Bluebirds’ to-do list... what faces new boss at Cardiff
WHOEVER takes over at Cardiff City will have a lengthy list of issues and concerns to deal with.
The Bluebirds’ awful start to the 2021/22 campaign has left them well and truly in the mire, unexpectedly facing an early fight to propel themselves away from the drop zone.
But there are other problems, on and off the pitch, the new man has to tackle and they will all have to be solved as a matter of urgency before too much of this season has passed us by.
We take a look at the pressing issues the new manager must tackle quickly in order to turn this season around and get the club back on a better footing...
ARREST WOEFUL FORM
It sounds obvious, of course, but the first thing that is needed is a dramatic upturn in form.
The first thing the manager needs to do is get a bucketload of points in the bag. That should be No.1 on the club’s list of criteria.
Relegation is simply not an option given the financial concerns which surround Cardiff, as well as most Championship clubs. The squad has enough good players to keep themselves in this division and the new manager must ensure that is the case.
While Steve Morison doesn’t have experience of doing that during his fledgling managerial career, Mike Flynn does, having steered Newport County away from the League Two drop zone in his first season in charge at Rodney Parade.
Neil Warnock has previous, too, of course, having done that exact thing after taking over back in 2016. We all know what happened after that.
But the reason chairman Mehmet Dalman alluded to the fact that appointing Morison would constitute a risk is because the board are, understandably, terrified at the prospect of relegation and sit in a far-too-precarious position at present.
There is still a feeling that the club want someone with experience for this very reason. An immediate run of positive results is imperative and experience will count in that case.
ADDRESS STYLE OF PLAY
Bluebirds supporters have had to endure some seriously attritional football in recent times.
The reason there is so much of a clamour for Morison over the last week or so is because of the marked change the caretaker boss implemented in terms of how the team played.
Transforming the style of play is the quickest way to Cardiff fans’ hearts at the minute. The Bluebirds played some front-foot football with Morison at the helm and it was genuinely pleasing to watch.
While Flynn changed the style of football for the betterment of Newport, some still believe it wasn’t the most pleasing to watch. But it was a notable shift and a much-needed change.
Warnock’s football was direct and some grew weary of it towards the end of his reign at the club. However it was still better than some of the dross we’ve been served up this year.
Michael Beale, who the club have been keen on, works up at Rangers, who have proven under Steven Gerrard that they can be both direct and easy on the eye. He is lauded as a coach, Beale, and would no doubt be able to get a tune out of these players on the grass.
But it is Morison who has the credit in the bank so far. He has had the backing of the players when it comes to the football which has been implemented over the last fortnight.
Will Vaulks spoke of how much more enjoyable it is playing in midfield under Morison and Kieffer Moore believes he will get far more goals if this style of play continues moving forward.
If not Morison, then certainly someone who believes that sort of possession-based, attacking style is the way forward must have a big green tick in their box.
The appointment should be made on a certain philosophy, with a longerterm plan in mind. The manager appointed in the coming days should be in line with ones they want to appoint in three, five, 10 years’ time. That ensures consistency in recruitment and limits the wastage when it comes to overhauling systems when new managers with vastly-different philosophies are appointed.
Many, again quite rightly, want the Morison-type of football moving forward. It’s more in-keeping with the modern game and is more aligned with the blueprint of successful clubs, those who have made the jump from Championship to Premier League and stayed there.
Moreover, Cardiff fans will afford some latitude to any manager coming in and trying to play a better brand of football.
A HUGE JANUARY WINDOW AND THE KIEFFER QUESTION
There is no doubt that January will be crucial this year. The most important January window in quite some time, one would think.
Firstly, bodies need to be brought in. You can wax lyrical about all these promising young players, and so we should, but it is clear to see that experience is needed if Cardiff are to sustain a push away from the relegation zone.
Vaulks alluded to it last week while Morison also highlighted the need for another experienced forward player owing to the onus being placed on Moore and the misfiring James Collins.
The likes of Warnock and Flynn would have dealt with transfer windows and both have experience – albeit very different methods – of bolstering squads in preparation for a push up the table.
Morison, Beale and the like have little experience of that and with the lack of expert football knowledge on the board that might work against them.
There is also the huge, looming question surrounding Kieffer Moore. Will other clubs come back in for him in January? Will City’s resolve be tested with a more serious bid than Wolves’ paltry deadline-day offer back in the summer?
Keeping hold of Moore is a big part of the battle, regardless of the players who will undoubtedly be brought in.
Should Moore leave, the new man simply must be able to bring in a ready replacement. One who can shoulder the brunt of Cardiff’s goalscoring burden to ensure they don’t fall away at the back end of the campaign.
BIG STARS’ CONTRACTS RUNNING OUT
Another looming concern is the number of experienced stars whose contracts run out at the end of the season.
First-team stars including captain Sean Morrison, Joe Ralls, Marlon Pack, Vaulks, Aden Flint, Alex Smithies, Ciaron Brown and even Isaac Vassell all have fewer than eight months left on their current deals. Josh Murphy, who is currently on loan at Preston, also sees his deal run out next summer.
That, of course, is the spine of the side and the vast majority of Cardiff’s experience.
How many of those stay on next year is largely down to the board but the manager will have a big say on who gets a new deal and who doesn’t.
There are some big wages in the list above and if Cardiff are to continue their policy of austerity then shrewd decisions will have to be taken.
We saw this summer that Mick McCarthy got rid of a dozen players – loans included – many of whom had a wealth of experienced and, rightly or wrongly, threw his trust in the youngsters coming through.
It has been a struggle, it must be said. Cardiff have lacked that experience and ready-made options for when the manager wanted to change things up.
Some of the youngsters have shone and others have struggled. But just how do you address the balance? Do you back the kids and hope they all come good? Or do you try to mitigate the risk by handing a few more experienced players new deals?