Could January flops impact on Bluebirds’ window shopping?
LEE Tomlin and Gary Madine have mustered just one Cardiff City goal between them. After 35 appearances in all competitions and – more pertinently – £7.5million spent (plus millions more in wages and add-ons), the Bluebirds could soon cut their losses with both players.
Tomlin has seemingly been written off already; Cardiff were open to offers in the summer yet none came and the frustratingly talented playmaker stayed put – only to be shunned from Neil Warnock’s 25-man Premier League squad.
Madine just hasn’t worked out and although Warnock is persisting with the £6million man, if Cardiff get the striker they want (and need) in January it could be curtains for him too.
But why have two players heralded as crucial signings for Cardiff not been able to shine? And what impact could this have on future transfer business?
WRONG PROFILE OF PLAYER?
WARNOCK was keen to sign Tomlin and Madine, feeling they could contribute something significant to his team, and was backed by the hierarchy who freed up the funds.
Yet, for whatever reason, it has simply not happened for either player, neither of whom possesses the explosive pace often required in the forward areas.
Both have attributes, yet the Bluebirds never played to Tomlin’s strengths when he was picked. They didn’t feed the ball into the No.10 channels, didn’t seem on the same wavelength as him and he wasn’t picked very often.
Madine is capable in the air but uncomfortable darting in behind defences or playing on the shoulder, the way Kenneth Zohore (at his best) can do.
Tomlin has shown glimpses, including that brilliant late goal at Reading last season, but not enough consistency for Warnock to trust him in the Premier League. Madine has rarely looked like scoring the goals Cardiff need.
The truth is neither player has fulfilled expectations in a Cardiff shirt.
TRANSFER FEES WEIGH HEAVY
MANAGERS are always quick to dismiss the impact of a hefty transfer fee.
We saw it as Madine struggled last season and Warnock issued a staunch defence of his January capture, saying: “I’m absolutely delighted that I got him.
“He’s not going to be everybody’s favourite because he doesn’t score goals and he doesn’t do this or that and because we paid good money for him.
“But he knows what I think about him. I’ve never been happier with a signing.”
The boss surely wouldn’t repeat that now.
Madine has had little to no effect in the Premier League and, in brutal terms, hasn’t justified the outlay.
The same can be said of Tomlin, another whose signature Warnock was very excited about. You could maybe put Omar Bogle in that bracket too, who is now on loan at Birmingham after signing for an admittedly more modest £750,000.
An oddity of Warnock’s reign is players like Neil Etheridge, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Sol Bamba and Junior Hoilett – all free transfers – have thrived more than anyone.
Those players arrived as ‘underdogs’, without the pressure perhaps felt by Madine and Tomlin.
“Lee reminds me of Adel Taarabt who I had at QPR,” said Warnock when signing Tomlin.
“He’s always a threat when he’s on the ball... and I’m hoping I can get the best out of him here.
“His creativity is second to none an we want to give him the platform to use that. This is the right atmosphere for him to revel in.”
The atmosphere, in truth, hasn’t been right for either Madine or Tomlin.
LESSONS LEARNED FOR THIS JANUARY
THERE’S no doubt Warnock has been shopping in the Championship throughout his Bluebirds reign. It’s a league he knows and loves and a market Cardiff can compete in. It’s where Madine and Tomlin were sourced, as well as more recent signings Bobby Decordova-Reid and Josh Murphy last summer.
And while the Bluebirds paid larger fees for the latter pair – who are looking pretty good so far – Vincent Tan may be unwilling to sanction major funds in January after the Madine situation last year.
The Malaysian owner has been cutting costs in an attempt to make Cardiff self-sufficient and compliant with Financial Fair Play rules.
Yet the need to spend money in January won’t be lost on anyone at the club.
Warnock will persuasively argue Cardiff need a higher calibre of forward to survive in the Premier League and he will need £15million or more.
But when it has come to spending, the veteran boss actually has a mixed record in South Wales and Tan could be more open to loans as a method of improving the squad in January.
In either case, Cardiff must avoid the pitfalls of previous transfers and choose their players wisely.
They cannot afford to suffer another forward transfer flop.