Cardiff City take great pride in the fact that they are one of two Welsh teams in the top two tiers of English football. However if you look at the starting XI of The Bluebirds, not one player in that team is from Wales. Welsh and Academy talent is missing from the first team.
Many a Cardiff fan has expressed their concern about this issue and have questioned why the academy set-up has lacked graduates in the last few seasons. The most recent player to come from the academy set-up is Declan John, who under Malky Mackay and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, received plenty of game time.
Since relegation from the Premier League however, John has been shipped on loan to the likes of Barnsley and has not had much first team experience at all. Which has prompted the question of “Why are there no Welsh players in and around the first team set-up?” and “Is the academy doing enough to prepare the players for first team football?”. Slade has also criticised the academy in recent weeks, complaining about the lack of structure and the capability of the players.
The only glimpse of the academy we have seen this season is a few of the players being named on the bench in cup fixtures. Tommy O’Sillivan and Thomas James have been named in the squad, but never had a run out on the pitch.
Solskjaer showed signs of belief in the academy, however, rewarding James with a new contract at the end of the Premier League season, and gave him a full 90 minutes against Chelsea on the last day of the season, but since then he, nor any of the other academy graduates, have had a sniff.
The same can be said for the lack of Welsh players in the first team. The last Welsh players to grace the team apart from Declan John were Joe Ledley, who was linked with a return this summer, and Aaron Ramsey, who has gone on to play for Arsenal. The Cardiff City faithful seem to be concerned about the lack of Welsh talent in their ranks, especially since Wales are doing so well in their Euro 2016 group.
The transfer window closed at the beginning of September and The Bluebirds were linked with the likes of David Cotterill, who has since signed a new contract with his current club Birmingham City. They were also linked with Reading’s Hal Robson-Kanu, who has had a very successful Euro campaign.
This excited Cardiff fans because they are desperate to have some Welsh and academy talent on show. As the capital city, Cardiff having no Welsh players in the first team is concerning and signing just a few Welsh players will take some pressure off the club.
As for the academy, The Bluebirds have recently appointed Michael Johnson as the head coach, and Slade will be hoping that he can bring the players up to a higher standard and challenge them to occupy a first team spot.
With arch-rivals Swansea City having Neil Taylor and Ashley Williams, two current Welsh internationals, they are showcasing Welsh talent and The Bluebirds need to join them in broadcasting as much Welsh talent as possible.
