The pain game
SCARLETS AND WALES STAR BALL ON HIS INJURY WOE... AND THE ROAD TO THE RUGBY WORLD CUP:
20-PAGE BUSINESS IN WALES
CARDIFF City may have been soundly beaten by Chelsea and before that out-gunned by Arsenal, but Neil Warnock’s tactical flexibility has been admirable.
It’s not just the stark change in formation – from a compact 4-3-3 to a more fluid 4-4-1-1 – that has been noticeable, but the individuals Warnock has selected, not to mention the more dynamic approach.
The Bluebirds boss has stayed true to his summer vow that his Championship-conquering defence would remain the same (or very similar) in the Premier League.
But the attack has been overhauled with a much-needed fresher feel in both style and personnel.
In Cardiff’s final Championship game against Reading last season the front five was: Kenneth Zohore, Junior Hoilett, Nathaniel MendezLaing, Callum Paterson and Craig Bryson. Gary Madine and Jamie Ward also featured prominently in the promotion run-in.
Against Chelsea and Arsenal it was all change, bar Hoilett, who might have lost his place to Josh Murphy had the former Norwich City wide man been fit enough to face either the Blues or the Gunners.
Danny Ward, Bobby Reid, Victor Camarasa and Harry Arter all played, Zohore and Paterson were benched, Bryson not retained after his loan from Derby.
Yes, on both occasions Cardiff were undone by their opponents’ attacking excellence, but the system allowed David to give Goliath a huge fright both times.
If Murphy can recover from a hamstring injury for the weekend’s clash with Manchester City then he looks very likely to replace Hoilett, who has had an unusually quiet start to the season and looks to be struggling.
The same could be said for Zohore who has already been axed and replaced by the more nimble Ward and Reid in attack.
So, we can loosely assume the front five against Man City – with Joe Ralls continuing in the holding midfield role – could be: Ward, Reid, Camarasa, Arter, Murphy.
Four summer signings in there with Ward, the only star retained from last season’s squad, perhaps a little fortunate the Bluebirds didn’t land a marquee striker in the summer.
Surely Troy Deeney, Tammy Abraham or Danny Ings would have occupied the main role if one of them had been lured to South Wales – meaning Warnock’s desired forward line would (and should?) have been entirely new-look.
He wanted players of Premier League quality, clearly with this new approach formulating in his head.
Make up your own minds about why it wasn’t used in the opening three games of the campaign. Especially the Newcastle and Huddersfield stalemates, which now feel like opportunities missed.
None of this is to decry Hoilett, who has proven in the past he is very capable in the top flight. But his slow start is a cause for concern, especially with current injuries to Murphy and Mendez Laing making wide options limited.
Camarasa and then Jazz Richards played as pseudo right-wingers against Chelsea, neither getting much joy out of Marcos Alonso.
What about Zohore? Much has been written about Zohore and he has much to prove. Probably more than Hoilett. Warnock’s words haven’t boded well for the striker.
Mendez-Laing is unlucky and might have made the step up had his fledgling Premier League not been cruelly delayed by injury.
Paterson was converted into a No.10 towards the end of last season, a decision borne out of necessity and one that worked in the Championship.
But with those wide areas a potential problem area going into the Man City game – and defending for long periods an inevitability versus Pep Guardiola’s champions – Cardiff may usher back Aron Gunnarsson.
The Icelandic captain hasn’t even featured in a matchday squad this season as the club carefully plot his return.
Yet he could be ideally suited to the holding role in a diamond midfield to cope with City’s overwhelming attacking strengths. Ralls could shift to a narrow leftmidfield position with Camarasa on.
In the medium-term, however, Warnock shouldn’t by shy to attack and that means giving Murphy an extended run on the left, with either Ralls or Gunnarsson in the centre.
This new system has been more evolution than revolution.
And although it hasn’t yielded a single point yet, Cardiff’s spirited performances against the Premier League’s big-hitters have proven it’s worth persevering with.