20 games into his Cardiff City career and I think it’s fair to say Neil Harris is doing a respectable job at his new club. However, ask a fan about their opinion on his spell at the club so far, or the appointment of Harris in general, and you may not hear a positive point of view.
On the one hand, the Bluebirds have only lost four league games since his arrival, he seems to be onboard with the hardworking ethos the fans usually demand and he’s vowing to overhaul the club’s youth development system.
The club are still very much in the race for the last play off spot which is remarkable given the start they had under Neil Warnock, and they’ve shown a great deal of discipline under Harris, proving to be a hard team to beat when individual errors are avoided.
The new gaffer has also given certain players the opportunity to flourish, with Lee Tomlin going through what can only be described as a renaissance of form and Curtis Nelson cementing himself as a first team starter.
However, on the other hand, there’s a vocal section of the club’s fanbase that frequently vent their frustrations online and in the ground. These complaints include too many draws, an underwhelming style of play and a somewhat lackluster showing in the recent South Wales derby which ended as a nil-nil draw.
Another gripe amongst fans was the frustrating lack of involvement in the transfer window. The fans were crossing their fingers for creativity in midfield and extra firepower going forward, but had to settle for quick fix loans to solve short term problems.
Harris also chose to offload some of the dead weight within the squad, but fans were left groaning when he chose to get rid of loyal servant Lee Peltier and striker Gary Madine, who Warnock spent £6m on, for absolutely nothing.
In my opinion, the appointment of Harris and this transfer window in particular has shown the clubs mindset after their brief Premier League spell, and as a fan it’s a slightly deflating but understandable one.
It’s clear to see that the club are opting to recover their loses financially rather than push on for another promotion run, a choice I think they made when they picked Neil Harris as Warnock’s successor rather than Chris Hughton who has a wealth of promotions and experience under his belt.
The more I think about it I can’t blame the club for the choice they’ve made. No, it doesn’t scream ambition, but Warnock had spent big in some areas and got little in return on the pitch with £10m being spent on Bobby Reid in the summer of 2018 as well as the previously mentioned £6m spent on Gary Madine, who failed to score for the club.
Neil Harris’ hunger to bring players through the academy that may actually break into the starting 11 makes financial sense for a club that’s spent big and gotten little for it, and it’s something we haven’t seen at Cardiff for quite some time.
The appointment of Steve Morison as under 23’s coach also seems like a statement of intent in terms of shaking up the youth set up, with him being a familiar face for Neil Harris as he managed the former Wales International during their time at Millwall.
It was also an easier option to appoint Harris knowing that, under his management, there’s little to no threat of being relegated which gives the club time to balance the chequebook.
With this in mind I think it’s naive for any Cardiff fan to expect domestic success right away, during what is fundamentally a transitional period for the Bluebirds. Watching them play is far from exciting but that’s not important. Success takes time, especially the success that Harris is aiming for with the youth set up.
It seems as though the Harris haters amongst the fanbase have a short memory that only stretches back to 2010. No club/fanbase is owed success and it’s important to remember that these are still relatively exciting times for Cardiff compared to where we were 15-20 years ago.
Owen Gardner's Sports Blog 