Former Wales ace Roberts sticks boot into duo
FORMER Wales striker Iwan Roberts has stuck the boot into Cardiff City captain Sean Morrison and midfielder Leandro Bacuna owing to their recent performances.
Both Roberts and former Cardiff City defender Danny Gabbidon issued impassioned monologues on this week’s episode of BBC podcast EJFOF pertaining to the Bluebirds’ woes following their midweek drubbing at the hands of West Brom.
The former Wales striker laid into Cardiff, firstly stating that skipper Morrison had been a shadow of his former self this season.
“Sean Morrison, the captain, is always great after the game and cheers the fans, oh, that’s just great when you’ve lost 5-1 and 4-0 at home,” Roberts said.
“That’s just passing the blame. I see him pointing the finger and blame to players in front of him – I think he has got to take responsibili
ty for himself. Time after time this season I’ve seen him standing off players, 20, 25 yards from goal, ‘Go on then, have a shot’. Bournemouth he did, the other night he stood off Karlan Grant and he’s rifled one in.
The former Leicester City, Watford, Wolves and Norwich City forward then took aim at Bacuna and did not hold back in his view of the player’s performance against the Baggies.
“Bacuna I don’t think should ever play for Cardiff again,” Roberts claimed. “If that’s all it takes to be a professional footballer, to go through the motions as he did – he wasn’t the only one in that second half.
“Gabs, we could still play, if that’s all that’s required of you.
We could still be playing. He didn’t try a leg in that second half.
“It’s as if they are hiding behind the manager.
“Mick has got to help himself. He knows that he got the job because Neil Harris lost five games on the spin. Mick knows he hasn’t got long to turn things around.
“You look at October and they’ve got some tough, tough games. Reading are flying after a poor start, the derby takes care of itself, they’ve got Fulham, one of the best sides in the division, they’ve got Middlesbrough, Neil Warnock, who would love to get one over on his own club, and they play Stoke who are fifth.
“He’s got a really tough October.”
All this, of course, has a knock-on effect on the supporters who schlepp across the country to watch their beloved Bluebirds.
And Roberts said Cardiff players need to ask themselves if they are doing enough to repay the faith placed in them by City fans.
He added: “Cardiff fans will forgive anything, mistakes... they will accept anything if you’re giving everything and winning games, they’ll accept any type of football.
“There’s no football snobbery from Cardiff fans.
“But at the minute, they’re not doing anything.
“As a footballer, you need to look yourself in the mirror and ask, ‘Am I doing enough?’ I don’t think enough of those Cardiff City players are.”
Cardiff players have a chance to put that right this weekend when Reading visit the Welsh capital on Saturday afternoon.