One thing's certain, the coming footie season at Cardiff City won't be boring!
As we showed last season, even when getting relegated we managed to do it in style, typified by our 6-3 defeat to Liverpool which (though marred by the worst refereeing display I've ever witnessed) did show our manager's attacking intent.
In the light of selling three of our best players and another (Jordon Mutch) due to go this week, pessimists will argue we're in free-fall......ready to do a Wolves or, worse still, a Portsmouth, blighted by a crazy owner and inexperienced manager.
Optimists like myself tend to look for positives.
Yes, Solskaer made a series of dreadful clangers in the Premier. However, hopefully he'll have learnt from them and will try to field a more settled side, change formation less often and make it clear to players what their roles and responsibilities are.
I believe he does want to get us playing a different kind of football, more about keeping possession and passing from the back.
Pessimists would argue that only Marshall remains of our decent players and he may decide to follow the others back to the Premiership......and who would blame one of the very best keepers in that division last season?
How we fare does depend on retaining him and also who we recruit to replace Mutch . I really hope that it's Man. Utd's Jesse Lingard on a season's loan, as he is an outstanding talent who can play both in the hole and as a winger.
It also depends on who we sign in central defence, a key area of weakness last year, though we do have proven defenders at Championship level like Hudson, Turner and Connolly. We desperately need a player with pace who can cover for Fabio when he makes those forward runs and inevitably leaves a gap behind him , which quicker teams will exploit on the break.
Some of Solskaer's signings look very astute, others a gamble.
Le Fondre, Macheda and Dikgacoi have all excelled at this level, while Burgstaller and Guerra may struggle to adapt, just as Kim did for so long.
Yesterday's friendly match against a strong Wolfsburg side showed the class of 'Alfie' in particular; so often seen as a super-sub, I was very impressed by his touch, work-rate and understanding with Maynard.
Finding the right combination will be the challenge and it may be that against certain teams Kenwyne Jones's more robust style will be the answer.
In the absence of Craig Noone - who really rose to the Premiership challenge - I believe Ole will go for a diamond-shaped midfield, with Dikgacoi sitting deep, when he is fit enough.
Full-back remains problematic. Brayford is a better all-round full-back than Theophile-Catherine, while John a slightly better defender than the attack-minded Fabio (who ought to be a winger).
Centre-back is a bigger problem though and was our undoing last season. Caulker will be the player we miss most and replacing him is crucial.
I would like to see a young and fast defender to play alongside Hudson, who is a natural leader and fine reader of the game. Like Caulker, he can also chip in with goals from set pieces.
As was shown against Wolfsburg, Juan Cala is very erratic and liable to do what I'd politely term 'mistimed tackles', which will get him sent off, as he was v. Sunderland at the end of last season.
Without natural wingers I would agree with that diamond formation , but hope Ole finds a place for Mats Daehli, who was mysteriously placed on the bench for the whole of yesterday's game. He is our most gifted player on the ball, though needs to improve his striking.
Our key player will be Whittingham, who could score far more with the extra time and space in the Championship and whose delivery from free-kicks and corners will be crucial as ever. One of these days he may even celebrate a stunning curled-in goal!
We still have a big squad, with lots of competition and also choices for Ole to make.
I hope we get a good run in the League Cup (whatever it's called now!) , as this will give a chance for fringe players to stake a claim and stay match fit.
Looking at the Championship, it's the likes of Forest, Watford, Fulham and Norwich who stand out.
Having said that, our first match is Blackburn away this Friday and you can bet that former striker Rudy Gestede will score and it will be set up by....Craig Conway.
Though I'm ridiculously optimistic, I still won't make any predictions.
OPTIMISTIC AS A BRAZILIAN
Ludicrously optimistic
like a Brazilian
before the World Cup,
I can't wait
for the season to start.
To the last I'm online
for rumours of rumours
of comings and goings
and messageboard banter.
Our new signings
with exotic nicknames
like 'Kiko' and 'Burgi'
will, of course, change everything.
Even Tan's red elephant
of an empty stand,
sitting over us
with ghosts of promises
hissing in the breeze......
even our owner's
dismissal of fans
can't spoil that feeling.
We're going to score goals
like Germany in the Semi,
watch out for sniffer Alfie,
Whitts curling them in.
Yes, optimistic as a Brazilian :
but, look what happened to them!
As we showed last season, even when getting relegated we managed to do it in style, typified by our 6-3 defeat to Liverpool which (though marred by the worst refereeing display I've ever witnessed) did show our manager's attacking intent.
In the light of selling three of our best players and another (Jordon Mutch) due to go this week, pessimists will argue we're in free-fall......ready to do a Wolves or, worse still, a Portsmouth, blighted by a crazy owner and inexperienced manager.
Optimists like myself tend to look for positives.
Yes, Solskaer made a series of dreadful clangers in the Premier. However, hopefully he'll have learnt from them and will try to field a more settled side, change formation less often and make it clear to players what their roles and responsibilities are.
I believe he does want to get us playing a different kind of football, more about keeping possession and passing from the back.
Pessimists would argue that only Marshall remains of our decent players and he may decide to follow the others back to the Premiership......and who would blame one of the very best keepers in that division last season?
How we fare does depend on retaining him and also who we recruit to replace Mutch . I really hope that it's Man. Utd's Jesse Lingard on a season's loan, as he is an outstanding talent who can play both in the hole and as a winger.
It also depends on who we sign in central defence, a key area of weakness last year, though we do have proven defenders at Championship level like Hudson, Turner and Connolly. We desperately need a player with pace who can cover for Fabio when he makes those forward runs and inevitably leaves a gap behind him , which quicker teams will exploit on the break.
Some of Solskaer's signings look very astute, others a gamble.
Le Fondre, Macheda and Dikgacoi have all excelled at this level, while Burgstaller and Guerra may struggle to adapt, just as Kim did for so long.
Yesterday's friendly match against a strong Wolfsburg side showed the class of 'Alfie' in particular; so often seen as a super-sub, I was very impressed by his touch, work-rate and understanding with Maynard.
Finding the right combination will be the challenge and it may be that against certain teams Kenwyne Jones's more robust style will be the answer.
In the absence of Craig Noone - who really rose to the Premiership challenge - I believe Ole will go for a diamond-shaped midfield, with Dikgacoi sitting deep, when he is fit enough.
Full-back remains problematic. Brayford is a better all-round full-back than Theophile-Catherine, while John a slightly better defender than the attack-minded Fabio (who ought to be a winger).
Centre-back is a bigger problem though and was our undoing last season. Caulker will be the player we miss most and replacing him is crucial.
I would like to see a young and fast defender to play alongside Hudson, who is a natural leader and fine reader of the game. Like Caulker, he can also chip in with goals from set pieces.
As was shown against Wolfsburg, Juan Cala is very erratic and liable to do what I'd politely term 'mistimed tackles', which will get him sent off, as he was v. Sunderland at the end of last season.
Without natural wingers I would agree with that diamond formation , but hope Ole finds a place for Mats Daehli, who was mysteriously placed on the bench for the whole of yesterday's game. He is our most gifted player on the ball, though needs to improve his striking.
Our key player will be Whittingham, who could score far more with the extra time and space in the Championship and whose delivery from free-kicks and corners will be crucial as ever. One of these days he may even celebrate a stunning curled-in goal!
We still have a big squad, with lots of competition and also choices for Ole to make.
I hope we get a good run in the League Cup (whatever it's called now!) , as this will give a chance for fringe players to stake a claim and stay match fit.
Looking at the Championship, it's the likes of Forest, Watford, Fulham and Norwich who stand out.
Having said that, our first match is Blackburn away this Friday and you can bet that former striker Rudy Gestede will score and it will be set up by....Craig Conway.
Though I'm ridiculously optimistic, I still won't make any predictions.
OPTIMISTIC AS A BRAZILIAN
Ludicrously optimistic
like a Brazilian
before the World Cup,
I can't wait
for the season to start.
To the last I'm online
for rumours of rumours
of comings and goings
and messageboard banter.
Our new signings
with exotic nicknames
like 'Kiko' and 'Burgi'
will, of course, change everything.
Even Tan's red elephant
of an empty stand,
sitting over us
with ghosts of promises
hissing in the breeze......
even our owner's
dismissal of fans
can't spoil that feeling.
We're going to score goals
like Germany in the Semi,
watch out for sniffer Alfie,
Whitts curling them in.
Yes, optimistic as a Brazilian :
but, look what happened to them!
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