Cardiff City play pretty well, but relegation gloom is settling over the club.

4 Responses to Cardiff City play pretty well, but relegation gloom is settling over the club.

1. Iain Stuart says:

   March 30, 2025 at 11:23 am

   Hi Paul
   Another good piece. I have just about calmed down from yesterday’s dreadful second half display from us.

   However, our first half showing was one of the best we’ve seen this season, but I had the nagging feeling in the back of my mind, that our failure to convert our dominance of that 1st half, into more goals, was going to cost us. I said so to some of my neighbours in the Ninian Stand.

   As you say, it was obvious for all to see, almost immediately, that Weds were a different opposition, once those 3 subs came on. Again, I mentioned to those sat around me that it only looked a matter of time before we would concede, such was Wednesday’s turn around from the 1st half and then bang, a header from their first corner. I thought Ng should have done better in dealing with the ball that lead to that corner, that they scored from. Once again our soft underbelly was exposed and taken advantage of.

   I see Riza, post match, has been complaining about us not having a killer instinct. If it’s taken him until now to realise that, then he needs to question himself, as it’s been plain to see that, for literally, the whole season. We’ve had far too many games where we’ve just not been able to “go for the jugular” and finish teams off, due to poor finishing, poor final touches or crosses and trying to walk the ball in. At the same time our defence has made routine errors leading to games being drawn or lost. It’s been frustrating and disappointing and yesterday’s game epitomised that once again.

   Another aspect of the game, was that the referee didn’t help at all. His constant picky whistle blowing, lead to a bitty game, especially second half and he was equally as bad for both sides, hence the unified chants of ” you don’t know what you’re doing” from all sides of the ground. He didn’t help his cause for booking O’Dowda for an innocuous challenge early on in the game. A few words in his shell-like would have been more appropriate. Added to that, when oh when, will referees start giving yellow cards and penalties for the ridiculous manhandling that goes on during corners & free kicks? Mr Allison was sadly yet another, to ignore the shenanigans going on. Ignorance is bliss ?

   I’m really not sure, after yesterday, whether our squad has got the bottle or mentality needed, to survive this relegation battle. With the other clubs around us showing a bit more fight, I fear the worst.
2. Huw Perry says:

   March 30, 2025 at 8:36 pm

   Hi Paul.
   Thanks for another excellent summary on another extremely frustrating performance.
   Agree with your sentiments – and those of Iain above. Great first half- one of the best we have seen – but poor second half and yet another missed opportunity to grab 3 points.
   Think we all could see the game change early in the second half as their subs changed things. Also allowed our old nemesis, Barry Bannan, too much time on the ball to stamp his class on proceedings. No coincidence that he provided an excellent corner for their equaliser.
   Our corners were again inconsistent and few chances not taken when they did present themselves.
   Also, not sure why we continued to jostle their keeper at every corner giving the ref the opportunity to penalise us. Again, if we can see the needless free kicks we routinely give away every game why can’t the coaches !
   And then the substitutions. Too late and wrong calls in nearly every case – for all the reasons you have explained.
   Every week is so painful, with the added frustration this time of other results not going our way for once, so definitely up against it now. Nobody in and around us is totally clear or doomed, but some are pulling off some good results. Looks like, yet again, we need something away from home now to give us any chance. Not hopeful though as we – players and management – never seem to learn the lessons.
3. Blue Bayou says:

   March 31, 2025 at 12:56 am

   Hi Paul, I’m not sure I should reply to the comprehensive comments already made so far by yourself and other contributors, as I agree with much said:
   1. As Isaak Davies and Salech missed good first half chances, I remember thinking that we would rue these misses when Sheff Wed had their moments in the match, which they were likely to, after having the majority of first half possession but with virtually nothing to show for it. I thought the intensity and tempo that they started the second half meant the manager had given them the hairdryer treatment at half-time.
   2. I’ve also previously been a fan of ref Sam Allison but also accept he had an off day, not helped by his very harsh yellow card to O’Dowda after just 4 minutes!
   3. This result, following on from our previous home defeat to a Luton side who were poor but worked hard makes me feel for the first time that we may not escape the trap-door this time. The teams near us are picking up more wins than us, and we’re running out of time to change the narrative!
4. The other Bob Wilson says:

   April 1, 2025 at 9:23 am

   Thanks all for the replies. Iain, good to hear from you agaiN. As for Saturday, I can remember watching City win yet another midfield dual in about the fortieth minute and thinkinf that Shea Charles, who had started every league game this season for Wednesday before this one, was bound to come on at half time and then it won’t be quite as easy for Chambers and Mannsverk – it was so obvious what was going to happen and yet our reaction to that substitution in particular suggested that we’d been caught completely on the hop by it!
   Agree with you about Ng and the goal. Having watched a replay of the incident, I don’t think it was a foul, it was just more of Perry trying to buy a free kick while not doing the basics – if we do go down, then the clear decline in Ng’s decision making this season has to be mentioned in any end of season review into why we were relegated. Glad you mentioned the ref was equaly bad for both sides because that was definitely the impression I had and I agree with you about the O’Dowda booking – I was interested to see a replay of it because i was thinking I’d missed something when I saw the foul first time aROUND, BUT i hadn’t – a very strange decision in an afternoon of them by Mr Allison.
   Huw, our corners baffle me, Saturday was not a one off – lately, it’s become a novelty to go through a game in which at least half of them don’t result in a free kick to the opposition (again, failure to perform well enough from set pieces at either end of the pitch has to be in there as an entry in any list of reasons for our relegation.
   To see us play so well in a first half at Cardiff City Stadium was another novelty, but as someone said in the podcast I listened to last night, all that happened in essence was our usual non event of a first half was delayed until the second period this time and I can’t help thinking that the so important Stoke and Oxford games will see more post match comments saying that we were looking good until we gifted the opposition a goal – I’m afraid that I’m fearing the worst now and have been since the luton game where they became the latest in a long list of teams to be played into form by a visit to the Cardiff City Stadium Benevolent Society!
   Blue Bayou, in a similar way to what you say, I’ve already covered much of what you say in my replies to Iain and Huw, so I’ll just say that I agree with you that Rohl probably read his team the riot act at half time and while I fully expected Wednesday to come out fighting after the break.You mention their “intensity and tempo”, but it was matched by a loss of those qualities from us compared to our first half shopwing. You would have hoped that doing so well for forty five minutes would have led to a ninety minute performance from City, but it seems we are incapable of that and, as soon as some of our lot realised they were facing a different Wednesday team compared to the first half, a few of their heads dropped.