Cardiff's striker options bolstered

Cardiff City's Steve Thompson has indicated his happiness at Dave Jones' decision to strengthen the striking options at Ninian Park.

The big Scot and fellow frontman Michael Chopra made an impressive start to the season but have come under fire from Jones during a mid-season slump for Cardiff after goalscoring became a major problem for City.

The acquisition of new-boy Jason Byrne added depth to the attack, and he marked his debut with a goal after replacing Steve Thompson against Wolves. Indications from Jones and the club have suggested work is ongoing to bring in another striker to the club with Sunderland's Stephen Elliot and Crewe's Luke Varney heavily linked.

At the moment Cardiff have Steven Thompson, Michael Chopra and Jason Byrne fighting for the starting positions while Kevin Campbell, Luigi Glombard and Andrea Feretti provide back-up and have not made an impact when called upon.

Nevertheless Thompson has welcomed the new input despite his place coming under far more pressure:

'New players coming in shouldn't bother you as a professional. We're part of a team. I've played in 28 games this season so far and I'm pretty sure I'll play in a lot more.'


'But you've got to have the competition. Jason offers something that I don't. Chops offers something that Jason doesn't.'


'You need that in your squad. You need to have players that are different to each other. That's what brings out the best in the team.'


Thompson is likely to keep his starting position for Saturday's home game with Leicester City but will be looking for a good performance to keep his place when the new stiker arrives and when Byrne achieves full fitness. Michael Chopra produced a man-of-the-match display against Wolves, scoring one, hitting the post and setting up the winner.
Let's hope the increased competition can provide a healthy boost to the team as we go into a make or break time of the season.

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