Bluebirds 2 Burnley 2 > Unlucky or Naive?

It was the kind of rain that could get through to your pants if you’re not dressed appropriately. The kind of relentless downpour that favours slide tackles, long ball tactics and men rather than boys.

After a lame display up at Derby last week, City came out pumped for this one. Unlike recent weeks, the tempo was cranked right up and the ball was being knocked about in a slick fashion around the water logged pitch, with two touch and even one touch football! Not only was it a relief to see but it could even have been categorised as ‘entertainment’. For real - no joke. 

New loan player Tony Watt looked positive and carrying tools other current front players don’t have like pace, a directness and desire. City were not only creative and bright but dug in deep when needed in mental weather.

Sure, the result in the end felt like a cruel defeat but was it just bad luck or was it down to poor 'game management'?  

At 2-0 up, you could claim the substitutions could have been handled with a bit more care and perhaps the game could have been suffocated in midfield like most streetwise teams would. It’s clutching straws blaming Russell Slade for this one though after a rare piece of poor goalkeeping from Dave Marshall and a weird deflected injury time own goal from a usually reliable Matt Connelly. 

City need to move on though and take this performance to Bolton on Saturday, a team all over the place at the moment, and a winnable away game if we go there with ambition. Forget being functional on the road and looking for a ‘good point’ – Cardiff need to keep the tempo up, be ruthless and take the ‘W’.  

Shout out to the boy who attended his third City game with us and is yet to see a defeat. His reaction to conceding in injury time was of pure frustration as he prowled our empty seats angrily – This created mixed feelings for a Father who could be pleased to see he cared but also knowing he might need to get used to frustration.

On route home in car came some great quotes that only a six year who had just seen Cardiff could make:

‘Dad, why didn’t the defenders kick the ball away to stop the goal?’

‘Dad, why was Tony Watt subbed off?’

‘Shall we go out for tea?’ Was my response. 

Woah, Goals! > Bluebirds 2 Reading 0

Last time I brought Isaac along to watch the Bluebirds was the first game of the season, where City played out a cagey 1-1 draw with Fulham. What I’ll remember from that day was the boy being more absorbed in his sweets than the game and while he enjoyed visiting the stadium, he resorted to playing Angry Birds on my phone to null the boredom - I couldn’t blame him.  

It’s been tough trying to sell the game and Cardiff City FC to the boy without nudging him into a world we all know and (sometimes) love – particularly with City being quite unattractive these days and with Russell Slade in charge. 

With the wife away for the weekend though, this Saturday he was joining us again – this time armed with a comic, more sweets and my phone charged to the max. 

After a bleak midweek showing in Leeds, and a recent run of not scoring, I didn’t give Cardiff much chance of a win here. Nevermind scoring TWO goals and putting on a decent display for the boy!

With growing knowledge, this time Isaac took the game in, commenting sagely on how good City were at getting corners and even applauding substitutions! Granted, he shielded his ears from the noise when City scored but progress must have been made as Angry Birds was surplus to requirements. The amount of treats consumed on the day though reached phenomenal levels and will remain between us for fear of his Mum finding out and getting me in a head-lock.  

Saturday saw a refreshing shift from young urchin Joe Ralls who finally got to play in his preferred central role, after the Manager had the change forced on him with injuries and the ever-present Peter Whittingham suspended.  

Fans had been calling for this for months of watching Slade expect Whittingham to run every game. What Whitts brings to the table is clear but picking him persistently unmerited for his set play delivery alone and expecting his legs to dominate the midfield sluggers of the Championship every week (when we’re usually overrun in the middle) is asking for trouble. Whittingham is a gem who needs some thought and wiser management could see him play less and deliver more.

His understudy and potential heir Joe Ralls embodies the modern midfielder who runs around a lot and can do lots of things pretty well, without excelling at anything (Think Jordan Henderson). Ralls is clever, can see a pass, he’s got iron lungs and doesn’t shy away from a tackle either. Then there’s his set play delivery which led to two assists on Saturday. Slade has a decision to make for the next game at Derby as to whether Ralls stays central or Whittingham returns. I speak for most in saying I would like to see Whitts fight for his spot and keep Ralls in. 

Another rough win for City against a quality side even saw a begrudged change in formation towards the end as shape changed to a shutdown 4-5-1. The goals again came from set plays though (two headers) with City looking far from creative - albeit with a higher tempo. What most fans were discussing though was where we would be without David Marshall who was quite unreal… again. 

The criticism for the Manager from both the support and the media remains unrelenting, and even when we win 2-0, it’s our goalkeeper’s performance that got the praise, not Russell Slade. His pursuit of praise may never come though as anything but a top-six finish for Cardiff is a failure this year and that’s what Slade will be judged on. Whether the bald one likes that or not, that’s what it boils down to. It’s time for him to let the results like this one do the talking, ignore social media and stop getting so defensive when asked tough questions. 

Slade and the team's biggest achievement on the day was the one that pleased me most though and that’s Isaac asking to come again. He assures me he still prefers, NFL, Wrestling and Basketball, but the victory worked for him. Best get the sweets in. 

THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE AIMING FOR

Lots of hype about City's back line at the moment but it seems like the whole team has forgotten how to create and most importantly... hit the onion bag.