From a Cardiff City perspective at least, 2020 had its good bits, but bookending it were two games which were as bad as anything seen from the team throughout the year. On the first day of 2020, Queens Park Rangers got to 6-0 up at around the hour mark, then took pity on us and stopped trying to score. We got a goal back in stoppage time which newspaper hacks would say gave the score line a semblance of respectability, but it didn’t – 6-1 against a lower mid table side has nothing to it that is respectable.
What could be said as a very mild defence for the team was that QPR were a dangerous side last season with a clutch of exciting youngsters with attacking talent – while they were never as rampant as they were that afternoon again, they did have the ability to shock good teams if they were in the mood.
By comparison, it would appear unkind to look at similarities between that embarrassment and a 2-1 away defeat to end City’s year, but, in truth you could make a pretty convincing case to say what happened tonight was worse.
With seventy minutes played in their match at Wycombe Wanderers which has just finished, Neil Harris decided to make a couple of substitutions. During the break in play, our manager handed a piece of paper to Joe Ralls, who had taken over the captaincy following the early injury which forced Sean Morrison off. Given the standard of our performance up until then, I was just thinking to myself that it probably said something like “sort it out please Joe please, please!” when Wycombe’s David Wheeler, who had just headed his side into a 2-0 lead, grabbed the paper from Ralls’ hand before he chucked it on the floor. A bemused Ralls quietly picked up the paper and read his manager’s instructions, but, the incident told a story, we were accepting probable defeat meekly and Wycombe were messing about with us.
Now, I’ve a lot of respect for Gareth Ainsworth and his players (I’m especially pleased for their captain Joe Jacobson who is a great pro and deserves so much praise for getting back to the second tier some thirteen years after he was let go by his home town club), but Wycombe’s season had gone exactly how most people thought it would after their unlikely promotion through the Play Offs – they’d won two out of twenty one before tonight and were bottom of the league.
Yet, here they were taking the piss against us and, in a way, who could blame them – it was almost certainly the first time they had been able to do it to an opponent all season.
It was impossible to deny that Wycombe had earned their right to gloat a little as well – not only had they dominated physically, their football had also had far more confidence and belief to it than us.
I missed the first few minutes of the game, but caught a remark within the first few seconds after I started receiving the stream about how Wycombe had made the better start and the next few minutes were to confirm that as our defenders made the home side’s journeyman centre forward Uche Ikpeazu, who we were supposedly after when Neil Warnock was manager, look like Didier Drogba at his best, such was his physical domination of them.
Ikpeazu’s success had a beneficial effect on the home side’s belief levels and, by the time they broke the deadlock just past the half hour mark, it was hard to argue that it wasn’t well deserved. The goal came from a corner gained down our right after Leandro Bacuna did one of his occasional disappearing acts from his right back station and when Jacobson drilled over one of his usual fine dead ball deliveries, centre back RyanTafazolli towered over Filip Benkovic to nod in at the far post.
Benkovic had been brought on for his long delayed first team debut when Morrison suffered what may have been a ligament injury in his foot and the easy way in which he was beaten by Tafazolli encapsulated a very rocky first fifteen minutes or so for the Leicester loanee who went on to improve a little after that.
All City had to offer by way of first half retaliation to their enthusiastic hosts was a dribbler of a shot by Harry Wilson from twenty five yards which caused home keeper Ryan Allsop no problems at all.
Wilson was heavily involved during a short spell at the start of the second half when City suggested they had it in them to get back into the game, but the fact that the Welsh international’s right foot is not as good as his left one was conclusively proved twice in a minute when, first, he slashed the ball high and wide from about eight yards out after Allsop had parried a shot by Sheyi Ojo, once again mixing too much inconsequential stuff with the occasional moment of high quality, into his path.
Wilson was then sent through in the inside right channel only to shoot some distance wide with his right foot, but he was tripped after the shot by a late challenge on him by Jack Grimmer for what should have been a penalty. However, referee Leigh Doughty who, seemingly, was officiating in his first match at this level and performed as if he did not want to get into peoples bad books by doing something that might upset anyone chose to ignore it.
City’s slight, and brief, improvement did not have the desired effect and things got worse for them when veteran Gareth McCleary was left with only an isolated Bacuna to prevent him from crossing. McCleary was always a favourite of mine when playing Football Manager about ten years ago because he was two footed and could deliver a fine cross. Therefore, I was expecting the worst as he was preparing to play the ball into the middle and when the pass came, it was a beauty which allowed Wheeler to exploit the big gap between our centre backs and head past a helpless Smithies.
One of the two subs Neil Harris had waited a long time to bring on, Junior Hoilett, nodded in a cross by Ojo via an upright three minutes into added time, but, like Will Vaulks’ effort in added time at QPR nearly a year earlier, it was a pointless goal which changed nothing – City had been well beaten and things have come full circle for our manager who tonight finds himself under, if anything, more pressure than he was after the dismal defeat at Coventry five weeks ago.
Nobody would have thought City could reel off four consecutive wins following that insipid Coventry display and, having taken those twelve points, I wouldn’t have believed anyone could have foreseen that, in less than a month, all of that pressure would be back on the City boss.
However, that awful defeat by Swansea would appear to have affected the players more than it seemed at the time, because, since that game, there’s only been one, rather fortunate, win over Birmingham and then three consecutive losses – tonight, it didn’t look to me as if the players weren’t trying, more that they seemed almost resigned to their fate.
A miserable night for Harris was completed when he was shown a red card following referee Doughty’s failure to penalise a Wycombe defender for a clear foul on the ineffective Robert Glatzel – assuming he’s still in the job, our manager really could do with a win at Rotherham on Saturday, but our really poor record against sides near the bottom of the table this season suggests otherwise.
Usually, even in the most dismal defeat, there are an individual performance or two which can be clung to as a slight positive, but the worrying thing was that I don’t think anyone could look back at their display with satisfaction.
Morrison should be absolved of criticism because I didn’t see him do anything seriously wrong during the brief period he was involved, while Smithies didn’t add to his recent collection of bloopers and had no chance with either goal, but, apart from that, there was nothing – it’s normal for the manager to bear the brunt of the criticism after a showing like this, but the players should have had much more to offer against a team which had found life such a struggle in the Championship before now. However, as one of our players went down writhing with a feigned injury once again or were caught offside for the umpteenth time, all they could do was look sorry for themselves.
Can I just finish by saying piss off to 2020 and wish readers a 2021 which is an improvement on its predecessor – it cannot be any worse can it?
An excellent article again. Thankfully the last of 2020. As the say things can only get better. Or in city’s case worse.
Look at the games left and I envisage just over 50 points. Unless Harris goes.
He talks of lack of leadership without Morrison. I am sure Morrison was playing against Coventry, so what was excuse for that defeat.
Again, as I said after brentford we have no game plan.
Apologies, perhaps we do.
Plan A. Kick it long, hope it falls to a city player. If it does take a touch, or two. Attempt a pass to a marked player. If it gets there try and thread a pass to Wilson who must cut in to force Glatzel to come away from goal. Wilson must either shoot long range or chip into the box for Glatzel to attack it from 12 metres out.
If that doesn’t work pass back to keeper to start again.
Plan B . As above
Plan C. Get as many forward players on and revert to 10yr olds football and just rush around and hope the opposition will gift us a goal.
I go into every game expecting us to lose. If we dont it’s a bonus. I did Saturday and it was the same tonight. Same Saturday.
Look at bottom 3 played 2 lost 2. Yet we want promotion. As I said earlier in the season we are relegation candidates. Nothing, sadly, has changed my mind.
Yes we were not given refs decisions last night or in many other games but if we had a decent team we would eliminate the need for the reliance of players rightly sent off or penalties.
Harris must go now. It’s just a pity the ref couldn’t award a p45 rather than the red card last night.
Our performances on the pitch and Harris’ comments are from the 1980s. Football has left us behind in terms of recruitment, selection, tactics, everything.
Harris blamed the defeat against Norwich on the players being “a bit leggy”. Do we not use any system of monitoring players’ fitness, like a 21st century club would? I believe I’m right in thinking that Osei-Tutu was already nursing an injury before he was out for months, as was Tomlin, and commentators had noted that Moore looked tired and jaded before his injury. Do we not look at these things, or are they just ignored?
The club needs an overhaul from top to bottom to drag it into the modern game, then we might stand half a chance.
Well Paul , what a year and what a end to it.
Beaten by the bottom of the league who really had nothing of quality to cause problems unless we helped them and we certainly did that.
Nelson has had Morrison to keep him in the team as over the last few months he has made many a mistake. A more logical move would have been to put him at right back when everyone knows that bacuna isn’t a right back and if the manager didn’t know it after one game then he did after two games. By putting Nelson to right back it could have given us the Morrison / Bamba axis in central defence. Any manager worth his salts would have seen long ago that mistakes were being made by defenders and midfielders yet the same team was picked time and time again.
Harris excuses are just not good enough in fact he is not good enough
I am lost for words as this was as poor performance I have seen for some time. In fact every game that we play I find that I am always expecting the worst from the kick off and that seems to be proved every game. Even when we have won games we have not really controlled the game. We beat Luton 4-0 yet Luton should and should have scored 4 goals .Against Barnsley the same again. We were so lucky against Watford and again allowed a poor team like Birmingham (thrashed last night by derby at home) to score 2 goals and were lucky to win that game. So the four wins are not exactly great wins against great teams but four wins that kept a poor manager in a job.
If tan is serious about getting the team back to the premier then he really needs to start at the manager and get a proven person in place to change the football ethos.
There are managers out there but are we really seen as a footballing side or a hoof ball side. Maybe those managers see us as a lost cause.
So as we move into 2021 my New Years wishes include, sacking Harris and bringing in Eddie Howe and that we begin to see attractive football last seen when dave jones was manager win lose or draw let’s have the excitement back
Best wishes Paul
Good morning Paul – Before the game last night, Mr.Harris stated that we lack “consistency” in our performances. I have some news for him, we do have “consistency”, we lose consistently. And any more performances like last night, we are going to lose quite a few more in the days that lie ahead.
I know I have mentioned previously that he can only assemble a team from those who are currently available, but that is the first part of the equation, How he sets up the team is the Manager’s task, and he must instruct them on their duties, but once again he failed abysmally with the team being pulled one way and another by the league’s worst team, or so the table tells us. His constant reference that “he has a good group of lads” is wearing a little thin in this spectator’s eyes as this group are letting him down wholesale.
Morrison’s injury was unfortunate and it may well have been the catalyst for Wycombe to seize the opportunity to attack in the manner that allowed them two goals. Yes, Benkovic may not have been alert sufficiently to prevent Wycombe’s opener, but the cross came, as did the second goal, from the left where our wandering minstrel named Bacuna was having another poor defending evening, conceding unnecessary corners, standing off opponents etc. Sadly, no-one is currently performing well individually, and as a result collectively we are so vulnerable. Is the manager really so powerless to act.
With football now available almost wall to wall on TV, most sides that I watch without any allegiance now want to attack at pace, and once again we seem bereft of swift attacking ideas. And apart from Ojo’s sharp strike late on, not too many attempts find the target and I wonder just what practice is given to the basic art of going for goal. It is all rather depressing at the moment.
There are much worse goings on in the world currently to worry about than performances by Cardiff City, but I am sure it would help a little for those in our corner of South Wales if the men in blue upped their game somewhat.
By the way, Happy New Year.
Thank-you, Paul for your thoughts. They show great restraint as ever and I commend you for that.
Even the dire performance on the pitch last night (and it must be said in many games this season) sadly pales into insignificance regarding the professionalism the Club shows off it.
My City friend of over 5 decades, Arthur; in fact we started meeting up just behind the Grangetown (as it was then called) End goals, was a fine wit. Amid bad passages of play over those years we could guarantee an offering or two. One such time, I shouted out into the bleak afternoon air: “We are like a ship without a captain!” “What? More like a raft!” came the retort from the Cardiff carpet-fitter. Lack of leadership and vision is terminal. City, today, has an absentee landlord and doesn’t it show. The vessel is just about being kept afloat but issues should have been addressed long before the choppy waters of Covid-19 hit.
City started the 2011-12 season with an up and coming manager, Malky Mackay. He inherited 6 outfield players and in two seasons we were in the PL. Before his untimely sacking in the December of that PL campaign we were on course to stay at the top table. Since that heady time we have been on a downward slope, even if we are clinging on to a mid-table position presently. What should have been the financial god-send of two seasons in the PL has resulted in very little structural improvement at CF11.
Galling though it is to lose any game, against the likes of Brentford, at least there is the crumb of comfort that they are a superior team. But for me, Brentford should not be in the same ball-park as Cardiff City. However, for defeat at the hands of Wycombe there can be no such lame excuse. Wycombe were what they are, a third tier outfit rooted at the foot of the second tier table. There’s no mitigation for last night’s indolent offering. Yes, the referee was another one of those up and coming referees the Establishment promotes. Two awful, studs up, challenges on Wilson should have been punished by red cards, the second of which should have been accompanied by a penalty. Add to that the nasty rake of opposition studs down Morrison’s shin/ankle which went unpunished and you get a flavour of the game. Then there were the repeated going to ground after little contact, which intensified as the game wore on to its close, and which duly resulted in free-kicks to the home team. That said there were no excuses from me about the result irrespective of the officials. A proper side would have put 7 or 8 on us. It was that shocking.
It is now getting to the point that I’m feeling very sorry for Mr Harris. Either he is so completely out of his depth at a bigger club than Millwall or the players have just stopped playing for him. Either way this City fan finds it difficult to witness. But this is the rub. Could you ever have seen this sort of thing happening to Malky? Of course not. But cheap appointments, like cheap players, come without the whole range of talent necessary for the job. My gripe is not 100% with the Manager, though he is culpable for the shambolic on-field performances, but the hierarchy of the Club who appointed him, and thought, he was the answer to take the Club forward.
Cardiff City FC are in need of a miracle. Will 2021 give us that?
Great piece Paul. That was pretty much the worst performance since our dark days in the 4th Div.
How inadequate are our coaching staff? We cannot head a ball to a team mate and the only time we pass to feet is when there is no opposition player within 10 feet, we tend to pass into and area and hope someone gets there first and on that note can we give Glatzel a keepers Jersey as we only can pass accurately to Smithies feet.
Teams are singling out Baccuna as he is not a right back but he generally does well but the other side of the back four…… Bennett has had some good seasons with us but he needs to make way, his passing positioning and crossing is now woeful. His favoured way to tackle is to dive into a player from any angle or sling a leg out. I don’t think Cunningham and Bagan are worse than Bennett but if they are showcasing him for a move then it has backfired recently.
Afternoon everyone – two days on and it’s hard to avoid a feeling that City now have short term problems (especially if Morrison is to be missing for a while) to go with the longer term ones which, frankly, have been around for years.
Pr, our record against the current bottom six reads won one, drawn one and lost three – doesn’t fill you with hope for Saturday does it!
Ian, you ask some very legitimate questions and I’m sure you’re right about Osei-Tutu having hamstring issues (in fact I know you are because the player missed a few games before getting his current injury).
Barry, Eddie Howe would be an appointment which would certainly restore some faith in the people running the club, but I can’t see it happening because I don’t feel Howe would be interested in the unlikely event of us offering him the job. Given Tony Pulis’ ties with the area, I’ve always thought he’d be our manager at some time, but, having had nearly ten years worth of varieties of Warnockball, I sincerely hope it isn’t in the next few weeks/months!
BJA, I agree that, unfortunately, our performances have been pretty consistent this season – it’s our results that have been inconsistent. I’d say Neil Harris definitely got a response from the team after the Coventry loss and it looked like they were playing for him, I still feel that they are and it was my feeling that it was belief and confidence that was missing on Tuesday – it looked like soo many of the team were expecting to lose.
Steve, according to a messageboard contributor whose opinions I have a lot of respect for (he was on City’s books as a teenager), Malky Mackay was the last City manager to have a recognisable plan to address the long as well as short term. Also, I think your use of the term “absentee landlord” is appropriate – either because of Covid or, possibly, a lessening in interest from our owner, it all looks a bot rudderless down at Cardiff City Stadium at the moment.
Welcome to the Feedback section Derek, it’s great to hear from you. You hit upon something which has concerned me since Neil Warnock’s time – even the promotion side had trouble in passing the ball from point A to point B. While I think it is easy to be critical and say we can’t pass the ball well at all (I’m often guilty of doing this!), I’d say we can pass it quite well at times, but, over the course of ninety minutes, it’s not very often at all that you can say we have moved the ball about better than the other team. Regarding Joe Bennett, he’s had his critics since the time he signed for us (someone who no longer posts on here springs to mind!), but, considering that we didn’t pay a transfer fee for him, I think he’s been a fine signing. However, I agree that lately his standards have dropped and I think we could be seeing his last season at the club because it seems inevitable that, given their age, one or both of him and Cunningham will not be offered a new deal.