‘A Work In Progress’ – The Word On Cardiff City
- Leicester City face Cardiff City on Friday evening
- The Sky Bet Championship fixture has a 7:45pm kick-off
- Enzo Maresca’s travel to Cardiff City Stadium after a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town
- The Bluebirds currently sit 11th in the standings with 34 points
The games continue to come thick and fast for Leicester, who travel across the country to South Wales on Friday, after being held to a late draw by Ipswich Town, as an unfortunate Jannik Vestergaard own goal cancelled out Stephy Mavididi’s first half opener at Portman Road.
They now face mid-table Cardiff, who have 10 wins and as many losses so far this season, at the half-way stage of the campaign. Phillips talks about the progress made on previous years, and the positive impact that Turkish manager Erol Bulut has had on the Bluebirds.
“They started really well with a new manager,” the reporter stated. “He was new to the Sky Bet Championship, and we’ve been under a transfer embargo for the last three windows so all he was allowed to do in the summer was bring in free transfers and loans, who started quite well.
“At one stage they were considered one of the surprise packages of the division. Taking out the top two or three, they are still within a shout of reaching the play-offs and have improved on last season.
“We’ve equalled the same amount of home wins as we did all of last season already, which shows a fair representation of their progress, but they’ve definitely stumbled across the festive period, where clubs have sussed them out.”
Under a strict transfer embargo, it has proved difficult for Cardiff to compete with the league’s top sides, but that comes to an end next month, and the journalist has identified an area of the team which will need addressing.
Despite the impressive work Bulut has done under these restrictions, injuries to key players, such as Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey, have led to a struggle for form in recent weeks, with just two wins in December.
“It’s clear that they can’t wait until January where the financial shackles will be freed and they’ll be able to spend a bit of money,” Phillips continued. “I imagine it’ll be on a striker, where they’ve struggled in front of goal.
“We all had to Google who the manager was when he came in, but he’s really candid, he’s good with the fans and he understands what’s needed. Winning the derby game against Swansea City earlier this season was a big boost for him.
“He’s very organised, and I’d say the smiles have returned to the fanbase, who follow and trust him. He’s became part of the community, and is very tactically astute. We’ve struggled in the festive period, but I think that’s because of where we are.
“He’s brought a stability to the club, and I’d also say they’ve struggled because of being without Aaron Ramsey for a bit of time, but he’s looking to be back soon, and they can’t wait for him to be back, because they’ve been missing his quality on the football pitch.”
Karlan Grant and Ike Ugbo are the team’s top goalscorers this year, with four goals each. Struggling to find someone prolific in front of goal, the BBC journalist explained how goals have had to come from different areas of the team. They remain fearless in their upcoming challenge, however, with an attacking style of play that the fans have come to recognise.
Phillips added: “They’ve struggled in front of goal but have been good on set-pieces. Dimitrios Goutas and Mark McGuinness have both scored important goals, coming up from defence. You’ve got to say that, on their day, Karlan Grant, Callum Robinson and Yakou Meite are all capable of scoring, but not prolific.
“They rely a lot on the team contributing goals, and earlier in the season, they pushed Leicester to the limit. They felt a little aggrieved by the result, but that happens. They’ve drawn against Leeds, pushed Ipswich Town all the way and they’ve become quite an attacking side.
"They’re not too concerned if clubs come at them, which I expect a rampant Leicester side to do, but we’ll be expecting a tough game, of course.”