Opposition View: Cardiff City
Chris chats to Jack Price ahead of Albion's trip to Wales...
Albion’s season was all but ended on Easter Monday with a defeat at home to Derby County.
While that result was disastrous for Albion and, as it turned out, Tony Mowbray, it would have also been met with groans of despair in Cardiff too.
The South Wales club know that anything short of maximum points from their last two games will give them virtually no chance of survival starting with the visit of The Baggies on Saturday.
So how are The Bluebirds feeling ahead of the battle of the Barclaysmen as Aaron Ramsey faces off against James Morrison’s Albion.
We asked journalist and Cardiff fan, Jack Price, to find out.
Sacking your manager so close to the end of the season when you’ve so much to play for feels a bold move. Is it the right decision for you?
First off, in isolation, sacking Omer Riza was 100% the right decision. Our form and league position speaks for itself - he was very out of his depth, both tactically and in terms of how he presented himself as a manager. He is obviously going through an immensely tough time off the pitch, and I wish him well - I think the job broke him a bit in the end. However, the hierarchy had a myriad opportunities to sack him and it now feels like too little too late. Making the call after our Boxing Day defeat to a struggling Oxford side would’ve been a smart bet. Our unbeaten run across January relieved the pressure, but there were various points throughout March where we could’ve, and should’ve, moved him on. The same can be said for the defeat to Stoke earlier this month. There was a lot of talk about Neil Warnock being open to a return, but it never materialised, unfortunately. All in all, sacking Riza was ultimately the right decision despite this late stage - We may at least go down fighting with Ramsey in charge, but it should’ve happened far sooner.
When we met earlier in the season you on a good run under Riza, where did it all go wrong?
I think there are a number of reasons. I believe in his first few games, Riza was willing to play very off the cuff. That wasn’t apparent when we played you away in what was a diligent defensive display, but we made the trip with confidence and got a good result. When pressure began to rise surrounding Riza, and when his future was up in the air at the time where he was clearly desperate to get the job permanently, he became much more pragmatic but lost what made us tick in those opening games. Central to our good form at that time was the performances of Alex Robertson and Rubin Colwill, but both,
much more so the latter, haven’t always been consistent. You’ve always got the simple argument of a new manager bounce, and I think that is also applicable to a certain extent. The players clearly felt more liberated under Riza than when the ultra-pragmatic Erol Bulut was in charge, but that didn’t last.
What were your thoughts on that game?
As I’ve mentioned, the match at your place was perhaps the first time we set up conservatively from the offset under Riza. We were probably quite lucky to come away with a point, in all fairness, but we defended extremely well and our structure off the ball was spot on. If only that had continued deeper into Riza’s reign…
The race for survival is crazy with so many teams at the bottom winning on Easter Monday, who do you think will end up going down?
The fact that every other team around us won while we dropped points at home once again to a team who had been a direct relegation rival until perhaps a week or so ago, was ruinous. Even winning our final two games, which is incredibly unlikely, could still not be enough as we’re now banking on the sides around us dropping points, many of whom are in strong form. We’ve hit our worst form at the worst time, and I now think there is very little chance of survival. The reality is we will probably be relegated this weekend, and I would not be shocked to see us finish bottom. I fear it may just be too little too late for a resurgent Plymouth side who will go down fighting if nothing else under Muslic. Meanwhile Hull, who have the league’s worst home record, will host Derby before making a daunting final day trip to Fratton Park. Even though they have 48 points, I’m not sure how many more I can see them picking up and I could see Derby and Luton sneaking above Selles’ side.
When you change managers twice in a season, fingers will always be pointed at the hierarchy - have they made mistakes this season?
As ever, the hierarchy simply must take responsibility for how this season has played out. Firstly, we headed into the summer at a disadvantage due to the deliberation around whether to keep Erol Bulut on - He had overperformed to the nth degree last season by every viable metric, and while I believed at the time that a parting of ways was the best option, we ultimately gave him a two-year contract. He then led Cardiff to our worst-ever start to a league season. Riza never should’ve been put in charge full-time nor allowed to lead on a staggering two-month interim basis, especially given the candidates available on the market. Then, as I’ve said, he should’ve been sacked much sooner than he eventually was. The summer recruitment was also completely jumbled,
where we fell short of addressing the issues of a lack of pace and goals in our side. Of all our summer signings, only Callum Chambers and Alex Robertson have been successes. The recruitment in January, was much more positive and Yousef Salech was an excellent find.
Any injuries or suspensions ahead of the game?
Quite a few are out injured. Anwar El Ghazi is sidelined and probably won’t be seen in a City shirt again, Jak Alwnick and captain Joe Ralls were both ruled out for the rest of the season and it doesn’t look like Isaak Davies will feature again this term either, which is a big loss.
Who is your most important player?
Our most important player simply has to be Yousef Salech. Signed for a deal worth up to £3.3m in January, the Danish-born striker arrived as an unknown quantity but has hit the ground running in remarkable fashion. He’s averaging 0.49 goals per 90 minutes in the Championship, has scored six times from just 12 starts in a struggling side, and has seven from 20 appearances overall. Salech only recently turned 23, has played limited senior football in his career and is also adapting to the demands of the Championship, feeding off scraps essentially, while adapting to a new country and culture away from the pitch. All things considered; it’s a superb transition. He’s an absolute unit and, in all of his matches for us thus far I haven’t once seen him dominated by an opposition defender. He can bully defenders with ease, he’s a great duel-winner both on the ground and in the air, he presses well, he knows where the back of the net is, and he possesses great natural instincts in and around the penalty area. A proper old school striker and I’ll be gutted if he leaves this summer.
What is your weak point?
Our weak point is probably the defence, even if we did look much more assured and structured in Ramsey’s first game against Oxford. Riza never figured out his best back line and frequently made changes, meaning we were just never settled and partnerships could never be struck. From an attacking standpoint, we’re fine in relative terms - It’s a leaky, disorganised defence which has really plagued us this season. How we transition the ball through midfield is also a concern, but Ramsey should be able to coach that well in the time he has in charge given who he is.
What do you predict your formation and starting XI to be on Saturday?
Tricky one. I would back Ramsey to stick to the 4-3-3 he used against Oxford, but a 4-2-3-1 with Rubin Colwill in his favoured #10 position would not surprise me either as we simply must go for it and get on the front foot this weekend. I think that’s what I can see happening given what’s riding on this game for us. It’s very attack minded but I think Rambo could be ballsy! Horvath Rinomhota Fish Chambers O’Dowda Turnbull Robertson Alves Colwill Willock Salech
What are your thoughts on Albion at present and our very eventful week?
What I expected from WBA in the second half of this season hasn’t matched up to reality, so I can understand the frustration and disappointment among supporters right now. From what I can see, it looks like Mowbray didn’t get the best out of a squad which should be capable of a top-six finish and you didn’t really put teams to the sword under him. I think sacking Mowbray was the right call, even if it makes me much more worried about Saturday now! I do like the look of your squad - Isaac Price seems a top find in January and we know what the likes of Diangana, Johnston and Fellows can do at this level.
What is your score prediction for Saturday?
Sadly, for us, my prediction is a 2-1 defeat. I think you may have a bit of a bounce and play with the handbrake off (ED- He used this phrase of his own accord, I swear). Our home form is horrendous too, and while I think we’ll go down fighting with Rambo in charge, the quality just isn’t there and it’s hard to see us winning this one. I think you will edge it out.
Written by:
Chris Hall
@CJHall83