We get a Bluebirds fan to tell us a bit about tomorrow’s opponents
Tomorrow Bolton play their penultimate away game as they make the long trip to the Cardiff City Stadium. But how has the Bluebirds’ season gone and what should we, and they expect? We spoke to Cardiff fan James Lambert about a strong second half of the season, and discuss some of the players who could hurt us.
Cardiff are just outside the playoff spots but a defeat in midweek makes a top six finish tricky now. How would you rate your season?
Our season has been incredibly topsy turvy. Before the start of the new year I’d most probably have rated our season as ‘uninspiring’, ‘lacklustre’ and ‘simply terrible’. The football was dire, the fans turned their back on the team, on Russell Slade especially, while the players didn’t really seem to want it. The defeats away at MK Dons, Leeds and Rotherham are the ones that stung the most.
Since the start of the new year however, it has been a completely different story. The signing of Lex Immers and the deployment of a certain Mr. Stuart O’Keefe seemed to give City the kick up the backside they needed. Wins at Wolves and Bristol City, added to home wins against Derby and Ipswich, gave the fans real hope of an unlikely playoff challenge. It also gave the fans a new sense of belief in the team and the management, with there now being calls for Slade to be rewarded with a new contract, something I believe would be the best thing to do at the moment. I’d rate this season overall as a tale of two halves, poor first and good second. I didn’t think I’d be saying we’ve had a decent end to the season after a transfer embargo coupled with the Tony Watt debacle! (Watt joined Blackburn in January after a loan spell in South Wales)
How are you likely to set up?
The team seems to be a settled one at the moment. We’re likely to deploy a 4-4-1-1 formation, however come the later stages of the game we’re almost guaranteed to end up playing a flexible 4-3-3 given our options on the bench. The style of play is generally not great, it’s huff and puff football, hoping for a lucky break in the box. However, I believe that Slade will fancy his chances against Bolton. There’s a good chance that he’ll even start a striker who has impressed in recent games off the bench – Kenneth Zohore. Given the strikers’ height and strength, we can almost bank on the ball being swung into the box more often than usual on Saturday afternoon.
Which other players should we look out for?
There are a few players in the squad who, on their day, are capable of something special. Craig Noone, while being incredibly predictable with his tendency to cut inside onto his left foot, has got the ability to pick out the top corner given the time and space. Simply put, if you don’t close him down quickly, he will punish defences.
Joe Ralls can also punish teams, either with his passing or long range shooting, given the time and the space.
Lex Immers can also be a real handful, with his height and his decent footwork, as well as his newly found eye for goal.
At the other end of the pitch, David Marshall is more than capable of pulling out saves straight from the top drawer.
Prediction?
I believe that Saturday won’t be as much of a goal fest as many people would automatically assume. I can see it finishing in a 2-0 Cardiff win.