The January transfer window is open and clubs up and down the land are looking for new players. But it’s all quiet at Cardiff.
Firstly, a transfer embargo is in place after club accounts were not submitted in an administrative delay. But even then, do the Bluebirds need to be busy?
Brian Barry-Murphy’s side are top of League One and while a new goalkeeper in Everton’s Harry Tryer is incoming once the embargo is lifted, and some cover is needed at full-back – the winter window may mirror the summer one where minimal signings were made.
“Yeah, it was very quiet,” Barry-Murphy tells Sky Sports reminiscing about his first window at Cardiff.
“We just focused on the players that we had in the club and believed in and nothing’s changed. Our belief in those players has only got bigger based on what they’ve done.”
Despite widespread sales due to relegation from the Championship, Cardiff only made three signings – two were loan deals for goalkeeper Nathan Trott and Chelsea’s Omari Kellyman, while Gabriel Osho was the only permanent signing.
In place of those who left, Barry-Murphy trusted the club’s youth talents. The likes of Joel Colwill, Ronan Kpakio and Dylan Lawlor were integrated into the first-team and have become integral parts of the team.
Cardiff are top of League One with a young squad this season
“We had a lot of players obviously who haven’t played a lot of league football,” says the Cardiff boss. “So for those guys, the excitement from my point of view was to give them the chance to play and to see how good they could be and how quickly they could improve.
“Obviously they’re improving at a rate of knots based on how good they are. That’s very exciting for all of us.
“All our focus is on the players that we have here really, trying to secure the ones that we want to stay with us for a longer time. But if we can improve the squad with significant quality in certain areas, we’ll try and do that once it’s allowed.”
Trusting in youth is a bold policy in League One, especially in a combative division – but even more so for a young coach himself in his first senior head coach role for four years.
In ignoring the summer window, the young Irish coach had to rely on his own football philosophy – and convince those above him that he’s the right individual to take the team forward.
“Vincent’s very straightforward so I’m very clear on what he wants,” says Barry-Murphy. “He’s very passionate about taking the club back to where he believes it should be and my job is to try and make it happen.
Cardiff owner Vincent Tan trusted 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 prepared for a job where he could promote youth. This was the coach who made the likes of Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Oscar Bobb ready for Manchester City’s first-team in his role as the club’s Elite Development Coach.
“I think it’s identical,” the Cardiff boss says about whether bringing through young players at Cardiff for League One is any different to dealing with the likes of Palmer and Rogers.
“Those players like Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have the same hunger and the same will to do it every single day because they know that the harder they train the better they are.
“No-one expected Rogers to do what he’s doing but he had an appetite to do it – and we have players like that here. Ruben Colwill is the same, Ronan, Dylan too. Alex Robertson was with those guys at Man City he’s now doing the same thing.
“You can see the correlation between that appetite and that hunger and when it’s present, it’s very difficult to stop the improvement and that’s why they gain so much momentum.
“And that rubs off on the older players. In the same way that the older players mentor the young players and look after them, I think the young players’ energy and drive to improve can really fuel the fire of the older players as well. It makes them super competitive amongst each other which makes a better team.”
Barry-Murphy coached Palmer and Rogers in youth football – and there’s a big difference between preparing them for that kind of football, and preparing others for the pressures of League One, where points are on the line.
Barry-Murphy coached both Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer at Man City
“You have to be very forgiving because the players have never experienced the rigours of League One before,” says Barry-Murphy.
“They’ll go to certain games against certain opponents and just want to face the challenge they face. But the most exciting thing is where you have a situation where Dylan, Ruben or Ronan have a game where they don’t play as well as they want to do.
“And if you can show them why and then take it back to the training ground and try and make it better for the next time they encounter that situation, that’s real progress and then you get that buy-in from them that drives everything forward.
“What’s blown me away is the players’ willingness and the courage to try anything and to really put themselves on the line and try and be an aggressive team individually and collectively who will take on anyone.
“We played Chelsea in that Carabao Cup game and I’ve been in our players’ shoes – where you’re trying to be so aggressive and press so high and it’s easy to step back and think: what about if we get embarrassed here? What about 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 in every single game and some games it’s worked really well and some games it hasn’t. But as long as we keep trying to put our best foot forward all the time, I think we’ll be fine and a really exciting team to watch.
“And the supporters have really responded to that because they’re the ones who drive it based on their energy and for the club. The numbers we bring to away games have to be seen to be believed. We sell out every away game and the support for the club is incredible.”
So how will the young Cardiff squad cope in one of their biggest games of the season, which comes on Saturday away at Bradford, live on Sky Sports?
The Bluebirds have a six-point lead over Saturday’s opponents, who sit in third. But the Bantams’ game in hand makes it a bit of a crossroads game.
Barry-Murphy also has to overcome a slight dip in away form after three games without a win on the road, including a defeat to promotion rivals Lincoln. Look deeper, and Cardiff’s away numbers massively contradict 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 a game at home and the home form has been terrible for a prolonged period,” he says. “So the players have done really well to turn that around.
“I’m really pleased with the away form and the performances and obviously trying to make the players ready for all the different situations and challenges they face.
“We played Bradford in the corresponding home game and weren’t able to compete with them. Now we get a chance on Saturday to go and try and show that we’ve improved.”
Watch Bradford vs Cardiff live on Sky Sports+ this weekend, kick-off 12.30pm.