Cardiff City have faltered at a highly inconvenient time with back-to-back defeats against Ipswich and Crystal Palace bitterly disappointing and harmful to our prospects. The only saving grace is that our rivals have failed to capitalise so we remain serious contenders for automatic promotion – if we can get back on track immediately.
That means an instant return to winning ways against Barnsley on Sunday and the Bluebirds are boosted by the return to contention of midfield powerhouse Seyi Olofinjana. The Nigerian missed those two defeats with a tear to his knee muscle which, couples with the departure of Aaron Ramsey back to parent club Arsenal, left us without our first choice midfield duo.
Olofinjana is now set to make a timely return to action after recovering from the muscle tear. He will step in alongside either former Barnsley lynchpin McPhail or Peter Whittingham. Both are similar types of players in the centre, and we struggled badly for balance during recent games. A lop-sided formation including Emmanuel-Thomas roaming, and Craig Bellamy just behind the strikers was not successful and Jones will revert to a more usual setup.
Olofinjana provides steel, a physical presence and aerial ability in midfield. We won very little of the second ball with McPhail / Whittingham and were restricted to short periods of pressure. Hopefully, Olofinjana’s inclusion will bring the balance, strength and attitude required to see of Barnsley and prepare Cardiff City for the all-important run-in.
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