Expectations have been badly managed during a constipated transfer window

The January window has only been open for about three weeks, but it feels like we’ve all been talking about it since June. As soon as Cardiff’s partial transfer embargo was lifted, attention became fixated on January, when Cardiff can once again spend freely. The reality is though, evidently, that they can’t even if they want to and there are a number of reasons for that.

First and foremost, football has a food chain and depending on your status, you’re either a driver of the market, or you wait to be driven. The big clubs need to have their fill to initiate the trickle-down effect. Unfortunately, this year clubs are living in fear of Financial Fair Play. Having seen Everton handed a 10-point penalty for reckless spending, with more likely to follow, no one wants to sail too close to the wind. It’s resulted in a paltry combined spend of £37m, when last year a monumental £815m exchanged hands.

With more games and longer playing time than ever before, injuries are subsequently mounting and suddenly fringe players are no longer expendable. The Asian Cup and the African Cup of Nations are also currently taking place, so resources are stretched and all of the above has created a perfect storm of market stagnation.

Essentially, the market is constipated and we’re all waiting for the big clubs to take a shit.

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In terms of where all that leaves Cardiff, essentially naked and afraid. You may have read here and there that Cardiff need players. It’s become a complete obsession with some, with daily updates on… well… literally nothing, but that doesn’t stop them saying it all the same. In terms of trickle-down effects, the only one Cardiff has experienced thus far is that of the manager inflating everyone’s hopes.

Erol Bulut has been particularly vocal in his hunger for new meat. With Cardiff down to their bare bones, he’s expressed a desire for five or six new players. The more he says it, and in fairness he’s asked about it endlessly, the more hope becomes expectation. There are also people on social media that should know better fanning the flames, but to date, it’s been a wildfire of nothingness.

The January window is always a slow burner, but it’s rarely been a period where clubs are able to remodel their squad. For all the reasons already outlined, plus the fact that players often don’t want to change horses mid-race. The players that move tend to be waifs and strays, players that are not playing or about to be made homeless when their contract expires.

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Kieffer Moore is a rare exception. With the prospect of an international tournament looming in the summer, he needs to be playing to shed his ring rust. Despite the turbulent nature of his departure, it is thought that a return to Cardiff and familiar surroundings may appeal. The link has been so frequently made that it felt like some thought he would leap out of a Christmas cracker once Big Ben signalled the turn of the year.

The reality is that was never going to suit Bournemouth, so was never going to happen. They will favour a sale and will hold out for as long as they can before sanctioning a loan. Also, were he made available, half the Championship will want him and you would presume he would favour a club with a strong chance of returning him to the top flight.

At the moment, that isn’t Cardiff. Maybe that would change with the aforementioned half dozen new recruits, but until the big boys empty their bowels, we wait in hope. With a week still to go, they may still nail it. Were they to unveil Moore and David Brooks in a sensational double deadline swoop, all this bluster would be forgotten and forgiven. Cardiff do have a history of blockbuster signings after all.

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It does feel like Cardiff need the lift. Performances and results have stagnated, while a poor window would add a fatalistic feel to the remainder of the season. With the manager floating the idea of his departure should the window prove fruitless and calling out his staff for not acting fast enough for his liking, the only thing I do know for sure is that the whole situation has been very badly managed.

The customary lack of communication has allowed both hopes and fears to spiral out of control, while social media reaches new hysterical extremes. Thankfully, by this time next week, we’ll all know where we stand, for better or worse. The board are taking a mighty bashing, but who knows what’s going on behind the scenes. Narratives are created and passed off as accepted wisdom, but the proof is always in the pudding.

I remain hopeful, but more than anything, I just want it all to stop.