Wide men spearhead Bluebirds’ flying start to campaign

WITH 10 arrivals and five permanent first team departures, it’s safe to say it was a busy summer for Neil Warnock.

The Yorkshireman repeatedly stressed his desire for Cardiff ’s summer transfer business to be conducted as swiftly as possible as the 201617 campaign drew to a close.

And swift business is exactly what he got.

With the exception of Omar Bogle and the deadline day loan signings of Liam Feeney and Craig Bryson, the bulk of Cardiff’s summer dealings were done well before the start of the 2017-18 season got underway.

And one of the main positions that Warnock was eager to address is Cardiff’s wing berths.

Having missed out on Jonny Hayes to Celtic and Barrie McKay to Championship rivals Nottingham Forest, it looked like Warnock’s pursuit for wide options may have been a point of frustration over the course of the summer.

But long before most other clubs had even become active in the market, Warnock had already secured the services of a certain Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on a Bosman deal from Rochdale.

Prior to the start of the new campaign, the winger was a relative unknown having spent the majority of the earlier days of his career in League One and League Two.

But by the time the recent international break came around, he was the most talked about name in the Championship.

By the time the international break had passed, he had been nominated for the division’s Player of the Month award for August having scored five goals in all competitions for his new club. And ahead of the Fulham clash, he had his hands on the trophy.

Such was Warnock’s delight with his new signing’s performances, the Yorkshireman even stated that Premier League clubs could be targeting big-money moves for the wideman in the near future when discussing the speculation surrounding the future of star striker Kenneth Zohore.

Mendez-Laing enjoyed a dream home league debut for the Bluebirds, scoring twice in the 3-0 rout of Steve Bruce’s Aston Villa just days after coming to the rescue with a goal in the 2-1 EFL Cup first round win over Portsmouth in the Welsh capital.

And it means he’s already outscored Cardiff ’s wingers from last term after just one month of the new season.

But that’s not to say Mendez-Laing - who has no doubt been the star of the show - has single-handedly guided the Bluebirds to top spot.

Junior Hoilett signed new terms with the Bluebirds in the summer having clearly been persuaded by the passion of Warnock that the Yorkshireman’s vision for the club was a realistic goal rather than a pipe dream.

And the Canadian has well and truly stepped up to the plate having starred for his country in the Gold Cup in the summer, scoring two goals and registering three assists in the opening month, meaning he’s already matches his goal tally from last term while he’s only one behind his overall total of four assists for the entirety of the 2016-17 campaign.

So clearly, the first choice pair are on fire, but what about the back-up?

Feeney – the Blackburn man who joined the Bluebirds on loan until January at the eleventh hour on transfer deadline day – made his debut against Fulham.

His stats so far – albeit he’s in the infancy of his Cardiff career – read: one substitute appearance, one assist.

Now that’s not to say fans should get the bunting up in the streets of the Welsh capital simply because of one cross that saw Danny Ward head home his first competitive goal for the Bluebirds against Slavisa Jokanovic’s men.

But Feeney’s brief cameo at Craven Cottage – a game in which he also struck the bar with an audacious injury-time effort – certainly bodes well as far as Warnock’s options from the bench are concerned.

The wingers are delivering the goods, and then some.

It means the spotlight has been taken off Kenneth Zohore who has been able to put in the hard yards and not have to panic about failing to score since the opening day win over Burton at the Pirelli Stadium.

This can only bode well for the Dane who will surely hit the goaltrail soon enough as Cardiff enter the most congested period in their bustling fixture schedule.

And as far as the widemen are concerned, the Bluebirds will have the currently injured Kadeem Harris waiting in the wings, so to speak, later this year.

It says it all that consistently excellent performances from the men behind Cardiff ’s front three aren’t the main topics of discussion as far as the fans are concerned.

The 4-3-3 system deployed by Warnock has seen Aron Gunnarsson, Loic Damour and Joe Ralls give the protection required at the back, meaning the front three have been allowed to wreak havoc at the business end of the park.

And the wing men are taking their chances to shine with aplomb.

Long may it continue.