I could have written most of this comment a hundred times over the season.
Signings during 2023/24 were to fit the Scott interpretation of the SE7 business plan. February 2024 with the arrival of Nathan Jones saw it tweaked for the addition of Ramsay & Small.
I see no value to any further Scott debate. Technical Directors rarely work in isolation. I had no knowledge of the remedial work needed, his specific remit or allocated budgets. Yet based on his modus operandi & preferred playing style once Jones is in the building it was always whether the SE7 plan, Scotts’ MO and the Jones culture could align.
As Methven confirms NJ was a SE7 target before they were in the building. He just wasn’t biting at that stage. Arguably the GFP intervention positions him as their recruit. A relegation fight was won on the back of Mays’ goals, keeping Dobson as a twin pivot with Coventry protecting the back 5 (& Small gets his 1st 15 game run in the EFL).
A June executive realignment suggested a disconnect but with; - the 8+8+8 fiscal plan - Key Performance Indicators for a “development 8” senior game time - transfer windows involving only 3 loan signings since July 10 none spoke to more than “progress”
It wasn’t a squad built for immediate promotion. Out of window short term signings Potts & Hylton spoke to fiscal control and/ or Jones not signing off on Scott/ Rodwell targets. Yet at this point if you don’t fully embrace the Jones culture then don’t employ him ….at all. For each compromise you demand the more you diminish HIS ability to do HIS job.
He is a “blank canvas, build from the bottom” sort of guy. I harangue none who jumped off the deep end during those early months but was never sure why some expected instant success. Survival had been built on not getting beat. “Progress” was being built on an attritional plus+ game plan based largely on the ball “falling our way”… more often than not.
Any number of pub football references were understood but it can be very, very hard to play against. The NJ variation on a theme was/ is bloody hard work for all 20 outfield players on the pitch. As an opponent the message is “miss one too many steps and you will likely get beat.”
We had at least 5 key players learning roles. Ramsay had only ever played RWB in our shirt, Docherty & A Campbell were traditional CM/DM working the attacking third while Ahadme, Leaburn, Godden had to adapt to zero service as T Campbell also learned a new hybrid role. No it most certainly was not, and is not for everyone.
Could performances continue in such vein? No, but permutations were tried and a formula for some fell into place. For others it didn’t. A Campbell, Ahadme, Kanu, Edun, REG, Watson, Taylor were ultimately rendered as peripheral or not really fit for purpose.
With such a profile for any normal promotion joust a Jan/Feb transfer window with the 7 salary departures and 2 arrivals defied all traditional logic. Yes, it set a tighter format for future internal growth but was a huge punt in simply not having enough grown ups in the building.
The 2025 journey was no cake walk. It was solid, hard graft, team discipline & spirit and a lesson in delivering to the basics. I make no apology for reinforcing Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Edwards, Coventry, Small, T. Campbell all delivered to the best performance standards of their careers. Anderson & Leaburn made their contributions when able/ allowed while Godden in particular and Berry reminded us they’d played at a higher level.
It was not the beautiful game but the epitome of the beauty of team spirit, endeavour & professional discipline. I applaud every single contributor and the belief instilled by NJ which overcame all challenges to deliver way beyond the sum of the parts.
NJ delivered - on the 4th, 5th, 6th largest budget in the League - the target for growth and a play off spot - the target plus of a play off final - the target plus, plus of a promotion.
The achievements posed questions in January ………and still more today.
GFP & SE7 arguably blinked in January. I fully respect their financial commitment but there can be no hesitation now. The Board has to rise to the challenge set by it’s own workforce not through extravagance but key strategic acquisitions.
Steady as she goes is often a commendable ethos but not when it risks losing all that has been gained. Whatever the long term planned growth from within, this Championship season is already on us.
The group of 22 retained outfielders includes 3 (Ahadme, Leaburn & Taylor) who have real remedial programmes to address, just 10 seniors now inc, Campbell and 9 development contracts.
However worthy the infrastructure scoped in January 2024, implemented in July, refined in January 2025 it is nowhere near yet ready for a Championship campaign.
At the very least we need them to name a new manager ASAP as all of this noise isn’t going to help us at a crucial juncture of the off season when we are looking to sign players.
At the very least we need them to name a new manager ASAP as all of this noise isn’t going to help us at a crucial juncture of the off season when we are looking to sign players.
Not sure why it should. If you’re talking with a player and he asks the question then you can tell him straight that Jones is going nowhere
This thread should end with @Nicholas comparing how he felt when he started this thread on October 24 and the contrast and journey to how he felt on May 25th at just past 3pm.
I could have written most of this comment a hundred times over the season.
Signings during 2023/24 were to fit the Scott interpretation of the SE7 business plan. February 2024 with the arrival of Nathan Jones saw it tweaked for the addition of Ramsay & Small.
I see no value to any further Scott debate. Technical Directors rarely work in isolation. I had no knowledge of the remedial work needed, his specific remit or allocated budgets. Yet based on his modus operandi & preferred playing style once Jones is in the building it was always whether the SE7 plan, Scotts’ MO and the Jones culture could align.
As Methven confirms NJ was a SE7 target before they were in the building. He just wasn’t biting at that stage. Arguably the GFP intervention positions him as their recruit. A relegation fight was won on the back of Mays’ goals, keeping Dobson as a twin pivot with Coventry protecting the back 5 (& Small gets his 1st 15 game run in the EFL).
A June executive realignment suggested a disconnect but with; - the 8+8+8 fiscal plan - Key Performance Indicators for a “development 8” senior game time - transfer windows involving only 3 loan signings since July 10 none spoke to more than “progress”
It wasn’t a squad built for immediate promotion. Out of window short term signings Potts & Hylton spoke to fiscal control and/ or Jones not signing off on Scott/ Rodwell targets. Yet at this point if you don’t fully embrace the Jones culture then don’t employ him ….at all. For each compromise you demand the more you diminish HIS ability to do HIS job.
He is a “blank canvas, build from the bottom” sort of guy. I harangue none who jumped off the deep end during those early months but was never sure why some expected instant success. Survival had been built on not getting beat. “Progress” was being built on an attritional plus+ game plan based largely on the ball “falling our way”… more often than not.
Any number of pub football references were understood but it can be very, very hard to play against. The NJ variation on a theme was/ is bloody hard work for all 20 outfield players on the pitch. As an opponent the message is “miss one too many steps and you will likely get beat.”
We had at least 5 key players learning roles. Ramsay had only ever played RWB in our shirt, Docherty & A Campbell were traditional CM/DM working the attacking third while Ahadme, Leaburn, Godden had to adapt to zero service as T Campbell also learned a new hybrid role. No it most certainly was not, and is not for everyone.
Could performances continue in such vein? No, but permutations were tried and a formula for some fell into place. For others it didn’t. A Campbell, Ahadme, Kanu, Edun, REG, Watson, Taylor were ultimately rendered as peripheral or not really fit for purpose.
With such a profile for any normal promotion joust a Jan/Feb transfer window with the 7 salary departures and 2 arrivals defied all traditional logic. Yes, it set a tighter format for future internal growth but was a huge punt in simply not having enough grown ups in the building.
The 2025 journey was no cake walk. It was solid, hard graft, team discipline & spirit and a lesson in delivering to the basics. I make no apology for reinforcing Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Edwards, Coventry, Small, T. Campbell all delivered to the best performance standards of their careers. Anderson & Leaburn made their contributions when able/ allowed while Godden in particular and Berry reminded us they’d played at a higher level.
It was not the beautiful game but the epitome of the beauty of team spirit, endeavour & professional discipline. I applaud every single contributor and the belief instilled by NJ which overcame all challenges to deliver way beyond the sum of the parts.
NJ delivered - on the 4th, 5th, 6th largest budget in the League - the target for growth and a play off spot - the target plus of a play off final - the target plus, plus of a promotion.
The achievements posed questions in January ………and still more today.
GFP & SE7 arguably blinked in January. I fully respect their financial commitment but there can be no hesitation now. The Board has to rise to the challenge set by it’s own workforce not through extravagance but key strategic acquisitions.
Steady as she goes is often a commendable ethos but not when it risks losing all that has been gained. Whatever the long term planned growth from within, this Championship season is already on us.
The group of 22 retained outfielders includes 3 (Ahadme, Leaburn & Taylor) who have real remedial programmes to address, just 10 seniors now inc, Campbell and 9 development contracts.
However worthy the infrastructure scoped in January 2024, implemented in July, refined in January 2025 it is nowhere near yet ready for a Championship campaign.
Adjustments are required.
Calls to get rid of Jones were always idiotic. People who shouted for him to go have been proven to be spectacularly wrong but even without promotion another change of manager so soon was always going to be a desperate measure. The club and the manager held their nerve and may need to do the same again when the going gets rough in the Championship. The post you reference has aged very badly. Perhaps next season ‘supporters’ if that’s even the right word, will think twice before calling for Jones to go.
Been going back and forth for days. All NJ has to do is state on the club website he is staying. He hasn't... yet.
He probably finds it flattering.
It's like....when a naturally beautiful 27 year old woman receives multiple random compliments on tinder based on her photos alone.
She enjoys the compliments as they make her feel good for a brief period...but she's not going to bother responding or taking average Joe relegated Cardiff seriously.
She's too busy sorting out her current (boyfriend) club....but the attempted pursuits from a WH Smith team leader are still welcome.
Been going back and forth for days. All NJ has to do is state on the club website he is staying. He hasn't... yet.
He probably finds it flattering.
It's like....when a naturally beautiful 27 year old woman receives multiple random compliments on tinder based on her photos alone.
She enjoys the compliments as they make her feel good for a brief period...but she's not going to bother responding or taking average Joe relegated Cardiff seriously.
She's too busy sorting out her current (boyfriend) club....but the attempted pursuits from a WH Smith team leader are still welcome.
We all know it makes perfect sense for Jones to stay given the way he has turned the club around & the rapport he has built with the fans. My only slight worry is the way some ‘fans’ started to turn after the Crawley result & the way Jones hasn’t forgotten that by the way he keeps referring back to it. If he wanted to justify it in his own mind in order to go to a club that he clearly holds dear then this is something that could turn his head. I’m not saying this is the case but he is a very emotional man who wears his heart on his sleeve. If it was any club other than Cardiff I’d say forget all the noise but until we have a statement from the man himself then I’m going to worry ! The fact he would be going to a club in a lower division owned by a nutter we shouldn’t be worried at all but he might be thinking he would be hailed as the true messiah in his own land if he did a similar job for Cardiff as he’s done for us can’t be ruled out yet in my opinion. Let’s hope we get the statement soon. It would be an absolute tragedy for the club & us fans if this scenario panned out. Having said that , no one person is bigger than the club & we have to get on with it & hopefully flourish. As somebody once said’ it’s a funny old game’ !
Jones can’t really say “yes I was approached but politely told them not on your nelly” or similar because ultimately I doubt he has completely ruled out getting the chance again when circumstances are different. Why piss off the natives by declining when there always the possibility of him landing his dream job when they have a sane owner.
OK. Here's why I think nothing is really going on. We all know about NDAs but this doesn't make any sense...
Cardiff could come out and say "We've approached Charlton Athletic about their manager, Nathan Jones..." This would immediately stop the Taff's from baying for blood. And would give them some hope. You could always announce later that a deal fell through. It's in their INTEREST to let fans know...
Or, Charlton could come out and say "Cardiff City have approached us regarding Nathan Jones and we have rejected their approach...". Or even "Nathan Jones has expressed an interest in the Cardiff manager's position and we've given him permission to discuss terms..." That removes conjecture from Charlton supporter's minds, and in the second scenario tell the supporters "His decision, not our's!" Again it in the club's INTEREST to let it be known.
The first journalist in Wales never even mentioned NJ. It was keyboard warriors adding up 2+2, and coming up with pi. All the rest has been smoke and mirrors...
Comments
Signings during 2023/24 were to fit the Scott interpretation of the SE7 business plan. February 2024 with the arrival of Nathan Jones saw it tweaked for the addition of Ramsay & Small.
I see no value to any further Scott debate. Technical Directors rarely work in isolation. I had no knowledge of the remedial work needed, his specific remit or allocated budgets. Yet based on his modus operandi & preferred playing style once Jones is in the building it was always whether the SE7 plan, Scotts’ MO and the Jones culture could align.
As Methven confirms NJ was a SE7 target before they were in the building. He just wasn’t biting at that stage. Arguably the GFP intervention positions him as their recruit. A relegation fight was won on the back of Mays’ goals, keeping Dobson as a twin pivot with Coventry protecting the back 5 (& Small gets his 1st 15 game run in the EFL).
A June executive realignment suggested a disconnect but with;
- the 8+8+8 fiscal plan
- Key Performance Indicators for a “development 8” senior game time
- transfer windows involving only 3 loan signings since July 10
none spoke to more than “progress”
It wasn’t a squad built for immediate promotion. Out of window short term signings Potts & Hylton spoke to fiscal control and/ or Jones not signing off on Scott/ Rodwell targets. Yet at this point if you don’t fully embrace the Jones culture then don’t employ him ….at all. For each compromise you demand the more you diminish HIS ability to do HIS job.
He is a “blank canvas, build from the bottom” sort of guy. I harangue none who jumped off the deep end during those early months but was never sure why some expected instant success. Survival had been built on not getting beat. “Progress” was being built on an attritional plus+ game plan based largely on the ball “falling our way”… more often than not.
Any number of pub football references were understood but it can be very, very hard to play against. The NJ variation on a theme was/ is bloody hard work for all 20 outfield players on the pitch. As an opponent the message is “miss one too many steps and you will likely get beat.”
Could performances continue in such vein? No, but permutations were tried and a formula for some fell into place. For others it didn’t. A Campbell, Ahadme, Kanu, Edun, REG, Watson, Taylor were ultimately rendered as peripheral or not really fit for purpose.
With such a profile for any normal promotion joust a Jan/Feb transfer window with the 7 salary departures and 2 arrivals defied all traditional logic. Yes, it set a tighter format for future internal growth but was a huge punt in simply not having enough grown ups in the building.
The 2025 journey was no cake walk. It was solid, hard graft, team discipline & spirit and a lesson in delivering to the basics. I make no apology for reinforcing Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Edwards, Coventry, Small, T. Campbell all delivered to the best performance standards of their careers. Anderson & Leaburn made their contributions when able/ allowed while Godden in particular and Berry reminded us they’d played at a higher level.
It was not the beautiful game but the epitome of the beauty of team spirit, endeavour & professional discipline. I applaud every single contributor and the belief instilled by NJ which overcame all challenges to deliver way beyond the sum of the parts.
NJ delivered
- on the 4th, 5th, 6th largest budget in the League
- the target for growth and a play off spot
- the target plus of a play off final
- the target plus, plus of a promotion.
The achievements posed questions in January ………and still more today.
GFP & SE7 arguably blinked in January. I fully respect their financial commitment but there can be no hesitation now. The Board has to rise to the challenge set by it’s own workforce not through extravagance but key strategic acquisitions.
Steady as she goes is often a commendable ethos but not when it risks losing all that has been gained. Whatever the long term planned growth from within, this Championship season is already on us.
The group of 22 retained outfielders includes 3 (Ahadme, Leaburn & Taylor) who have real remedial programmes to address, just 10 seniors now inc, Campbell and 9 development contracts.
However worthy the infrastructure scoped in January 2024, implemented in July, refined in January 2025 it is nowhere near yet ready for a Championship campaign.
Adjustments are required.
They could have made a number of approaches.
And we could have said no, and Jones could have said no. Does not stop them from trying I guess.
Or maybe it's all ballcocks, and he doesn't want to waste his breath...
He probably finds it flattering.
It's like....when a naturally beautiful 27 year old woman receives multiple random compliments on tinder based on her photos alone.
She enjoys the compliments as they make her feel good for a brief period...but she's not going to bother responding or taking average Joe relegated Cardiff seriously.
She's too busy sorting out her current (boyfriend) club....but the attempted pursuits from a WH Smith team leader are still welcome.
Cardiff could come out and say "We've approached Charlton Athletic about their manager, Nathan Jones..." This would immediately stop the Taff's from baying for blood. And would give them some hope. You could always announce later that a deal fell through. It's in their INTEREST to let fans know...
Or, Charlton could come out and say "Cardiff City have approached us regarding Nathan Jones and we have rejected their approach...". Or even "Nathan Jones has expressed an interest in the Cardiff manager's position and we've given him permission to discuss terms..." That removes conjecture from Charlton supporter's minds, and in the second scenario tell the supporters "His decision, not our's!" Again it in the club's INTEREST to let it be known.
The first journalist in Wales never even mentioned NJ. It was keyboard warriors adding up 2+2, and coming up with pi. All the rest has been smoke and mirrors...
https://substack.com/@richardscawley/note/p-165100986?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=5so352
And Tan
And everyone in Cardiff
FIVE MORE YEARS!