Although a thrilling summer window set the stage for some daring early-season performances that sparked rumors of an ambitious assault on the play-off positions throughout the Welsh capital, Cardiff’s mid-pack standing in May was a better representation of the methodical progress Bulut had instituted since his arrival.
Last season, the Bluebirds won 19 games, whereas Norwich and West Bromwich Albion, two of the unsuccessful play-off contenders, each only managed two more. However, context is important, and detractors will properly point to Cardiff’s startlingly high 22 losses, which placed them third in the league behind Huddersfield Town in 23rd place.
They also let up 70 goals, which was more than their two previous seasons’ total from finishing in 18th and 21st place in the league. They gave up an average of 1.5 goals per game and a greater xG than the two teams that were relegated, Birmingham City and Huddersfield, with 71.0.
Their struggles with scoring goals are a matter of similar, if not greater, concern. These problems may be accurately attributed to a lack of attacking patterns and methods, the absence of a productive Championship striker, and, ultimately, a lack of support from both wide and midfield areas. In actuality, the issue relates to each of the three warnings in different ways.
Nevertheless, the figures present a depressing picture and highlight the need for action. In fact, there is a strong belief in certain quarters that Cardiff’s league standing last season covered up some serious flaws, and that belief is supported by the fact that they scored just 25 goals through open play. Rotherham United scored twenty-six, however they only won five games and finished with 27 points.
| Cardiff City’s attacking metrics across 2023/24, as per FotMob | ||
| Metric | Figure | League ranking |
| Shots on target per match | 3.8 | 14th |
| Goals per match | 1.2 | 15th |
| Big chances missed | 40 | 20th |
| Big chances created | 63 | 21st |
| xG | 44.3 | 22nd |
| Open play goals | 25 | 24th |
While Cardiff’s 20 goals from set-piece situations is undoubtedly an improvement over last season’s deficit, the team’s reliance on dead-ball scenarios and inability to consistently muster an alternative attacking potency are symptoms of a larger problem that needs to be addressed if they are to build on the foundations laid last season.
The consequences of Cardiff’s lack of imagination and originality were felt painfully on numerous occasions. While it’s equally critical that Bulut adopts the agile, front-footed attacking style that fans are demanding – and adds a striker or two for good measure – adding players to the roster who can, in essence, alter the course of a football game, provides a solid foundation.
Therefore, Cardiff could be better off starting their squad surgery with the bold purchase of Ryan Kent from Fenerbache, and if they haven’t already, they might live to regret not keeping a close eye on him right now.
Ex-Rangers player Ryan Kent is expected to leave via a Fenerbache deal.
The Liverpool academy product, who was supposedly on Cardiff’s January transfer shortlist, has had a difficult time since joining Turkish powerhouse Fenerbache in the summer after leaving Rangers as a free agent. In 2023–24, Kent made just one league start. It should come as no surprise that, a full year after his arrival, he is destined for the firing bench in Istanbul.
When it comes to Kent, meanwhile, this isn’t a scheme of ‘connect-the-dots’. After all, there is no publicly-disclosed reveal that he remains on Cardiff’s shortlist, at least not yet anyway. He may well be a target once again and that, it must be said, wouldn’t come as much of a shock. But if he isn’t, it’s about time that he becomes one.
Signing Ryan Kent from Fenerbache would show Cardiff City’s ambition
The transfer market has been a crash course for Cardiff over the years, but in the last twelve months it’s hard to deny that they’ve made some real ‘statement signings’. Launching a sensational homecoming for Cardiff’s prodigal son Aaron Ramsey is the outstanding one of that under Bulut’s reign, while you shouldn’t forget that Manolis Siopis also forked out some eye-watering sums from his own back pocket to cancel his contract with seven-time Super Lig champions Trabzonspor and join Bulut the previous summer.
The moral of the story is Bulut is an incredibly ambitious manager who players simply want to play under. Time will tell if Kent does too, but he desperately needs a new lease of life and Cardiff can most certainly accommodate that. His troubled tenure with Fenerbache does conjure some concerns, but for some anyway, they can be alleviated when history enters the memory and five seasons at Ibrox are remembered.
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