The case for and against the defendant Russell Slade

Lucky bastards Rotherham 2  Unlucky Cardiff 1

What do we think? Two losses on the trot and we slump from the giddy heights of second to eighth. We sit uncomfortably at the upper end of the mid table muddle.

Is it down to Slade?

In his defence ...

May it please Mister Tan ...

 

Against Hull we were playing against Premiership quality yet giving a good account of ourselves. Players like Huddleston and Dawson should be playing in a higher league, and their attackers are blessed with skill and pace. Cardiff enjoyed loads of possession, good ideas from defence to midfield but as with last season we lacked the imagination to take advantage in attack.

Against Rotherham the man who usually saves our bacon cost us the match. In a moment of red mist he did a Cantana and kicked out at his tormentor, Derbyshire, a niggling little bastard. Red mist equals red card. Moore came on for the industrious and in form Mason and suddenly we were exposed up front and a goal down. Cardiff were left to chase the game. To add insult to insult, in the final seconds the superb Connolly clips the ball at the near post and watches it dribble across our line. We deserved the point and ended up with nothing.

Ok we know Marshall has form. His red card at the end of the last season meant he couldn’t play for the first 3 matches of this season. We are unlikely to ever forget his method of discussing a defensive situation with Anthony Gerrard – though in fairness Gerard was never a guy to walk passed a fight. I guess it is how a scot and scouser discuss matters. Fists raised, temper on overload.

Marshall Would you mind awfully tracking back with the forward?
Gerrard: What a spiffing idea David. Many thanks for advice.

 

Marshall must get that rage under control, even when arseholes like Derbyshire are around. In fact especially now that players up and down the country know he can be needled.

So the Russell Slade defence barrister can offer up solid reasons for the two losses.

 

And the case against Mr Slade ...

 

However the truth is that Hull, for all their qualities on paper were ordinary yet still mugged us. If we cannot score when we have the upper hand with some of the division’s best strikers when are we going to hit the back of the net?

As with last season when plan A fails Cardiff carry on doing it. When it continues to fail …yep, we still carry on doing it. If City cannot get joy playing the ball around in front of the Hull defence then why not go over the top and get someone to run on to it or try and cut the ball through the defence? Well anything other than pass it around in front of a competent and high quality defence.

Let us not forget Rotherham have played 8 games and suffered the ignominy of 5 defeats, scrapped two draws and beaten only one team – yes, us! Surely we should be able to score a few against them even if we are down a man? No disrespect to Rotherham but they are crap.

There seems to be a lack of ideas ahead up front for Cardiff.

Here come der Judge, here come der Judge ...

 

A good manager can change a match with a substitution or by tweaking the playing system. I am not seeing any signs of that. For sure Malky MacKay, the hero to many of us, didn’t vary his systems too much either. He played a defensive system which was turned into an attacking force if we went a goal down.

But Mackay’s systems worked.

Same with Dave Jones. He adjusted his tactics to the few players in his squad and varied them against other teams.

Right now we are as predictable as we were last season. 4-4-2, squashing into 4-4-1-1 at times.

This is all down to the coaching staff.

The final argument against Slade is that the Cardiff City team is pretty much the one he inherited with the addition of Peltier and the loan guy Ameobi. None of Slade’s signings have set the Cardiff City Stadium alight. Solskjaer might point to Pilkington, Fabio, Jones and a few others to balance out the hundreds of Norwegian disappointments he migrated to here. And please don't mention Mats Moller Daehli, I am close enough to tears as it is. How could we let him go *sob*

It is still early but Cardiff’s record this season of 3 draws, 3 wins and 2 losses is middle of the table stuff. Just a sobering thought: we are 8 points away from Brighton at the top but only 7 points away from Rotherham at the bottom. Yes, I know it’s scary.

We have the home game against Charlton followed by two away games, one of which is against in-form Brighton. I fear that by the end of October we could be stranded in the middle of the table.

There again I was one of the people who thought Solskjaer was going to be brilliant so don’t listen to me.

 

 

Will Cardiff City Fans ever learn to love the worst dressed manager in the football league?

Nothing makes sense when it comes to Cardiff City.

Cardiff City are second in the league. We are unbeaten. We have just won three on the trot, the first time since Malky. Yet we are struggling to smile, no one has a good word for Russell Slade and the ground is as deserted as car boot sale of Cardiff City red football shirts.

Slade modelling Armani

 

Don’t ask me to explain because I feel the same as the rest of the supporters.

For a start the football is at times second rate, yes but we are second and winning.

We seem to lack ambition and ideas …I know, yes but we are second.

We are locked into a 4-4-2 that is at least more fluid than last season … yes but we are getting results.

Slade with Hugo Boss jacket and Rober Cavalli Baseball cap

 

Slade wasn’t up to the job when he arrived and whether it is having Paul Trollop in his coaching squad or whether he has read a book on football management, he is getting results. Whatever is happening at the Cardiff City Stadium is working.

It can’t be that we are demanding quality performances. Cardiff City fans cheered Malky to the rafters, and let us be honest we weren’t exciting! Malky’s plan was to stifle the opposition and then grab a goal with a high pressure, high energy, 90 minute Blitz. Malky’s City matches will not be part of any ‘Exciting Football Match Compilations’ on you tube. Well ok yes, the Manchester City home win …ok and the Man Utd draw and yes there was … but you get my point.

Alexander McQueen ensemble

 

Yet not many of us go these days. The crowds have halved since last season – and we were in the middle of the table for chrisssake.

All very odd.

Will we never learn to love worst dressed football manager in the world? What’s not to like. He took over our club when we were flat on our back and gave us some belief. He has put us in the automatic play off places. He is grinding out results.

Pierre Cardin baseball cap with Dolce Jacket

 

Suppose we are still in the top six at Christmas. No, just suppose it, run with me here. Suppose we are flying high and still grinding out results without setting the world on fire. Will we take to Russell then? Will he be forgiven for not being the top flight manager we felt we deserved when Solskjaer moved on?

Right now I’d say he still won’t be loved and I am hard pressed to say why.