i completely agree that the loan situation was a shambles last yr, but do you think we may end up down that same rd come 31aug if we havnt managed to bring in any faces...
surely we would end up with 3 ,4 or 5 loans then as there is no way our squad can manage until xmas...
i completely agree that the loan situation was a shambles last yr, but do you think we may end up down that same rd come 31aug if we havnt managed to bring in any faces...
surely we would end up with 3 ,4 or 5 loans then as there is no way our squad can manage until xmas...
Re: FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO
Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:32 pm
It seems strange that after 6 years of DJ building for the future that we have now entered a period of MM building for the future. DJ improved our points total each year and I believe that we, as fans, could be seen to be within our rights to expect a further improvement this season. However (and it's a big However) DJ seemed to throw all his dice at the same time last season. To employ so many loan players, and release other surplus players, meant that failure to secure promotion (and the extra funds that come with it) would leave us with a threadbare squad. This materalised and I have to wonder whether DJ had a gut feeling that last season would be his last.
Fortunately, perhaps for MM, he came to Cardiff and was able to put his immediate stamp on the team without having to curtail many contracts. That said; VT, TG & GJ have a schedule to secure PL football for Cardiff within a timescale. Their employment of MM means that they feel that he is the man for the job and they must fully expect success. Is is wrong that we too should expect the same level of success (or greater) as in the previous 2 seasons (i.e. min Play-Offs)? Personally I don't believe that the current first team is good enough and I sincerely hope that we can secure some good permanant or loan players before the respective windows close.
Finally, I am a lifelong Cardiff City Supporter and I remember the days of Div2 football under Jimmy Andrews and also our slide and subsequent struggles to secure our Football League Status. I have never known it this good. So if it's to be mid table for us this term then so be it. I will be slightly dissapointed but that's football.
Fortunately, perhaps for MM, he came to Cardiff and was able to put his immediate stamp on the team without having to curtail many contracts. That said; VT, TG & GJ have a schedule to secure PL football for Cardiff within a timescale. Their employment of MM means that they feel that he is the man for the job and they must fully expect success. Is is wrong that we too should expect the same level of success (or greater) as in the previous 2 seasons (i.e. min Play-Offs)? Personally I don't believe that the current first team is good enough and I sincerely hope that we can secure some good permanant or loan players before the respective windows close.
Finally, I am a lifelong Cardiff City Supporter and I remember the days of Div2 football under Jimmy Andrews and also our slide and subsequent struggles to secure our Football League Status. I have never known it this good. So if it's to be mid table for us this term then so be it. I will be slightly dissapointed but that's football.
Re: FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO
Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:33 pm
Blackwood_Bluebird wrote:When I say we may not finish as high as previous seasons, I mean we are rebuilding and as long as that is bringing in players who can be here for years to come and provide us with value to the squad then that is as important as finishing high in the league and then failing. The last season of loans was ridiculous and I called for change back in February.
i completely agree that the loan situation was a shambles last yr, but do you think we may end up down that same rd come 31aug if we havnt managed to bring in any faces...
surely we would end up with 3 ,4 or 5 loans then as there is no way our squad can manage until xmas...[/quote]
I think there will be a couple of loans but not to the extent we had last year, as I have said previously, the loan system is a great facility to use but not abuse.
Re: FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO
Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:36 pm
Mastermind wrote:It seems strange that after 6 years of DJ building for the future that we have now entered a period of MM building for the future. DJ improved our points total each year and I believe that we, as fans, could be seen to be within our rights to expect a further improvement this season. However (and it's a big However) DJ seemed to throw all his dice at the same time last season. To employ so many loan players, and release other surplus players, meant that failure to secure promotion (and the extra funds that come with it) would leave us with a threadbare squad. This materalised and I have to wonder whether DJ had a gut feeling that last season would be his last.
Fortunately, perhaps for MM, he came to Cardiff and was able to put his immediate stamp on the team without having to curtail many contracts. That said; VT, TG & GJ have a schedule to secure PL football for Cardiff within a timescale. Their employment of MM means that they feel that he is the man for the job and they must fully expect success. Is is wrong that we too should expect the same level of success (or greater) as in the previous 2 seasons (i.e. min Play-Offs)? Personally I don't believe that the current first team is good enough and I sincerely hope that we can secure some good permanant or loan players before the respective windows close.
Finally, I am a lifelong Cardiff City Supporter and I remember the days of Div2 football under Jimmy Andrews and also our slide and subsequent struggles to secure our Football League Status. I have never known it this good. So if it's to be mid table for us this term then so be it. I will be slightly dissapointed but that's football.
good post!!
Re: " FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO "
Mon Aug 22, 2011 10:28 pm
Stopped taking the Echo months ago, full of so called writer's who know sweet fa.
It has to be bad that you have to push your contribution on here for an article that you have written??????????????
God have you only just realised that you can write omg, not that anyone with any sense is interested.
Annis sort out this site, I for one am very surprised you never wrote an apology for you Mcphail article. Then again maybe you are not the person I thought you were
It has to be bad that you have to push your contribution on here for an article that you have written??????????????
God have you only just realised that you can write omg, not that anyone with any sense is interested.
Annis sort out this site, I for one am very surprised you never wrote an apology for you Mcphail article. Then again maybe you are not the person I thought you were
Re: FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO
Tue Aug 23, 2011 10:58 am
carlccfc wrote:Blackwood_Bluebird wrote:When I say we may not finish as high as previous seasons, I mean we are rebuilding and as long as that is bringing in players who can be here for years to come and provide us with value to the squad then that is as important as finishing high in the league and then failing. The last season of loans was ridiculous and I called for change back in February.
i completely agree that the loan situation was a shambles last yr, but do you think we may end up down that same rd come 31aug if we havnt managed to bring in any faces...
surely we would end up with 3 ,4 or 5 loans then as there is no way our squad can manage until xmas...
I think there will be a couple of loans but not to the extent we had last year, as I have said previously, the loan system is a great facility to use but not abuse.[/quote]
I don't think that the problem last season was one of too many loan players, after all Stoke managed to get promoted with 7 loan players. It was more the quality and type of players we brought in. I would be more than happy if Malky could identify 5 loan players that would add genuine quality to the squad and more importantly really wanted the loan move in the first place and more specifically wanted to play 100% for the manager and the club.
Re: FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO
Tue Aug 23, 2011 12:41 pm
Blackwood_Bluebird wrote:Mastermind wrote:It seems strange that after 6 years of DJ building for the future that we have now entered a period of MM building for the future. DJ improved our points total each year and I believe that we, as fans, could be seen to be within our rights to expect a further improvement this season. However (and it's a big However) DJ seemed to throw all his dice at the same time last season. To employ so many loan players, and release other surplus players, meant that failure to secure promotion (and the extra funds that come with it) would leave us with a threadbare squad. This materalised and I have to wonder whether DJ had a gut feeling that last season would be his last.
Fortunately, perhaps for MM, he came to Cardiff and was able to put his immediate stamp on the team without having to curtail many contracts. That said; VT, TG & GJ have a schedule to secure PL football for Cardiff within a timescale. Their employment of MM means that they feel that he is the man for the job and they must fully expect success. Is is wrong that we too should expect the same level of success (or greater) as in the previous 2 seasons (i.e. min Play-Offs)? Personally I don't believe that the current first team is good enough and I sincerely hope that we can secure some good permanant or loan players before the respective windows close.
Finally, I am a lifelong Cardiff City Supporter and I remember the days of Div2 football under Jimmy Andrews and also our slide and subsequent struggles to secure our Football League Status. I have never known it this good. So if it's to be mid table for us this term then so be it. I will be slightly dissapointed but that's football.
good post!!
Thanks
I try my best
Re: " FULL UNEDITED PIECE I WROTE FOR THE ECHO "
Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:23 pm
I don't see how anybody can speculate that we are moving forward with Malky Makay. That surely will only be judged ay the end of the season. For the last 3 seasons we've knocked on the door of promotion, so anything less than that will not be moving forward.
That said I'm fully behind the new manager and hope at the end of the season we can say we've moved forward.
That said I'm fully behind the new manager and hope at the end of the season we can say we've moved forward.