Cardiff City winger Ollie Tanner has been absent from the Blues and now an official explanation has been given by the club’s manager via Wales Online.
The winger began the campaign in fine form for the Blues but has been a noticeable absentee over the last few weeks before reappearing with the clubs U21s, sparking questions about where he has been.
Speaking to Wales Online, manager Erol Bulut stated…
“I have spoken with him many times. The last two weeks he is doing better in the training sessions. If he continues to train like that, mentally and physically, he will be with us,
“I will remind you of one Premier League coach, Ange Postecoglou, saying about having the wrong person in the dressing room can destroy a lot of things. This, we don’t want. This, we try and manage here in our team. We want the correct characters and players in the dressing room. Everyone must help each other.”
He went on to add…
“If the body language in the training or dressing room is wrong then we have to separate him.”
What has occurred to see him being left out?
The 21-year-old has reportedly been left out of Cardiff City’s Championship squad over the last few weeks despite featuring 31 times for the club so far this season, including a crucial strike against rivals Swansea City in a 2-0 victory.
However, Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut has now confirmed that the winger was left out of the squad due to his behaviour in the dressing room as well as issues in training, but the door isn’t closed on his return to the first team fold.
Why could this have had a big affect?
Cardiff City were competing for the play-off places during the first half of the season, but their form has since seen them drop to 14th in the table and a bad egg in the dressing room could have been a contributing factor.
When a football club are trying to raise/build squad morale, having someone who potentially is seen as a negative energy could cause that morale to shift and have subsequent issues that start to affect results on the pitch.
The Blues have lost six of their opening ten matches of 2024, including a heavy FA Cup third-round exit against Sheffield Wednesday.
How could Tanner earn his place back?
Simply put, the quickest way for him to return to the first-team squad would be to knuckle down in training and show the manager that he has taken his words of advice on board.
Bulut has already confirmed that Tanner has impressed in training over the last two weeks and has an open door to return to the Cardiff City first-team squad.