If Vincent Tan was watching the Wales game on Saturday, it’s likely that he probably threw something at the TV.
Not because of the unexpected collapse in Welsh fortunes, but due to the introduction of Andreas Cornelius in the 70th minute. It was the signing of a then 20-year-old Cornelius back in 2013 that practically broke the club and sent them in a tailspin that took years to correct.
Denmark were already two goals to the good when Cornelius was introduced and rather than sit on their lead, they used him to plunder the Welsh defence some more. The most successful dribbles recorded in a single game at the Euros is six and Cornelius managed five during his brief cameo. He was like a force of nature as Welsh defenders ganged up on him to try and halt his progress.
It was a snapshot of what might have been.
This is clearly what Cardiff had in mind when they parted with so much cash, SO much cash, to secure his services. They wanted a one-man wrecking crew and to be able to set him upon the Premier League. Alas, 105 minutes later, he returned to where he once came from, as Cardiff sent him back to Copenhagen at a significant loss.
As we now know, Cardiff finally found their prince in Kieffer Moore, but they had to kiss a few frogs first.
There was Gary Madine, a traditional target man that would often be found wasted somewhere near the touchline, on the end of diagonal balls, with nothing but grass in front of him.
There was also, and most topically, Robert Glatzel. Signed by Cardiff when they were relegated from the Premier League a couple of years back and tasked with firing the goals to inspire a swift return.
Glatzel was tall enough to be a Neil Warnock player, but never quite robust enough. In fact, it was hard to imagine how any sustained period of scouting would have deemed him to be a good fit for either Cardiff or the Championship.
He scored a well-documented hat-trick against German giants Bayern Munich and, probably just as importantly, a hat-trick against Middlesbrough for Heidenheim a couple of weeks before joining Cardiff. Maybe that was all the scouting Cardiff needed, but it was soon apparent that a steep learning curve awaited.
Neither strong enough to hold the ball up, nor aggressive enough to get through the hard running expected of a Cardiff striker, Glatzel found the going tough. Just because you happen to be tall, it doesn’t necessarily make you a target man and Glatzel could have done with a partner up front or an attacking midfielder in support. He had neither and floundered.
Despite Neil Harris claiming that Glatzel was the best finisher he had ever worked with, he never got the minutes nor the on-field support he needed to thrive. It was one of those catch-22 situations where it’s the wrong system, but the player is probably not good enough to warrant changing it.
READ MORE : Robert Glatzel seals exit as HSV Hamburg announce signing
Then Moore arrived and everything clicked into place.
He proved to be a greatest hits of all three. Moore, the new poster boy of Cardiff City, will take on a defence single-handed like Cornelius, but can also hold up play like Madine and finish like Glatzel. He works himself to a standstill, but then keeps going. When there’s a Moore, there’s a chance and scoring 20 goals in this team is no mean feat.
Of course, Moore is the exception both on the pitch, but also financially. Cornelius, Madine and Glatzel were acquired when their value was at its absolute peak. None of them have ever scored as many goals as when Cardiff swooped for them, so they ended up paying over the odds. When Cardiff signed Madine, they identified him as their only target, so Cardiff had no bargaining power as the price kept rising.
In Moore's case, Cardiff already had him on their radar after previous interest from Harris. Wigan’s relegation and administration triggered a fire sale which Cardiff were able to capitalise on. They managed to get Moore at less than his market value, amid a clamour for his signature by Championship rivals, and pulled off a shrewd piece of business.
The fear now is that Cardiff may lose him, which would tear a hole in both their plans and prospects for the upcoming season. It took Cardiff a long and expensive road to get to this destination and replacing him would be virtually impossible.
I don’t think bids are inevitable though. Moore turns 29 in August and any potential buyer would have to accept that there would be no resale value on what would surely need to be a sizeable investment. Also, there are very few realistic destinations for him in the Premier League, although having performed respectably at the Euros, interest may be international as well as domestic.
What valuation would you put on Kieffer Moore? Let us know in the comments below.
Were Cardiff to cash in on Moore, it would at least offset a large chunk of the reported £20m or so spent on Cornelius, Madine and Glatzel, seeing as they recouped very little of what they spent. Tan must be mystified at how little return he has received for his investments in this area of the pitch.
I guess the moral of the story is that, at this level, there are no bad players, only bad signings.
I’m not sure what Mick McCarthy saw, or more importantly didn’t see, in Glatzel during the week he spent with him before banishing him, but he’s clearly not a bad player. Ask Chris Mephem and Joe Rodon for their thoughts on Cornelius and they probably don’t consider him the turkey that he has been portrayed as.
There is an art to big-money signings that Cardiff have clearly yet to master.
They have become adept at making a little go a long way and that is likely to be their mantra for the foreseeable future anyway. It’s unfortunate that things didn’t work out for Glatzel, but he’s in good company and it's certainly for the best.
