Another game, another blank for Cardiff City. Neil Warnock took his Bluebirds to the John Smith Stadium to face his former side, Huddersfield Town.
In what was already billed as a six-pointer, the Bluebirds were seeking their first goal – and first win – of the Premier League season.
What did we learn from the 0-0 draw? Scott Salter analyses the statistics and tactical plays from the match, including how City adapted to facing ten men after Jonathan Hogg’s red card for the Terriers.
BEFORE YOU CONTINUE… Have you checkout out our Match Report and Player Ratings, courtesy of legendary local journalist Terry Phillips? No? Do it now.
Systems
Once again, Neil Warnock lined up his Cardiff City side in a 4-3-3 system, with a midfield trio of Harry Arter, Joe Ralls and Victor Camarasa. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing came in for Junior Hoilett, although was replaced early on by Callum Patterson as NML went off through injury himself.
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Huddersfield Town boss David Wagner lined his side up in a similar formation, with Jonathan Hogg sitting in from of a four-man defence. Steve Mounie was the sole-striker for Huddersfield.
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What the stats say
After an unusual display last week where Cardiff had the majority of the possession, things returned to normal on Saturday as Cardiff saw just 41.7% of possession. This was particularly interesting given that Huddersfield were down to 10 men for a chunk of the game.
This was a classic example of Cardiff under Neil Warnock, though, and the stats personify his style of play. Despite less possession, touches on the ball and completed passes, Warnock’s Cardiff had more shots than Huddersfield.
Arter proves a menace on set pieces
Cardiff are a side that favour set pieces, be it a corner, free-kick or long throw. It’s clear that the City staff work hard on the training field to drill their players to take advantage of these opportunities.
On Saturday, it was clear that Harry Arter had been given strict instructions to make himself a menace in front of the goalkeeper on set plays.
On a number of occasions, Arter was seen being a proper shithouse and jostling with Huddersfield defenders right in front of their keeper. This eventually led to Hogg’s red card.
Cardiff aren’t as effective on long-throws without Morrison in the box
We all know that Cardiff like a long throw. Last season it caused plenty of problems for sides up and down the Championship, whether it was captain Sean Morrison, Aron Gunnarsson or Callum Patterson taking them.
On Saturday, it was captain Sean Morrison that was assigned throw-in duty. Now, to me at least, it’s clear that Cardiff aren’t as effective on long-throws without Morrison in the box.
That’s not to say Morrison doesn’t do a good job as the deliverer, but there is much less threat in the box without the captain there.
It was evident on a number of occasions on Saturday, with Sol Bamba the only real threat during these situations. Neil Warnock must find a way of getting Morrison in the box for the long throw situations.
Building from the back
When Huddersfield went down to ten men, Cardiff were on the front foot for the rest of the game. The Terriers, who had captain Hogg sent off on 63 minutes, sat deep and invited pressure for the remainder of the match.
The onus was on Cardiff to break them down. What was interesting was the approach City took. Last season, our only option was to pump the ball long and try to win second balls. On Saturday, it was different.
With a midfield trio of Harry Arter, Joe Ralls and Victor Caramasa, the Bluebirds were comfortable coming deep to pick up the ball from Neil Etheridge or the back line and building the play up the field via short passes.
In the example below, Etheridge has distributed the ball short to the defenders, with Ralls and Arter then both dropping deep to receive the ball from them. The five players in blue then build a number of short triangles with options to pass around the sole Huddersfield press.
Ward & Reid offer options in behind
Kenneth Zohore offers a lot to Cardiff City. He is strong, a threat in the air and leads the line well. What he does not do too often is make runs in behind. When the Dane came off and was replaced by Danny Ward on 59 minutes, Ward instantly offered more of a threat in that regard.
Bobby Reid did the same when he came on after 75 minutes, with both offering Cardiff options to stretch the pitch.
It’s clear that Zohore is still finding his feet in the Premier League, as well as full fitness, so it is encouraging to see options like this off the bench offering a different type of threat for Cardiff.