What do you think? If we can't add a couple of bodies to the squad, we will be able to hang in there until the end?? As a Bluebird fan it is natural to get concerned when things are going so well I hope we can do something before the window closes. Even a couple of squad players would be welcome!
Hi Siam Unless you get a string of long term injuries I think this current team could go all the way this season without the addition of new players. Malky has done a phenomenal job so far and I would not be at all surprised if you go up automatically. It's going to be an exciting conclusion to the season once again in the Championship
I agree to a point with Thai. Malky has brought something we haven't seen for a long time. The current squad don't seem to know when to quit but its a big ask to keep up that work rate for a whole season. A couple of additions as opposed to replacements would keep it ticking over. (A bit of bench time has done Conway no harm at all). saying that, we've already exceeded how I thought we'd do this year so anything else is a bonus for me
Hi H Disagree, sorry mate. These guys are well paid professionals, and just as all football players in the top 2 leagues should be pretty damned fit too! (apparently). Asking them to do their job for 9 months a year, in my humble opinion, is not asking too much and lets face face as fans we soon shout at them when they are not performing to their best. This is where I think Malky will have the edge over some of your rivals this season. I am pretty sure his approach as the remainder of the season progresses will instill a belief in the players which will give them that little extra push. I am starting to think Malky has a little of what Paul Lambert has
I'm not doubting their fitness or work ethic and from what I've seen so far, these guys will run themselves into the ground before giving up. Malky assembled this squad for a reason but I just think a few extras will help keep things fresh and at the same level of performance for the rest of the season. To be fair, I've seen them dead on their feet and come away with a result and other times I've seen them tear through teams so I might be being a bit too cautious Maybe I'm just not used to seeing a squad of Cardiff City players acting in this manner lol.
I can understand what you mean H after this last, what is it? 5 seasons of nearly getting there. Who knows what the next 4 months are going to be like, it looked like Cardiff would do it last season until the last few games.
.........our physios are going to be very busy. Being able to rest a player for a week or two is essential to keeping things fresh, not only as a result of injury. However, wesaw how McNaughton, Gustede and Kiss had recurring injuries because we were trying to get them back too quick. After the performance Gerrard put in on Tuesday and if Hudson has a tight calf, leave him on the bench for the Saints game. An extra week after an injury can make all the difference in the long run. Whitts, Mcphail, Kiss, Gunnar, Ralls and possibly Mason in the middle is plenty enough as is Miller, Gustede and Mason up front. We repeatedly say we need cover out wide. Taiwo out on loan to Orient for the rest of the season is not a big deal.
Like most Cardiff fans I'd like to see 2 or 3 new faces by next Tuesday but if they don't come it won't be the end of the world. With Blake, Ralls & Mason doing better than I thought early in the season, we might get through without any additions.
We will be promoted this season. Barring an absolute injury crisis, not the normal quota any team should expect, the present squad is sufficient to achieve the playoffs and under Malky this year, go on and win it. A couple of astute purchases/loans will get us up auto - maybe even without them we can do it. Nothings guaranteed, but I don't see the Malaysians letting this chance to get up to the Prem slip away. I doubt they'll throw their money around anything like the King Power mob at Leicester, but cash will be made available for the right acquisition to better our chances. If we go up auto without spending any more money, Malky and his staff should be given the freedom of Kuala Lumpur.
since weve had jones, there have been several managers who have been promoted with less money and less championship experience (blackpool, norwich, swansea etc), playing devils advocate is MM any better than about 10 managers before him if we do get promoted?
Yes, because he has not picked a load of egotistical players on big wages to play for you this time round They now play as a team!
Early days Swampy, but Mackay appears to have exceptional managerial abilities. Whether he's any better than the likes of the three managers you pointed out, Holloway, Lambert or Rodgers, only time will tell. All I know is this is is first season with us and he started from scratch with the defections of the "Jones boys". The fact that he's acquired the likes of Miller (£800k), Turner (£750k), Mason (£250k) is testament enough, let alone the freebies Taylor, Conway, Cowie, Gunnar, Gestede and Kiss (Earnie wasn't his choice) that he's brought to the club in his first couple of months with us. He's breathed new life into the club. His tactical awareness and man management skills alone put our previous manager in the shade. If he does pull off promotion to the Prem in his first year here (and I think he will), he'll be up there with the best. Problem might be then whether we can hang on to him.
i agree, i think he has bought excellently, the 3 he has paid fees for are worth alot more than what we paid for them, cowie, conway and gunnarsson are all very good players and he inherited a difficult job which he's taken by the scruff of the neck and been a tremendous success so far. i was only pointing out that there are managers of his mould around who have fallen away since promotion, people like di matteo, holloway, brown, and thats why people like rodgers and lambert are a cut above them as they've been playing well in the PL.
I was wondering about his decision to play Whitts and McPhail against Palace. During the game it was evident that by moving whitts forward and leaving McPhail in the 'quarter back' position in front of the back 4 he was far more dangerous than in the first leg where Palace defended more easily against him. Offensively, MM does keep the opposition guessing. It helps that we have players who can execute his game plan and fulfil a number of roles. No doubt that MM is a shrewd cookie and has attention for the detail. He also has the backroom team to do the analysis of opposition and devise a gameplan to beat them. The players seem to like playing for him as well which always helps.
Remote - spot on mate. I think playing McPhail rather than Kiss alongside Whitts against Palace was a measure of Malky's tactical nous. There was no doubt that Freedman was going to set them up to protect what they came with, and if they did concede, then hang on with the hope of getting an away goal or even the penalty shoot out option. As far as we were concerned, we needed to break them down and that's why the two "creative" mids were put on the park together rather than selecting the more holding qualities of Kiss. Seems a fairly obvious decision to make, but we'd have started 4-4-2 if DJ was still here, and would have been crowded out in midfield as so often happened.
