Ralls may pay the penalty, Bennett’s a must and time to unleash Murphy
WHILE West Ham were blowing bubbles, Cardiff City were blowing hot and cold at the London Stadium.
The problem was the heat was never quite intense enough to burn a hole in Lukasz Fabianski’s gloves, while the stone-cold defending was statuesque at times, allowing Lucas Perez and company to prosper.
So while Neil Warnock took the positives from the 3-1 defeat, what did supporters learn about the Bluebirds and their Premier League survival hopes?
Penalty woes and Ralls’ last chance
Cardiff have missed their last three penalties – and they were all pretty crucial misses too. Gary Madine and Junior Hoilett failed to find the net in stoppage time against Wolves last season.
And with Joe Ralls – regularly on target from 12 yards – back in the spotlight at the London Stadium, it went awry for Cardiff again, a costly mistake when a goal before half-time would surely have changed the complexion of the contest, as Warnock rightly asserted.
So is it a case of more penalty practise needed on the training ground? It’s not as simple as that, perhaps more that the Bluebirds need to hold their nerve under Premier League pressure.
With Victor Camarasa set to take the next one, many fans on social media were already speculating whether Ralls would even be in the side the next time Cardiff are awarded a penalty.
Many have lost patience with the midfielder. His brilliantly consistent displays last season are a distant memory, with Aron Gunnarsson and Harry Arter showing the way forward. Warnock is a huge fan of Ralls and was loathe to criticise him after the game, but from a tactical perspective it would make sense for Camarasa to shift into a central position with Josh Murphy out wide.
Warnock may have to make a big call and drop his No.8 for the Southampton game this weekend.
Bennett must play but right-back is needed
Warnock insisted he would be satisfied even if he failed to land defensive additions in January. For him, a defensive midfielder and striker are more pressing concerns.
And he’s not wrong, of course he’s not.
But asking Bruno Manga to try manfully and cope with the guile of Felipe Anderson, coupled with the pace and physicality of Arthur Masuaku was unfair on the Gabon international. On the other side, Warnock correctly praised the returning Joe Bennett, but it’s clear - despite the Yorkshireman’s protestations - that this defence needs help.
The ludicrous miscommunication between Bennett and Sean Morrison for Perez’s first goal was just the latest in a litany of errors in the Bluebirds back line.
For those who watched the same back four shrug off the best attacks in the Championship last season, it’s a puzzling sight and in truth it’s gone on for too long. There’s a growing feeling that Manga must play at centre-back or not at all.
Cardiff have been linked with Nathaniel Clyne and a right back of that calibre would certainly help the cause.
Big names on the bench (again)
Is it simply Warnock’s desire for his side to remain compact and resolute that keeps Bobby Decordova-Reid and Josh Murphy on the substitutes’ bench for games like this? Or a lack of faith from the manager in his summer signings? We can only hope it’s the former and not the latter.
Neither player has done much to harm his case for a start, both impressing in short bursts this season – particularly Murphy, who even got a goal in the most unlikely of situations at West Ham.
Warnock deserves the benefit of the doubt over this selection because of the way Cardiff played at times in the first half. They were compact and the back four largely untroubled – because of the protection offered by Gunnarsson, Arter and Ralls.
Tactically, it looked like a decent move until the game unravelled after the break.
But when Southampton visit Cardiff City Stadium this weekend, Warnock must unshackle £21million-worth of talent. Murphy and Reid must start – both of them.
Cardiff have shown they can worry virtually every defence in the Premier League when they roll the dice.
In Murphy and Reid they have pace, trickery, vision and finishing and Saints – new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl or not – will find them difficult to stop
Glimmers of light in the darkness
Take that 20-minute spell either side of half-time, photocopy it, pin it to the dressing room wall and use it as a blueprint for future away performances.
As Warnock said (presumably referring to Cardiff’s purple patch): “I thought it showed we can win games away from home.”
The football was more progressive than at Stamford Bridge, Anfield or Goodison Park.
It was on the floor, it was fast and it was fluent.
Unfortunately it was all too brief, Cardiff enduring “a mad 12 minutes”– as the manager deftly put it – from which they could never recover.
If Ralls had converted the penalty, we might have seen a different Cardiff City away performance. We may even have seen a win.
It wasn’t to be, but it was enough to give all supporters hope for future trips on the road this season.