Just where would this Squad be if Malky was Manager?

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Chat GPT says, and I would agree, after all Bulut got a top half finish with a weaker squad.

If Malky Mackay had taken over early in the season, a realistic finish for Cardiff City would likely be somewhere between 8th and 12th.

Why?
Defensive Organization – Malky is known for setting up disciplined, well-structured teams. Cardiff’s inconsistency this season has partly been down to defensive lapses, something he’d likely have tightened up.
Squad Limitations – While he’d improve the structure, he’d still be working with the same group of players, which has weaknesses, especially in creativity and squad depth.
Experience in the Championship – Compared to a novice like Riza, Malky’s experience at this level would likely have helped grind out results in tight games, possibly turning draws into wins.
Club Atmosphere & Stability – He knows Cardiff and has a connection with the fanbase, which could have given the squad and supporters a morale boost. However, past history with the club’s ownership might have caused friction.
Would We Make the Playoffs?
Unlikely. The top six are generally more settled, with deeper squads. But a mid-table, stable finish around 8th-10th would have been realistic.

Fair play, that's a steaming pile of shit.

1. Stop talking about finishing 12th as the benchmark on which to base how we should do this season. We all know that, bar the opening 3 months, we were utter shit. Working out how we'd do from August 2024 based on how we did between August - October 2023 is complete nonsense. For 6 months we had the 2nd worst defence in the Championship, 3rd worst attack and lost more games than anyone bar Rotherham. Every fecking time you fail to take this into account. It's entirely because of that form I predicted a lowly finishing position - finishing 12th was totally false, based on some excellent results early season. It's why bookies etc predicted we'd struggle. You thought we'd progress from a top half finish and didn't take into any account what had happened for 6 months. You got that spectacularly wrong.

2. Squad limitations - particular weakness in terms of creativity. Let's see. We're ranked mid table for goals scored from open play while only 7 sides have scored more in the Championship than us since Riza took over. Admittedly our defence has been our biggest problem, scoring goals has been less of an issue than it was previously. So, to suggest creativity is a particular weakness of ours, that's not really true. Don't confuse that with me suggesting we've got a great attack, but it's not a particular weakness as you agree with Chat GIT.

3. How does a manager solve individual defensive lapses?