Dave Jones In 'Plan B' Shocker !

Cardiff City fans have been mystified by Dave Jones comments in the SW Echo today referring to a 'different formation' to be employed by the Bluebirds in the absence of Jay Bothroyd.

Our inability to cope without the talented frontman has been a longstanding problem and fans have long been frustrated by the inflexibility of our system, reliance on 4-4-2 and the woeful attempts to loft the ball forwards for McCormack and Chopra to chase.

Despite the obvious problems, no solutions were proposed and this was a recurring frustration which eventually led to us losing the play-off final. The moment Bothroyd was replaced by Etuhu was a real game-changer and it went tdownhill from there. Frankly, I'd rather have been 2-0 down at that time with Jay in the team, rather than level (as we were) and Bothroyd off.

The quotes attributed to Jones were:

"We are looking at a different formation when we don`t have Jay Bothroyd up there with a bit of strength."

"We have looked at other options. Rather than plonking it up when we don`t have the big fella we try other routes. It`s a radical change to the way we play and we have to work on it."

Jones' (alleged) comments are likely to be viewed with suspicion by fans who have clamoured long and hard for the manager to adopt a more flexible approach, but to no avail in seasons gone by.

It seems the 'new' mentality/formation has not been an immediate success. It was employed in the recent 2-1 defeat to League One side Notts County. Hopefully, Bothroyd will be back for the upcoming friendly against Deportivo.

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