Pressure shift, what to do with Gunnar and need for new hero
CARDIFF City dropped out of the automatic promotion places after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa following Jack Grealish’s long-range strike.
Here are the key talking points from Villa Park.
A NEW PRESSURE SHIFT WARNOCK has continuously played down his side’s chances of promotion and has been quick to re-iterate –justifiably so – how much the Bluebirds are over-achieving this term.
And speaking after the defeat to Aston Villa, the Yorkshireman admitted he prefers to be the “hunter” rather than the “hunted” .
It, of course, comes after Fulham continued their remarkable run of form with a 1-0 win over Reading at Craven Cottage, a result that saw Slavisa Jokanovic’s men leapfrog the Bluebirds into second place in the table.
But, with the game in hand over Derby County still to play, Cardiff’s destiny still remains in their own hands.
And Warnock – who will at the very worst see his side compete in the play-offs come the end of the season – will be more than happy for the spotlight to shift away from the Welsh capital and on to the Cottagers.
THE GUNNARSSON DILEMMA THE Iceland international returned to action against Burton Albion following a lengthy injury lay-off, but the Bluebirds have failed to win in any of the three games in which the midfielder has started since that 3-1 victory.
Clearly there are several mitigating factors behind that run, most notably the difficult fixtures Cardiff have had in that period while Gunnarsson needs minutes to get back to full speed after such a long spell on the sidelines.
But the midfielder endured an immensely difficult night against Villa, and Jack Grealish, in particular.
Craig Bryson has every right to feel hard done by after missing out on a starting spot against Steve Bruce’s side after such an impressive shift in the 1-0 loss to Wolves, while Joe Ralls’ absence has been felt even more of late.
Add to the mix the seemingly-forgotten man Loic Damour who has barely had a sniff of late and there’s a real selection dilemma in the midfield for Warnock to ponder.
But perhaps even more frustratingly for the travelling army of fans who made the trip from South Wales to the Midlands, they once again witnessed a raft of Gunnarsson’s trademark long throw-ins, but once again they failed to see the tactic yield any rewards.
Perhaps it’s time for a tweak.
IT’S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM HAVING scored goals for fun at times this season, the Bluebirds have only bulged the net once in their last three games, a run that has seem them collect just one point from a possible nine. But even in defeat, at least Warnock’s men have been chances.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing looked back to his rip-roaring best at Villa Park, being denied by the post and goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, while Kenneth Zohore did have one golden chance in the second half.
And even against Champions elect Wolves, the Bluebirds had enough openings – including two spot-kicks – to take something out of the game.
It was yet another gut-wrenching result for the Cardiff supporters to take against Bruce’s side.
But if they can be a bit more clinical in front of goal over the next few weeks, the Bluebirds’ points tally will creating no doubt be back on the rise.
TIME FOR THE JANUARY STARS AND OTHERS TO SHINE
THE January arrival of Gary Madine had a huge impact on Kenneth Zohore while the other regulars seemed to benefit from the winter window additions as Cardiff went on a 13-game unbeaten run in the league after their loss to Queens Park Rangers on New Year’s Day.
But of the men signed by Warnock in January, only Marko Grujic has impressed thus far. Armand Traore showed flashes before picking up an injury while Jamie Ward has also spent a lot of time on the sidelines, but the Cardiff faithful are yet to see the best of Madine or Yanic Wildschut.
And all the while Anthony Pilkington – who rescued a point for Cardiff at Sheffield United – has had to settle for a cameo appearance here and there.
But following back-to-back defeats, there has been a clamour from fans for Warnock to mix things up over the final five league matches to help get Cardiff’s automatic bid back on track.
And those mentioned could yet have a big say on whether or not the Bluebirds go up this season. It just remains to be seen if someone will get the opportunity to be a surprise hero.