In the short time since Cardiff City’s catastrophic 6-1 humiliation at Queens Park Rangers this afternoon I have wondered if my desire to say something positive in this season where there’s been so much to be critical of led me to see something that really wasn’t there when I rated Sunday’s 2-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday our best performance of the season, while adding that, for the first time, I thought we looked like a potential top six side.
I’ve wondered, but decided that I didn’t imagine our good performance at Hillsborough – we did play well and our defending in the second half in particular was a throwback to what we saw in 17/18 as we dominated physically and psychologically. No, what we did on Sunday offered grounds for encouragement and today’s abject showing doesn’t mean that it suddenly becomes something that it wasn’t.
However, where I went wrong was in allowing myself to somehow believe that the obvious defensive weaknesses that have blighted us all season could be gone forever. Although it would be wrong to say that Wednesday were all about hitting long high balls, their attacking play was more tailored to elements of the game that our big defenders would feel pretty comfortable about dealing with.
I say obvious defensive weaknesses because it is no exaggeration at all to say that there were many City supporters who looked at our centrebacks and, to a lesser degree, our full backs in August and, rightly, feared that they would be susceptible to opponents who attacked in the manner that was favoured by many Championship sides these days. A way of playing that had become a lot more prevalent during the time we were away playing in the Premier League.
QPR are one such club. Partly because of financial considerations I daresay, they have decided on a policy of using bright young players either bought for small fees by today’s standards, loaned from Premier League sides or picked up as teenagers after they had been released by other teams Academy’s.
Midfielders Ilias Chair and Luke Amos and forwards Bright Osayi-Samuel and Eberi Eze all fall into one of those categories and having got a taste of what they could do in City’s bizarre 3-0 win in early October, they were all prominent today as, not for the first time, Cardiff found themselves being run ragged by intelligent and exuberant forward play.
Just before Christmas I contrasted how favourably Preston’s cheaply put together squad compared with our expensively assembled team which, based on this season’s evidence at least, consists mainly of players who are no more than journeymen at this level.
Although Millwall weren’t as dominant as Preston were on Boxing Day, the contrast between what it cost to put together what were two evenly matched squads was stark and now we get the same thing, but even more so, with QPR.
Rangers went about their squad building in a different way to Millwall and Preston, but, in essence, they are all operating in the way we’ll have to in 2021/22 if our two seasons of parachute payments following our relegation from the Premier League run out without us going back up.
I suppose it’s too early yet to say that this season’s payment has been wasted, but it’s going to need a pretty spectacular last twenty matches to our season for this not to be the case. Although talk of no money being spent on new signings in this month’s transfer window must open up some doubt as to how much of next season’s parachute payments will be made available to Neil Harris, I feel we have to assume that there will be money available for our manager in the summer.
If there is, then, surely, he has to spend it more effectively than Neil Warnock did this summer? Even if there was to be the transformation I mentioned which means that this summer’s signings should be reassessed, then it should not be forgotten that Warnock was almost totally unable to get a level of performance that rose above the mediocre from those he had paid millions for.
Others may disagree, but I put today’s shambles down more to the first of our two managers named Neil than the second one.
Going back to the game, Rangers’ manager Mark Warburton said afterwards that the only difference between today and so many of their other matches was that his team were ruthless in their finishing, they have been creating the chances all season, but not taking enough of them.
Certainly, that equates to what was seen at Cardiff City Stadium three months ago, when Rangers played most of the good football on display and left with what will have looked like a conclusive defeat to anyone who didn’t see the game.
Since then, Warburton’s young side have struggled somewhat – they scored a lot, but conceded more, they remain a dangerous side though who showed today that they have attackers who make ours look pedestrian and prosaic by comparison.
Warburton showed he knew exactly how to exploit our defensive failings by preferring the erratic, but talented Narkhi Wells to the more straightforward attributes of Jordan Hugill as his main striker and the former Bradford, Huddersfield and Burnley man, who had not scored in his last nine appearances, responded with a hat trick.
I’m just going to concentrate on QPR’s goals because they do as good a job of portraying the poverty of City’s performance as anything.
Although many of the goals which followed it illustrated the obvious weaknesses I referred to earlier, the first one on nine minutes was, possibly the worst of the lot. Neil Harris opted to stick with the five man defence that had worked so well at Hillsborough and I suppose this decision will be blamed for our defeat by some, but, when you defend as badly as Sol Bamba did – it doesn’t matter if you have three, four, five or six at the back, you’re in trouble if one of them is as lax as Bamba was.
It does need to be said that Eze’s pass from the left touchline close to halfway was a good one, but Bamba was caught underneath the ball and a couple of yards away from Wells who was able to guide his header beyond Neil Etheridge.
For a while after that, City threatened to get back in the game as Junior Hoilett shot just wide and Aden Flint headed against the crossbar from about twelve yards out, but Rangers responded with a second goal of a type that you just do not see us score – we do not have strikers with the vision to play the delicately lobbed pass over Jazz Richards and Bamba by Wells which left Osayi-Samuel in on goal with, as was so often the case, City defenders trailing in the forward’s wake. Again, credit to Osayi-Samuel for a conclusive finish from an awkward angle, but it didn’t look great for Etheridge to be beaten on his near post like that.
Although you should never forget what happened at Leeds I suppose, City were out for the count just before half time as Rangers scored a third which epitomised the difference in ability and outlook between the two sides. City, as they always do, decided to lump a fry kick from about forty yards out into the box where home keeper Joe Lumley made a routine catch and then produced a perfectly delivered kick which Osayi-Samuel was able to run onto.
City had both of their wing back/full backs there supposedly to cover for such eventualities, but Richards and Leandro Bacuna proved that it’s not just Cardiff centrebacks who are about as much use as a chocolate tea pot when quick forwards run at them as the winger went past them both as if they were not there and slotted past the helpless Etheridge.
Such a goal is beyond us when we have a goalkeeper who kicks the ball as poorly as Etheridge and we sometimes bring all eleven men back to defend dead ball situations – when we do leave someone up it tends to be Lee Tomlin who will never be able to do what Osayi-Bright did.
Harris reacted to the most harrowing half of football he had experienced as City boss by taking off Bacuna and Bamba and bringing on Lee Peltier, surprisingly left out after recovering from his injury against Millwall, and Danny Ward while switching to four at the back and things promptly got worse as the home side scored three times in less than twenty minutes!
Richards had done well since his return to first team action, but here he looked like someone who had been out for the best part of two years as he was turned inside out again by Osayi-Samuel, Eze should have scored from the resultant cross at the first post, but mishit his shot into the ground where it bounced up for Wells to head in from close range.
The next defender to be taken to the cleaners was Curtis Nelson who was left for dead by Chair who crossed low from the bye line and this time Eze on the far post put it away and then it was time for a comedy back pass from Flint which presented Wells with an easy hat trick chance.
6-0 up after just sixty four minutes, I’m sure there would have been more goals there for Rangers if they had really wanted them, but Wells, Chair and Osage-Samuel were all withdrawn and the home side even took Toni Leistner off for the last ten minutes after he suffered an injury.
There was a tiny consolation for City in time added on when Will Vaulks got his first goal for the club with a shot from twenty five yards – Vaulks caught it really well, but it looked to me that Lumley should have kept it out.
Given the QPR manager’s comments about his side’s ruthlessness, it may be tempting to think that this was just one of those days when everything the opposition hit went in, but we are, by some distance, now the second worst away defence in the league. We could easily have conceded another six at West Brom, Reading might have scored four or five against us, Swansea could have had a hatful when they beat us, Brentford were worth more than the two they scored and Leeds might have doubled their three on another day.
Neil Harris said the right things after the game as he apologised to the travelling supporters and told a few home truths about how things have moved on from two years ago – he’s right, but I’m afraid that, both on and off the field, Cardiff City have looked decades behind the times on occasions this season.
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Cheers, Paul, embarrassing wasn’t it.
According to the BBC stats Rangers had seven shots on target and scored six goals. Perhaps Etheridge needs a rest.
Let us hope it was just one of those days.
Not great reading.
Thankfully I did not travel or see the game but listened to it from the comfort of my centrally heated home.
The fans who did travel deserve to be compensated from the players themselves and given a free ticket and travel to another away game.
I have been slaughtered in the past for saying Bamba is at best a sub. He always has skill mistakes in his game. When we start with him I have always feared conceding goals. He will try and dribble out of defense, make stupid tackle out of position and often mis reads the flight of a ball.
I stated on here if we can get money for Etheridge bite their hand off and get smithies in. Perhaps we can start from the back. Morrison back. Those who criticize him may now realise what he brings to the team. It’s those around him who are poor.
Peltier. Too slow
Jazz must play on right. Torrid game yesterday but on wrong side.
Bennett. Too often out of position.
Mendez. Not a consistent final ball.
Pack. Good player but need speed and movement in front of him.
Tomlin. Too slow. If we can get Reid back he is my first choice.
We also need a midfielder who can see the space in front of him. Football is not just passing to a player but passing into space which can open up opposing defences.
NW wasted too much money on average players then, IMO, coached their ability out of them. Turning average to good players into bad players.
We cannot take away from him what he achieved but he has also set us back due to his signings
Paul – good morning, and your review of yesterday’s debacle was spot on. A debacle and a reality check for the City’s hierarchy.
I had wondered about the team’s set up from the moment it was announced. Sadly, one of the heroes from Saturday was caught napping for QPR’s first goal, and that lack of attention seemed to infect the whole team from there on. Absolutely no pluses from anyone, including the Management team with strange substitutions ( I could understand Peltier on for Bamba, but Bacuna off as well when his energy in midfield was clearly needed as it had served us so well in recent matches?).
As I stated in my own comments last time, January will be an interesting month with comings and goings of whatever nature. Even more so now.
As always, a balanced, fair-minded, and insightful report on yesterday’s game. Paul is quite right in his comments. To paraphrase what he writes (and given the time of the year) the Ghost of Warnock Past continues. In motoring terms we have a team only capable of lumbering slowly with automatic gears when they are suddenly asked to drive at speed with a manual gearbox — or even a “crash” box without synchromesh. — and sadly, this novelty is beyond most of them. The fault, dear comrades, does not lie in the stars or totally with Neil Harris who picked the team, but with the aforementioned Mr Warnock. Our new man can talk the talk but he has an enormous task to create a team in his own image without much financial support.
As a final thought, will teams be queuing up to buy Cardiff City cast-offs. or conversely, will players able to improve our team be eager to come here? Apart from that, Happy New Year everybody.
Thanks Paul – not that it made pleasant reading.
It seems to me that a result like yesterday’s was always going to happen at some point this season given the manner of our performances virtually from the off. That it happened just 3 days after such an encouraging result at Sheffield Wednesday was nevertheless a bit of a shock although very much fits the profile of a team that I’m pretty sure will end the season in mid-table obscurity. I daresay that there will be tweaks and changes over the next few weeks which will mean that most days will be better than yesterday but not enough will be as good as Sunday.
As we enter a new decade it’s the lack of long-term strategy from the top which causes
most concern. I’d like to think that those running the club would at least have some notion that the difference between us and QPR yesterday reflected a different approach to the way the game should be played rather than just putting it down to individual players having an ‘off day’. While I wouldn’t totally blame Neil Harris for yesterday I’d feel a lot more positive about the future if someone like Mark Warburton was our manager.
Happy new year to Paul and others.
Paul and others – all spot on.
I think most of us feared something like this would happen, indeed some of we pessimists saw it as inevitable – maybe not i so resound a manner.
Mediocrity and lame-brain football will always end in tears – we have to have dreams and ambitions, and the creativity and practical nous to go with them.
Perhaps this will shake the Club – at ALL levels – out of its dull-witted complacency, and begin the arduous journey en route to be in a position to be taken seriously.
My step-son, an irreverent QPR Season-Ticket man, texted me yesterday – “can we play you very week?”
Sorry – rather too many typos…
“…maybe not in so resounding a manner.”
“can we play you every week?”
Ta Paul. The art of writing is much easier after witnessing that which uplifts but putting pen to paper, or finger to keyboard after the QPR game, is far more a discipline, akin to the author faced with a blank page at 8am, knowing he has to write a couple of thousand words. You are to be commended.
I had toyed with making the game at QPR but, family commitments drew me in another direction … thankfully.
Like you, Harris has been dealt a singularly one dimensional and bloated squad but, as I stated earlier, ‘a manager higher up the food chain,’ would have been better if the Club’s stated aim of changing the style of play was serious. Whilst I can give our present manager latitude over the squad situation his lack of tactical know-how is an altogether different matter. For me there is a difference between the two. Acknowledging the former doesn’t get him off the hook tactically.
Too often this season Harris has set up his team (usually 4411) to start games and, despite a 4 win 4 draw 2 loss record, has got out of jail inspite of his tactics and not because of them. The genius that is Tomlin has come to the rescue. I trust I am not too disparaging of the new regime.
1) Charlton/a … we never got to grips with their 41212 (diamond midfield) until a double 67th min substitution.
2) Barnsley/h … same again against another 41212 formation causing problems until 67th &75th min substitutions.
3) Brentford/a … their 433 resulted in their full backs doubling up with their wide attackers causing a 2 against 1 on both flanks each time they attacked. Not until the 61st min when, with Madine’s introduction, we went 442 and prevented the home team’s full backs attacking at will, did we get into the game.
4) Leeds/a … with a variation of 442 (with Ralls at left midfield and Tomlin playing alongside Ward) City were 3-0 down after 52 mins. It was not until Whyte (61 mins) and Glatzel (73 mins) came on did City get going and two late goals rescued an excellent point for 10 man City.
5) Preston/h … playing a 4231 they gave us a bit of a lesson throughout the game.
6) Millwall/h … their 343 made it ludicrous for us to play a single striker and pushing our two wingers on to their wing-backs. It made us understaffed in the centre of midfield when one of their strikers dropped off 15 yards.
7) Sheff Wed/a … two lovely early goals put City in a commanding position. Two injuries just before half-time, prompted a switch to 3511, and we saw out the game without too much trouble.
8) QPR/a … after finishing the Sheff W game with a 3511 we started the QPR game that way, accommodating Bamba, against their 4231. The reason for our success at Sheffield caused our downfall at Shepherd’s Bush. We had 3 centre backs (each 6’2″+) for one striker, the pacey Wells, who was 5’7″. Their quick 3, who caused havoc at City with their movement, were clearly again a handful and six goals were shipped.
Yes, I can hear you say that it is easy to be critical after the event. It sure is but my point is this: the better the manager the better his side is set up BEFORE a game starts to (i) negate the opposition and (ii) pose a threat. The way we start games it seems their formation takes us by surprise. A team that plays 4231 against us we simply need to play 4321. A team playing with a sweeper we need to start with two strikers. Even that would help.
Nothing would give me more joy on the City front than to be writing more positive words about excellent performances but the reality is somewhat different. We have an absentee landlord, a managerial appointment who failed to enthuse fans, a large squad that lacks movement and pace whilst we are told that no money will be available for this month’s transfer window. This recipe is hardly likely to tantalise the taste-buds. Methinks choppy waters lie ahead.
Paul
Great comments and article as always.
Let’s be fair and I’m sure many fellow fans will agree, yesterday’s result came as no surprise other than why it hasn’t happened earlier this season. I say that because frankly I think we’ve been riding our luck in far too many matches this season and we’ve got results by the skin of our teeth.
The home game against QPR, many will remember as being a massive surprise as for the majority of that game we were pathetic and once again far too slow in getting going. I remember many many fellow fans walking out of that game shaking their heads in disbelief that we won that game 3 nil. QPR made sure they paid us back in style yesterday.
As regards the manager’s comments after the game, I can’t help but feel he’s taking us for mugs, saying it won’t happen again while he’s in charge. He can’t guarantee it and he knows it, so why say it?
The rest of the season is going to be bit of a chore going to matches, especially as we’re only going after frees or loans.
Sincerely hope I’m proved wrong.
Thanks all for some great replies. Colin, I do wonder how close Etheridge is to being left out? I wouldn’t drop him solely because of his poor kicking, but it does seem to be getting worse rather than better – I don’t think he could be blamed for any of the goals on Wednesday except for, maybe, the second one, but he doesn’t look as good as he did in his first two seasons with us for me.
Paul, I thought Bamba didn’t do badly against Sheffield Wednesday, but he was a bit all over the place in the few minutes he played against Birmingham and he looked some way short of first team consideration when I saw him play for the Under 23s a few weeks later – I think he has the makings of a decent coach/manager and would be encouraging him to head in that direction now with playing for the first team being something that only happens when it’s absolutely necessary.
I agree with you BJA, no one comes out of the game well and I’m convinced that QPR could have scored more if they needed them – the game was lost when Harris made the half time substitutions, but I still say neither of them worked.
Anthony, you ask an important question, we need to remember that this squad is 100% Neil Warnock’s, so Neil Harris’ scope to make the sort of changes he seems to want is very limited, but I still want convincing that our new manager will follow through on what he says given the similarities in playing method between his Millwall side and us under Warnock. I’ve always thought Warnockball put bigger clubs off loaning technically good young players to us and, off the top of my head, I don’t recall much evidence of it happening with Harris’ Millwall either – we’ll have to wait to say if we end up playing a more modern game under Harris, but, for now, I think there could be a reluctance to loan the sort of players we need to us this month.
Warburton’s always impressed me Richard. It doesn’t get mentioned much, but we really do need someone who’ll come in and improve players’ sell on value. Under Warnock, we, almost exclusively, signed players in the 25 to 30 range, or older, so, if they stayed for the duration of their contract, they were at an age where we were likely to get less than we paid for them – Warburton not only tends to sign younger players, but he has often developed players so that funds come into the club when they leave, rather than go for nothing, as has been the case too often with us.
Lindsay, you hint at something that has concerned me for a while. There is a, probably correct, perception that City fans love a trier and will forgive players a lot if they put the effort in. I used to think that I was in a small minority as I moaned about the way we played under Mackay, to an extent, Slade and Warnock and assumed that the fanbase were generally supportive of the dull, pragmatic and functional we’ve played for most of this decade, but this season has changed my mind on that to a large extent – I now feel that I’m not alone in being heartily fed up with watching long throw ins down the touchline, goalkeepers and defenders whacking the ball up the pitch aimlessly and an over reliance on attacking set pieces, this is not the stuff which attracted me to the game in the first place.
Steve, I find it hard to argue with anything in your last paragraph. I also think that you touched on something that I believe is usually true in the modern game and has applied to us right back to the days when Slade would play Whitts as one of a two in central midfield – we need three in that area and, for me, it should come from using a 3/5/2 or 5/3/2 or, if we have to go with a back four, at the expense of one of our under performing wingers.
Iain, I’m completely with you about this result having been on the cards for a while. The players may be the same in many cases as they were in 17/18, but many of them are at ages where the passing of two years will have an effect on their capabilities – they might be finding things harder physically, but there’s also a mental aspect where the desire to work like they did in 17/18 may not be quite there in some – we’ve had more than half a season of substandard defending, so I tend to agree that it’s unlikely that our manager can completely change that state of affairs on the training pitch.