"I’m quite annoyed at Omer Riza" - Cardiff City urged to make striker decision | OneFootball

FLW's Cardiff City fan pundit has given his verdict on Roko Simic's lack of game time

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Roko Simic has been unable to make an impact at Cardiff City at senior level this season since joining from Red Bull Salzburg.

The forward went out on loan to Kortrijk after arriving in August but struggled for game time and returned in January after just four appearances to his name.

However, since coming back in the winter market he has been in the U21 side and has yet to feature in the Championship.

With Cardiff struggling for survival in the second division, and with Callum Robinson’s fitness issues, perhaps his opportunity will come in these final few fixtures.

Roko Simic game time verdict

When asked about Simic’s game time, FLW’s Cardiff fan pundit Matt Hall claimed that he should be an option in the team alongside Yousef Salech.

He also highlighted Simic’s performances for Salzburg last year, particularly in the Champions League, as a sign that he should be in the team now instead of waiting for next season.

“I’m quite passionate about this one, I’ll be completely honest,” Hall told Football League World.

“I’m quite annoyed at Omer Riza for not giving him a chance because I think he’s more than deserving of it, regardless of whether he performed for the U21s or not.

“I think we signed him and the plan was that he wouldn’t feature this season, he’d feature next season, the plan would be he’d be out on loan but the loan didn’t go so well so now he seems to be stuck in the U21s.

“And that’s just accepted but even if he’s performing really well.

“But, for me, it’s very obvious that Yousef Salech and Roko Simic are similar in their profile, being very fox in the box-like.

“The difference between them is one gets the opportunity and one doesn’t.

“I’m not saying Roko Simic is necessarily as good as Salech has turned out to be, however it’s clear that Omer Riza had more of a hand in signing Salech, hence why he gets the opportunity more.

“End of the day, he’s 21, played in the Champions League last season and scored in the Champions League, and in the Austrian Bundesliga.

“There’s no reason why that can’t translate in some form to QPR away, for example.”

Riza urged to play Simic

Hall has claimed that Yakou Meite isn’t suited to this level anymore, and that Riza should be giving Simic a chance before the end of the season.

“With Callum Robinson’s ongoing Achilles issue, Salech is sometimes the only striker that we’ve got because Isaak Davies is playing out wide or has been injured,” he continued.

“And Yakou Meite for me is just not suited to the vast majority of this level anymore.

“QPR is probably one where he did probably suit it more because it was a small pitch and we went more direct, but for the most part not particularly, and he’s not a goal-scorer, with five in 70 or something like that.

“So, yeah, very simple, he has to play.

“He doesn’t necessarily have to start, but he’s more than deserving of being that third-choice striker, which sometimes turns to second-choice striker given Callum Robinson’s issues.”

Cardiff are currently 22nd in the table, level on points with 21st place Derby County with five games left to play each.

Cardiff need to roll the dice in these final games

Cardiff are at risk of going down unless they find something fresh in the final five games.

That’s where someone like Simic could prove key to the end of the campaign, and Riza should be giving him a chance, especially given his recent performances at underage level.

He will offer something new to the team, making it a risk worth taking when relegation is distinctly possible if they decide to stick with what they have been doing.

While his loan move didn’t work out in the first half of the campaign, the experience he gained for Salzburg last year should give the Bluebirds the confidence they need that it’s worth trying to throw him into the team in these last few weeks of the season.