Cardiff City turn transfer focus to incomings as rival boss says it felt like Bluebirds 'punched him in face'
The latest Bluebirds news from Cardiff City Stadium
Ian Holloway, Manager of Swindon Town, gestures to Brian Barry-Murphy, Manager of Cardiff City
(Image: Getty Images)
Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Wednesday, August 13.
Cardiff turn focus to incomings
After spending so much of this summer focusing on shipping players out and trimming the squad, Cardiff are now zeroing in on landing their targets.
City have let 13 players leave so far this summer, with Jesper Daland in talks over a move away from the club, as revealed by head coach Brian Barry-Murphy last night. Given City have four senior goalkeepers currently in their squad, one suspects at least one of those is likely to leave, too.
However, work continues behind the scenes with regards to incomings. Nothing is done just yet, however sources have told WalesOnline that deals for two targets on their radar are "promising".
Barry-Murphy did not give a timeframe with regards to potential incomings, but the Bluebirds head coach insisted that he was confident of incomings before the end of the window.
City's backline is in desperate need of bolstering, with a centre-half, left back and possibly even right back on any potential wish list. A winger is also thought to be a position of interest, too. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community.
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Holloway blown away by 'sparkling' Cardiff
Swindon Town boss Ian Holloway says he was blown away by Cardiff City and he felt like a boxer who had been repeatedly punched in the face after a blockbuster first half.
City defeated Swindon 2-1, but really shone in the first half. Rubin Colwill netted a stunning free-kick after Cian Ashford had tapped home from point-blank range. Ashford should have wrapped it up before the break, too, but he hit the post after Callum Robinson played him through.
The Robins came back strongly after the break and halved the deficit, however it was City who advanced through to round two of the Carabao Cup.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wiltshire Sport after the match, former Premier League boss Holloway was stunned by the Bluebirds' play and was effusive in his praise of Barry-Murphy. "I was glad for the second half. And I was glad half-time came when it did. If I was a boxer, I don't think I'd have been punched so many times," he said.
"With their shape, their structure, they changed it when we boxed them off. Massive credit to their manager and team to what they did, their patterns.
"They changed it so well, we couldn't live with it, with the team I had out there."
He added: "At half-time, if you were a gambler, you'd have bet on us being beaten four, five, maybe even six-nil. But we won the second half 1-0.
"I was delighted with the second-half performance.
"That was a hell of a learning curve for us, how well they played in the first half. Massive credit to Cardiff. On another day I'd like to play them again, but we've got to earn that right and get up.
"I thought they were terrific first half, sparkling. We couldn't get near them."
The former Blackpool boss believes Cardiff are packed with talent and thinks they are on the right track under Brian Barry-Murphy.
Holloway added: "Well done to them. Absolutely brilliant way of playing.
"That was an absolutely wonderful free-kick and it absolutely knocked the stuffing out of us. They were very unlucky not to score, although I thought they were offside.
"Well done to Cardiff. I'm not taking anything away from them, it's a wonderful way of playing.
"You don't expect that from a team who have just got relegated. So, well done to Brian and his team. They've got some severe talent."
Colwill: We had to learn quickly after Port Vale disappointment
Rubin Colwill said the players had to work hard and learn the lessons after a disappointing league outing against Port Vale last Thursday.
The Bluebirds were held to a goalless stalemate away from home, but the performance arguably warranted a defeat.
They bounced back and performed well against Swindon, though, albeit they are in a division below City, with Colwill netting again with a wonderful free-kick.
'I think we had a lot of things to take away from the game against Port Vale," he said
"There's lots to learn, but we tried to put those things right tonight, the way we moved the ball, switching it and getting them moving, trying to create space so we can be better when we're trying to attack. So, there's lots to work on, lots to try and adjust and I thought we did that pretty well tonight.
'We come in every day, we learn and work hard. All you want as a footballer is to come in and see there's a plan of what to do and what we're working towards, and then it's up to you to put the work in and see if you can achieve that.'
Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman believes the vice-captaincy will do Colwill a world of good this season and hopes the Wales international can start taking games "by the scruff of the neck" as he is beginning to show already.
"There's a phrase, 'One swallow doesn't make a summer', and one good game doesn't make a player. But I loved his free-kick against Peterborough, it was great technique," Goodman told compare.bet.
"We need more of that from him. Not necessarily the free kick, but the performance, because he's an unbelievable talent who has been unbelievably inconsistent in his short career so far. But he's 23 now and has over 150 appearances for Cardiff City.
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"Brian Barry-Murphy gave the players a vote on who they wanted to be captain, and as the vice captain, they voted for Rubin Colwill. That's a massive vote of confidence and respect from your own team-mates. It could act as extra motivation that will make him feel a need to get Cardiff back to the Championship. But he needs to find that consistency, week in, week out.
"At League One level, he has to take those games by the scruff of the neck and really influence them, just the way he did vs Peterborough." Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
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