born to play fortnite shirtCardiff have undergone one of the biggest transformations in the Football League this summer with 13 new arrivals (and a fourteenth on its way). Just two of the XI who won promotion in 2018 with a draw against Reading are still at the club – but where are the others?
Goalkeeper: Neil Etheridge
Cardiff’s only ever Filipino player, Etheridge arrived for free from Walsall and enjoyed three solid campaigns with the Bluebirds including a 38-game season in the Premier League where he saved an impressive three penalties. Towards the end of his spell, however, Alex Smithies arrived and began to challenge Etheridge for the gloves, eventually replacing him after a run of poor form. Cardiff spun a £2 million pound profit in 2020, selling Etheridge to Birmingham City. John Ruddy was picked ahead of Etheridge for last weekend’s goalless draw against Luton Town, and the Filipino will surely be hoping not to play second fiddle all season.
Right-back: Lee Peltier
Peltier has been a solid Championship pro for over a decade now, and was consistently excellent during his 29 appearances in the 2017-18 season as he interchanged with Bruno Ecuele Manga on the right side of defence. The Liverpool-born full back even achieved a dream of playing in the Premier League, racking up 20 games the following season. Like Etheridge, Peltier was sold on in 2020, going to West Brom to provide some experience in their ultimately unsuccessful bid for survival in the Premier League, but only made 4 appearances. A stint at Middlesbrough followed before heading to Rotherham in another survival bid this season, albeit in the Championship. Peltier will turn 36 this December, and his conditioning and professionalism are commendable as he remains playing at a high level well into his mid-thirties.
Centre-back: Sol Bamba
An undeniable cult hero at Cardiff, Bamba had heroic campaigns in the Championship and Premier League, before battling successfully against non-Hodgkin lymphoma before continuing his career in the Championship at Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough. Not only a warrior of a defender, Bamba scored valuable goals in Cardiff’s promotion campaign including a rocket away at promotion rivals Brentford. He then matched his season tally of 4 with another quadruple in the Premier League the following year. Bamba’s announcement of his life-threatening illness inspired an outpouring of support across football, and although his release to Middlesbrough left a bitter taste in the mouth of some Cardiff fans, everyone was delighted to see him back at his best, even in red. He is now a free agent.
Centre-back: Sean Morrison
Morro is a club legend, racking up 278 appearances over eight years at Cardiff, but acute uncertainty remains surrounding his future. Technically, Morrison was released this summer and replaced as club captain by Joe Ralls, but Cardiff have left his number 4 shirt open. Fans speculate that the former skipper could return to the club following rehabilitation of a serious knee injury sustained against Barnsley last February, but nothing is confirmed as of yet. The centre-back scored the goal which arguably took Cardiff up back in 2018 away at Hull City, and racked up an unbelievable ten goal contributions over the season before making 34 appearances in the Premier League the following year. Still just 31, many sections of the Cardiff fanbase are hoping for a return at some stage.
Left-back: Joe Bennett
Joe Bennett is another Cardiff hero, having made 164 appearances across five success-filled years in the Welsh capital. The former Aston Villa youth prospect made the left-back spot his own over Armand Traoré in the 17-18 season, racking up 38 appearances, and hit 30 in the Premier League the next campaign while chipping in with an assist. Much like the aforementioned Morrison, Bennett’s contract status was a subject of much consternation among Cardiff fans. He was a favourite under Neil Warnock and signed an extension back in 2018, but his contract was not renewed last year by then-manager Mick McCarthy and, after some awkward answers from McCarthy in the press and several weeks of training for the club while being a free agent, Bennett signed with Wigan Athletic and helped them to promotion in 2022. He’s now gearing up for another campaign in the Championship.
Centre Midfield: Joe Ralls
After Peter Whittingham, Joe Ralls may be in the conversation for Cardiff’s greatest-ever midfielder. An unsung hero for many of his eleven years with Cardiff, Ralls was somewhat unusually thrust in the spotlight this summer after a prolonged saga regarding the extension of his contract which was due to expire last month. In June, he penned a new two-year deal with the club, and this season will surely see him hit the 300 appearance mark with the club. If not for his patchy injury record (at the time of writing, he is currently not at peak fitness) he would surely sit higher than 116th on the list of all-time Championship appearance makers, however he is still only 28. 2017-18 was a standout campaign for Ralls, who hit 7 goals and 5 assists. He’ll be hoping for a similar return this year if he can break into what seems a strong midfield trio of Romaine Sawyers, Andy Rinomhota and Ryan Wintle.
Centre Midfield: Callum Paterson
With his wacky celebrations, tenacious work-ethic, freakish versatility and down-to-earth personality, Callum Paterson was the definition of a cult hero over his three years at Cardiff. Paterson was a right-back when signed from Hearts in 2017, but wound up as a midfielder and even a striker at Cardiff. He would spearhead the Bluebirds both in the Championship and the Premier League where he inexplicably set a record for the decade for most aerial duels won in a single game in the Premier League against the physically imposing Burnley, despite being only 6ft tall. Paterson was a solid player and enjoyed his best season in 17-18 with ten goals. However, despite the highlights he often lacked consistency, and was ultimately flogged to Sheffield Wednesday in 2020. Now a regular starter for the Owls, he’ll be hoping to fire himself and his club to promotion and have another crack at Championship football – hopefully with more Fortnite dancing should he score.
Centre Midfield: Craig Bryson
Here’s a stat: Craig Bryson is the only player in this team not to have racked up at least 85 appearances in all competitions for Cardiff – that was just how settled this promotion side was. Loaned from Derby County for the 17-18 season, Bryson was a solid hard-working midfielder and was somewhat unfortunate to see his game time reduced following the January arrival of the more flashy Marko Grujic from Liverpool. Bryson had been frozen out of the Derby team prior to his departure and, following the end of his loan spell, would reject the Rams’ offer of a new contract and move instead to his native Scotland, signing with Aberdeen. It was a sad ending to a spell at Derby which saw him make over 250 appearances including multiple play-off campaigns. Now 35, Bryson is turning out in Scottish League Two for Stenhousemuir.
Left Winger: Junior Hoilett
Super Junior Hoilett was the top goalscorer in all competitions in 17-18 for Cardiff with a real penchant for long-distance finishes, most notably an early-season September screamer against Leeds. The Canadian international was undoubtedly one of Cardiff’s most renowned and talented players during the promotion season, getting 20 goal contributions in the league including 11 assists. This renown, however came with a sizeable contract which Cardiff got off the books in 2021 by allowing the winger to leave to Reading. Now 32, Hoilett is entering his ninth season in the Championship and will be hoping to use that experience to help keep the Royals in the division.
Right Winger: Nathaniel Mendez-Laing
A shrewd free transfer from Rochdale, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing had the world at his feet and was red-hot in the early months of his debut Championship campaign, hitting 4 goals in his opening 4 games including a brace against title favourites Aston Villa. His blistering pace and muscular figure made him a nightmare for Championship full backs and, even despite slowing down a bit after the opening months, Mendez-Laing still finished with an impressive 12 goal contributions in the league. His Premier League season was a tale of moments of brilliance rather than consistent performance, the clear highlights being a winning goal at Old Trafford on the final day of the season and running Trent Alexander-Arnold ragged at Anfield. Controversy arose when, without warning and explanation, Mendez-Laing was released by Cardiff for misconduct in September 2020. The following February he popped up at Middlesbrough on a short-term deal, managed by former manager Neil Warnock, and after another short stint at Sheffield Wednesday he is now hoping for a career revival at newly-taken-over Derby County.
Striker: Kenneth Zohore
Kenneth Zohore is a tale of what could have been for Cardiff City. Initially loaned in January 2016 from K.V. Kortrijk, the Belgian first-tier club also owned by Vincent Tan, Zohore enjoyed an up and down time across four years at the Bluebirds. A deceptively quick centre-forward with great finishing instincts and physicality, Zohore had a great half-season and was promptly signed permanently. The six months prior to the 17-18 campaign saw Zohore in red-hot form, winning Young Player of the Season and scoring 12 times, but despite an opening day goal in 2017 at Burton Albion he would only go on to hit half of his previous year’s tally. Injuries plagued his next season in the Premier League, where he scored against Southampton in February, announcing ‘I’m back’ during his celebration, only to fail to find the net for the rest of the campaign. Cardiff did incredibly well to get £9m for the Danish under-21 International from West Brom in July 2019, as Zohore has scored only 5 goals in the subsequent three years, including 2 during a brief loan spell at Millwall. He is one of many of the Baggies squad hoping for improvement this time around in 2022-23.