The loan signing of out-of-favour Charlton forward Tony Watt to the Bluebirds was a move most fans found unusual to say the least. Yet after two goals in five appearances he has become an instant favourite with the Cardiff City faithful.
Prior to his capture, the front-line relied heavily on Kenwyne Jones who has scored five goals in 17 league appearances but is yet to show his consistency with some lacklustre displays up front. Joe Mason has also chipped in with five goals from 19 league appearances, despite not scoring since the 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on October 3rd.
With the favoured strikers of Jones and Mason failing to light up the season in front of goal and with Eoin Doyle (Preston North End), Adam Le Fondre (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Alex Revell (Wigan Athletic) and Etien Velikonja (Lierse SK) all out on loan, Russell Slade had to make the acquisition fans had been calling for.
Tony Watt’s signing hardly encapsulated the faithful at first, yet his performances have quickly reversed that opinion. With some classy runs and dribbles, a skill that hasn’t been showed by a Cardiff City striker since the days of Craig Bellamy and Michael Chopra, Watt is winning the fans over to say the least.
Despite being just 21 years old, Watt is best known for his winning goal for Celtic against Barcelona in the Champions League three years ago. Watt, speaking to the BBC, said: “I don’t think I’ve had an interview without being asked about that goal,” he said.
“It’s my boyhood club and I scored a massive goal for them but that’s three years ago now. That’s more than half my professional career — it’s probably three times my professional career.
“I just want to prove I can do it elsewhere and this is a massive club so hopefully I can do it here.
“It would be good to focus everybody’s attention away from that goal.”
He went on to talk about his time at Cardiff City so far: “I want to be here as long as I can. I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t have any ambitions beyond the eight weeks. I want to cement a place,” he added.
“We want to fight to go up and a team like Cardiff deserve to be in the Premier League.
“I looked at the table before I came and the play-off spots are not far away. Hopefully we can push on.
“I have got thoughts of staying beyond the loan. Hopefully I can score goals here.”
It has been confirmed that the Bluebirds will attempt to make his loan move from Charlton Athletic into a permanent transfer after impressing thus far.
Most fans will agree that his capture has lifted the Cardiff City squad who have scored ten goals in five matches since his arrival and suffered just one defeat in since his arrival: a dubious 1-0 loss to Birmingham City where referee David Coote give a penalty for an apparent handball by Matthew Connolly where replays showed the ball clearly hit Connolly in the face.
Tony Watt and Cardiff City have another opportunity to creep into the Championship play-offs on Boxing Day when they travel to struggling newcomers MK Dons.
