When Ole got the elbow, I'd have taken Rowett over Slade. Maybe that's tinged with a bit of hindsight after seeing what he did for Brum as soon as he went there, but they were rock bottom along with Bolton and Blackpool at the time. He got stuck in and turned them around straight away. He drove them from an underperforming group of half decent players into a team that at least believed in themselves and went out there to do the business. Slade was quite the opposite. Starting with more points a higher position in the table, and with arguably a far superior set of players, he was overwhelmed by the task. It's only now, if we can really believe the green shoots, that he's getting to grips with it. OK, we've had a couple of good performances by our previous standards against two top teams, but if truth be told could could easily have lost both bar for the last ditch defending and questionable refereeing decisions. We certainly didn't get the points through being the better team on the pitch each time. I realise it may be too much to ask to compete at the top Championship level straight away, but we should have been at this point much, much earlier in Slade's tenure. I still believe that Rowett or even Lennon (certainly Pulis) would have got us up and running earlier and have something to play for with 8 games to go. Instead we are safe in the knowledge that there are three very poor teams propping the division and our players are being told they've got to prove themselves in the run in as a viable mid table contenders. We cannot compete in footballing terms with these top clubs and the real test of where we stand at the moment in this division will be in our next 4 games, Brum, Reading, Bolton and Leeds. If we have really improved at all and being told by Slade the "wins are just around the corner", we should win all four of them.
Is this Slade bashing in another guise Sparkey? I certainly agree that there were better options available including some bright young British managers. This season is written off, so it comes down to Tan and the board to make a better decision in the close season.
Feel a win against Brum is a must. Banishing the lack of a home win combined with a strong away form should see us pick some points from the teams surrounding us. Reading you feel certainly are more focused on the FA Cup. And Macheda back. Joy From the highlights it looked like Revell had a good game, so feel the pair of them should start up front.
Can't argue with the points you make Sparks. In fact there's not much there to give us comfort for next season if we continue with the style currently adopted. If the club want the crowds back then lessons should be learnt from the way our last 2 opponents play the game. I know we got 4 points but could easily have been a big fat zero. Btw - see Sheepy's thread. Connolly gone on loan to Watford. WTF????
So, you're happy with our kick and rush football with no plan B and losing a player who has performed well for us this season? If so, then you're easily pleased.
This seasons been disastrous. Full stop. There are the green shoots of recovery but how can you not view this as a glass half full? Admittedly, we did love a good moan about the lack of a striker and 4-4-2 when Malky's team was dominating this division two years ago
I just wish you'd stop changing your mind Sparkey. One minute Slade is worse than everyone else, the next minute everyone else is better than Slade. Which way do you want it? Pick a view and stick to it!
Remote - I've been saying the same thing for ages - whichever way I say it....... This is about our football club - nothing personal. Slade seems a nice guy, but in this game nice guys seldom win prizes. The more events unfold like the Connolly thing yesterday, the more you can see he's a puppet on a string dancing to a tune. He not in control and is being manipulated as much as manipulating. He was obviously brought in as someone with an air of ambivalance to calm the waters for what was to come, but he must have been bloody desperate to accept such a soul destroying task. No wonder Tan didn't want to talk to Pulis with that objective - he would have told him to **** off.
Blue, lets be honest connolly is not up for it he gives away to many points,ok lately he has been average going forward but in defence below average.
Bill - Either you see games differently to me (I go to most home games and several away) or you are just trying to be a WUM. The view of most on here is that Connolly has been one of our better defenders this season and there has been general surprise when he has not been selected apart from being injured. I agree he has had 2 poor games, home v. Middlesboro (played out of position at left back) and away at Bournemouth although part of that was due to a total lack of cover in front of him by Kimbo. Also, read other posters' views on his surprise departure. In particular the Connolly thread. I think WUM is probably your best description.
Connoly has been one of our better players. Solid, reliable and the fact you hardly notice him is tantamount to his unspectacular style. Oddly he is often the fall guy but nonetheless he is the defender least likely to make a mistake. I'm beginning to feel sorry for Slade. He was brought in to offload our expensive players and replace them with dross from the lower leagues. I can understand the point of this with FFP and the fact debt levels need to be reduced. But loaning out a player when we are suffering an injury crisis is more or less saying that the season is over. While I have some sympathy for Slade as a man he is not the kind of manager that is likely to get us anywhere. Tactically naive and a 25 year record of failure is not the manager to achieve anything. His mandate from the Board must be to continue offloading expensive players while at the same time consolidating our position in the Championship. For supporters this means there is not much to look forward to for the rest of this season or next. If Tan feels the same way then the next year or so will be more interesting from the financial viewpoint than performance on the pitch.
Beyond Brum then. A comfortable if uninspiring win. Should have been 3.KWJ Great to see Doyle notch and Kennedy with a super 2nd half performance. Fabio was my MOM. Just love his commitment and enthusiasm. A month ago we thought he was on his way out. Ralls had a good game too.
When was the last time we won 7 points out of 9. Answers on a postcard to:- All Slade haters Cardiff City FC
........"Slade haters" - come on Dai Give us posters who don't rate him some credit for saying so without accusing us of that mate. So we won a game - big deal. It's so easy to forget the pathetic performances that have brought us to this point eh lads? I can remember beating Fulham back at the start of January when we went back to blue and it was supposed to be a turning point - then I think we lost 4 in a row. The old adage is you can only beat what's put in front of you and that's fair enough, but Brum were as piss poor as Fulham were back then. From what I've said on this forum about the relative merits of Rowett and Slade, I half expected Slade to buckle again and to watch a disciplined and effective Brum side take us on and challenge for a result. What we actually got was a negative performance from a very poor visiting side that looked as though they'd got out of jail this season since Rowett went there. Now settling for mid table safety, no ambition or flair, a defensive setup - a bit like us mid season to be honest. Times look to have changed and yesterday we asked all the questions. A good 3 points and well deserved. As individuals, Manga, Ralls and Fabio all proved themselves more than worthy - Fabio and Ralls were like having brand new players out there. Malone also surprised me with his approach to the game - a fair while out injured but he got stuck in. Jones and Revell need be replaced though - Doyle looked far more capable of causing problems. I'm not sure why Kennedy came on for Gunnar half time, but if it wasn't due to injury, it was an inspired decision to change what was a very turgid game first half due to their defensive set up - Kennedy caused them all sorts of problems. On to the next game after the international break and we need more of the same as these last 3 games (remember Charlton?) before anyone should start proclaiming the new dawn on the basis of a 2-0 home win against a side that represented typical mid table satisfaction. One final thing, It's very strange that it's only when we win a game - something of a rarity until recently - that we see the "Slade lovers" surface on here. Heads below the parapet until the sun comes out eh lads?
