Riza.

[the other bob wilson]

I was disappointed we were willing to stand off Hull so much on Tuesday, but Ive read and heard a few Hull fans praising Omer Riza with someone saying that he’d outcoached the highly regarded Ruben Seles by setting City up as the away side. I suppose the clue was there when you look at Hull’s home record which is comfortably the worst in the Championship and they are far better at playing on the break in games where they have less of the ball it seems compared to when they have to force the issue themselves.

I’ve read plenty of criticisms of Riza’s tactical thinking in the last few months and I’d say some of this has been justified, but I also think he can be quite innovative in his approach. Towards the end of last season, I was mystified by the degree of fan support for Erol Bulut. I reckon, even if we stay up, we won’t see the same for Riza, yet I’d take him over Bulut any day of the week.

[The Lone Gunman]

I was disappointed we were willing to stand off Hull so much on Tuesday, but I've read and heard a few Hull fans praising Omer Riza with someone saying that he’d outcoached the highly regarded Ruben Seles by setting City up as the away side.

If that's what actually happened, then no doubt Erol Bulut would have also beaten the current Hull side. After all, he had his team stand off the opposition regardless of who they were playing.

[The Lone Gunman]

I've read and heard a few Hull fans praising Omer Riza with someone saying that he’d outcoached the highly regarded Ruben Seles by setting City up as the away side.

Out of interest, do you believe that's what actually happened? That City were deliberately set up to play as the away side?

[the other bob wilson]

Out of interest, do you believe that's what actually happened? That City were deliberately set up to play as the away side?

I think we did, although first halves at Cardiff City Stadium are sleep inducing these days, we seemed even more stand offish than normal on Tuesday. We showed positive intent for a few minutes after half time, but we showed little sign of wanting to add to our lead after we scored as we reverted to away game mode. We’re usually a lot more positive in second halves at home, but we weren’t against Hull - Riza more or less admitted we were looking to win 1-0 after the game.

[North Cardiff Blue]

It was a big game to Riza, he has said that a few times, and we had a weakened team due to injuries and suspensions. He did try to keep a clean sheet and set up more defensively to solve the problems we've faced of being two down in twenty minutes. He will have learned a lot from it, and now that we have more of a goal threat and a bit more pace. I think we will play like this more often, hoping to keep a clean sheet and nick a goal or two.

[WJ99mobile]

It’s at least more enjoyable than the vast majority of Bulut games.

[bluesp]

Exactly what I said on your match report thread Bob In the first half, we were dropping off in a "let's see what you've got way" and Hull couldn't find a way through.

[PontBlue]

I'd like to think we'd set up as we did based on scouting of hull but it's more likely we set up that way to protect a makeshift defence

[The Lone Gunman]

I think we did, although first halves at Cardiff City Stadium are sleep inducing these days, we seemed even more stand offish than normal on Tuesday. We showed positive intent for a few minutes after half time, but we showed little sign of wanting to add to our lead after we scored as we reverted to away game mode. We’re usually a lot more positive in second halves at home, but we weren’t against Hull - Riza more or less admitted we were looking to win 1-0 after the game.

I’m not accusing you of this, but I think there’s a marked tendency these days for fans and, of course, pundits to over-analyse games of football.

Some excerpts from the BBC report of Tuesday’s game:

“Seemingly paralysed by the fear of losing such an important game, both sides served up one of the most forgettable first halves of football you are likely to see at any level this season.

“Fortunately there was a marked improvement after the interval as Callum Robinson fired Cardiff in front with a controlled but deflected volley. Anxiety set in again as the home side looked to cling on to their lead, and they were thankful that unmarked Hull centre-back Alfie Jones could only head straight at Bluebirds goalkeeper Ethan Horvath in the closing stages.

“At this advanced stage of a season, matches like these - between two teams sat uncomfortably close together towards the bottom of the table - can be unbearably tense. And while there were undoubtedly nerves on both sides, the first half was so severely lacking in quality or meaningful incident that it was almost completely devoid of feeling.

“Hull goalkeeper Pandur was powerless as Willock's cross was only cleared as far as Robinson, who guided his volley into the bottom corner with the help of a deflection. The home crowd were buoyant but, as Cardiff dropped back further to preserve their precious lead, apprehension crept in again.”

That’s pretty much how I saw it. A dreadful, instantly-forgettable first half followed by a distinct improvement from City in the early stages of the second half and then a grim watch as they dropped back again and an ineffective Hull attack attempted to breach an unusually solid Cardiff defence for the remainder of the game.

I didn’t observe any great tactical triumph for Riza, just two relatively poor teams engaged in another dour Championship scrap. In fairness to the man himself, he said after the game: “We wanted to be structured and disciplined. My eyes are hurting, it wasn’t pretty, but three points is three points. I don’t think we played well today.”

There is no doubt that Riza is far more tactically flexible than Bulut was and that’s a big plus as far as I’m concerned, but we’ve got to be realistic. On Tuesday evening, a patched-up City side was set up in the same 4-2-3-1 formation Riza has used many times before, and they just about got the job done. Credit to the manager and his players for that, but let’s not pretend it was something it wasn’t.

[2b2bdoo]

It’s probably half true, I would imagine he wanted us to protect the back four a bit more with NG and Fish at CB

[Rjk]

I’m not accusing you of this, but I think there’s a marked tendency these days for fans and, of course, pundits to over-analyse games of football.

Some excerpts from the BBC report of Tuesday’s game:

“Seemingly paralysed by the fear of losing such an important game, both sides served up one of the most forgettable first halves of football you are likely to see at any level this season.

“Fortunately there was a marked improvement after the interval as Callum Robinson fired Cardiff in front with a controlled but deflected volley. Anxiety set in again as the home side looked to cling on to their lead, and they were thankful that unmarked Hull centre-back Alfie Jones could only head straight at Bluebirds goalkeeper Ethan Horvath in the closing stages.

“At this advanced stage of a season, matches like these - between two teams sat uncomfortably close together towards the bottom of the table - can be unbearably tense. And while there were undoubtedly nerves on both sides, the first half was so severely lacking in quality or meaningful incident that it was almost completely devoid of feeling.

“Hull goalkeeper Pandur was powerless as Willock's cross was only cleared as far as Robinson, who guided his volley into the bottom corner with the help of a deflection. The home crowd were buoyant but, as Cardiff dropped back further to preserve their precious lead, apprehension crept in again.”

That’s pretty much how I saw it. A dreadful, instantly-forgettable first half followed by a distinct improvement from City in the early stages of the second half and then a grim watch as they dropped back again and an ineffective Hull attack attempted to breach an unusually solid Cardiff defence for the remainder of the game.

I didn’t observe any great tactical triumph for Riza, just two relatively poor teams engaged in another dour Championship scrap. In fairness to the man himself, he said after the game: “We wanted to be structured and disciplined. My eyes are hurting, it wasn’t pretty, but three points is three points. I don’t think we played well today.”

There is no doubt that Riza is far more tactically flexible than Bulut was and that’s a big plus as far as I’m concerned, but we’ve got to be realistic. On Tuesday evening, a patched-up City side was set up in the same 4-2-3-1 formation Riza has used many times before, and they just about got the job done. Credit to the manager and his players for that, but let’s not pretend it was something it wasn’t.

there's definitely a lot of over analysis done, and it's almost always completely skewed by the result. if Robinson had skied his chance and one of the Hull chances had gone on there would be a lot of analysis on how Riza got it wrong even though he wouldn't have done anything different.

however it was noticeable from the start of the game how we weren't really closing them down until they got to our half then we were trying to use fast counterattacks, and we had some success from that. it definitely looked like a tactical decision based on Hulls strengths and weaknesses

[Taunton Blue Genie]

I was disappointed we were willing to stand off Hull so much on Tuesday, but Ive read and heard a few Hull fans praising Omer Riza with someone saying that he’d outcoached the highly regarded Ruben Seles by setting City up as the away side. I suppose the clue was there when you look at Hull’s home record which is comfortably the worst in the Championship and they are far better at playing on the break in games where they have less of the ball it seems compared to when they have to force the issue themselves.

I’ve read plenty of criticisms of Riza’s tactical thinking in the last few months and I’d say some of this has been justified, but I also think he can be quite innovative in his approach. Towards the end of last season, I was mystified by the degree of fan support for Erol Bulut. I reckon, even if we stay up, we won’t see the same for Riza, yet I’d take him over Bulut any day of the week.

City usually play like they are the away team at CCS as the team can't retain possession and they permit the opposition to go through the midfield like a hot knife through butter. The result of the game is usually down to the level of profligacy of the opposition.

[Rjk]

City usually play like they are the away team at CCS as the team can't retain possession and they permit the opposition to go through the midfield like a hot knife through butter. The result of the game is usually down to the level of profligacy of the opposition.

as someone who mostly sits in the family stand, it would be nice if we scored a few more fist half goals

[the other bob wilson]

IÂ’m not accusing you of this, but I think thereÂ’s a marked tendency these days for fans and, of course, pundits to over-analyse games of football.

Some excerpts from the BBC report of TuesdayÂ’s game:

“Seemingly paralysed by the fear of losing such an important game, both sides served up one of the most forgettable first halves of football you are likely to see at any level this season.

“Fortunately there was a marked improvement after the interval as Callum Robinson fired Cardiff in front with a controlled but deflected volley. Anxiety set in again as the home side looked to cling on to their lead, and they were thankful that unmarked Hull centre-back Alfie Jones could only head straight at Bluebirds goalkeeper Ethan Horvath in the closing stages.

“At this advanced stage of a season, matches like these - between two teams sat uncomfortably close together towards the bottom of the table - can be unbearably tense. And while there were undoubtedly nerves on both sides, the first half was so severely lacking in quality or meaningful incident that it was almost completely devoid of feeling.

“Hull goalkeeper Pandur was powerless as Willock's cross was only cleared as far as Robinson, who guided his volley into the bottom corner with the help of a deflection. The home crowd were buoyant but, as Cardiff dropped back further to preserve their precious lead, apprehension crept in again.”

ThatÂ’s pretty much how I saw it. A dreadful, instantly-forgettable first half followed by a distinct improvement from City in the early stages of the second half and then a grim watch as they dropped back again and an ineffective Hull attack attempted to breach an unusually solid Cardiff defence for the remainder of the game.

I didn’t observe any great tactical triumph for Riza, just two relatively poor teams engaged in another dour Championship scrap. In fairness to the man himself, he said after the game: “We wanted to be structured and disciplined. My eyes are hurting, it wasn’t pretty, but three points is three points. I don’t think we played well today.”

There is no doubt that Riza is far more tactically flexible than Bulut was and thatÂ’s a big plus as far as IÂ’m concerned, but weÂ’ve got to be realistic. On Tuesday evening, a patched-up City side was set up in the same 4-2-3-1 formation Riza has used many times before, and they just about got the job done. Credit to the manager and his players for that, but letÂ’s not pretend it was something it wasnÂ’t.

Stacks of people, myself included, piled into Riza after the away game at Bristol City when he made defensive substitutions with close to a third of the match left at a time when we were on top and leading. I can also remember him getting stick for his selection and substitutions at Luton and the home match v Preston and, as I said earlier, I think some of the criticism was justified.

Hull away was Riza’s first game in charge and we were a lot more attacking there in our outlook than we were on Tuesday - we kept attacking after taking the lead early on, but Hull picked us off and were well worth their win in the end, even if 4-1 flattered them. Hull have lost their two wingers that day to injury and, in their absence, their scoring stats have been mediocre - I make it nineteen in twenty two games in all competitions.

So Hull are hardly prolific scorers and while City aren’t either, a stat I wasn’t aware of until just now is that the 7-0 at Leeds is the only time we haven’t scored in our last 15 matches in all competitions. So, despite Hull’s good defensive record in recent away matches, there was always a decent chance we’d score on Tuesday and then it became a question of getting a rare clean sheet from our defence.

Another stat I wasn’t aware of is that Leeds and Portsmouth are the only matches we’ve lost in our last fourteen in all competitions. The fact that we’ve won so few league games since early November tells you there’s been too many draws over the last three months or so, but one goalless game in fifteen and two defeats in fourteen are stats you’d associate with a team higher up the table than us and Id say they show Riza is getting a few things right when you consider our record when he took over from Bulut.

I appreciate that we’re likely to lose our next three games and so both the stats Ive mentioned will probably not look as impressive in ten days time, but I must say if we can stay up, Im quite optimistic about next season if we can tighten up a bit at the back.

[Garth Blue]

Stacks of people, myself included, piled into Riza after the away game at Bristol City when he made defensive substitutions with close to a third of the match left at a time when we were on top and leading. I can also remember him getting stick for his selection and substitutions at Luton and the home match v Preston and, as I said earlier, I think some of the criticism was justified.

Hull away was Riza’s first game in charge and we were a lot more attacking there in our outlook than we were on Tuesday - we kept attacking after taking the lead early on, but Hull picked us off and were well worth their win in the end, even if 4-1 flattered them. Hull have lost their two wingers that day to injury and, in their absence, their scoring stats have been mediocre - I make it nineteen in twenty two games in all competitions.

So Hull are hardly prolific scorers and while City aren’t either, a stat I wasn’t aware of until just now is that the 7-0 at Leeds is the only time we haven’t scored in our last 15 matches in all competitions. So, despite Hull’s good defensive record in recent away matches, there was always a decent chance we’d score on Tuesday and then it became a question of getting a rare clean sheet from our defence.

Another stat I wasn’t aware of is that Leeds and Portsmouth are the only matches we’ve lost in our last fourteen in all competitions. The fact that we’ve won so few league games since early November tells you there’s been too many draws over the last three months or so, but one goalless game in fifteen and two defeats in fourteen are stats you’d associate with a team higher up the table than us and Id say they show Riza is getting a few things right when you consider our record when he took over from Bulut.

I appreciate that we’re likely to lose our next three games and so both the stats Ive mentioned will probably not look as impressive in ten days time, but I must say if we can stay up, Im quite optimistic about next season if we can tighten up a bit at the back.

Well said Bob. Don't expect TLG to say anything positive about Riza.

[jeepster]

Well said Bob. Don't expect TLG to say anything positive about Riza.

Do not hold your breath

[rich munn]

Well said Bob. Don't expect TLG to say anything positive.

Fixed.

[The Lone Gunman]

Fixed.

I’m positive that you’re utterly clueless when it comes to football. That’s 100% certain.

[BlueArmy 86]

I like him. He’s not afraid to change things and that’s been frustrating in previous managers. I think he’ll get better and better. Every manager starts somewhere, and he’s not doing a bad job in my opinion. Few mistakes but **** me I’ve seen pep make mistakes. No comparison but the way

[North Cardiff Blue]

Stacks of people, myself included, piled into Riza after the away game at Bristol City when he made defensive substitutions with close to a third of the match left at a time when we were on top and leading. I can also remember him getting stick for his selection and substitutions at Luton and the home match v Preston and, as I said earlier, I think some of the criticism was justified.

Hull away was Riza’s first game in charge and we were a lot more attacking there in our outlook than we were on Tuesday - we kept attacking after taking the lead early on, but Hull picked us off and were well worth their win in the end, even if 4-1 flattered them. Hull have lost their two wingers that day to injury and, in their absence, their scoring stats have been mediocre - I make it nineteen in twenty two games in all competitions.

So Hull are hardly prolific scorers and while City aren’t either, a stat I wasn’t aware of until just now is that the 7-0 at Leeds is the only time we haven’t scored in our last 15 matches in all competitions. So, despite Hull’s good defensive record in recent away matches, there was always a decent chance we’d score on Tuesday and then it became a question of getting a rare clean sheet from our defence.

Another stat I wasn’t aware of is that Leeds and Portsmouth are the only matches we’ve lost in our last fourteen in all competitions. The fact that we’ve won so few league games since early November tells you there’s been too many draws over the last three months or so, but one goalless game in fifteen and two defeats in fourteen are stats you’d associate with a team higher up the table than us and Id say they show Riza is getting a few things right when you consider our record when he took over from Bulut.

I appreciate that we’re likely to lose our next three games and so both the stats Ive mentioned will probably not look as impressive in ten days time, but I must say if we can stay up, Im quite optimistic about next season if we can tighten up a bit at the back.

Yes we've got a much better squad than last year, with more goals, a better midfield, if he can sort the defence into the best four, and get some continuity and understanding we will be a decent team.

[North Cardiff Blue]

I like him. He’s not afraid to change things and that’s been frustrating in previous managers. I think he’ll get better and better. Every manager starts somewhere, and he’s not doing a bad job in my opinion. Few mistakes but **** me I’ve seen pep make mistakes. No comparison but the way

I didn't want him, and he was a massive risk, but he's doing well and is a likable bloke, I hope he can keep on improving and concentrate on not leaking goals, and we'll be fine, and he will have a fair chance of being retained.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

I like him. He’s not afraid to change things and that’s been frustrating in previous managers. I think he’ll get better and better. Every manager starts somewhere, and he’s not doing a bad job in my opinion. Few mistakes but **** me I’ve seen pep make mistakes. No comparison but the way

One issue that has cropped up with every manager in recent times has been whether the board could be trusted to make a better appointment than the person in the hotseat at the time. Judging by the number of poor appointments made, this argument has got stronger and stronger.

It also has to be argued that we can't keep having crap managers time and time again. Another point of debate has been to calculate how good our side actually is. Some will say we're a couple of good players from the playoffs, some will argue very differently. I think there has to be some element of truth in us having a pretty poor squad given that successive managers keep struggling.

All sacked managers since we were relegated from the Premier League have ended up going on a dismal run of form prior to their dismissal. Whether Uncle Vinnie has been a bit trigger happy is another side to the debate, but there has been a feeling among some/many/fewer supporters at the time of firing that manager x needs to go. The run Riza's side went on in November/December (3 points from 9 winless games) would have seen other managers sacked in the past, plus there are rumours he would have gone, hadn't it been for the win at Watford. However, 2 defeats in 14 games in all competitions has to be seen as a decent turnaround from those days.


I'm on the fence a bit here. I'm not convinced Riza is the right manager to take us forward. His appointment smacks of little ambition and hoping for the best, like a number of managerial appointments Tan has made. However, this is the first time where I've thought the board could actually make things worse by getting rid of him, not because of Riza's abilities as a manager, but by whoever they would subsequently appoint. Under previous managers, there was a clear feeling that things were getting worse and change was needed. I've said on many occasions I'd rather a season that starts badly but improves and shows some progress, to a season that starts really well and fades away badly.

[jon1959]

I like Riza as a person, and his honesty and avoidance of tired cliches in interviews is welcome. He appears to be tactically flexible, to be a good man-manager, and to genuinely want to promote younger players (from the Academy and via transfers/loans). He has made mistakes with selections and substitutions, but seems to have learned from them, and quickly.

I would have preferred the board to appoint a more experienced manager with a profile that matches the strategy of the club (ha!) and to have done it quickly, but as they didn't the Riza option has turned out to be much more positive than I expected.

80% of Riza's league management experience is with us. He is a far more experienced and tested manager now than when he was first given the job, but still green. I think he has coped and evolved well.

But we are in a relegation fight and haven't got clear. Is that down to Riza and his (still underpowered) coaching team? Is it down to a weak squad (or probably more an unbalanced squad with some clear talent but a patched up and misfiring defence)? Did the start derail the whole season?

Maybe we could have done a Coventry (though I doubt it the way we have leaked goals) but we could also have done a Luton.

For me Riza is in credit this season. If we get out of trouble and he is given a longer contract I won't be jumping with excitement, but I won't be too concerned either. He could turn out to be very good - especially if he is allowed to reshape the squad and the coaching team over the summer. If he does succeed it won't be down to smart planning by the club, but because every so often Vincent gets lucky.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

I would have preferred the board to appoint a more experienced manager with a profile that matches the strategy of the club (ha!)

..

[Michael Morris]

Will Riza become the first manager in the league to see his side score against Burnley since Tom Cleverley's Watford in the 80th minute on December 21st.

1,090 mintues of football (excl injury/added time)

12 full games since they last let one in.

In the same time period of 12 full games we've only failed to score once, the game - as Bob mentions - at Leeds.