Winless Warnock on course to break Derby’s unwanted record

Collecting just 11 points from 36 games is utterly woeful stuff. However, while it may not look it, grabbing two from seven is worse.

The felons in question for these respective shambles are Derby County and Cardiff City: seemingly interchangeable sides of struggle in the world of footballing analogies. Back in the 2007/08 season, Derby broke a new record in Premier League football.

They finished the season on just 11 points, being relegated in March having not won a match for an astonishing 32-game run.

Most people now regard the feat as a freak event never likely to be repeated. But Neil Warnock, ever one for raising invisible eyebrows, seems to have his heart set on doing just that.

So far, his Cardiff side have notched up just two points from seven games. Though it may not sound as poor, hypothetically speaking it means that they would finish this season on a meagre 10 points. Into the Guinness World Records, out of the Premier League.

Now, before we get going properly, yes, Huddersfield Town have notched up the same shambolic total. But they’ve faced tough opposition, drawn with 10 men and could easily have taken three points from Crystal Palace at home two weeks ago.

The Terriers of course haven’t been the only side to have faced a tough run early on and those clad in blue in the sunny climbs of Wales would be right to point out that the Bluebirds faced Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City consecutively.

Though from those matches they conceded 12 goals – four per game – and have faced four more manageable tests elsewhere. So it’s no excuse.

Their only points this season have been taken from rather dire Huddersfield and Newcastle sides and both had only 10 men to deploy for a third of each game.

FULL TIME: #CardiffCity 1-2 @BurnleyOfficial

The #Bluebirds beaten at CCS.#CARBUR #CityAsOne ?⚽️?⚽️ pic.twitter.com/1Ttfhnlq7D

— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) September 30, 2018

Against Burnley on Sunday, Warnock’s side admittedly looked likely to trouble Joe Hart repeatedly but they still lost to an away opposition who managed just three shots in total. Two of those were on target and two of those went in.

Having leaked 16 goals already, they’re either worst or joint worst in the league for all of the following: goals conceded, shots on target, passes, passing accuracy and, most importantly, points. They prop up the Premier League like a silk table leg and seemingly have no way of strengthening up.

Neil Warnock himself seems as lost as it gets and bemoaned on Sunday, “How do I fix us looking vulnerable? I haven’t got a clue if I’m honest.” With a manager exhibiting that little drive, the future does not look bright in Wales’ capital.

Making only two real additions of note in the summer and realistically never likely to be an attractive move by January – both in terms of league and geographical position – it looks like Warnock is uninspiringly stuck with this current squad to worm his way out of what looks like unavoidable relegation.

Of everyone in the league, only Palace, Watford and, of course, Tottenham spent less on players this summer and none of the three opened the window with a Championship lineup.

So they’re under-prepared, have a manager with more eyebrow hairs than he does ideas going forward and a defence shakier than a high-rise on a fault-line. All in all, it’s far from a recipe for surviving the toughest league in the world.

Whilst no one wants to see it, Cardiff definitely seem best positioned to trump Derby County’s Premier League tally of 2008. If they end up taking nothing from this season, at least they’ll have that record. Every cloud, Bluebirds…