Cardiff City Man Expects Bench – And Exit.

Cardiff City`s Hungarian International defender Gabor Gyepes is contemplating another frustrating season on the bench for the Bluebirds and has spoken candidly of his position. Gyepes was speaking to the Western Mail and will be hoping his words are picked up by other Championship managers looking for a centre-back.
Gyepes understandably wants to play every week, and based on last season`s experiences – he won`t be doing that again this season. He was told by Dave Jones that he will be allowed to leave if he can find a new club and the Bluebirds boss has already spoken to several players (including ex-CCFC man Glenn Loovens) regarding a move to South Wales as a replacement.
Gyepes was quoted as saying:
“There are four of us at Cardiff looking at two positions and that says in my mind that if I do get the chance to play somewhere else then I have to think about it.”
“To be honest, I don`t think I will be on the team sheet for the first game. That is my personal feeling. I was disappointed last season because I want to play first-team football and I did not play as much as I wanted. It`s as simple as that. I am not where I want to be and it is very hard.”
“If a player does not play properly, the feeling in the mind becomes that he wants to move because he wants to play. Maybe I have to make a decision about it.”

I have considerable sympathy with Gyepes over his situation. Our defensive line was hampered by injuries and suspensions last season and Dave Jones was always quick to re-instate Mark Hudson, despite a disappointing season for the skipper. By contrast, Gyepes was selected largely as back-up and dropped to accommodate returning players. As such, he did not get the same opportunities other players had to build partnerships with his centre-back colleague. Just as he was running into his best form, he picked up a 3 match ban for a foul on Leicester City`s James Vaughan – apparently ‘taking one for the team` with a horrendous and cynical rugby tackle.

We currently have Hudson, Gerrard, Blake and Gyepes fighting for two starting centre-back berths. Many fans have differing feelings on who should start, but with Gerrard, Blake and Gyepes combined, costing half of Hudson`s transfer fee – the numbers do not stack up in the Captain`s favour given the respective form of each player last year.