It has unquestionably been a very difficult season for Cardiff City so far in the Championship with the Bluebirds going through some testing periods that have left them near the bottom of the division.
Cardiff started the campaign under Mick McCarthy aiming to potentially mount a challenge for the top-six places this term. That came after the experienced manager had got the Bluebirds threatening a play-off finish at times last season after he got off to an excellent start to his tenure after he had replaced Neil Harris as manager.
However, a run of eight successive defeats saw Cardiff forced into making a managerial change. Steve Morison has since took over from McCarthy and started to upturn the Bluebirds’ performances and obtain better results. Despite that though, the Welsh club still sit in 20th place in the table and they are just three points clear of the relegation zone at the moment.
That means that the Bluebirds are going to face a major fight for survival in the Championship this season. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the campaign plays out for them.
With all that in mind, we take a look at ONE winner and ONE loser for Cardiff from their squad this season…
Winner: Rubin Colwill
During what has been a turbulent season for Cardiff so far Rubin Colwill has been able to fully establish himself as a regular within the Bluebirds’ squad. That comes after the 19-year-old managed to make six Championship appearances for them last term. During that time he showcased some of the potential that he had to offer and suggested he could be a strong part of the squad moving forward.
Colwill has managed to make 19 Championship appearances already this term for the Bluebirds and he has fired home four goals in that time. That makes him Cardiff’s joint-second highest scorer so far this campaign behind Keiffer Moore on five goals. Considering his inexperience it is impressive that he has been able to reach that level of importance for Morison’s side.
The 19-year-old seems to be a player that has not been daunted by the Bluebirds’ struggles for form so far this season and he could well be key to helping them get out of trouble.
It could have been that the change in manager altered his position within the squad, as it has done with the likes of Joel Bagan, but Morison seems to have real faith in the forward.
Cardiff will need to ensure that they continue to develop Colwill and get the best out of him over the course of the rest of the campaign. If they do that then the 19-year-old should certainly have a bright future within their first-team squad in the coming years.
Loser: Will Vaulks
In what has been a campaign of struggle for numerous Cardiff players who have been so important to them in previous seasons, Will Vaulks in particular has struggled this time around to ensure that he remains a crucial part of their strongest starting line-up on a consistent basis.
Vaulks had been a very important part of Cardiff’s efforts last season, with the midfielder managing to make 42 Championship appearances and 36 of those were starts.
During that time he managed to register five goals and two assists and that form even saw some speculation emerge over the course of the campaign over potential interest from other sides.
However, Vaulks has only managed to start half of Cardiff’s 11 Championship matches this season to date and the midfielder has failed to contribute a single goal to the Bluebirds’ tally.
Considering that he is the sort of player that has historically been able to weigh in with vital goals it has been surprising to see the lack of output he has produced.
There is no doubt that Vaulks can perform far better than he has done for Cardiff this season. It will be interesting to see whether he is able to force himself back into the side on a more regular basis during the second half of the campaign.