Nathan Blake: Manner of Cardiff City’s loss to Bristol City was a shock

Nathan Blake: Manner of Cardiff City’s loss to Bristol City was a shock.

To be honest, I was shocked Cardiff City lost at Bristol City, not because of the result, but the manner of the defeat.

Let’s face it, every team is going to get beaten, but it’s about how you get beaten and Cardiff gave away some very poor goals at Ashton Gate.

We know it’s very early days and no one is going to be pressing the panic button, but I really would like to see the Bluebirds get a bit of consistency about them.

I don’t think in any of their first three Championship games they’ve shown any real consistency at all.


You want to see a bit of rhythm about the way they knock the ball around, but I don’t think we’ve seen that either.

I don’t think it’s a problem with the system, Cardiff play very a much a 4-5-1, but the problem is the way that is working at the moment.

Let’s face it, a 4-4-2 system is history now, but if 4-5-1 is going to be successful it takes a lot of work and I know because I’ve played that system.

Lone striker Heidar Helguson is looking incredibly isolated right now and the Bluebirds need to get forward to support him.

Cardiff need to get runners in behind the opposition defence. They need to get players up closer to Helguson.

You have to work on that on the training ground, I’ve done it and it’s not nice. You stand there in the wind and rain and it’s stop and start, stop and start, but it’s vital if you are going to make that system work and the Bluebirds are not doing that right now.

One other thing that has struck me is that I believe Cardiff can play a much higher line than they have in their opening games.

There’s not many players in the division with the pace to really concern the likes of Mark Hudson or Ben Turner and even if there is a problem you’ve got Kevin McNaughtion to come across.

I think right now Cardiff could play 10 or 15 metres higher up the pitch than they are right now.

It’s still early days and after all the new players coming, it will take time for people to settle in and get to grips with things.

Saying that, looking at the goals Cardiff conceded against Bristol City, I don’t think the fact Ben Turner was missing was really much of a factor at all.

Matt Connolly is experienced and, OK, maybe he didn’t have much time to train with his new team-mates, but he should be able to slot in there with the minimum of fuss. You have to be adaptable and the Bluebirds are really going to have to be that this season.

When I look at the size of Malky Mackay’s squad right now I think there’s going to be a lot of rotation and players are just going to have to cope with two or three new faces coming into the side. An example of this has to be Craig Bellamy who missed the Severnside derby with an injury.

He’s obviously a big loss, but Cardiff are just going to have to learn to cope without him. There is no way Craig is going to play 46 games this season.

For me, with the squad he has, Mackay needs to set up maybe two or three different sides with various players who can fight at the top end of the Championship.

As we say, it is early days in the table, but you do not want to give yourself a mountain to climb.

The main reason the Bluebirds made it to the play-offs last season was the fantastic start they had.

If you can pick up early points, you can allow yourself a blip late on.

Everyone is going to have a dip and you want to be in position where you can absorb a defeat or a few draws without it affecting your league position too badly.

This season a good start is going to be more important than ever because, as I’ve said before, I believe this Championship is going to be one of the hardest to get out of in years.

There’s nothing to panic about yet of course, but the table stretches out quicker than you would imagine and Mackay and his men need to be challenging at the right end from the word go.


http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballnation/cardiff-city/cardiff-city-fc/2012/08/27/nathan-blake-manner-of-cardiff-city-s-loss-to-bristol-city-was-a-shock-91466-31703568/

Malky must be feeling the pressure already!

The team overachieved last year and now the honeymoon period is over for Malky.

Still think he is the man to take this club forward but will the malaysians give him enough time