{"id":544,"date":"2016-09-12T03:00:24","date_gmt":"2016-09-12T07:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=544"},"modified":"2016-09-12T06:40:47","modified_gmt":"2016-09-12T10:40:47","slug":"cardiff-city-one-step-backwards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2016\/09\/12\/cardiff-city-one-step-backwards\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff City: One Step Backwards"},"content":{"rendered":"

A slow and disappointing start for Cardiff City<\/strong> after the first six games sees the Bluebirds sit in 18th in the Championship<\/strong>. With only five points out of a possible fifteen, things need to improve fast.<\/p>\n

Cardiff City: One step backwards<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It has been the worst start to an EFL Championship<\/strong> campaign in recent memory for Cardiff City.<\/strong> Paul Trollope<\/strong> has overseen just one league win in six attempts, with three defeats and one clean sheet showing a concerning defensive frailty.<\/p>\n

Last season, in contrast, saw Cardiff City and Russell Slade<\/strong> undefeated in their first six league matches. Three wins and three draws set up a promising start to the campaign.<\/p>\n

With an overhaul on tactics led by Trollope’s appointment, it has taken the squad a while to adjust and with one fortunate win against Blackburn Rovers\u2014<\/strong>thanks to two own-goals from Shane Duffy\u2014<\/strong>the overhaul in playing style could see confidence severely dented.<\/p>\n

The change to 5-3-2 has seen the Bluebirds concede nine goals in six matches, following Saturday’s 3-2 defeat<\/a> against Norwich City<\/strong>. In comparison, only six goals have been scored,\u00a0including the two from Anthony Pilkington<\/strong> at Carrow Road<\/strong>. The defensive weakness is a surprise coming from a\u00a0unit strengthened with the acquisition of Jazz Richards<\/strong> and the re-emergence of Declan John<\/strong> and Kadeem Harris<\/strong> as wing-backs.<\/p>\n

If conceding goals is going to become a part of how Trollope gains his results, he must counter this with scoring goals. Norwich are the perfect example. Alex Neil’s\u00a0<\/strong>side\u00a0conceded two goals against the Bluebirds, but still managed to bag three in return. Despite a fairly poor performance from the Canaries, they still came away with three points.<\/p>\n

It is difficult to see Cardiff managing good results with poor performances at the moment but the signing of Rickie Lambert<\/strong><\/a> should help. Hitting the bar on his debut against Norwich was a sign of what he can do. He will be judged on his goals, having had a prolific spell in the Championship for Southampton a few seasons back.<\/p>\n

With just three\u00a0goals in two seasons for Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion, it’s difficult to see if Lambert can pull-off his past exploits at this level despite the hope of all Cardiff City fans. Trollope is aware of Lambert’s lack of game time, telling the BBC<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“He does lack game-time. He’ll take a bit of time to get back in the groove,” said Trollope.<\/p>\n

“But there were really good signs. He and Anthony Pilkington can form a good partnership. They’ve got good attributes that compliment each other.<\/p>\n

“And I think they showed good glimpses of knitting together our forward play.”<\/p>\n

With the results\u00a0seemingly taking a backwards step will it be in lieu of two steps forward towards the end of the season?<\/p>\n

Cardiff City face rivals Leeds United at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday 17th September.<\/strong><\/p>\n

main photo<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n