Make no mistake, it’s crunch time.
With seven games remaining, there is no longer any margin for error or room for excuses. Cardiff are in the bottom three and its up to them to dig their way out, or not. It won’t be easy and will be as a much a test of character as ability, but the truth of the matter is that Cardiff may not be built for this kind of test. They lack leaders, at every level of the football club, and if this ultimately seals their fate, they only have themselves to blame.
I’m not going to rake over the problems that Cardiff have at board level because its well documented and remains a permanent handicap. An absent owner and part-time positions of power affect the club in a multitude of ways, but in times like this, their silence is deafening and the manager is always left to dangle. How Omer Riza could have benefitted from a public show of support or some words of encouragement in recent months, but that is simply not the Cardiff way.
This is particularly problematic when you have a relative rookie manager, in perilous, unchartered waters. It has felt like Riza’s future has been on a knife’s edge from the very beginning and that benefits no one. Heading into the international break, it appeared that Riza’s position was on the line ahead of a key game at Blackburn. You got the distinct impression that defeat would have cost him his job, but Cardiff won, he survived and will presumably remain in charge now, no matter what.
Embed from Getty ImagesTime will tell whether or not that was the correct decision, but even in the best-case scenario where Cardiff stay up, Riza’s contract expires and we likely have to endure another summer of waiting to see if a new deal will be forthcoming. It would be a situation that would require a decision and Cardiff’s default tends to be to wait and see. That could be viewed as an admirable, patient choice, but when Cardiff do it, there is always a whiff of uncertainty and indecision because no one is really driving the boat. It’s not strategic, they’re all left waiting for the phone to ring and for their orders to arrive.
The problem with Riza is not whether or not he’s good enough to do the job, its how he got it. Had he not followed Paul Trollope, Steve Morison and Mark Hudson, a series of assistants that all tried and failed to make the step up, maybe he would have been given a fairer crack of the whip. The club’s past manoeuvres have reduced him to being viewed as a placeholder and fatally undermined his chances of succeeding.
We’re all rooting for Riza, but we all probably feel sorry for him too. Anyone following his Instagram account will no that he is going through a tough time in his personal life and you wonder if this job is helping or adding to his difficulties. I think many of his selections and decisions are driven by an understandable fear of losing his job, as opposed to a grand plan or tactical intuition. There are lots of variables and possible combinations, but his job is to find his core and refine it, yet it feels like he is no closer to realising a vision than he was 33 games ago.
This brings me on to one of the key Riza criticisms. He should not still be blaming pre-season and the poor start to the season because he has had more than enough time to turn things round. The way that he has distanced himself from Erol Bulut also feels ungracious and like a convenient excuse. He should certainly not be reaching out to supporters individually either. While his intentions are admirable, the gesture undermines his own authority.
Embed from Getty ImagesAt time like this, you need leaders on the pitch that will take the game by the scruff of the neck and bend it to their will. How Cardiff could do with a fit and firing Joe Ralls to rally the troops, but more than a decade in the trenches has taken a toll on his body. Aaron Ramsey was brilliant in a recent cameo against Bristol City, but he again broke down and Cardiff are without both their captains at the worst possible time.
I always refer back to Sol Bamba’s arrival, at a time when Cardiff were not short of centre backs or experienced players. He immediately took ownership of the side with the force of his personality and you didn’t fully realise what was missing until it finally arrived. Ramsey also demonstrated that one player can slot in and bring control to an otherwise frantic midfield and last week, 35-year-old Barry Bannon dragged Sheffield Wednesday back into a game that Cardiff looked set to win.
With QPR and Preston away before Stoke home, Cardiff embark on a pivotal week against sides that are also struggling. Three wins in three of their kinder remaining fixtures could keep Cardiff up and save their season. Its as simple as that and we could all be toasting another narrow escape next weekend. Conversely, three defeats could seal their fate, but the more likely scenario is that things will instead drag on to the final few games.
The board made their decision because no decision is a choice, so rather than make a change or pursue a more experienced alternative, Riza has been entrusted with keeping Cardiff up and its now time for him to repay that faith. Even if its merely a marriage of convenience, all parties need to find a way to make it work because the future of the club is on the line. Every decision made, or not made, in recent years has led to this point and now we’ll see what Cardiff are truly made of.