Football League World
·6 November 2024
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·6 November 2024
The Bluebirds have picked up in recent weeks under Omer Riza, but a new striker has been demanded by one supporter.
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...
Cardiff City have massively turned their season around in recent weeks under Omer Riza after it looked as though they were heading for an unprecedented relegation to League One.
Erol Bulut's sacking proved to be the turning point for the Bluebirds, who had struggled to find a way to win under the guidance of the Turkish manager, and they now look to be heading to a comfortable mid-table finish once again.
Victories over potential relegation candidates Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth have pushed them away from the bottom three, and the team looks a lot more complete under Riza after a very challenging start.
However, further improvements will be needed in the January transfer window to strengthen a squad that is still lacking, and Vincent Tan may have to get his cheque book out to help fund some of those much-needed changes at Cardiff.
While the last few weeks have been impressive, it is clear that an injury to Callum Robinson could see the Bluebirds under pressure once again, as their other striking options have not been good enough this season.
It is an area that needs to have more firepower added to it, otherwise, they could be dragged back towards the relegation battle.
Football League World's Cardiff Fan Pundit, Jack Price, was asked what one thing he wants from the club's owner in the upcoming January window.
He told FLW: "One demand that I would send Vincent Tan for the next transfer window is to sign a striker.
"Now I think it was something we neglected to do meaningfully in the summer, we put a lot of our eggs into one basket by signing Wilfried Kanga on loan from Hertha Berlin, and the reality is that he's looked hopeless. He hasn't adapted, he hasn't hit the ground running, and he's still yet to score.
"He's now very much a bit-part player under Omer Riza, who rightly hasn't valued him the same way that Erol Bulut did.
"We didn't add anybody else apart from Kanga. Isaak Davies and Kion Etete both suffered long-term injuries in pre-season. That's not on the club, that can't be helped, fair play on that one."
Jack continued: "We signed Roko Simic right at the end of the window, when it was obvious we still needed another striker, and he went straight out on loan to Kortrijk, and he’s struggling there as well.
"But as I said, we put a lot of our eggs into one basket hoping that Kanga would be the man, it hasn't worked out. Robinson needs competition, obviously, Davies and Etete will be coming back into the fold.
"But Etete, for starters, hasn't really, well, neither of them really scored prolifically for Cardiff. Davies has mitigating circumstances, and I think he's a top player, but I think Robinson can do with some competition who is going to go straight in there and challenge for his place.
"So, signing a striker, I think, is definitely very important for the next window. Obviously, we're sound at the moment. I mean, Robinson is banging them in for fun, but, I think he needs more support and I think we need better options to bring on than Kanga as well."
Not many would have predicted Callum Robinson to have been the hero for Cardiff this season due to his goalscoring record in previous seasons in South Wales.
However, this year he has been electric and has already beaten his goal record for both his first two campaigns at the Cardiff City Stadium. But, there is a drawback, and that is his fitness.
He played just half the amount of league games last season, and there will be worries that this could come back to haunt him once again. Nevertheless, currently, he is proving to be the talent that many expected him to be when he first signed.
He has kept Kanga out of the team early on, and he has popped up with important goals consistently, including against Swansea City, scoring the goal to hand Cardiff their first point of the campaign.
While there have been positives, the Bluebirds must bring in another striker to help with cover in case any of his injury issues come back, otherwise this bright moment could fizzle out quickly.