Yahoo News Cardiff City have just given tantalising glimpse into future under Bulut - it would be madness to throw it away
Let me tell you a story about Ryan Giggs’ Wales team - before the hoo-hah.
Aware that the side needed freshening up, he ditched most of the Euro 2016 old guard and brought into their places a plethora of exciting new talent like Harry Wilson, David Brooks, Dan James, Ethan Ampadu and Neco Williams.
In a 90-minute one-to-one interview given to me during Covid (trust me one-to-ones with Giggs were a rarity so he must have been bored!), the manager confided in the ‘tough conversations’ he’d had with the senior players, but explained how first-hand experience with Manchester United taught him this was the best course of action.
Giggs, of course, was part of the famous Class of ‘92 which also included David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, who reinvigorated Sir Alex Ferguson’s team and led them on their march to unprecedented success. When the team needed to be freshened up again, Fergie brought in more youngsters.
READ MORE: Cardiff City's exciting crop of young talent ready to bang the door down next season
One was Brazilian right-back Rafael. “Suddenly, instead of training every day against Gary Neville, which I’d done for years, I was being presented with new challenges and had to up my own game,” said Giggs.
His reign as Wales manager ended under a cloud, but the bold steps Giggs took in axing major dressing room figures worked a treat and appeared to re-energise the Euro 2016 stalwarts who did remain like Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen.
And so to Cardiff City 2024 under Erol Bulut. It’s a shame it took the manager until the 44th game of the Championship season to shake things up, but in beating Southampton 2-1 Bulut’s Bluebirds offered a tantalising glimpse into what could be a golden future.
Whether by choice or circumstance, Bulut’s team suddenly has a fresh, vibrant and youthful look to it, with a crop of gifted home-grown teens and early twenty-somethings from the academy bursting through and making a significant impact.
They could so easily have wilted against a strong Southampton side gunning for automatic promotion to the Premier League. Instead, grateful early on to some brilliant goalkeeping by Ethan Hovarth, Cardiff stood strong, displayed resilience, battled to the end and, thanks in no small part to those young guns, produced the Bluebirds’ best win of the season.
Cian Ashford took the plaudits for the winning goal, but Rubin Colwill was magnificent yet again once Bulut moved him to his best position of No.10 instead of David Turnbull, while new full-backs Raheem Conte and Luey Giles were directly involved in the two goals.
The energy, running, pace, effervescence and fearless approach on the ball of these younger players appeared to galvanise the senior stars around them. For half an hour or so it became a wonderful cocktail. Bulut managed the game brilliantly, the fans brought into what was unfolding before their eyes and Cardiff City Stadium rocked, becoming the kind of fortress we know it can be.
The equalising goal came directly as a result of Conte boldly rampaging right to the Southampton byline and cleverly cutting the ball back for Famara Diedhiou to score. Cardiff full-backs in such advanced positions have been too rare a sight this season, in my eyes.
Ashford has taken the plaudits for his superb winner, but it wouldn’t have happened without the efforts of Colwill and Giles. Colwill started the move with excellent control and footwork on the other side of the pitch before spraying a lovely crossfield pass to teen tearaway Giles. At that stage Cardiff appeared to be content with a 1-1 draw, but no-one told Giles.
He rampaged forward on the left, passed to Ashford and kept on running beyond to distract two Southampton defenders as his team-mate cut inside at purpose with only the goal in his sights. Giles certainly wasn’t playing for a point. Such is the beauty of youthful innocence.
It was a wonderful winner, very much made by three academy youngsters. It made such a refreshing change to see this freedom of expression after months of watching turgid football at times.
This has to be the template for the way forward for Cardiff. Under Bulut, and then beyond him as well.
Cardiff suddenly have a crop of youngsters who represent the future of the club - Colwill, Ashford, Conte, Giles, Joey Colwill, plus returning trio Isaak Davies, Eli King and Joel Bagan, who will return this summer much better players from loan spells away where they have had more regular game-time.
This home-grown group will strongly bolster a squad that already contains an excellent goalkeeper, a clutch of good defenders, plus older heads including Aaron Ramsey, Ralls, Turnbull, Mano Siopis, Callum O’Dowda and Ibrahim Meite. If Bulut can get Nat Phillips and Karlan Grant back next season, which is his aim, plus land the goalscoring centre-forward, tricky winger and dominant midfielder targets he is after, Cardiff will be in with a genuine shout of the top six
They will with Bulut at the helm, anyway. If he is replaced, bets are off.
Bulut has made errors this season, ones he needs to learn from, but he is the one who knows these players. He has just seen the effect the youngsters have had on the team. He needs to keep pushing them through, trusting in them, which in turn will naturally lead to a more adventurous brand of football.
At the time of writing this, Cardiff owner Vincent Tan doesn’t appear to have made his mind up whether Bulut stays or goes as manager.
Yet we’ve just had a peek at what could be ahead next season under Bulut. Surely it would be madness to throw that away?
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Cardiff, old heads and young guns, were a team producing every last ounce, and then a little bit more on top, for their manager in victory over Southampton.
‘We want you to stay’, the Cardiff crowd chanted at the manager.
It’s time, in my eyes, to put an end to the impasse. The future is blue.
