+ Visit Cardiff FC for Latest News, Transfer Gossip, Fixtures and Match Results |
Quite possibly. I used to moan about Slade not turning up to DVP games so I'd be a hypocrite not to do the same when Warnock or Blackwell don't turn up, especially as a couple of Saturday's squad were playing as well as some fringe players. However, there is a different feel about these games now and I'd like to think Warnock is genuine when he talks about the importance of a long term strategy here, even though there is plenty to occupy him in the short term.
A couple of other bits of DVP related stuff. Lloyd Humphries scored for Weston tonight in a 3-2 defeat to Dartford in the National League South. Former player Gethyn Hill also scored, for the fourth game in a row. Another former player, Luke Coulson, has joined Barnet where he'll join up with David Tutonda.
So he should.
Loan Watch will be back at some point. I'm using the office as the headquarters for the 'Bring Etien home' campaign at the moment. It's really starting to gather some momentum now. I know I can count on your signature when the petition goes round on Saturday.
I haven't seen him at any games. I was going to come up with some guff about how good it is that he's assembled such a strong backroom team that he can delegate that kind of thing out but, like I said, I never made that excuse for Slade. Or any excuse for him, come to that.
To be fair to Slade, I saw him quite often at Development team matches at Leckwith and the Vale (even had a conversation with him once if thanking him for allowing me to get past him qualifies as one), so I take the point about it being hypercritical to criticise Slade and say nothing about Warnock. However, I will cut Warnock some slack for;-
1. Acting so quickly on an Academy and Development team system that wasn't working. The proof of the pudding will be in the results it produces of course, but the moving on of players in their early twenties who were stuck in a limbo between youth and first team football and the appointment of someone to oversee age group football at the club in the same way as Brian Flynn used to for Wales, seem like good moves to me - especially as the new appointee is someone like Craig Bellamy.
2. Less than three months into his time at Cardiff and Warnock has already done what Slade never did in almost two full season at the club - give an Academy graduate (in fact, Mark Harris is still eligible for our Under 18s this season) a first team debut.