The January transfer window is open and clubs across the country are looking for new players. But all is quiet in Cardiff.
First, a transfer embargo is in place after the club’s accounts were not submitted with an administrative delay. But even then, do the Bluebirds need to be busy?
Brian Barry-Murphy’s side sit top of League One and while new goalkeeper Harry Trier of Everton arrives when the embargo is lifted and some cover is needed at full-back – the winter window could mirror the summer window where minimum signings have been made.
“Yeah, it was very quiet,” Barry-Murphy says Ski Sports recalling his first window in Cardiff.
“We just focused on the players we had at the club and believed in and nothing changed. Our belief in those players just got bigger based on what they did.”
Despite widespread selling due to relegation from the Championship, Cardiff only made three signings – two were loans for goalkeeper Nathan Trott and Omari Keliman from Chelsea, while Gabriel Osho was the only permanent signing.
In place of those who left, Barry-Murphy put his faith in the club’s youth talent. The likes of Joel Colville, Ronan Kpacio and Dylan Lawlor have been integrated into the first team and become integral parts of the squad.
Cardiff are first in League 1 this season with a young team
“We had a lot of players obviously who hadn’t played a lot of league football,” says the Cardiff boss. “For those guys, from my point of view, the excitement was to give them a chance to play and see how good they can be and how quickly they can improve.”
“Obviously they’re improving at a rate depending on how good they are. It’s very exciting for all of us.”
“All our focus is on the players we have here, trying to secure the ones we want to stay with us for a long time. But if we can improve the team with significant quality in certain areas, we will try to do that when it is allowed.”
Trusting youth is a brave policy in League One, especially in the struggling division – but even more so for the young coach himself in his first head coaching role in four years.
Ignoring the summer window, the young Irish manager had to rely on his own footballing philosophy – and convince those above him that he was the right person to take the team forward.
“Vincent is very direct, so it’s very clear to me what he wants,” Barry-Murphy says. “He’s very passionate about getting the club back to where he believes it should be and my job is to try and make that happen.”
Cardiff owner Vincent Tan has entrusted Barry-Murphy with the reins at Cardiff
“So fingers crossed I can deliver or else…it’s always best to keep the big bosses happy!”
But Barry-Murphy was more than ready for a job where he could improve youth. This was the coach who groomed Cole Palmer, Morgan Rodgers and Oscar Bob for Manchester City’s first team in his role as the club’s elite development coach.
“I think it’s identical,” says the Cardiff boss on whether bringing in young players to Cardiff for League One is any different to dealing with Palmer and Rodgers.
“Those players like Cole Palmer and Morgan Rodgers have the same hunger and the same will to do it every day because they know that the harder they train, the better they are.”
“Nobody expected Rodgers to do what he’s doing but he had the appetite to do it – and we’ve got players like that here. Ruben Colville is the same, Ronan, Dylan too. Alex Robertson was with those guys at Man City and he’s doing the same thing now.
“You can see the correlation between that appetite and that hunger and when it’s there, it’s very difficult to stop the improvement and that’s why they’re gaining so much momentum.”
“And that rubs off on the older players. In the same way that the older players mentor the younger players and take care of them, I think the energy of the younger players and the desire to improve can really fuel the fire of the older players as well. It makes them super competitive with each other which makes for a better team.”
Barry-Murphy coached Palmer and Rodgers in youth football – and there is a big difference between preparing them for that type of football and preparing others for the pressures of League One, where points are on the line.
Barry-Murphy coached Morgan Rodgers and Cole Palmer at Man City
“You have to be very forgiving because the players have never experienced the rigors of League One before,” says Barry-Murphy.
“They will go to certain games against certain opponents and they just want to face the challenge that they are facing. But the most exciting thing is when you have a situation where Dylan, Reuben or Ronan have a game where they are not playing as well as they want to.
“And if you can show them why and then take it back to the training ground and try to improve it for the next time they face that situation, that’s real progress and then you get that support from them that drives everything forward.”
“What blew me away was the willingness and courage of the players to try anything and really put themselves on the line and try to be an aggressive team individually and collectively that will go up against anybody.”
“We played Chelsea in that Carabao Cup game and I was in the shoes of our players – where you try to be so aggressive and press so high and it’s easy to step back and think: what if we get embarrassed here? What if it doesn’t look good?
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Highlights of the Carabao Cup quarter-final between Cardiff City and Chelsea
“The players were so aggressive in everything they did and we tried to do that every game and some games it worked really well and some games it didn’t. But as long as we try to do our best all the time, I think we’ll be fine and we’ll be a really exciting team to watch.
“And the fans have really responded to that because they’re the ones who run it with their energy and for the club. The numbers we put up in away games have to be seen to be believed. We sell out every away game and the support for the club is incredible.”
How will Cardiff’s young side fare in one of their biggest games of the season, away to Bradford on Saturday, live on Sky Sports?
The Bluebirds are six points ahead of Saturday’s opponents, who are in third. But the game in the hands of the Bantams makes it a bit of a crossover game.
Barry-Murphy must also overcome a slight dip in away form after going three games without a win away from home, including defeat at promotion rivals Lincoln. Look deeper, and Cardiff’s away numbers are in stark contrast to their home form.
Cardiff’s contrasting home and away form
But Barry-Murphy offers a different perspective. “When I first came in August they told me we couldn’t win at home and the home form has been terrible for a long time,” he says. “So the players did really well to turn it around.”
“I’m really happy with the away form and the performances and obviously I’m trying to prepare the players for all the different situations and challenges they face.”
“We played Bradford in a proper game at home and we weren’t able to compete with them. Now we have an opportunity on Saturday to go and try to show that we have improved.”
Watch Bradford v Cardiff live on Sky Sports+ this weekend, kick-off 12.30pm.