Greg Cunningham is not good enough. I know this because the internet told me so.
Social media’s hive mind has passed judgement based on two games and they’re not for turning. Joe Bennett good, Cunningham bad.
Where to start on this.
Joe Bennett has been one of Cardiff’s most impressive players this season, on that I think we can all agree. When he was omitted from the side to face Manchester City, the assumption was that it was due to his previous with that particular club. That he was being taken out of the firing line.
Then he sat out the subsequent game against Burnley too and now everyone is a bit miffed. To some extent, understandably so.
http://gty.im/1037733734
Cunningham deputised and did OK against City. As well as anyone did in a 5-0 home reversal. Neil Warnock went even further, claiming: “I just wanted to see a few things, like Greg Cunningham, who I thought was our best player by a mile, so that was a plus in that area.”
He didn’t have a great game against Burnley, on that I think we can also all agree, but I bet Cunningham didn’t realise that he was already playing for his Cardiff future. That this showing would be fodder for the prosecution.
The thing is, maybe Bennett is better than Cunningham. We will only know that over time. Nobody is able to give a fair and reasoned assessment of a player based on two games. Not even you. Nor you.
We’re starting to stray back towards the snap judgements made on players the last time Cardiff were in the top flight, when a revolving door policy was in operation. The bad old days. Magnus Wolff Eikrem? Shite, get rid. Guido Burgstaller? No thanks.
http://gty.im/1043954708
I’ve seen enough of Greg Cunningham playing for Preston to know that he’s no mug. Ask a Preston fan for their thoughts and you’re guaranteed to receive a ringing endorsement.
We’re lucky to have such strength in depth at left back. You wouldn’t think so based on some of the comments since the Burnley game though. We all get a bit carried away on Twitter sometimes, but Cunningham deserves better than this, surely?
In Warnock we trust has become a mantra and some have used it as a catch all response to any criticism aimed at his decision making, yet those same people are not backing his judgement on Cunningham.
On paper at least, Cunningham is far more of a Warnock player than Bennett and he pursued him for ages before finally landing him. Warnock also watches him every day in training, so he is far better placed than us to make the right call.
http://gty.im/1026117832
We all have our favourites and Bennett has earned the trust and respect of fans. Cunningham, who is playing at a new club in a new division, should be afforded the same opportunity.
I appreciate the margins are finer in the Premier League than in the Championship, but Warnock has already demonstrated that he will be ruthless if necessary. If Cunningham is not cutting it, he will be cut.
The cream always rises to the top eventually, so here’s to a fair fight, over more than two games!