GUNNAR’S SALUTE
CARDIFF City rounded off the season in wonderful style, defeating Manchester United on their own patch on Sunday, suggesting bright times lie in wait for the relegated Bluebirds.
Here are the key talking points to emerge from Cardiff City’s famous win...
Cardiff’s Fab Four
The Liverpool quartet of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Xherdan Shaqiri were swiftly dubbed the “Fab Four” earlier on in the campaign after clicking into gear and tearing defences apart.
But Cardiff may well have found their own front four that could cause plenty of damage in the future.
Bobby Decordova-Reid was flanked by the lethal duo of Josh Murphy and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing at Old Trafford, with Kenneth Zohore operating as the Bluebirds’ lone striker. And as a unit, Cardiff’s attackers ran riot against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
“I wanted everyone to be at their absolute maximum and give them a good game. I always felt our front four could cause them problems if I’m honest, and I thought they did,” said Neil Warnock.
“In fact, if we’d have been a little bit more confident with the final pass we could have scored a few more.”
Despite seeing just 27% of possession, Cardiff managed 13 shots in the win over United, four of which were on target.
The two wingers more than did their defensive duties while their pace caused the Red Devils no end of problems. Not to mention the fact that Mendez-Laing scored both goals, earning the penalty himself for the opener while Murphy got the assist for the second.
But their end product could not have been achieved without the tireless efforts of Zohore up front while Decordova-Reid proved to be the glue in the No. 10 role.
Victor Camarasa and Oumar Niasse will move on to pastures new in the summer after seeing their loan deals from Real Betis and Everton respectively come to an end.
But Cardiff may well have found a formula that could prove to be a real hit in the Championship next term.
So here’s to you, Aron Gunnarsson
After eight seasons, 286 appearances and 25 goals for the club, Gunnarsson said an emotional farewell to the club he joined from Coventry City back in 2011.
The Iceland international is one of only two players - Rhys Healey being the other - to represent Cardiff in both of their Premier League campaigns.
And the central midfielder’s contributions to the club have been quite simply unquantifiable.
Gunnarsson led by example in what was his final outing for the Bluebirds at Old Trafford.
And it was somewhat disappointing to see him depart the field before the hour mark, although there were inevitably reasons for Warnock making that particular call.
Nevertheless, he was widely embraced by several team mates as he departed.
But the reception he received from the 3,059 fans in the away end after the full-time whistle was a sight to behold.
His name was belted out with tremendous force, and the spectacle of the Icelandic clap that followed was akin to the memorable scenes of Euro 2016 when the Nordic islanders stunned England in the last-16 in France.
His efforts will always be appreciated by the Cardiff faithful. He’s been a monumental figure for the Bluebirds over a number of years.
And the celebrations of those who made the trip from South Wales to the North West of England were a fitting indicator of Gunnarsson’s phenomenal contributions to Cardiff City Football Club.
The positions that need bolstering
Warnock confirmed before the game at Old Trafford that Camarasa and Harry Arter had played their final games for the club.
Niasse is another who will depart while Gunnarsson’s eight-year association with the Bluebirds has come to an end.
In addition to those four already confirmed exits, there could well be others who wish to secure moves away from Cardiff City Stadium over the summer.
But if Cardiff are to have any chance of securing promotion back into the top flight at the first attempt, they’ll certainly need a few additions.
“We’ll talk about the whole club. We’ve lost some good players, Camarasa, Harry Arter, Niasse and (Sol) Bamba is out for a while so we need to bringing in three or four good players,” said Warnock when asked about his meeting with the club’s hierarchy.
Central midfield has quickly become an area of concern with Camarara, Arter and Gunnarson all leaving while the Bluebirds are in desperate need of another striker to challenge Zohore, even if Healey is given a more prominent role.
If Warnock is given the assurances that tick his boxes, we could well see him in the dugout at Cardiff again next term.
But there’s clearly a number of other deals that will need to follow if the Bluebirds are to be serious contenders for promotion in the 2019/20 campaign.
The tragic question that will never be answered
Emiliano Sala’s tragic death shook the club to its very foundations.
The Argentinian signed for a club record fee from Nantes, but only two days after his transfer was officially announced, he was sadly killed in a plane crash, along with the aircraft’s pilot David Ibbotson.
At just 28 years of age, the striker had the world at his feet after securing a dream move to the Premier League.
And his shock death will always leave the Cardiff faithful - as well as everyone involved in the day to day running of the club - wondering what could have been.
There are no guarantees his contributions would have made any difference whatsoever.
But at the very least, he deserved the chance to try.
“I can’t be proud enough. To be a manage of the club at this stage is incredible, especially after what we’ve gone through,” said Warnock after the win over United.
“The Emiliano Sala tragedy, I’ve never experienced anything like that. To come out of that and then give it a go, right until the second to last game, we were in with a shout.”
Rest in peace, Emiliano. We will never let you go.