BLUEBIRDS LOOK THE REAL DEAL THIS TIME AROUND

WHISPER this quietly, but Malky Mackay could just be putting together a team capable of delivering the Premier League dream for Cardiff City.

Despite the hype and expectation amongst the fans in recent times, I’ve never really believed this to be the case for the Bluebirds before.

Dave Jones’ star-studded class of 2010-11, containing the goal-power of Craig Bellamy, Jay Bothroyd, Michael Chopra, Seyi Olofinjana, Peter Whittingham, Chris Burke and Jason Koumas, always lacked the team balance and organisation to see the job through.

Mackay’s Class of 2011-12 may have finished in the top six, but they punched above their weight in doing so, were painfully shy in the creativity department and their limitations were exposed by West Ham in the play-offs.

That was the team Mackay built, pretty much from scratch, after inheriting a threadbare squad. For the looming 2012-13 Championship campaign, it is the one he has honed and fine-tuned.

And, thus far in the close season, I like what I am seeing.

Any success the Bluebirds achieved first time around under Mackay was built upon a work ethic, discipline, togetherness and blend which masked other problems in the team.

City were defensively sound, the hard work starting with Kenny Miller up front, and possessed a resolve and steely determination which ensured they gave every last drop of sweat right up until the final whistle.

With those attributes you can always be competitive and get so far before superior teams find you out with their extra quality.

Mackay’s challenge this season is to maintain that defensive solidity, but supplement it with the flair going forward which was missing last time out.

The back four is pretty much as it was, although I believe the Bluebirds would be a better team if Darcy Blake started regularly, enabling Kevin McNaughton and Andrew Taylor to battle it out for the left-back spot.

Blake’s impending departure means full-back cover is required.

Aron Gunnarsson and new capture Jordon Mutch can do the defensive donkey work in the midfield which protects the back four. In turn, Peter Whittingham can be freed up to act as playmaker in a more advanced position, where his eye for a defence-splitting pass and ferocious shooting ability can be more effective in and around the opposition penalty areas.

It is even further forward, though, where Mackay looks to be righting the wrongs of last season.

Miller started the 2011-12 campaign superbly for the Bluebirds, but tailed off in the closing months and was never properly pushed for his place.

This time around Mackay has two new centre forwards, Iceland’s Heidar Helguson and Slovenia’s Etien Velikonja, to battle it out for the centre-forward berth, with Rob Earnshaw and Rudy Gestede as back-up.

It is in the wide positions, though, where City were desperately short last season and where Mackay has really been working his magic this time around.

The Bluebirds boss was always incredibly supportive of Don Cowie and Craig Conway, but neither cut the mustard for me in terms of providing the cutting edge required.

I hold up Swansea’s duo of Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer as the wide model to follow, two men who work their socks off but also have the pace, creativity and goal threat to trouble defences for 90 minutes.

Cowie, as hard a working footballer as I have seen for Cardiff in recent times, is more a central midfielder than one capable of using trickery and pace to get beyond full-backs down the right flank.

Conway, I kept being told, did possess those creative qualities, but for me they were seen far too infrequently.

For the Bluebirds to secure promotion this time around, these were the positions which needed strengthening first and foremost.

If Kim Bo-Kyung is as good as we hear he is, and Craig Bellamy joins as we expect him to, then it could well be mission accomplished for Mackay.

When the Bluebirds were first linked with Kim, the chances of landing him seemed remote, given German champions Borussia Dortmund and Scottish giants Celtic were also in the frame.

For whatever reason, Kim chose to ignore the lure of the Uefa Champions League and has chosen to come to south Wales.

If Kim really is the new Park Ji-Sung, the words of the former Manchester United star himself, then we could be in for a treat in the next nine months.

Even more so if, as anticipated, Bellamy puts pen to paper and returns to his home town club.

For Bellamy it is unfinished business. The team he would be joining may not have the charisma of the Jones side he skippered a couple of seasons ago, but the 33-year-old ace must know deep down there is more solidity to Mackay’s line-up.

That Cardiff side of 2010-11 was always too lopsided, in my eyes.

The goal threat of Bellamy, Bothroyd and Chopra meant they could blow teams away on the day – just ask promoted pair Norwich and Swansea – but City could equally be over-run and stretched.

Because of the imbalance in the midfield, Bellamy spent an awful lot of his time having to track back and defend as a left-sided midfielder.

Under Mackay’s 4-3-2-1 formation, Gunnarsson, Mutch and Whittingham can do that defensive donkey work, freeing up Bellamy, Kim and one of Helguson or Velikonja to drop grenades in and around the opposition penalty box.

Note so far I haven’t even mentioned young Joe Mason, who possesses pace, awareness, skill and has a huge future ahead of him.

Throw him into the mix as the next man on the block, starting some matches, coming on as an effective substitute in others, and Mackay has a potent mix at his disposal.

In case we get too carried away, it is worth pointing out the many riders which could yet deflate any optimism.

Helguson is 34 years of age, so it is to be seen how his legs last the test of time.

Bellamy would need to ensure he is injury free... and sign in the first place, of course.

Velikonja comes from Slovenia with top credentials, but he has had a knee injury and needs to show he is fully recovered.

Is Kim as good as we’re told he is? Can young Mutch rediscover the type of form which saw him elevated into the England Under-21 set-up?

Does Mackay still need to sign a more combative midfielder in the shape of a Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble or Barry Ferguson, who each outplayed Whittingham when they came up against him last season?

Is Mark Hudson really the answer at centre-back, or is a pacier, more mobile figure required to partner big Turner?

I guess time will tell on everything, but as the season approaches it’s fair to say I’m a darned sight more optimistic than I was this time last year.

Leicester, Wolves and Bolton are expected to lead the promotion charge, but the jury is a little out on each of those.

Leicester had their star-studded squad last season, but flopped. Wolves have kept their Premier League stars, but new Norwegian manager Stale Solbakken, sacked by Cologne, is unproven at this level of football.

Owen Coyle is and should get Bolton right, but we’re told the club has a huge debt hanging over it and if they start badly, they may not recover.

Maybe it’s Malky’s men in red the other 23 teams will be wary of.



Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballna ... z232LRWL6J

I have to agree Carl - Well done to malaysians for delivering money for these transfers - AND more to come .

Lets hope they all gel quickly

So who is this Striker or defender signing today as reported on some other sites and twitter - excluding the obvious and is it today ?

Yes Carl, throughout all this re-branding dissruption Malky is getting on with the job of putting together a very strong squad, with Bellamy already signed up i feel another center half and maybe cover at full back and we could then be ready to finally make it. Hope Annis is keeping you well supplied with beer???

I think If Dave Jones had signed a real goalkeeper and not Byewater we would be in the Premier league now....

Just a centre back and a full back and i'd be quite happy,possibly another forward.Still think the forwards apart from Helguson have a lot to prove,early days for Mason, and Velikonja in 3 pre-season games i've seen him play is going to take time to adjust to British football.

I think If Dave Jones had signed a real goalkeeper and not Byewater we would be in the Premier league now....

No one ws around this period , Bellamy was also injured and two others out

Would have been nice to have mentioned the Malaysians giving Malky the backing to bring in all these players.....

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

We were predicted to finish mid-table last season so try again

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

We were predicted to finish mid-table last season so try again

And your not being predicted to go up this season, you thought you were going to go up last season as you'd got rid of players like Bellamy and the egos. Now your bringing back Bellamy and you think your going to go back up again

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

Here they are again. The smackheads that won the lottery. Let's be honest, Laudrup won't last till christmas. The imminent departure of Joe Allen will probably speed it up anyway

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

Here they are again. The smackheads that won the lottery. Let's be honest, Laudrup won't last till christmas. The imminent departure of Joe Allen will probably speed it up anyway[/]

We've got £15 million for him, with that sort of money being reinvested back in to the club we're going to have a better side then we were last season.

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

Here they are again. The smackheads that won the lottery. Let's be honest, Laudrup won't last till christmas. The imminent departure of Joe Allen will probably speed it up anyway[/]

We've got £15 million for him, with that sort of money being reinvested back in to the club we're going to have a better side then we were last season.

Really? Caulker, Allen, Sigurdsson, Rodgers & coaching staff all desert you after ONE season in the top flight. Laudrup already HATED by several of your first team squad. Do you honestly think Michael Laudrup is going to stay with you? File alongside Martinez, Sousa, Rodgers who realised they were at an extremely fortunate Mickey mouse club and bailed at the first chance they had.

unless we get a goal scorer and cover at the back i think we will become the nearly men again hope im wrong just think we need more in our squad still ill be there

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

scfc, the "STEPPING STONE" club of the premiership, continious managers and players just waiting for a bigger club to make an offer then, bye bye gypos, i,m off, allen next, i hear wigan might be next to rape you???

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

Here they are again. The smackheads that won the lottery. Let's be honest, Laudrup won't last till christmas. The imminent departure of Joe Allen will probably speed it up anyway[/]

We've got £15 million for him, with that sort of money being reinvested back in to the club we're going to have a better side then we were last season.

Really? Caulker, Allen, Sigurdsson, Rodgers & coaching staff all desert you after ONE season in the top flight. Laudrup already HATED by several of your first team squad. Do you honestly think Michael Laudrup is going to stay with you? File alongside Martinez, Sousa, Rodgers who realised they were at an extremely fortunate Mickey mouse club and bailed at the first chance they had.

Come on citygent, they,ve still got allan tate!!!!

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

We were predicted to finish mid-table last season so try again

And your not being predicted to go up this season, you thought you were going to go up last season as you'd got rid of players like Bellamy and the egos. Now your bringing back Bellamy and you think your going to go back up again

Are you serious? We never thought we would get a play off place never mind going up... F**king hell your thick.

I genuinely cringe every time I read a Paul Abbondonato article. This one is bad, but his Wales ones are even worse. How often does he watch CCFC?

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

Here they are again. The smackheads that won the lottery. Let's be honest, Laudrup won't last till christmas. The imminent departure of Joe Allen will probably speed it up anyway[/]

We've got £15 million for him, with that sort of money being reinvested back in to the club we're going to have a better side then we were last season.

Really? Caulker, Allen, Sigurdsson, Rodgers & coaching staff all desert you after ONE season in the top flight. Laudrup already HATED by several of your first team squad. Do you honestly think Michael Laudrup is going to stay with you? File alongside Martinez, Sousa, Rodgers who realised they were at an extremely fortunate Mickey mouse club and bailed at the first chance they had.

Add Sinclar who can't wait to get off apparently?

I genuinely cringe every time I read a Paul Abbondonato article. This one is bad, but his Wales ones are even worse. How often does he watch CCFC?

The guy has no clue on anything.

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

scfc, the "STEPPING STONE" club of the premiership, continious managers and players just waiting for a bigger club to make an offer then, bye bye gypos, i,m off, allen next, i hear wigan might be next to rape you???

Tom Hanks was in that Terminal longer than most people stay in Swansea.

They just dont get it do they.

Swansea is a drug-addled car-crash of a town

"well we got the Mumbles!"

you got thousands of mumbling stumbling smack-heads is wha you got.

They were going to call that "A love Story" junkie documentary "Zombie Dawn".....

But none of the fuckers are up before lunchtime

He has left off Blackburn and Blackpool who will be bigger contenders than Leicester in my opinion and Bolton won't have any problems with debt because the debt is all interest free loans to the owner who is a supporter who loves his club and wouldn't call in the debt.

About the Wolves manager, are they trying to say that the Bundsliga is below the championship level of football..?

According to you lot 'they look the real deal' every time around

Here they are again. The smackheads that won the lottery. Let's be honest, Laudrup won't last till christmajjps. The imminent departure of Joe Allen will probably speed it up anyway[/]

We've got £15 million for him, with that sort of money being reinvested back in to the club we're going to have a better side then we were last season.

jii
Really? Caulker, Allen, Sigurdsson, Rodgers & coaching staff all desert you after ONE season in the top flight. Laudrup already HATED by several of your first team squad. Do you honestly think Michael Laudrup is going to stay with you? File alongside Martinez, Sousa, Rodgers who realised they were at an extremely fortunate Mickey mouse club and bailed at the first chance they had.

u

Invest? In what not players spent 4ml plus. Wages where is rest money!?
couldn't be in.owners bank could it? Well we all no why they are in buisness to make money for themselves! And HJ is no different not stupid is he?
!


K
K
Add Sinclar who can't wait to get off apparently?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha, you lot have been claiming to have been the real deal since the early 1960s. What a joke of a club with delusional idiots as fans. Redbirds, redbirds, redbirds

Ha ha ha ha ha ha, you lot have been claiming to have been the real deal since the early 1960s. What a joke of a club with delusional idiots as fans. Redbirds, redbirds, redbirds

look mate only deluded people are you who think they have it made being where they are! well the rats are leaving sinking ship again! wonder why???