Now I’ve slept after that horror show I have to suggest the problem lies not in MM in himself but the club in not having any vision or future plan. Yes, without Tan the club would probably be in financial straits but the lack of anybody in the club with expertise in football club management and advancement in line with the way the game evolves is holding the club back. Whilst it’s encouraging to see at last some fruit from the academy, the decision to keep MM on was as predicted dubious. Who made that decision? Dalman and Choo allegedly. What modern day professional business permits amateurs to make such a decision? They wouldn’t want amateurs making decisions on their own personal businesses. Who’d swap MM for Robbins? I would. His team has players capable of playing a back 5 system, a midfield with technical ability, pace and creativity and a strong and clinical front pair. Leicester, there’s another club who we were regularly jousting with not that long ago whom are now so above us on every level, which is due to foreign investment coupled with astute football management expertise. We’re going to have to suffer yet another season of drab air football. Granted we’ll probably win enough points with MM’s physical style to stave off relegation but you never know. Clubs who scout us competently know how easy it is to pick off City. Coventry did last night and I don’t expect anything different this Saturday from another footballing side, AFC Bournemouth.
Terrible, terrible performance. Forest must be absolute pants to lose to us last weekend. Parked in Sainsbury's car pack in Bridgend at the moment - the movement of the cars is better entertainment. At least the cars are going somewhere - we're going nowhere. How the hell are we still in the top 10 playing like that?
Won't be there thank goodness. Off to Buckinghamshire on the weekend for our usual late summer (summer??) fortnight break. I'm not giving up on City, just a bit pissed off with the lack of progress at the club. Maybe I'll come back with new enthusiasm but after that lot last night not happy at the moment.
First of all, enjoy the break. Nobody will think you're giving up on the Bluebirds and most of us share your frustration. To be honest, even when we win, the first thing I do is check out how poor the opposition was. There really does need to be a plan to bring the club into the present day. We need an ideology for now and the future and we can't carry on kicking the can down the road. (Or in our case, heading the can). I know, I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said a lot of times before.
We've discussed long term strategy several times before. It has to be evolution not revolution as we'd be back to the lack of money thing. We'd need a raft of new signings to play a different way. A couple new CBs though Brown and McGuinness might be up to it and a couple new midfielders. Kieffer and the youngsters should be up to it (if we dont ruin the youngsters first). We'd be looking for at least 6 new signings and probably none of them frees. Still think 4231 would be the stepping stone with the 2 protecting the back 4 and getting the ball forward. Pack and ralls / vaulks might be up to that. Then it comes down to a bit of experience to support the 3 and cover for Kieffer. We might eventually get back to 343 as the CBs and midfield become better (a change of personell rather than improving individuals). An old business saying. If you can't change the people, change the people. Cant see us turning Flint and Morrison into ball players so need a change in personnel. What needs a change is the style of play. Nothing wrong with long passes. The best players in the best teams do it. But into space or into feet not hit and hope. No issue with the youngsters, no issue with mistakes. It needs to be in the right framework though.
We rarely got to head the can last night, same v Wurzels, and when Collins got his nut to it? Clubs really don't need to do much homework on us. Stop the supply into the box and you stop us. Giles is the only one capable of making space and putting in meaningful crosses. We really need him fit for Saturday. Another worrying thing for me, which someone else said earlier, Moore wasn't his usual abrasive self. Not fully fit, disappointed with the awfully slow supply of intended crosses, head turned by Wolves interest? Who knows? He didn't appear very interested. I also hope Ralls is back for Bournemouth. He is not spectacular but a much steadier hand than Vaulks who is doing headless chicken impersonations. Was it MM's instruction, Pack played so deep it was like we had a back 6. Not the first time that's happened. If our full backs pushed right up that's not a bad thing but with the pace of Gykores? everyone was hanging back and yet he still scored and could have had another 2. Apart from Phillips no one had anything remotely approaching a decent game. I though Ng was borderline okay but no one else. A really good side would have put 4 or 5 past us. Dreadful. Glad I stayed home while wasting 2 hours watching on Sky.
Cov the better team by far Robbie. You could easily have scored another couple. We were lucky to get nil. Your keeper should have bought his deck chair, a glass of wine and a good book, we put him under so little pressure. I liked the way your guys moved the ball forward at pace and got forward quickly. Playing 3 centre backs is okay if at least one of them has some pace. Unfortunately our 3 are like that container ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal. If the opponents play a big target man, we can get away with it but against nippy forwards like your guys we are Donald Ducked. Maybe if I had travelled we would have done better? 3 visits to the Ricoh = 9 points. Although we had much better players then.
Just saw that Sparks. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cardiff-city-hit-another-injury-21582747 Bacuna MIA as well so same old, same old for Saturday.
Well, that was a shocker!!!! to see you guys reduced to a one dimensional side by MM is unbelievable, I know he was bought in to keep you up but who took him on fulltime? There was very little movement on or off the ball and your two CB's just hoofed everything, don't they ever pass? Moore just didn't look "at it" and Collins? well, I'm glad you have him and not us. This isn't a gloat, just trying to be factual so don't hate me, but your midfield watch the ball sailing overhead and the two lads at the back just hoof everything, can't they pass or something? they couldn't cope with the speed of our midfield and attacks. Worst of all, Scull and us didn't meet up they wouldn't let his nephew in the bar. I think you need a change of direction/manager before it's too late.
Afternoon Robbie. Don't worry mate, you're not saying anything that we haven't been saying ourselves. Given the situation regarding Scull's nephew, perhaps a new bar manager is needed and we've got just the bloke.
That was up there with the Dross we had to watch in the 80's however at least we had players who could cross a ball back then. Vaulks was awful, Collins is a dead duck with no pace or ability to score into an empty net. Dont get me started on Nelson as he is just a lump with a 50 pence piece for a head. How can Vaulks even think of a short throw in that led to their goal when all of our defence were up for the long throw. Unbelivable.......Jeff.
Good point. I had just focused on Colwill getting dispossessed but you are dead right. The last thing we wanted was to lose the ball with our main defenders twiddling their thumbs in the wrong penalty box. Another training ground tactic not practised enough.
Can only assume that because it worked against Forest he thought he'd try the same again. In fairness even his long throws weren't producing anything either. Oh how we could do with Gunnar and his lovely, accurate, flat trajectory long throws again! I don't normally get too despondent after a defeat as there's usually a few positives to take from a game. Sadly on this occasion the only positive which in reality (for this game at least) was actually a negative was the number of young players in the team and squad. As posted previously, I worry that we now have TOO many at the same time. The bench last night was worryingly bereft of experience and any player that you could look at and think "they could change the game for us". Losing both Hoilett and Murphy could come back to bite us in the arse, despite both having perfectly legitimate reasons for being jettisoned. Long term I'm sure the kids will come good but it's going to be a long painful process at this rate and will require a lot of patience from us fans. Longer term, hopefully the 1st team will start to play a bit more like our younger age groups. I've not witnessed it first hand but it sounds like they do play a bit more.
Opting for a short throw when both Flint and Morrison had gone up and were wating in the box was criminal. Losing the ball was bad, but the decision making leading to that was pathetic.
