Its interesting to see how relegated teams react.
We've been struggling for a few years. Turgid football. No identity, lurching from manager to manager, buying players that the next manager din't want. Wasted millions.
Whether by luck or judgement the board recruited Brian Barry-Murphy. A big reputation working with youngsters (Man City accademy) but few senior roles. Seems to have created a bit of a re-set at the club.
Our academy has been doing well, but no manager wanted to trust the youth, preferring to play journeymen.
BBM has turned that on its head. A few games ago, we had one player over 23 on the pitch and 3 teenagers in the back 4, which worried me a bit. Its why I think there will be bumps in the road for us. Those youngsters will have dips. Its the nature of learning.
Regarding identity, we often said there was a disconnect between the academy and 1st team (no director of football). Supporters on our message-board often thought we'd be better aligning the 1st team with the academy than the other way round. And that's what BBM has done. Inevitable I suppose given how many youngsters are in the team.
About 5 of the squad were regular 1st team players last year (not 1st choice, but more than just fringe players). Several were out on loan and the rest playing for the 21s (many being teenagers playing up a level). Against you, our CB was 19, RB 18, CM 20, RW 18. Other academy products all aged 23 played LB, CB and at 10.
In the midweek cup game, 13 of our squad came from our academy.
League 1 looks to be a tough league. The football seems a bit more rugged than the championship. Lots of teams established at this level and with recent championship experience. It will be a difficult league to get promoted from.
Here's the cleverly interview from the Cardiff website.
https://tv.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/videos/d4d349b8-179c-49c7-9c2c-54a8f71b43b1