Should I be listening to ‘Jealous Guy’ by Roxy Music as Man City mania hits the UK, or rejoice because my club still retains a few toes in reality?

By: Martyn | September 2nd, 2008

After a livestock transportation deadline day that saw the transfers of household names such as Ricardo Quaresma, Dimitar Berbatov, Robinho, and erm, Jon Parkin, we here at Cardiff City ended the day empty-handed. But does that mean the day went without its fair share of stories? As frankly as Sinatra or Butcher… NO!

Monday 01/09/08 saw one departure, bids for one stalwart met with fervent and persistent rejection, and the collapse of one arrival after the prospective employee got cold feet at the last minute. The latter was Fulham midfielder – or current free-agent as he is as of this morning – Alexei Smertin, though you’d think a Russian could deal with cold body parts. As it was, Smertin turned us down after initially seeming keen to drop down a competitive level whilst remaining on his £20k-per-week wages. Perhaps the journeyman of 10 whole clubs watched our weekend encounter with the Blades or a Stoke City game prior to his work permit meeting and decided the up-and-at-‘em style so perfected by the Potters and favoured by many a Championship outfit was just not for him.

He’s not the first player to turn down a move to the Premier League’s snottier, spottier, and weedier younger sibling (Alan Smith is far and away the best example with regards to our club, and as you’ve all now no doubt noted, just look where his career has gone!), and be it out of fear, arrogance, relocation reluctance, delusion, egotism, or ridicule, if a player shows about as much enthusiasm as people hold for going in goals in indoor football then he’s not worth the risk. Dave Jones is now apparently set to wait for the emergency loan window that opens on September 9th. Presumably if we don’t meet the ‘Emergency’ criteria Dave Jones will take a baseball bat to training and pummel the ankles of the unluckiest and slowest soul in reach. My imagination really is animatedly whirring at this point!

The departed player was fan favourite Steve Thompson. This was not a surprise in any sense and my initial disappointment was cushioned by another look at Thommo’s goal record: Perhaps 16 goals in 94 games doesn’t tell the whole story of the contribution and impact he often made for us, but a 1 in 5 record isn’t exactly a mean feat for a striker given plenty of opportunities in a team that has been challenging for promotion in the last three seasons. The aspect of the deal that irked me most was the fact that we didn’t receive a single penny for dispensing with his services. Yes, he was out of contract come next summer (Rain rant: Would it not be wise to change the name of this once glorious season to Winter II? All connotations with the word summer imply sunny, coat dust-gathering, outdoor activities, so how is ‘summer’ now any different to winter exactly?), yes, I too doubt that his wages are anywhere near the peanuts get monkeys get at the very end of the scale, and yes, it’s well known we’ve been trying to boot him out of the door for nigh on 15 months. Nevertheless, how would insisting on a five-figure fee be detrimental to Burnley, the player, or us? Every Little Helps, as the Tesco ad (nauseum?) men tell us. Good luck at Burnley Thommo; I just hope we’ve inserted a clause that prevents you from playing against us this season. You are without a doubt a striker that can terrorise defences at this level still.

Finally, the biggest news of the day generated by and involving our club was the will-he-won’t-he saga and soap opera of Stoke City’s pursuit of Joe Ledley. A valiant attempt but thwarted was the result for the Potters who eventually spent a mere half of the quoted £6m figure that was put on the table for Joe Ledley by buying the more experienced Michael Tonge from Sheffield United, and the talented and youthful Tom Soares from Crystal Place. Both were Championship first-teamer’s, both were invaluable to their respective clubs, one has played at Premier League level already and the other was always destined to play there. Were those deals that cost a combined £3.25m more scrupulous and scrumptious business? Quite possibly so. Ledley, for all his talent and undoubted ability has spent the last year flattering to deceive on far too many occasions, and while he is still an incredibly essential and indispensable squad member for us – in spite of my and many others persistent calls for him to be dropped; a spell on the bench would definitely help him get his act together, assist his recovery from the form-blighting injury and revitalize his career – a £6m move to the Premier League at this moment in time is still perhaps one season too soon.

So that was the transfer window that was. £470m spent globally, and that was without the much-anticipated Ronaldo to Real rendezvous! As it is, we now have the following players genuinely competing for team-places in the six focal footballing positions this season.

(Bold text specifies a player we own, normal text signifies the player is on loan, a player with an asterisk following his surname is 21 years old or younger*, and italics indicate a player over the age of 30. Players listed twice aren’t the result of a bigger cock-up than trusting the government with important information in public on memory sticks, but a result of the particular player’s versatility)

Goalkeepers:

Tom Heaton, Peter Enckleman, Erwin Sak* – On loan at Newport County for 1 month.

Full-Backs:

Kevin McNaughton, Aaron Morris*, Darcy Blake*, Mark Kennedy, Miguel Comminges, Tony Capaldi, Joe Ledley*, Peter Whittingham.

Centre-Backs:

Roger Johnson, Darren Purse, Darren Dennehy*, Gabor Gyepes, Riccardo Scimeca.

Wide-Midfielders:

Paul Parry, Peter Whittingham, Joe Ledley*, Miguel Comminges, Mark Kennedy, Jon Brown*.

Central Midfielders:

Stephen McPhail, Gavin Rae, Joe Ledley*, Riccardo Scimeca, Mark Kennedy, Darcy Blake*, Aaron Wildig* – the subject of a glowing review from Neal Ardley just the other day.

Forwards:

Ross McCormack*, Jay Bothroyd, Paul Parry, Eddie Johnson, Jon Brown*, Roger Johnson.

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We have 24 players (21 if you subtract the three goalkeepers) offering us 35 options. Just 10 of these are between the supposed peak-age boundaries of 22-29. Read into that what you will: A good mix of raw, prime and old, or too few players at the perfect physical and mental age and condition? Rather than being one sandwich short of a picnic, we’re definitely a few players short of a Champion-challenging squad. Although the versatility of some in our squad is undoubtedly invaluable, it all adds up to headache-inducing overstretching. Cover in one area will always lead to a surplus in another. Similarly, how seriously can some of the options I have listed (positions the players have played or supposedly can play) be taken? Roger Johnson up-front, Jon Brown on the wing, Peter Whittingham at full-back, Aaron Wildig getting drafted into the first-team? None of them or these are likely to be risked in the short-term or seasonal future.

In the long-term we simply must acquire a top-drawer (particular stress, accent, and weight on the class of such buys) goalkeeper, centre-back, wide-man, central midfielder and striker. In the short-term the latter three are of the utmost importance and although efforts were made to sort out the central midfield position (especially with the current injuries to Rae and Scimeca), alas, no one actually came in. With regards to buying a striker, I can’t believe how little importance, diligence and attention was paid to this area of the field. Should Bothroyd or McCormack suffer injury, we’re relying solely on Parry and such circumstances would see us lose a valuable winger: another area where there isn’t enough competition. I know Kennedy and Comminges are natural wide-players, but with the importance of their necessary cover in the full-backs positions, it’s only in a treatment room overload crisis that they should be considered for more advanced flank duties.

With Dennehy, Morris, Wildig and Brown supposedly destined for impending loan moves, four players will eventually be removed from this squad equation reducing it to a mere and perhaps already realistic 17 members. Ultimately, things are still looking a little too brittle for my, fate and ambition’s liking. As a City fanatic, the faith I have in this crop of players must be endowed and supplemented with a complement of three more utility and experienced professionals, and blessed with the kind of luck that is the polar opposite to that of Calamity James; the type Ian Wright has been blessed with in regards to still getting employment opportunities. If my feelings right now as a City supporter had to be dressed up and described by a song courtesy of The Smiths, it would be How Soon Is Now. This relates to the fortnight-long international break we club football followers currently have to endure: Fingers, toes and paths crossed that none of our flag-servants pick up an injury. How Soon Is Now I’d reply, if asked when I’d like to get back to seeing my team play. If injuries are stockpiled as several of our players wear the red of Cymru, it’ll be time to dim the lights and draw the curtains for an unhealthy slice of Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.