Questions, questions... will pre-season provide the answers as to how new-look City line-up?
IT hardly feels like we’ve been away, but Cardiff City’s pre-season starts today when they welcome Cambridge United to Leckwith.
Given the whirlwind transfer window Cardiff have partaken in, the off-season seems to have flown by and it is scarcely believable we are gearing up in earnest once again for another marathon Championship campaign.
The Bluebirds will boast a newlook squad heading into this season, which brings with it excitement and possibly trepidation.
The element of the unknown adds a layer of intrigue to these pre-season games, however Steve Morison and his coaching staff will be casting their beady eyes over their new additions.
There will have been plenty of scouting done and Cardiff will have done all of their homework on their new additions, but they will only learn what their new players are truly capable of when they take to the grass against their opponents in pre-season.
While little can be read into results in these friendly matches as players are brought up to speed and systems and formations are tweaked and honed, there will certainly be some pressing issues Morison and Co will want a clearer idea on before that opening Championship game against Norwich City on July 30.
We take a look at the big topics which will be under the microscope in the five pre-season fixtures...
BATTLE FOR THE GLOVES
WELL, it all starts at the back for Cardiff. We find ourselves in a similar situation to a few years ago when Alex Smithies, Neil Etheridge and Joe Day were all senior goalkeepers and wanting game-time.
Now, City have Dillon Phillips, Ryan Allsop and Jak Alnwick, all of whom have countless senior games under their belts and will all feel they have a claim to start between the sticks against the Canaries at the beginning of the season.
While Rohan Luthra has been training with City’s first-team keepers, it is largely accepted that he is currently fourth choice and will likely get some under-23s minutes under his belt next season. But as for the others, well, this pre-season could be crucial.
No doubt Graham Stack and Steve Morison have a loose idea of the pecking order as things stand, but all three will get their opportunity to shine in pre-season, no doubt, and you can certainly play yourself in or out of contention over the course of the next few weeks.
It’s an intriguing little sub-plot in this batch of friendly fixtures and it will be interesting to see who plays the most minutes, who plays the least, who keeps clean sheets and who, if anyone, produces a howler. They’ll all be under the microscope, though, for sure.
MIDFIELD SCRAMBLE
NOW, of course, the well-documented midfield scramble. A genuine six-way battle for a maximum of three positions in the middle of the park.
Joe Ralls, Andy Rinomhota, Ebou Adams, Ryan Wintle, Romaine Sawyers and Rubin Colwill will all have cause to be confident heading into this season and that, in itself, is a positive thing.
Cardiff’s midfield has often been perceived to be a big weakness, but, heading into this new campaign, it looks like the club’s biggest strength at the minute.
There is a big variety in that engine room now.
Wintle and Rinomhota bring pace and calm, Adams brings his massive engine, a genuine boxto-boxer, Ralls brings a consistency and calm, Sawyers a sprinkle of quality and Colwill, well, he can bring you anything.
Whether Morison now sees Colwill as more of an advanced player might be interesting to keep an eye on, though, a second striker or a winger, for example.
He is listed as an attacker, rather than a midfielder, on the club’s website, so we might be able to read something into that.
But whether Cardiff play two or three players in the middle, it looks like they will have the ability to mix and match and field a lovely blend in the middle of the pitch, which is encouraging.
Which combination will work best is definitely something which will be near the top of
Morison’s agenda over the coming weeks.
TANNER’S TEKKERS
A really interesting unknown factor heading into this season is how Ollie Tanner will perform. What level is he at? Will he take to this level of football like a duck to water or will he be a slow burner?
Indeed, all the noises from inside camp are that, technically, he is very sound and has showcased some cool finishing on the training ground.
Whether that can be produced on the pitch is something we will find out in due course, I guess.
It is no secret that a glut of Championship clubs, and some
Premier League sides, were taking a look at the 20-year-old and it was seen as something of a coup that he opted for Cardiff.
A quick, strong winger who likes to run at defenders, shoot from distance and cross, on paper it sounds like he has it all.
Fans would be lying if they said they had seen loads of him, so it will be their first glimpse of the former Lewes FC man.
Is he someone who will be pushing to start that first game at Norwich? Or will he be eased in throughout the season?
I guess these five pre-season games are when we find out...
LEFT-BACK TUSSLE
WHILE Tanner will likely operate on the left-hand side, behind him will be a battle for the left-back spot.
Joel Bagan established himself as first choice for a time last season and enjoyed a stunning surge in form during City’s climb out of the relegation battle, scoring three goals in three games.
He had no real competition at that time, though, with Alfie Doughty injured.
This season, he will have
Jamilu Collins for company, a player with international pedigree who has played, and thrived, in the Bundesliga.
Again, few will have seen Collins play, but he looks an imposing unit and former City winger Chris Burke name-checked him as someone who impressed during the club’s trip to the Edinburgh Oriam in the last few weeks.
At 20, Bagan will view this season as one in which he wants to make his mark in a City shirt. But Collins hasn’t come from Paderborn to be a spare part.
Both will get their shot in preseason and it looks to be a straight shootout between who will be handed a starting spot against the Canaries.
THE MAX FACTOR
With Cardiff keen on recruiting another striker in the transfer window, the spotlight will be beaming on those already in the building.
James Collins is likely to leave in the coming weeks, while it remains to be seen whether pacey duo Isaak Davies and Mark Harris will take up wide berths next season.
It means Max Watters will be the only other out-and-out striker at Cardiff, a player with bags of potential but who just hasn’t done it yet in a Cardiff City shirt.
His form in front of goal was never in question at Crawley Town or MK Dons last season and it is hoped that will be the case for the Bluebirds next term.
It would be positive for all concerned if Watters enjoys a prolific pre-season, nets a few goals and heads into the campaign with confidence.
Cardiff need goals and while they are in the market for a forward, more output will be expected from the 23-year-old next season, that’s for sure.
PERRY AND THE FORMATIONS
AS an aside, I really like the above as a band name. If Perry could start a band and call it that it would be greatly appreciated.
On a footballing note, though, the Perry Ng question is one which just niggles away as things stand.
He was one of Cardiff’s most important players last season
and blossomed in that right centre-back role in a back three.
Given Cardiff’s strength now seems to lie in midfield, will they opt for a back three, possibly taking away a central midfielder in doing so?
Or will they go for a back four, with three central midfield players then more likely to be named?
They finished the season with four at the back with mixed success.
While Ng looked excellent at right centre-half in a back three, he seemed a little more exposed when he was alongside just one other at the heart of defence.
But then if Cardiff are looking to play more football and bring the ball out from the back more often, Ng is the best exponent of that and will be central to carrying out that plan.
Is he seen as a right-back anymore? With Mahlon Romeo and Vontae Daley-Campbell having been brought in, it seems unlikely now.
He should be one of the first names on the team sheet, but it’s whether Cardiff can nail down a formation and a position which will suit him.