Former Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock has backed the Bluebirds to be “just about all right” in their return to the Championship and revealed midfielder Rubin Colwill is his favourite player at the club.
Warnock was speaking after Cardiff's 1-1 draw with Wrexham in their Championship opener, where Colwill came off the bench to score a stoppage-time equaliser for Brian Barry-Murphy's side.
Warnock's bold prediction for Colwill
“My favourite player bloody came on and scored the equaliser last night!” Warnock said. “I don't know why he wasn't playing, Rubin Colwill. I think he could even play in the Premier League, this lad.”
Colwill was introduced in the 63rd minute and scored in the eighth minute of added time, curling a free-kick into the top corner to rescue a point in front of a raucous crowd at Cardiff City Stadium.
Cardiff's survival chances
Warnock, who managed Cardiff between 2015 and 2019, believes the club can hold their own after returning to the second tier following a season in League One. “I think they'll do all right. They've got a lot of young lads,” he said. “I thought [Monday] night was a great atmosphere. I thought Wrexham contributed to that. They'll be disappointed, in that they had some great chances, really, and Wrexham still did a great job there. I thought it was an exciting match, and I think Cardiff will be all right. I think they'll just about be all right, I do honestly. I don't think they'll fly away with it, but I do think they'll be all right.”
Warnock's comments came as part of Midnite's ‘Built Different Index’, which ranks all 92 clubs across the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two. Cardiff were ranked 44th overall.
Reflecting on past controversies
Warnock also reflected on a contentious moment from his Cardiff tenure, when he blamed referee Craig Pawson and assistant Ed Smart for a decision during a defeat by Chelsea. “When I got done out of [a result]… I can tell you the name: Craig Pawson was the referee, and Ed Smart was the linesman,” he said. “I remember them, I'll remember them on my deathbed! Chelsea at Cardiff. A yard off, it might have been two yards offside, and neither of them gave it. And I thought that cost us staying up, mainly.”
Former Sunderland striker and Sky Sports pundit Kevin Phillips also believes Cardiff can survive. “I think they've shown in stages during the game that they can certainly compete,” Phillips told BestBettingSites. “I thought Wrexham were the better side, and rightly so because they've spent a lot of money; they've got good players. But I thought Cardiff, if you want to stay up in this league, you've got to keep going right to the very end. And that's what they did, and they got their reward.”
Phillips added: “So they know they can play better, and they will once they get adjusted to the Championship. It'll be difficult, difficult, but they've certainly proved in stages the other night that they can compete against one of the best teams in the league. So I think they've got a great chance of staying in the league for sure.”
