BREAK WILL NOT BE SO BLEAK FOR WARNOCK’S BLUEBIRDS
EIL Warnock’s first month in charge is over and, in terms of the table, Cardiff City aren’t too much further ahead of where they were when it started.
One point above the relegation zone, their position remains perilous and the improving form of Aston Villa, Derby County and Leeds United above them is ominous.
Yet, the mood will be nowhere near as bleak as it was on the away day that preceded the last international break.
There, the travelling support were left angry, frustrated and downbeat as they chanted ‘Trollope for England’ in the driving rain at Burton Albion.
Here, Cardiff’s second-half rally offered genuine cause for optimism and hope that while the ‘surge’ up the table many fans dreamed of looks unlikely, the Bluebirds can pull away from trouble at least.
On a couple of occasions at St James’ Park, Cardiff looked in danger of getting blown away by the pace, power and fluidity of Newcastle.
First, after the game plan was blown away in the opening minutes as Christian Atsu curled home from close range.
The Magpies were well on top and a sign of their sky-high confidence was Ciaran Clark striding out with the ball like a libero of old. Only months ago he was part of a dreadful Aston Villa defence.
Cardiff dug in, and fought their way back into the game. They looked like they could pull a goal back from a set-piece as Junior Hoilett hauled them up the field with a number of bright, surging runs.
Then, just before the break, they switched off. Sol Bamba came out of position and no-one filled the gap. 2-0 thanks to Yoan Gouffran, and it looked like game over.
Newcastle came flying out the traps after half-time and again it looked like Cardiff could fold. That they didn’t is to their credit. They came close on three occasions before Peter Whittingham grabbed a consolation goal.
Cardiff’s deficiencies, so obvious for the early part of the season, have clearly not been completely ironed out.
After the initial spark in results that followed Warnock’s arrival, they have been undone in the last two encounters by a lack of pace and variety in attack.
It was notable that in the absence of Matt Ritchie, said by many to be the star of the Newcastle show this season, Christian Atsu stepped in and delivered a first-half performance of searing pace and incision.
Cardiff couldn’t live with him at times and while Hoilett delivered by far his best performance of the season so far, it is an area in which the Bluebirds still can’t quite compete.
Whereas Newcastle’s squad looks balanced and complete, Cardiff’s remains lopsided.
Yet, there was no despair from Warnock and nor should there be.
The fixture list looked truly daunting upon his arrival, but anyone would surely have been taken seven points from five games against Bristol City, Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Wigan and Newcastle United.
A result here would have been a bonus and you suspect that the Wigan defeat is the one from this sequence that will rankle the most.
In terms of the table, there remains a strong possibility that things will get worse before they get better.
Cardiff return from the international break to face Huddersfield, Aston Villa, Brighton and Ipswich Town.
They will be difficult games and the Bluebirds can only hope that they have enough firepower to eke out some points.
Nevertheless, the long-term prognosis looks improved after this burst of games.
Warnock has much to do, but that Cardiff didn’t crumble and almost nicked a point suggests that some steel is returning to a side that rolled over too easily early in the season.
In Bamba (admittedly at fault here), Gunnarsson, Hoilett, Lambert and Whittingham, there is also a spine of a more resilient and more incisive team emerging.
Newcastle’s excellence shows how far the quality at the top of the league has jumped this season and, for the most part, Cardiff are simply not at that level.
They will have to graft and at least they have shown under the new manager that they can pull away from trouble in the long run.
This will be an altogether more peaceful international break, even if many problems remain.