Cardiff City show why they are Championship promotion contenders

Championship Cardiff City lost the Carling Cup final against Liverpool on penalties after a brave 2-2 draw.

They may have lost the game but there were signs that this Cardiff team could be realistic promotion candidates this season.

Outstanding

The Bluebirds players were simply outstanding. They fought for every ball, they stopped Liverpool from playing and at times they tried to play football. I don’t think their supporters could have asked for anything more against a team from a tier above.

Inspiration

I really hope they take inspiration from this game into their Championship campaign because at times they have looked superb in the second tier this season. Their league form has suffered slightly in the last few weeks but they are still sixth in the Championship table.

The Welsh side currently find themselves eight points behind second place West Ham and nine points behind league leaders Southampton. It’s not impossible for Malky Mackay’s team to overturn that sort of deficit but it looks unlikely.

The play-offs look more likely for the Bluebirds. The Welsh side has experience of the play-offs, having experienced a final defeat against Blackpool under Dave Jones in 2010. Jones couldn’t get Cardiff over that final hurdle, maybe Mackay can.

Promising

Malky Mackay is yet another boss off the Scotland production line. Scotland has produced some top bosses and recent years has produced a glut of Premier League managers. At just 40 years of age Malky Mackay is showing real promise. As player Mackay was always regarded as a real leader on the pitch and he seems to have made the transition very easily.

He was a typical granite Scottish, no frills centre-back in his playing days, who gave his all at every club he played. He did a rarely good job at Watford on a small budget and his reward was a move to a bigger club in Cardiff City.

The Scot had to cope with the loss of prolific strikers Michael Chopra and Jay Bothroyd, not to mention Craig Bellamy returning to Liverpool after his loan spell. He has done a good job rebuilding a team.

Shrewd

Mackay has been shrewd in the transfer market bringing the likes of compatriots Don Cowie and Kenny Miller into the club.

Miller has proved a big hit in Wales, scoring nine goals this season and in a lot of games being the team lone striker. Miller will work hard and get you goals. The Scotland international is no longer a prolific goalscorer but I’m sure his teammates appreciate his heart and workrate.

Midfielder Cowie was something of a late arrival in English football. 29 year-old Cowie was brought to Watford in 2009 by Malky Mackay and the boss liked him so much he took him to Cardiff in the summer. Cowie is a hard-worker but he can also play. A good combination for any player. He didn’t look out of place against the Liverpool midfield.

Experience

The Carling Cup has provided those Cardiff players with an experience that they will never forget. Some of those players may never again reach a cup final but the experience of playing in a final could be very important if the club makes the play-offs.

Passing

Despite their boss being an old-fashioned no-nonsense centre-back in his playing career, Cardiff are a good passing team. They showed that in spurts against Liverpool but obviously had to adapt their style slightly due to the quality of opposition they were up against.

The are regarded as one of the best passing teams in the Championship and they certainly wouldn’t disgrace themselves if they did achieve that aim of achieving promotion to the Premier League.

Promotion was always their priority, the Carling Cup was just a nice distraction and now the real work starts for Malky Mackay and his team.

The Bluebirds have proved this season that they are a good team and I wouldn’t bet against them achieving promotion this season.

Can Cardiff achieve promotion this season?