Cardiff striker Jay Bothroyd has picked up on some of disillusionment floating around the fans over his recent form along with top scorer Michael Chopra. Bothroyd a has laid back style of play is needling some fans and lack of goals is adding to it seeing he as scored just two goals in 11 league and cup games seem a bad return to the supporters. With no compertition for places in the starting line-up with Ross McCormack and loan striker Kelvin Etuhu sidelined with injuries and Cardiff boss Dave Jones hands tied over new loan signing.
It was okay when Chopra was knocking the in for fan at the start of the season but it’s now been over six games since one of the strikers have scored a goal, total unacceptable.
Speaking to Wales Online the Cardiff striker said, “Before I came to Cardiff, maybe I had a reputation for being inconsistent and a bit complacent.
“But that’s been put to bed here.
“Last season I played 40-odd games in all competitions and scored 12 goals.
“My peers appreciated my performances and I was voted fans’ player of the year.
“This season, I started well.
“Maybe I’d like to have scored a few more goals, but I think I’ve contributed to the team.
“Believe me, no one’s more disappointed than me when I have a bad game.”
Cardiff is Bothroyd’s seventh club since leaving Arsenal as an 18-year-old in 2000.
That statistic raised eyebrows on his arrival in the capital, many fans resigned to the Bluebirds being another notch on the striker’s bedpost before the next move came along.
But, if he was ultimately ill-suited to life at Blackburn, Perugia and Stoke, Cardiff appears to fit like a glove.
With the exception of Coventry City, where he spent three years, he has already racked up more appearances for City than for any of his previous employers.
And, if Bothroyd earned a reputation for sulking and retreating in to his shell when things weren’t going well, he finally seems to have come of age under Dave Jones.
“Myself and Michael Chopra were singled out in what was a bad team performance against QPR, and sometimes that happens,” he said.
“Even the best players get that; Steven Gerrard was picked out by Rafa Benitez at the start of the season.
“I’ve got to take the criticism positively.
“The manager doesn’t hammer us that often, but when he does, you have to embrace it and take it on board.
“If he wasn’t telling me what I was doing wrong, he wouldn’t be doing his job.
“As strikers, you have to accept that you are at the cutting edge of the team.
“If me and Chops are playing well, more often than not we’ll get the result.”
But, worryingly for Cardiff, the opposite rule applies this term.
If the strikers aren’t firing, neither are City – a fact not lost on Bothroyd.
“It shouldn’t just be down to me and Chops,” he said.
“Everyone has got to chip in – it would take some pressure off.
“If you look at West Brom, eight or nine of their players have scored already.
“That’s a great help.
“Joe (Ledley) has got to chip in with a few goals this season, and so have the other midfielders.
“Gavin (Rae) is already off the mark, and Burkey (Chris Burke) scored at Reading last week.
“And def-enders have got to do it, especially from set-pieces.
“We all want to score goals – as strikers, it’s how you’re judged.
“But it’s where the team finishes at the end of the season that counts more than anything.”
There are two games left before another international break, Derby home Tuesday and Watford away on Saturday it would be hoped McCormack would be fit for one or both of these games. If not Chairman Peter Ridsdale needs to relax the purse strings and bring in some new blood. Cardiff City are reported to be one of the highest in the league for players wages and according to sauces at the club the wage bill is at the maximum after less players than expected in the summer.
It was okay when Chopra was knocking the in for fan at the start of the season but it’s now been over six games since one of the strikers have scored a goal, total unacceptable.
Speaking to Wales Online the Cardiff striker said, “Before I came to Cardiff, maybe I had a reputation for being inconsistent and a bit complacent.
“But that’s been put to bed here.
“Last season I played 40-odd games in all competitions and scored 12 goals.“My peers appreciated my performances and I was voted fans’ player of the year.
“This season, I started well.
“Maybe I’d like to have scored a few more goals, but I think I’ve contributed to the team.
“Believe me, no one’s more disappointed than me when I have a bad game.”
Cardiff is Bothroyd’s seventh club since leaving Arsenal as an 18-year-old in 2000.
That statistic raised eyebrows on his arrival in the capital, many fans resigned to the Bluebirds being another notch on the striker’s bedpost before the next move came along.
But, if he was ultimately ill-suited to life at Blackburn, Perugia and Stoke, Cardiff appears to fit like a glove.
With the exception of Coventry City, where he spent three years, he has already racked up more appearances for City than for any of his previous employers.
And, if Bothroyd earned a reputation for sulking and retreating in to his shell when things weren’t going well, he finally seems to have come of age under Dave Jones.
“Myself and Michael Chopra were singled out in what was a bad team performance against QPR, and sometimes that happens,” he said.
“Even the best players get that; Steven Gerrard was picked out by Rafa Benitez at the start of the season.
“I’ve got to take the criticism positively.
“The manager doesn’t hammer us that often, but when he does, you have to embrace it and take it on board.
“If he wasn’t telling me what I was doing wrong, he wouldn’t be doing his job.
“As strikers, you have to accept that you are at the cutting edge of the team.
“If me and Chops are playing well, more often than not we’ll get the result.”
But, worryingly for Cardiff, the opposite rule applies this term.
If the strikers aren’t firing, neither are City – a fact not lost on Bothroyd.
“It shouldn’t just be down to me and Chops,” he said.
“Everyone has got to chip in – it would take some pressure off.
“If you look at West Brom, eight or nine of their players have scored already.
“That’s a great help.
“Joe (Ledley) has got to chip in with a few goals this season, and so have the other midfielders.
“Gavin (Rae) is already off the mark, and Burkey (Chris Burke) scored at Reading last week.
“And def-enders have got to do it, especially from set-pieces.
“We all want to score goals – as strikers, it’s how you’re judged.
“But it’s where the team finishes at the end of the season that counts more than anything.”
There are two games left before another international break, Derby home Tuesday and Watford away on Saturday it would be hoped McCormack would be fit for one or both of these games. If not Chairman Peter Ridsdale needs to relax the purse strings and bring in some new blood. Cardiff City are reported to be one of the highest in the league for players wages and according to sauces at the club the wage bill is at the maximum after less players than expected in the summer.
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