We all have our favourites. Some players are universally loved and admired, like Jack Moylan. His impact and influence are universally accepted, which is rare in a sport of subjective views. Ollie Tanner, in contrast, divides opinion because his output sometimes belies his overall contribution.
Callum Robinson has been popular throughout his time at Cardiff because his stats, both goals and assists, have remained strong, regardless of how the team is faring and he appears to care. He also looks like he’s having fun, which is increasingly surprising because in the last 18 months or so, he has hardly featured.
Brian Barry-Murphy has never appeared sold on Robinson, who agreed a two-year extension to his deal a few months before Barry-Murphy took charge. He has been asked many times about Robinson’s lack of minutes in press conferences and he always talks him up, but actions speak louder than words and the praise has never translated into opportunities.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s hardly affected results or performances, as Cardiff have enjoyed a resurgence in Robinson’s absence, but as long as he remained in the shadows, it always felt like a tipping point would be reached and here we now are.
We don’t know what Robinson has done to warrant his expulsion from recent squads and maybe it was entirely justified, but it has long felt like there was an inevitability to Robinson’s ultimate fate, which is a shame because he remains an asset, when called upon.
There’s a certain irony that Robinson missing games is nothing new and it used to be the case that his frequent absences were a result of injury and we were all desperate for him to urgently regain fitness. A period of sustained health then coincided with Yousef Salech’s automatic selection and even when he missed 10 weeks with a neck injury, others were often favoured in Robinson’s place, even if it meant playing square pegs in round holes.
Barry-Murphy favours a youthful, high pressing attack and that is certainly not Robinson’s game. It never has been, but has also never affected his productivity. Despite being very much cut from the Erling Haaland cloth of casual pressing, his importance remains diminished, even when he’s struggled to find form.
Embed from Getty ImagesThere are times in games when something different is needed and that is what Robinson represents, but only in theory it would seem. I always hoped to see Salech and Robinson as a pair because I think they could compliment each other beautifully and I think both would thrive in a partnership, but two up top has become an increasingly antiquated concept.
Maybe Robinson is no longer capable of playing twice a week, every week, but he’s at a stage in his career when he needs to maximise the remainder of his career and if he wasn’t favoured in League One, opportunities at a higher lever were never going to be any more bountiful and maybe a summer transfer would have better suited both parties.
Barry-Murphy has been largely faultless since taking charge and Cardiff appear to be getting to grips with the demand of the unrelenting Championship, but Robinson has always felt like a blind spot. Despite playing less minutes than Isaak Davies this season, he is still averaging a goal a game and at a time when Cardiff’s squad is wafer thin, chances are that they will still need Robinson, who has had his pride chipped away at until the current seemingly inevitable conclusion was reached.That feels like a shame, a waste and on the whole an avoidable outcome.