By Graham Thomas
Cardiff City have not managed to win away from home since April, but there could be no more vital time to end that sequence than on Boxing Day.
The Bluebirds will be at Oxford United, the club they are now locked together with on 18 points, separated by a difference of just one goal, in Cardiff’s favour, both in the relegation zone.
If Cardiff lose, then they could well find themselves back at the bottom of the Championship since the third club in the bottom three, Plymouth Argyle, are also on 18 points.
Those with long memories might recall that rock bottom of the table is exactly where Cardiff were when Omer Riza took charge after the sacking of Erol Bulut.
Riza hauled them off the bottom, then lifted the team out of the relegation zone, but has since gone on a winless eight-match streak that has seen them fall back into the drop zone.
One reason for Cardiff’s struggles has been their failure to pick up wins away from home. They have managed six draws – five of them under Riza – but that elusive first away win has proven beyond them.
“Most of the time, we have performed well away from home and just haven’t been able to get the results,” insists Riza.
“In fact, in many ways our away performances have been better than the ones we’ve managed at home. Do we play differently away from home? I don’t think we do.
“There are certainly no messages from the coaching staff to sit back and defend after we score, because that is not something I would look to do.
“Are we over-defending because players are afraid to give up the ball? Players may potentially feel that type of pressure away from home, I suppose.
“The bottom line is that not winning away from home is a problem and it’s a problem we are very keen to fix.”
Cardiff’s two most recent away games in the Championship both ended as 2-2 draws, at Coventry City and then at Stoke.
In both games, Cardiff led until the dying minutes but were on the rack when the home side scored a late equaliser.
Oxford began the season brightly with four wins in their opening seven matches, but they have only managed one league victory since mid-September and will go in against Cardiff on the back of a 4-0 thrashing by Leeds United.
With Plymouth next up for Oxford after Cardiff, this festive period is likely to determine whether or not it is going to be a quick return for them to League One.
Former Cardiff striker Mark Harris was a talisman at the start of the campaign with four goals in five games, but the Wales international has not scored since the last day of August.
It all makes for a nervy, anxious Boxing Day fixture between two clubs, who, between them have not won for 15 matches.
Riza is now under the same kind of pressure that Bulut was under at the start of the season and even though he only agreed a deal to become permanent manager a few weeks ago, his position would appear unstable.
Not many clubs would contemplate going through a season with three different managers, but like Watford, Cardiff have history in that regard, and it’s not inconceivable they could do it again.
As for Riza, he is trying to stay calm and insists falling back into the relegation zone was always a possibility.
The trick for him, and the club, is not to linger there for too long.
“There was always a danger that could happen anyway, it wasn’t that the team moved out of the relegation zone and we were just going to keep climbing and climbing,” he says.
“It’s a difficult league and we’ve come up against a difficult block of games, so we haven’t picked up the points that we should have done or could have done.
“In certain games we could have picked up another six points by now. If we’re on six points more we could be in a different position, but for me there’s no point in talking about woulda, coulda, shoulda – it is what it is and we are where we are.
“We need to fight to get out of it and everyone just needs to keep believing.”
