Like Donald Trump supporters who insist the election was stolen and that their man was wrongfully overthrown, some Cardiff fans still insist that Steve Morison was going to make Cardiff great again. Maybe they’re right, (the Cardiff fans, not the Trump lot), but we’ll never know for sure. All we have to go on is what happened in public, so any rumours of rifts or interference have to be discounted.
Morison certainly packed a lot in to his almost 11 months in charge. After impressing in the academy, he inherited the senior post after Mick McCarthy’s tenure collapsed and caught Cardiff cold, which is their temperature of choice. Despite Mehmet Dalman professing that he represented too great a risk, Morison initially impressed and got the gig.
As far as first impressions go, from the off, Morison was prickly with the press. When a manger refers to the gathered journalists as “you lot” from day one, you know you’re in for a rocky ride. Media may not be his thing, but you have to play the game. Cardiff have had a mixed bag in that regard over the years. Neil Warnock was the sound bite master and had nothing to lose, therefore nothing to hide. Neil Harris had everything to lose, so was eager to please and quick to take offence. Mick McCarthy had seen and heard it all before and fielded every (virtual) question in a weary manner.
Morison was learning on the job and admitted as much, but his intense demeanour never softened. He would always double down rather than back down, despite generally rather favourable coverage. All that aside though, he certainly achieved and changed a lot.
Cardiff were in a hole when Morison took charge and he dug them out of it, with time to spare. Probably too much time in retrospect because he used those surplus games at the tail end of last season to tinker and lost most of them. It was always going to come back to bite him if Cardiff started the following season slowly and that was almost inevitable with so many new players incoming.
What Morison achieved over the summer was pretty remarkable though. He talked up his plans for the squad, and that could have blown up in his face too, but he really nailed it. With a limited budget, so one hand tied behind his back, he turned over the squad with talented, hungry players. A little light up top, but we’ll return to that later.
Then there was the Norwich game.
Never have I seen a Cardiff side play that way before. It was revelatory. Morison’s blueprint writ large. They were comfortable and calm on the ball, patiently building from the back and bettering a side that were in the Premier League a few months earlier. Little did we know that Cardiff had already peaked. There were some good performances after that, but they never quite scaled those heights again.
Two months later, Morison was sacked, suddenly, with Cardiff back in their spiritual home of in or around 18th place. The haste of his exit suggested more than mere poor form, but only one man has their finger on the trigger and he felt the need to pull it. The general response was anger and frustration. Here we go again and no wonder we don’t deserve nice things. Whether or not Mark Hudson represents an upgrade is in the eye of the beholder and its far too soon to tell anyway. Will he get any more time or patience than Morison? Probably not, and you wouldn’t bet on him lasting the season either, sadly.
Some insist, and are not for turning, that Morison was on the right track and all he needed was time. Maybe so, but I’m not so sure. My personal view is that the game is effectively rigged and that Cardiff are just not built for success. Warnock managed it through sheer force of personality, but he was building on sand, so it all eventually washed away.
Ultimately, Morison was his own worst enemy and I think the days of ruling with an iron fist are (thankfully) a thing of the past. We now know too much about mental health and wellbeing. Football may be a meritocracy, but people within the industry talk and word gets around. It will be interesting to see where Morison ends up next because despite his talents, his manner may always get in his way.
He had bad luck with Jamilu Collins’ injury and hardly any time with Callum Robinson, but not reinforcing his attacking options ahead of the season was a major oversight. Robinson was expensively acquired and felt like a late panic buy. I would imagine that sort of outlay was not planned and probably didn’t go down well, but goal scorers are in understandably high demand and cost a premium.
Against all odds, everything clicked for that Norwich game and maybe it would have clicked again, but unfortunately, I think it was always destined to end this way. Messy and suddenly. There was too much baggage. Morison rubbed too many people the wrong way and lost too many derbies. Some sort of mentor probably may have helped, or maybe they would have been unable to have any effect.
Morison was in the right place at the right time and represented a convenient, cheap option with plenty of promise. It nearly worked and Cardiff are once again pursuing that path. As long as they continue to make compromises on quality and cost though, the best that Cardiff can hope for is that they continue to stand still and there’s not a lot that Morison, Hudson or anyone else can do about it.