Author: Liam

The owner of Cardiff City, Vincent Tan stated that before he appointed Russell Slade as the new head coach of the Championship League club, he investigated and asked people around the world of football concerning Russell Slade and if the English tactician could be the correct man to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who was sacked from the coaching position at Cardiff City on September 18.

According to the Malaysian businessman, he said that all the feedback and comments he received concerning Russell Slade was nothing but positive ones and this was one of the main reasons on why he decided to select Slade as the new coach.

Russell Slade is not one of the most well-known coaches in England as he has only been in charge of smaller and less established clubs but Darren Fletcher is one of the figures in the world of football that knows very well Russell Slade as he was the physical education teacher for Fletcher at the Frank Wheldon Comprehensive School in Notthingham back when Fletcher was just a student.

“Russell has not changed as a man since the days when he was a PE teacher. We got on famously at school. He was a fantastic teacher, who knew when and how to show authority, but was always willing to have a laugh at the right times’’

“Russell and I have always stayed in touch. I was starting out as a young reporter when he was at Notts County and our paths crossed again. He is totally honest. A genuinely nice guy and I know I can ring him at any time for a chat or advice’’

The former Manchester United player Darren Fletcher said as he had nothing but concerning the newly appointed head coach of Cardiff City, Russell Slade.

Much of Cardiff city’s early season form has been down to the striker Kenwyne Jones, who has scored four goals in his 5 appearances he has made for his new team. The former Stoke City forward has now been praised by Cardiff boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The 29-year-old has not been playing full 90 minutes during this period and it was not until the 1-1 draw with Fulham last week that he finally accomplished this figure. The battle against the two relegated teams from the Premier League finished as a draw thanks to the equaliser from Jones.

This was after Hoogland had given the home team a lead in the 22nd minute. Jones has been playing for Cardiff since January of last season. However, he had managed only one league goal previously. The new Championship season appears to be bringing the best out of this physical striker. Despite suffering just one defeat in the last five matches, Cardiff are in danger of slipping out of the race for promotion. They are 9th in the table after five matches of the season. The superior form of clubs like Nottingham Forest and Watford already sees Cardiff trailing the leaders by a massive five points.

Solskjaer will be aware that the team needs to find the form quick enough to challenge for automatic promotion spots. “I’m very pleased with how he’s come back this season. He’s finally got his fitness back. We need him in the box, we need him to be a nuisance for defenders because he’s strong and he’s quick. He’s got everything a striker should have. We’ve been working on one deal that we hope to go through, if not my phone is going to be well and truly shut off,” said the Cardiff manager about Jones and his plans to strengthen the squad.