Sometimes my post game pieces on here are blow by blow accounts of games akin to the old reports you used to read in the Football Echo, but, mostly, I prefer them to be more reflective in the manner of the Monday reaction piece to a game played on the Saturday – this is definitely going to be one of the latter!
I’ll not waste too much time on the game – a pathetic Cardiff side were completely outplayed by a Swansea team who were worth more than their 2-0 win. Swansea were much, much better than us, but, in truth it’s hard to tell just how good they are because, yet again, City turned up in “local derby mode” which meant that their performance was a bizarre mixture of rabbit caught in the headlights fright, couldn’t care less indifference, complete ineptitude in front of goal and oh so slow out of the blocks.
I know that sounds contradictory and a bit mad, but, since we got relegated, our performances against our two local rivals have somehow managed to encapsulate so many of those faults. True, we did manage to grind out a 1-0 win at Ashton Gate in June with the only goal we’ve managed to score in those half a dozen games and we were unlucky to lose to the wurzels here a few weeks ago, but we were crap in the other matches. Swansea murdered us 1-0 at the Liberty and, based on the gap between the sides today, we managed to postpone the first league double in games between the sides for a year only with a miserable 0-0 here in January, while Bristol were pretty comfortable in winning 1-0 in Neil Warnock’s last game in charge.
Sadly, despite how poor we looked in the other matches, only our no show at the Liberty comes close to matching today’s shocker and, even then, I’d say we were probably worse today.
The tone was set right from the start, Swansea calmly retained possession with City barely able to get a touch as they conceded the first few of what seemed to be a string of free kicks given against them by someone who struck me as a poor ref who was not up to taking charge of such a game.
On an afternoon of embarrassment for City, perhaps the biggest one was that Swansea even managed to be better than us at the sort of football we’re supposed to specialise in. I’m referring here to Swansea’s first goal as left wing back Jake Bidwell whacked over a deep cross which saw right wing back Connor Roberts towering above Joe Bennett to nod down to Jamal Lowe who had got free of Sean Morrison to prod a shot from about eight yards out that Alex Smithies will surely have been disappointed not to keep out.
There had only been five minutes played and we’d barely had a kick (except when committing fouls) in that time. Still, that was three minutes longer than it took us to concede against the wurzels, but whereas our response to going behind had been quite impressive then, we just carried on being second best in every respect today.
That said, maybe things would have turned out differently if the already booked Ryan Bennett had got his just desserts. Bennett’s problem was caused by Swansea over confidence that was understandable given their total superiority, when Connor Roberts gave the ball away cheaply and Keiffer Moore was given the chance to run at Bennett who was last man and committed a clear foul. However, referee John Brooks, who officiated generally as if he thought it was bound to be a dirty game (it wasn’t) because it was a derby so he had to brandish yellow cards at every opportunity, bottled it and awarded the free kick while keeping his cards in his pocket..
Mind you such was the difference in basic skill levels, tactical appreciation and organisation between the two teams that I daresay Swansea would have been comfortable enough if it had been eleven against ten for half an hour or so.
Given our scoring record in derbies lately, I was more or less reconciled to defeat from the fifth minute onwards and there was very little in the following eighty five minutes to suggest we could get back into the game – Sheyi Ojo, one of our better players on the day, shot not too far over and sub Robert Glatzel should have done better with a header from a corner, but, apart from Harry Wilson’s clipped shot over following the incident which should have seen Bennett dismissed and an audacious effort by Moore which cost City dearly, that was it in an attacking sense from them.
It just wasn’t City’s day, Glatzel was on for Moore who looked to have pulled his hamstring in trying an extravagant backheeled shot and Joe Ralls saw a red card after a second yellow which I thought he could have few complaints about.
The best moment of the game was Swansea’s second goal, beautifully scored by Lowe who beat a couple of opponents before scoring from the edge of the penalty area with a shot skillfully hit with the outside of his right foot. However, even then, he was given considerable help by City as Wilson carelessly conceded possession, Will Vaulks dived in only to find himself beaten for the umpteenth time and Wilson, chasing back, was miles out with his wild lunge designed to stop Lowe in his tracks.
Of course, there should be recognition that City had taken twelve points out of twelve previously and had played well in beating Luton, Huddersfield and Watford, but we were lucky at Stoke and, it is not with hindsight after today’s match that I say that was a warning shot that was not heeded.
Neil Harris said after today’s match that he should be blamed for the defeat and I’d say he’s right up to a point, but our defeat, and the manner of it, raises fundamental questions on so many levels about how the people in charge of the club and the team want to play the game.
First of all though, to return to our manager, there were eyebrows raised when he stuck by the same team for a fourth successive game last Tuesday and to opt for the same again after a night where, frankly, the result was the only good thing about the ninety minutes had to be seen as debatable. While I’m not saying Moore should have been rested today, would he have suffered his injury if he had, say, only played twenty minutes as a sub against Huddersfield?
I’m also reminded of something I heard Joe Ledley say on a very good new City podcast called a bit of Swazz this week where he told of how Neil Lennon had showed his team a football before they played against the great Barcelona side of the first half of the 2010s and told them that they would not be seeing much of it in their next game.
By going with the 4-4-2 used since Mark Harris came into the team, Neil Harris effectively consigned his team to a Celtic like afternoon of chasing the ball. Don’t get me wrong, having been something of a moaner when it comes to us having less than fifty per cent possession, I now accept that you can be consistently successful with something in the region of thirty five to forty per cent of the ball, but when you go up against a passing side like Swansea, who have three in central midfield, with a 4-4-2 which includes a pair of scufflers in that area, you have to be asking for trouble don’t you?
Neil Warnock left Neil Harris four central midfielders in Pack, Ralls, Bacuna and Vaulks and I would say only the first named (who, for me, slows things down too much to be as effective as he might be) of those is the sort of technical player that a team like Swansea would like to see at least two of in their midfield – Neil Harris has opted not to change his central midfielders which, to me, rather gives away how he prefers to play the game.
Although I was edging towards the Harris out camp after the Coventry match, I’ve never called for his sacking and still believe that he is in credit after last season, but today’s dismissal of Joe Ralls is interesting because I believe he is picking up more cautions and committing more fouls than he ever did under the arch pragmatist Neil Warnock. Ralls will miss the Birmingham match now and one more booking when he comes back will see him suspended again.
I felt sorry for Ralls and Vaulks today because, in that set up, they were there to do an Everton dog’s of war type job for the fifth consecutive match – they had coped against a three man midfield early in our run of victories, but against a better team today, they found it too tough in their fifth match in a fortnight.
Ralls is someone I think who can offer more than he has been asked to do recently, but it is worth noting that the foul which got him sent off today came from a faulty first touch of the type you see so often from Cardiff players no matter who we’re playing. Often, such errors are brought about because the player has received a pass which is not played with the accuracy or appreciation of speed which you would expect to be a prerequisite at Championship level and this combination of poor techniques has been a constant at Cardiff for close to ten years now.
Given that he has kept the players he inherited, Neil Harris has sent out a signal that he is not too bothered about having a central midfield which cannot pass the ball like so many of the teams we play against can. Add to that the fact that our central defenders are not what you would call comfortable in possession and that our two “big man” centre forwards are among the better technical players at the club (the two young players introduced into the league team this season look to have a more reliable first touch and general technique than many of their more established team mates as well), is it really too much of a surprise that, just as with Paul Trollope and “the Cardiff way”, attempts to integrate a more possession based style of play have been put on the back burner somewhat? I genuinely don’t think we have the players currently in central defence and central midfield to cope with a full transition in our playing style..
I’ll finish on today by asking have we had to suffer the near ten years of long ball stuff that has largely been so unattractive to watch because that’s how the people who run the club and the team think we like to see the team play?
For myself, Dave Jones’ sides were so frustrating in some ways with their bottle jobs and inconsistency, but, out of those forty six games every season, you’d end up feeling you had been entertained in over half of them. Through the last decade, that number has dropped markedly (I would say a very generous estimate is that it happens a quarter of the time now) and, in truth, we relied to a large degree on the great Peter Whittingham for a long time to stop it dropping even further.
Clubs like Millwall, Birmingham and Cardiff are perceived in a certain way – they are working class teams (most clubs are aren’t they?), but, whereas at a side like West Ham, they are known to appreciate and want to see their team playing “good football”, we, along with those other sides I mentioned, are thought to prefer the crash, bang, wallop stuff that has been our diet since Dave Jones left – why is this?
A relegation battle looked a possibility at one time, but the last fortnight has shown that we do have the quality for that not to be a realistic outcome. We’re good enough for top six to be our more likely position than bottom three, but we’ve become a club where, given a choice between the rapier and the bludgeon when it comes to transfer targets and/or team selection, we invariably opt for the latter.
I’ve said plenty of times on here that I don’t see the jacks as our main rivals, but I can’t remember when I was as angry as I am tonight as I write this a few hours after the game. Neil Harris annoys me somewhat when he says he knows what City fans want to see from their side. Yes, City supporters appreciate effort from their players and always have done but today we were made to look oafish, slow thinking, under prepared and unable to understand what today meant to so many of our supporters – why does it have to be this way and why do we always have to accept “winning ugly”? I’ve almost forgotten what winning with a degree of panache and style feels like.
I should just mention before finishing that a poor day was completed by the Academy side losing 3-1 to Charlton across the road at Leckwith while the first team were playing, but, at least they had the excuse that their side contained seven players who were sixteen or under – what excuses could their seniors offer for their humiliation?
I agree with every word and after being a season ticket holder for many years came to the same conclusion that city were never again going to play anything but boring hoofball.I have admired the way Swansea play for a number of years and only employ managers with the right mindset.hence no chance for Warnock or harris.I honestly think our only chance is to go back to basics.employ Eddie Howe and get rid of all the dead wood .I think it’s to late for some of these players as their brainwashed into only playing in one way
Good morning Paul – Over the years you have put together some tremendous reports on the City’s performances and related matters, but I do not believe you have ever produced better writing than this morning’s article on yesterday’s proceedings. An absolute masterpiece.
Nothing to add from this supporter’s seat other than it made for one hell of a long miserable day because of the lunch time kick off. And as I write, I have just realised we have another next Saturday! Oh ….!
Something’s wrong here, Paul.
The above post isn’t from me?!
Bad morning everyone.
This morning I will cover these topics.
Harris
Ref
Psychology
I have said previously and I shall repeat it.
Niel Harris must go. I think that’s the 4th time, at least, this season we have conceded inside the first 10 minutes. Twice in derbies and the first game of the campaign. This smacks me of a management team who do not have the capability of being able to motivate players. Those are games City should have come out in explosive fashion.
The ref was not poor. He was totally biased. That is a nice way of working discrimination. If you favour one group over another that is discriminating.
Come on. Penalising Ralls for a dangerous boot when it’s around his knee. Free kick against Moore when he was sandwiched between 2 players. Ralls first booking was never worthy of that. He booked Moore and their centre back when the CB pushed Moore down then sat on him. This man was a pathetic excuse for a referee.
According to Harris he said he couldn’t book Bennett due to continuation. If he did say that he is a liar, as refs allow play to go on then go back to book players. That’s happens week in week out.
He got into Cardiff players heads, I guessed we would get a player sent off. He wanted it. Also city players were no doubt thinking if they touched a swans player it was a free kick.. he was in the middle to manage the game and not affect it as he did.
People must understand the psychological effect he is having on the players he is biased against. City body language told me long before the second goal that they had given up. To be Frank it wasn’t worth them being on the pitch as even if we had got something going he would have penalised us.
This is my final season watching football, solely down to idiots like him who want to be unfair to certain teams.
That was like when we were in premiership and few refs gave is anything. Chelsea!!!
First thing though is get rid of Harris. ASAP
Great read Paul and spot on, 12 months and we are no further forward after over 55 years of support for the bluebirds, today I questioned whether I could really watch another session of the football theme that we have endured over the last 10 years. I thoroughly enjoyed our trips to Wembley because we played decent football. We didn’t win anything but we came very close by playing exciting football which I enjoyed so much.
From that idiot Slade it’s just been downhill in entertainment although there was two promotions but how many of the supporters enjoyed those two seasons?
I take nothing away from Neil Warnock as he managed the virtual impossible but as for the rest, it was hard to watch and still is.
I cannot stress enough that if we have to change, then now is the time because the fan base will not forget yesterday easily. No one can tell me that the majority of those players made any serious effort to prove otherwise. I know Ralls was sent off but you could at least see determination from him, the rest just didn’t understand what they had to do on that pitch.
For a manager that must have seen how Swansea play and to play two midfielders against their three was a basic error. Then to compound it he was unable to change even with 5 subs on offer.
I believe Harris has gone as far as he can and now is the time to part the waves. We have a chance to get a real footballing manager I hope tan is listening if he wants premier football this season or next
I’m not going to jump in with a load of negativity. I haven’t got much time for internecine rivalry anyway. You’re in the majority on that, I grant. But don’t imagine everyone is in love with the balletic stuff. You talk about winning ‘ugly’. I think ‘manly’, ‘man’s game’, ‘don’t like it up ’em, Mr Mainwaring’, and I remember how much I enjoyed ‘ugly’ old Ninian Park, O the barracking players had to put up with then they’d be running to their mummies about now, might as well do a Murray nut job if you’re going to get sent off anyway.
But the main reason I’m sticking my oar in here is to suggest this is not the time. Damn it, we’ve just won four on the bounce in one of the most competitive leagues in the world. To put Stoke down to luck is, well, a put down. It smacks of prejudice that must see everything one way. Thus, Swansea would have been “comfortable enough if it had been eleven against ten”. Are you sure? Are we such saps, or did the laughing gods turn against us when most we needed them? Rabbits that “couldn’t care less”? Jeez, you got this one wrong big time, Bob. You may not like the style. That’s your privilege. But don’t say this team doesn’t try.
……”and this is me” as those sub-standard impressionists used to say.
Thanks for the report, Paul, the usual high standard.
Watching yesterday’s game I felt humiliated, it was like watching an amateur side playing against a decent professional side. They toyed with. They were laughing at how easy we were to play against.
Who should be blamed? Harris going to the same well once to often? You wouldn’t think that someone who has been in the game as long as he could be charged with naivety but I think he was guilty on this occassion. After the first ten minutes I think it was obvious to most watchers that we were being overrun in mid-field but he appeared to be too stubborn to admit that he had the shape of the side wrong.
As to the players, what can you say? We play as poorly in our derby games as we do in cup-ties. I don’t know why that should be.
On to the bigger picture, we didn’t lose too many places in the league table but how much damage was done psychologically? Our club lacks ambition and has done for some time,as someone has already mentioned the appointment of Russell Slade said it all. Warnock came to the club and did a tremendous job of lifting the spirits of the supporters and the teams fortune but he did little to improve the ‘quality” of the football we played and he did little to encourage youngsters at the club. I don’t think the team will flourish with Neil Harris in charge but unless there is a good clear out and an influx of new young blood. This is not going to happen without a cash injection and I don’t see Tan coughing up.
A depressing picture indeed, I’m afraid.
I could rant but……
Outthought, outfought, outplayed. Disgraceful performance. Back to square one. Drifting in mid table. This season is wasted unless we find a new manager now, one who can be given two transfer windows to work with before next season. Give Eddie Howe everything he needs and get him in.
Thanks Paul.
As per above, you have totally captured the mood and succinctly analysed the problem. Your report looking back over 10 years also makes me think and sadly have to agree with you. Our proportion of entertainment value is very low considering the reasonable 10 years we have had in general. We have been too dependant upon certain key individuals to give us those magic moments – very rarely has there been collective stylish performances.
Going backwards in derby games is also inexcusable and becoming a bad habit.
Also felt that after 5 minutes we were going to have a fruitless afternoon.
Harris was always likely to be criticised for sticking with the same line up given number of recent games and possibility of fatigue setting in .However, his inability to react and respond when it was obvious we were being out-gunned was very poor.
Like you and some others believe we should have enough quality to be near the top 6 but our natural reversion to type and inability to undertake some of the basics is a long- standing problem.
Our loanees from Premier League teams have the skill set, but our regulars are just not comfortable playing with the ball at feet and poor control often lets us down.
Whilst agreeing that the ref was poor we don’t help ourselves with too many clumsy challenges which invite a minimum of a free kick and sometimes a booking which leads to risk of sending off.
Yes, Ralls was frustrated, but surely couldn’t argue with being sent off.
Not the result we expected or needed and just hope there is a reaction now like post- Coventry!
Which cuckoo land does royals with cheese come from, it’s fairly obvious he hasn’t watched many Cardiff games. If you consider that team tried yesterday then that is cloud cuckoo land. If you are really talking a mans game then where were the men yesterday
Only Ralls showed that commitment
The Stoke match was pathetic but for 10 minutes when we played a bit of football , yes 10 minutes of manly football not the stupid pass sideways pass back pass forward to a man who is marked. Against Huddersfield it was patches but the better football team was Huddersfield , Luton could and should have scored 4, do you want me to continue.
Let’s be honest this team plays in spasms and that is down to the manager as it seems the players have no idea how to create space to accept a pass and a manager has no idea how to react when things are not right
Paul is correct in every thing he has put in his blog and is only saying what 99% of us are thinking
I always enjoy your articles and think the title is particularly apt. Swansea have played far better football than Cardiff in recent years and unfortunately I have to admit begrudgingly that a lot of their football has been wonderful and exciting and a real credit to Welsh football. Their ability to bring on young Welsh talent is particularly galling to me and vastly different to Cardiff”s attitude and record!
If you look at the managers that Swansea have attracted incuding and beyond Martinz in recent years they have been in a different league compared with Cardiff”s candidates. Don’t get me wrong I was a very strong fan of Warnock and greaty admire what he did for our club and I feel certain he will be remembered as one of our very best managers in the last 50 years. Having said all that Swansea have not always made the best managerial decisions as I am sure their fans will recognise.
I think Neil Harris is doing his very best but I have felt for sometime that he is a most unlikely candidate to set Cardiff on fire…………after Coventry I thought it would be a good time for parting of the ways but the 4 wins on the trot have to some extent disguised the obvious limitations of the team. Cardiff are blessed with some very good players but tactics and man management are sadly lacking
I hope that in a few months people will laugh at these comments and think that was utter nonsense!
If Cardiff have to make another managerial appoitment in the next 12 months I do hope they will get someone to change the mould and that we start playing more adventurous and exciting football………it has happened to teams like Wolves and Leeds so why not Cardiff too
Merry Xmas to all fans
Thanks for the article Paul and it covers a lot of the sentiments that have generally made me lose interest in watching the club since Harris took charge.
The appointment absolutely flattened me as I thought we were crying out for a complete change of direction not appointing someone who bored the Millwall fans to tears!
I sympathise with anyone who follows Warnock and is given the task of making us into a Holland 74! However I don’t and never have thought that Harris is remotely capable of making us any better than we were under Warnock.
I constantly read about Trollope’s time in charge as if that’s that, and all ambition of improving our brand of football is futile.
Passing football doesn’t have to be slow or constantly sideways and backwards as we witnessed from those players in White who were playing a different sport to us.
I fear that despite it’s obvious necessity the powers that be, Choo, Dalman, Harris and others don’t want to see a director of football as their power would be compromised and if the by some miracle we actually appointed a good director of football then the ineptitude of these people would then be exposed.
We need to take on a completely new direction as a club and like someone has said a complete clear out may be needed to produce any football worthy of the entrance fee.
If you were Harry Wilson’s dad and you were advising your son on which club to move to last summer would you honestly have chosen Cardiff City as a good destination for him.
One final point, Steve Cooper’s dad is (or was) a die hard Cardiff fan yet he’s not even on our radar now he’s attracting the likes of Brewster, Morgan Gibbs-White, Gallagher and the impressive Guehi to our arch rivals!!!
Then there’s Martin Margetson who has two sons playing for our academy yet he’s on their bench yesterday.
Swansea manage to keep talented people who have connections to their club close to them whereas two of ours now work for them!!
This for me sums up our lack of vision and planning that is clear to see again and again.
hi has anyone else noticed the fine job rhys healey is doing for toulouse averaging a goal every 93 mins i always believed he could be a good striker at championship level or above if only given a proper run in the side preferably down the middle It just emphasises the lack of trust placed in our youngsters down the years
Hello everyone, under normal circumstances, I’d be really pleased to see so many replies to something I’ve written – welcome to the Feedback section to those of you who have not posted on here before (including a second Colin Phillips it would appear!), I just wish it was under better circumstances! Normally, I would answer you all individually, but, in this instance, I can say that I agree with about 95 per cent of what most of you say – there are two contributions I want to deal with directly shortly, but, before then, I would ask if you would indulge me for a while as I recount a story taken from my football “career”.
I’ve said before on here that my dream of being a professional footballer did not last that long because, even as a pre teen, I knew I would never be good enough to be a footballer – I wasn’t a bad player, in fact I was pretty good and was better than the majority in my year in school, but there were boys who were far, far better than me and I knew that most of them would not make it either (in the event, two of them did). This knowledge of my limitations put me off playing parks football and so I played very few organised games after leaving school because I preferred to watch the pros do things with a football that I couldn’t.
One of the games I did play was when I went along to watch a few mates play on a Saturday afternoon and it turned out they were a man short, so I agreed to fill in at right back for them. It was the first time I’d played in that position and my shaky confidence levels were not helped when it soon became apparent that the winger I was marking was much quicker than me. Thankfully, if he possessed a football brain, it was set to off that day and so I won my “battle” with him fairly easily – the game went well generally, we won and the consensus was that I’d done pretty well. The negative from my performance was that I’d got tricked into giving away a soft penalty from which the other team scored and one or two of my temporary team mates had a bit of a go at me over that, but, that was more than made up for, by the best player in the team coming up to me afterwards to say how much he had enjoyed having someone in the side who instinctively knew how to pass the ball – he said it should be a simple thing to do, but the number of good players who struggled with that part of the game had always surprised him, I was told that my passes to him were always played at the right speed and with the right weight to make it easy for him to do what he wanted to with the ball.
It’s with that in mind, that I come on To Saturday’s game. For years I’ve become used to seeing Cardiff City footballers, all of whom are much better players than I ever was showing that they struggle when it comes to the basics of giving and receiving a pass. There have honestly been times when I’ve wondered if I would have improved our passing if I could have been transported forty years back in time and plonked in the middle of our midfield – the truth is I would probably have been like a poor man’s Marlon Pack in that I would have moved the ball much slower than he does!
I’m, almost certainly, indulging in the old rose tinted glasses thing here, but when it comes to Cardiff City midfields in the last ten years, my old line about wanting to see pros do things with a football that I couldn’t becomes blurred a little, because, more than any other facet of the game, the gap between what they can do and what I could narrows somewhat. On the other hand, I look at nearly every side we play and don’t get that feeling because there is often a crispness and zip to their passing which I could never emulate, but, most of the time, modern day Cardiff City midfielders struggle to as well.
I have often said that I don’t get too worked up about our rivalry with the jacks and, generally speaking, I don’t get too het up during and after games, but, I was fuming after watching us lumbering about for ninety minutes looking so clumsy and off the pace. In fact, after waking up in need of a pee at about one o clock on Sunday morning, I spent most of the rest of the night awake because I couldn’t get what I had seen from my team out of my mind – even now, some two days after the event, I still get annoyed when I think about it.
This brings me on to Royale’s comments – Royale, if you think my annoyance is down to “internecine rivalry”, I’ll admit to being surprised at my reaction to Swansea’s win, but I’ve seen enough of them down the decades to know that there’s more to it than that. While the fact that it was a local rival doing it to us probably did make it hurt a little more, but it was the realisation that our opponents were light years better than us in what I consider to be one of the most important aspects of the game that rankled because our weakness in that area has been known for years and yet there seems little or no desire at the club to try and do something about it.
I’ve heard it said that it was a tactical masterclass by Steve Cooper on Saturday, but, as someone who rates him highly, I just don’t get that. What Cooper did falls into the “bleedin’ obvious” category surely? He recognised where we were weak and concentrated his resources in that area – Joe Ralls and Will Vaulks have been given a huge workload in recent games and it all caught up with them on Saturday, they never had a chance and it only needed the five minutes before Swansea scored to realise that the situation which many City fans, myself included, had feared was coming to pass.
With regard to my accusing the players of not trying, I accept I could have worded things differently there, because I didn’t and still don’t believe that. What I meant by “couldn’t care less indifference” was more to do with how, since our relegation in 18/19, both our manager, whoever it was, and team appear not to have “got” what the Cardiff v Swansea fixture means to so many supporters of either side and, on the evidence of recent derbies, the Swansea side – I think our players did look “indifferent”, as in diffident, compared to their opponents in last season’s match at the Liberty and again on Saturday.
Finally, there was a thread on the City messageboard I use about Rhys Healey’s recent goalscoring Richard, so I was aware of it. I feel Neil Warnock was wrong to see Healey as a better option than Bobby Decordova-Reid and Josh Murphy in that defeat at Fulham which more or less confirmed our relegation, but, having seen his natural goalscoring instincts on display for the Academy and Development sides over many years, I’d say he deserved more of a chance at Championship level – his ability to be in the right place at the right time won us a game against Burton late on when he was given a chance and. like you, I think he could have been a success at this level.
Swansea (h)
Thank-you again, Paul. sorry for the lateness of the reply.
One poster on a City mb this weekend said you couldn’t lay the fault of City’s style at the feet of Neil Harris. My reply to this was who was then to blame if not Harris? The reply came that it was the fault of Tan & Co for the appointment of the limited Manager. Of course the buck ultimately stops at the off-field men for they decide on the on-field direction of the Club. But to then assert that Harris could not be criticised over the style of City’s play, as he was only doing what he has only ever done as a manager, I would disagree with. Yes, he is limited and I never felt he was the right appointment for the job if the ruling-elite of the Club were serious about evolving a different style of play as we were told. However, even a Sunday League manager can organise a team.
The four match winning streak, pleasurable as it was, was never a sign that the stuttering nature of the start to the 20-21 season was over. Twelve points from twelve is always welcome and I applauded the team for those results. However they were achieved against teams more akin to a, ‘straight up and down,’ approach than the total football we desire. But even then, there were signs that the Bielsa #2 is changing that at Huddersfield whilst City’s vital transformation at Stoke probably owed as much to the injury of Campbell. For 60 minutes we weren’t at the races. That and the missed penalty were two gift horses that even we couldn’t refuse.
I have written many times on this august blog that all our limitations are exposed when we play against a team with pace, mobility and movement: Fulham, Brentford & QPR etc are cases in point. Swansea was always going to fall into that category. Though it pains me to say, the chasm between the vision off field and its execution on field at Swansea and us is as embarrassing as it is wide. We are simply light years behind at CF11. It should have been billed: ‘Draughts v Chess,’ by Sky.
Where City have played well this season, albeit within their limitations, I have been complimentary but this performance was dire. It was again another passionless offering. There were no redeeming features to it. It fell into the Stoke (h; p/o s/f) and Blackpool (Wembley; p/o final) category, where to this day, I have not watched any footage of those games. To watch a rerun of Swansea (h/20-21) is simply beyond me. It hurt deeply the first time through and I have no desire to doubly deepen the wound the second time around.
In football you get what you pay football. We are getting what we paid for. At best Harris is a mid-table Championship manager; fine for Wycombe and Rotherham but not Cardiff City. Cooper, meanwhile, could hold his own in the PL. As an afterthought it seems Harris views Ojo as a left winger when he was always played on the right. That Ralls was viewed as a replacement for Tomlin was beyond logic. We hear the cry, and rightly so, that we need more gifted players. Yet we have one in Wilson and yet our Manager is still no nearer finding out how to get the best out of him.
Ralls, for his faults, is still our best central midfielder. I thought he was unfortunate to get his first yellow but, at least Ralls was still giving 100% when dismissed whilst others around him had let their game slip.
VAR and the way the Laws are now written have allowed decisions to be given any way you want because interpretation is central now. Nothing is clear. Also if Bennett had punched Moore and ref played on then are we to believe that he couldn’t have sent him off even for that?
In the first 10 mins Moore must have been penalised 5 times for simply challenging for the ball. The football authorities have their darlings and this clouds every decision. The stage was set. As I have said repeatedly: the game is corrupt. It’s like a stick of Blackpool rock with corruption written all the way through it.
Lowe, a player City apparently didn’t want scored two and pulled us all over the place.
Cooper is a student of the game whilst it appears Harris has a largely one size fits all approach. Against Swans’ 3142 a 442 was never going to work as Ralls and Vaulks couldn’t stem the tide of 3 opposition central midfielders. We rarely got the ball. Before the Ralls’ sending off those 67 mins, which went achingly slowly, still saw no change of formation. Only after Ralls’ red card and a substitution on 75 minutes did Wilson play in his rightful #10 position.
Harris’ biggest friend may yet be the empty stadium in the wake of the Covid-19 restrictions, for had City fans been present criticism would have been clearly evident from the home support. Could we actually imagine what it would have been like with 2,000 Jack’s gloating, in a quickly emptying CCS, during the last 15 mins?
The Bible makes a salient point: “Where there is no vision the people perish.” It appears there is still very little vision regarding on field matters at Cardiff City. The oft trumpeted need to bring through young players is credible, and they must come through, but that doesn’t address the philosophy of a style of play which at present is more akin to the 1940’s than the 2020’s. In football you get what you pay for. I may be wrong but as I view it until a Football Director and a young vibrant coach with tactical ability come on board there can be little progress at our Club. Big decisions lay ahead this Christmas for those in the corridors of power at Cardiff City.
Thanks for your usual thorough and interesting analysis Steve. I’m generally more supportive of Neil Harris than many are, but your comparison between the two managers raises questions which do not show our manager in a good light. I think Neil Harris has tried to introduce more of a possession based game to the club and the stats tell you that he has succeeded, but the reality is that much of the increased possession we enjoy boils down to our defence and deepest midfielder passing between themselves for a while under no great pressure from the opposition before it gets played back to Smithies who whacks it upfield, thereby presenting the ball back to our opponents more often than not. It’s when we try something more ambitious that our shortcomings become apparent – it seems to me that we have players at the top of the pitch who can make an impact at this level if they are given the right service, but the link between our midfield and them is a very fragile one whereby our lack of passing ability in the middle of the park ensures that our potentially effective forward players get less opportunities to prove their worth than they should.
Given this, you can’t blame our manager for going “back to basics” in recent games with a more direct approach which has, largely, worked so far because the squad we have at the moment at better suited to playing that sort of game – the problem for Harris though is that, if he is genuine about wanting to make us more of a passing side, why couldn’t he see what was obvious to many supporters – although our midfielders are all different in some ways, three of them at least are, essentially, the same sort of player (that is workhorses or “bread and butter” midfielders as Neil Warnock called them), while Marlon Pack is a more technical player who is capable of passing the ball accurately and incisively but, based on what we’ve seen so far, he does not dot hat often or quickly enough. After more than a year in charge, I find it a mystery that Neil Harris has not done anything in terms of recruitment to help us in the transition to a different style.
Finally, Steve Cooper had a, justified, dig at us after the game when he talked of how his side “We did it our way, with the ball, trying to play through the lines, trying to create proper chances”, he then went on to say as opposed to “hoping” something would happen – he was spot on there, we’ve spent the last decade or so putting the ball into areas where we have hoped the “second ball” would break in our favour and, in that respect, barely anything has changed since Neil Harris’ appointment.