Case for the defence... How Nelson and McGuinness are indispensible for Bluebirds
IT might surprise some to learn that no player has played more for Cardiff City this season than Curtis Nelson.
The centre-back has slipped under the radar a little, but has played 1,950 minutes for the Bluebirds this term, almost a full match more than Marlon Pack, who sits second on the list.
Since Nelson broke into the first team under Neil Warnock, he has been something of an immovable object. Whether it was Neil Harris, Mick McCarthy or, it seems, Steve Morison, Nelson continues to be one of the first names on the team sheet.
He splits supporters. He has been culpable for more than a goal or two over the last two years, but what defender hasn’t? He struggles with the ball at his feet, too, and that is something which will only be exacerbated with this new style of play being implemented.
But he is largely very good in the air, has a knack of blocking shots from an unlikely starting position and is comfortably the quickest of Cardiff’s centre-back options. That last point is important in a back three and is likely one of the main reasons he continues to get selected.
Nelson has remained injury-free, too, save right at the back end of last season.
No player played more for Cardiff under Harris than Nelson, who turned out 58 times for the former manager, and only Aden Flint played more for McCarthy.
Whether it is in a back two or the left-hand-side of a back three, Nelson has been an ever-present in that defence.
And, just like Nelson two years ago, there is another defender enjoying a rise to prominence in the Welsh capital.
There is an argument to say that Mark McGuinness has been Cardiff’s find of the season. Some would even have him as their player of the season, so far.
The 20-year-old, signed from Arsenal in the summer, is a noticeable presence at the back, loves putting in a strong challenge and, pleasingly, he is extremely comfortable on the ball, which makes for a welcome change.
If Nelson is undroppable based on numbers and managers’ trust, then McGuinness is indispensable based on form and glaringly obvious ability.
McGuinness has not only been largely resolute at the back, but he has chipped in with some vital goals in recent weeks and is quickly becoming a fan favourite.
The problem is, that leaves only one potential slot available in that back three.
With captain Sean Morrison, Flint and Ciaron Brown all seeing their contracts expire at the end of the season, it makes for an interesting sub-plot as we hurtle into the back end of the campaign.
Morrison is a nailedon club legend and has done fantastic things over the last seven years as a Cardiff City player. Last season he was named in the Championship’s Team of the Season, no mean feat at all.
But injuries appear to have caught him up a little. He has looked off the pace and not hit the heights he would have liked by his own extremely lofty standards. In his last game, against Sheffield United, he had a nightmare afternoon and received a red card for his troubles.
He is not the sort of person you want to write off, though, and he will want to have a big bearing on the back end of the campaign as Cardiff try to propel themselves away from the growing threat of relegation.
He is a class act, all things considered, and many want to see him receive a new deal. There are others who believe his race is run in the Welsh capital.
Just how many opportunities he gets to pull people in the second camp back onside will be directly affected by his fellow veteran defender.
Flint started the season like a train. He ended last year terrifically well under McCarthy and kicked on at the beginning of this campaign.
For a long while, he was Cardiff’s top scorer this term and rarely put a foot wrong at the back. When it was Morrison, Nelson and Flint as the back three, most supporters would say the latter was the best of the trio.
He will get a run in the side in the next few weeks owing to Morrison’s red-card suspension, but then the two will battle it out for that final spot, bidding to prove themselves worthy of a new deal.
While it might provide healthy competition, and could even draw the best out of both of them, on the other hand it is a rather precarious place for both of them to find themselves in.
They have both been sought after their entire careers, so it will be an alien experience for the two of them.
As for Brown, well, he appears to be at the bottom of the pile, unfortunately. With each passing week, amid McGuinness’ burgeoning reputation as the club’s top young defensive prospect, it looks as though the Northern Irishman could be heading for the exit.
It is around this time in the season when contract talks really get under way in earnest.
Both Morrison and Flint will be given chances in the coming months, no doubt, but one will have to wait patiently for their opportunity with Nelson and McGuinness currently the manager’s favourites.
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