NEW CULT HERO FOR BLUEBIRDS
Bluebirds 0 Magpies 0:
FOOTBALL writer Ian Mitchelmore runs through the key talking points that emerged from Cardiff City’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle United. THE MIDFIELD DILEMMA There was plenty of talk about the selection dilemmas facing Neil Warnock in midfield prior to the clash with the Magpies.
And following the displays of the trio who started in the centre of the park against Newcastle, the Yorkshireman certainly has plenty to ponder ahead of the games against Huddersfield Town and Arsenal.
Debutants Victor Camarasa and Harry Arter both impressed while Joe Ralls was his usual industrious self.
With Aron Gunnarsson edging closer to a return from injury and Callum Paterson also waiting in the wings, there’s a real competition for places in midfield following Cardiff’s transfer deadline day business.
There’s also Loic Damour to consider, with the Frenchman yet to feature in a matchday squad this season.
So while it’s a welcome problem for Warnock, it’s one that’s clearly got a whole lot more difficult to solve following the stalemate with Newcastle.
NEIL ETHERIDGE STEPS UP TO THE PLATE
Following the Bluebirds’ draw with Reading, the game that sealed Cardiff’s promotion from the Championship, Etheridge spoke at length about how he was sleeping on a friend’s sofa in Oldham just a few years ago after being cast into the wilderness by Fulham.
He’s now playing Premier League football, and is the first man from the Philippines to play in the division. But it doesn’t stop there. The 28-year-old denied Callum Wilson from the spot in the opening day defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium while his heroics in preventing Kenedy from scoring an injury-time winner for Newcastle from 12 yards out saw Cardiff claim their first point of the 2018-19 season.
While he deserves plenty of praise for his penalty exploits, Etheridge also deserves a special mention for keeping the game level against Newcastle.
He pulled off a string of vital stops and is proving that, even after the addition of Alex Smithies in the summer, he more than deserves his chance to prove his worth in the top flight having enjoyed an impressive debut campaign with the Bluebirds in the second tier.
THE BLUEBIRDS’ NEW GAME-CHANGING WEAPONS
April 22, 2017: Jazz Richards, Lee Peltier, Peter Whittingham, Ibrahim Meite, Mark Harris, Greg Halford, Junior Hoilett.
May 7, 2017: Peter Whittingham, Craig Noone, Greg Halford, Rickie Lambert, Ben Amos, Mark Harris.
The list of substitutes named by Warnock for Cardiff ’s away games against Wigan and Huddersfield respectively at the back end of his debut campaign with the club.
The first didn’t feature a goalkeeper, while youngster Mark Harris made his league debut for Cardiff along with Ibrahim Meite.
The second only included six players, although the Bluebirds did go on to stun the promoted Terriers on their home patch.
Fast forward to August 18, 2018, and Warnock is able to send on Callum Paterson, Nathaniel MendezLaing and Bobby Reid against Newcastle, two stars of the promotion-winning campaign and an £11m summer signing.
Danny Ward, Gunnarsson, Lee Peltier, Damour and Kadeem Harris were among those who didn’t even feature in the matchday 18 against Newcastle.
And at long last the Bluebirds not only have a starting XI to compete, but also a squad.
Granted, many are inexperienced at the highest level, but Warnock, along with the club’s hierarchy, deserve immense praise for the way Cardiff ’s squad has been transformed in such a short space of time.
Because whether survival or relegation is the final outcome this season, the club are in a significantly stronger place looking forward, whatever happens.
FORTRESS CCS
More than 30,000 fans packed out Cardiff City Stadium as the Bluebirds played in front of a home crowd in the Premier League for the first time since May 2014.
And just as they did when the Bluebirds clinched promotion against Reading a few months ago, the Cardiff faithful were in fine voice as they watched their side register their first point of the season in dramatic fashion.
After the match, Warnock stressed that the Bluebirds have to make themselves difficult to beat on their home patch, because life on the road in the Premier League is quite simply
a different animal.
“We had a full house here and the fans have gone home happy because we’ve played some good football,” he said. “I think this can become a fortress. Even the top six sides I don’t think will enjoy coming here.”
The Bluebirds will no doubt collect the majority of their overall points total for the season on their own turf. And the fans will have a big part to play in that.
WARNOCK’S PREDICTION PROVES CORRECT, UNFORTUNATELY...
“We’ve got players who can win games. I’m disappointed not to get a striker, but the ones we could afford I didn’t think were better than we had but I’m pleased to bring the midfield lads in,” said Warnock ahead of his side’s season opener at Bournemouth.
“I think that’ll be the biggest problem, goals in the team. We need someone to have a streak.”
After little more than 180 minutes of Premier League football, Cardiff are without a goal to their name and have registered just two shots on target. Of course, it’s still early days, and Zohore is still getting up to full speed having missed the clash with Bournemouth due to injury. But more chances need to be created to ensure that Cardiff can start to carry a significant threat in front of goal.
If they don’t, it could be a long old season.