Bluebirds supporters are torn over one particular selection headache and how best to solve the issue
It has been a pretty positive few months for Cardiff City fans, to say the least. A nigh-on perfect transfer window, a new academy complex, financial troubles seemingly ironing themselves and, of course, good results on the pitch.
As the Bluebirds head into the international break, they sit in eighth position in the Championship table: just one point off the play-offs and three points off third place. It’s positively nosebleed territory for a team which has spent two consecutive seasons battling against the alarming worry of relegation.
Erol Bulut has come in and done an excellent job so far. He has his team well drilled, scoring goals and becoming increasingly more miserly in defence.
Bulut placed a large focus on upping the club’s goal output this summer and they have delivered on that front. The transfer strategy was centred around adding goals and creativity and both boxes have been ticked – although it could be argued they are a top-class striker short if they have designs on sustaining this run towards the back end of the season.
Ahead of this campaign, supporters were purring over one position in particular – and it had been a problem position for Cardiff for some time. The lack of playmaker or attack orchestrator had hampered the Bluebirds in recent seasons, with the likes of Lee Tomlin and Harry Wilson a distant memory.
But, heading into the campaign, Cardiff boasted the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Callum Robinson and Rubin Colwill in that position, all vying for the No. 10 slot. Ramsey was sensational at the beginning of the season, pulling the strings and even getting on the score sheet – he netted three times in six games.
Some wonder why he wasn’t sent out on loan, with Championship clubs understood to have registered interest in a move for him in the summer, if his game time was to be so thin on the ground. But that was Bulut’s call and it’s a long season. He will likely be needed at some stage. And if not, well, a January loan away might well be on the cards.
But when asked how much Colwill would have to improve to force his way into the side, Bulut replied: “I don’t know. It depends on Rubin. I said he is a really good young player, but he has to learn a lot of things. When he comes in, he has to play for the team and not himself. I told him that also. But he will learn.
“He makes mistakes, but he has to learn quickly because he is 21 and we need him. Everybody has to play for the team and not themselves. I will not allow anyone to play selfishly. He will learn, for sure.”