This is Cross Channel Stuff, Cardiff & Connected Banter Thread.

Thank you for those kind words Shiny - I had 3 last night to celebrate.

 

Thats what i'm banking on.....

 

'tis better to have loved and lost.........

I'll take the £100M for next year and the parachute payments IF we go down. Console yourself with that thought.

 

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Ah well, it was nice knowing you ROD.

Don't worry, you've still got Johnson.....

 

You’ll get no love in from me my old fruit. Here’s hoping you get thrashed every week.

 

Why, what's happened, I hadn't noticed nor was the least bit bothered

 

No problem with that shiny - it's what forum chat is all about.

We might well get thrashed by Man U, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool et all, but having got there we'll be watching them week in week out and be £180M better off.

You'll be being thrashed by Brentford, Millwall and Preston again, bailed out by Lansdown and calling for Johnson's head again - you couldn't make it up.

 

Hey Tom - this is what happened pal....................

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Just think how many Gary Madine's you can now afford next season..... Warnock has many talents as a manager (so I hear), but buying and managing top level players has never been one of them. You woukd be better served banking that money.

 

The "Madine thing" looks like something you'll rely on for a while yet on this forum Supcon - let's facet it, you've got nothing else to use.........

All remains to be seen regarding Prem League expediture, but at least Warnock will have the opportunity unlike some.

He'll definitely buy some new players with it, whereas Johnson would probably buy some new software for his tactics computer.....

 

Hi Sparkey - congrats btw.

What are your thoughts on what Cardiff will need in the top flight? I think I read Warnock saying he'd need 5-6 new players - do you agree and if so, what positions?

 

Given the players out of contract (excluding gunnarsson and hoilett who I think would be tempted to stay), the loanees returning to parent clubs and the ones we need to move on, I think we'll need more than 4-5. Probably 4-5 starters and a few more to add to the bench.
Tan will have to reach into his back pocket to fund a few but no doubt Colin will pull a couple rabbits out of the hat.
Salaries are as big an issue as fees.
We won't be as loose with the money as we were last time we went up, which took us years and millions to unravel. If that means we come back down so be it. We'll be stronger financially to give it another crack.

As to where to invest, the back 5 should start as is with maybe a more attacking right back and cover for left back.
Centre mid could do with a bit more creativity in the mix though the core is there if gunnarsson stays. Cover for zohore and hoilett with a new right attacking midfield with mendez-laing becoming a squad player.
Then a bit of cover all over.
I'm sure Colin and Choo have started discussions.

 

Hi Nick - cheers for that pal.

It's hard on the players that took us up but we'll definitely need some serious imports to keep us up - half a dozen would seem the minimum to most of us.

Rightly or wrongly, I doubt Warnock will attempt to bring in players that don't fit into his playing style. Despite the frequent jibes about it, it works but will need to be revisited to a higher level. Staying up is paramount, and we'll take that right now any way Warnock can pull it off - you never know he might surprise a few.

As for the positions to be addressed, some serious quality on the ball in midfield is a defo. Tomlin is due back from Forest but there aren't many who see him having a future with us. Now Wenger has gone, some over here see the return of Ramsey as being a possibility, but the figures involved maybe prohibitive.

A good RB and wide man, right or left must be on the list. With Madine up front, we should be OK there.

 

I think Ramsey isn't likely to be a goer - I could only see it happening if their new boss doesn't rate him and agrees to loan him out.

I'm sure you'll be watching who goes down. Stoke might have some players worth poaching and I think I read that Solomon Rondon at West Brom has already been linked.

I agree, it's harsh on those players that achieved the promotion, only to find themselves out of the team the following season, but that's football. Warnock is hard to like as a neutral on the back of some of his comments over the years and people use his sides' 'lack of style' as a criticism against him, but like you said, it works. I think it's fair to say that his record in the top flight is a bit sketchy, though that's possibly at least partially down to the fact that he's only ever really been in charge of sides he himself has brought up, and promoted sides usually have a rough ride anyway. It'll be interesting to see if his approach changes much; an even greater emphasis on counter-attacking football may be wise as, in the Championship, strikers are more likely to spurn opportunities whereas in the top flight they taken with significantly more regularity.

 

Congratulations Sparkey

You have to say what an amazing job Colin has done with the resources available to him

A Liverpool fan down here in Dorset reckons Warnock will go for Aden Flint (he does not support City but does take an interest in our results).

 

Don't think he is better than the two already there.Could be a squad strengthener though.
I wonder if he will come in for Reid

 

You can never have enough good CB's if you've got the dosh to afford good players just as squad members, but I think with 3 excellent CB's in Morrison, Bamba and Manga already here, maybe Flint wouldn't be an option for us.

We have other more pressing areas to address.

 

If Bobby Reid leaves I'd imagine he go for a 'Bournemouth' rather than a Neil Warnock team.
Sparkey, I'm not knocking Warnock, he's done a fantastic job for CCFC, just saying Reid doesn't suit playing alongside a big man.

 

Must admit I do like Reid and I said so during the season. I'd like him (or his sort) to supplement our options. Whether he'd suit Warnock's style is debateable, but there is also an assumption that Warnock can only play one way.

Warnock's game is generally to stop the other side playing, or if they do, let them do it in their own half. Possession statistics play no part in his tactics. When we do get the ball, his mantra is to use it quickly and hit the other side with speed. Hoilett and Mendes-laing have been instrumental in that role.

The knee injury to our Danny Ward back in November ruling him out for the rest of the season meant the one thing we haven't really had is a pacy opportunist up front - I'd have sweat blood to have someone like Reid getting on to the end of things.