Cardiff City supporters have become so conditioned to watching three centre-backs that social media was abuzz an hour before kick-off as fans were left unconvinced about the prospect of moving Joel Bagan into left centre-half against Reading.
Some, though, thought the starting XI pointed to a more sizeable change, one which might see a four-at-the-back implemented – not since the days of Neil Harris have we seen that at Cardiff City. But they were right.
Steve Morison ripped up the playbook and opted for a 4-2-3-1 which dropped a centre-back and found room to accommodate both Tommy Doyle and Rubin Colwill, a quite potent creative force in tandem. It was a system designed to facilitate a different style of play, too, one that encouraged Cardiff's more attacking players to see more action and for the Bluebirds to hold more possession of the ball.
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Morison tried to do that when he first came and in it yielded mixed results. Perhaps understandably so, given the squad had been moulded by Mick McCarthy, who implemented a system of trying to make Cardiff an off-the-ball team who hit with counter-attacks and set-pieces.
It was an almost impossible task for Morison to completely untangle all of that while trying to propel his team away from the increasingly alarming threat of relegation. It took self-awareness, though, to stop trying to change too many things and go back to the drawing board. The manager went back to what he describes as a more "pragmatic" method to get results in the bag and consolidate the club's status as a Championship team, which they have done.
That is why Morison saw the Reading game as the perfect opportunity to give supporters a glimpse into the future. Cardiff dominated the ball at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, boasting a healthy 58 per cent possession of the ball. They struggled at times in the first half with Reading, understandably, looking more comfortable in their tried-and-tested system while Cardiff were still looking to hit their straps and find their rhythm.
Once it clicked after half-time, though, they looked a real threat. The most satisfying aspect for many was just how eye-catching and aesthetically-pleasing Alfie Doughty and Will Vaulks' goals were. Both were the result of Cardiff cutting Reading open through the middle and clinically finishing their chances. There was not a lumped ball or set-piece to be seen, just positive, accurate, incisive and confident football.
When asked if that is the sort of style and system Morison ideally wants to see his side playing next year, he said: "100 per cent. It takes time. I wouldn't have wanted to do that three points clear of relegation, that's the reality of it. That's why we didn't do it.
"We tried it initially but then we realised we needed to be a bit more pragmatic in what we did. It was about getting results and we did. Even going into the Swansea game we were in a really good run of form, so we stayed that way.
"We had one day with the team for Swansea, so I couldn't have done any more with the team in terms of going into that game. I had one day, the Friday, because everyone was away on international duty, especially players who would have played. We went with what we knew and it didn't work, for whatever reason.
"We had planned to play this team in this way leading into this game because we knew what Reading were going to play, they were going to play 4-2-3-1, so we knew we would be matching up shape. We spoke about it before the Swansea game and some players knew they would be playing this game. Because we had a free week we could work on it properly, we worked on it on Tuesday and Thursday.
"You can see that it's a personnel-driven shape. You can't just do it with any player because it could go wrong really quickly. It almost did a couple of times! Rubin came into the pocket and he passed the ball straight to them and they nearly scored; you're just sitting there going, 'Oh no!'
"But when you get it right... our two goals were fantastic goals."
It's had to be a horses-for-courses approach in Morison's relatively short managerial stint so far, playing to the strengths of the players he has in situ to grind out results.
The Bluebirds' current squad has left little room for latitude when it comes to altering formations or systems too drastically. Indeed, even Saturday's team had Rubin Colwill playing wide right, when he probably lacks a yard of pace to be on the wing. Colwill is more naturally suited to the No. 10 role, but Tommy Doyle occupied that berth and did well.
It was a more natural fit in having Doughty on the left, a position he has played in a number of times and it showed with a solid outing against the Royals, during which he picked up his first goal this season.
It was also important to have Curtis Nelson back, too. He defended brilliantly and his mobility helped with the fact there were only two centre-backs deployed. Perry Ng was out-jumped for Lucas Joao's goal and that might be a concern over whether he can operate in a back-two or not moving forward. But, crucially, there will have been learnings from that game on Saturday.
It will have allowed Morison and his staff to assess just where Cardiff need to strengthen in the summer if they are to implement that more exciting, fit-for-purpose system more regularly in the Championship next term and even beyond. No doubt the final six games of the campaign will provide further information as transfer planning ramps up.
On whether the new formation will inform his summer recruitment strategy, Morison added: "You want to be able to do both. You want to be able to play in different ways. You want personnel that, when you know you are coming up against a team who are really good in a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-3, then you can match them up to do it. If you want to play a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 you want to have the ability to do that.
"Having Nels back was great because we had the ability to go with someone who is really good in one-v-one situations. That's why he came back in the team."
If Cardiff are going to add width to their game next season and go with those two centre-backs more regularly, then recruiting in the wide areas and getting the right personnel at centre-half will form a crucial part of their transfer dealings this summer.
