It's my belief that Cardiff City have always looked very different with and without Joe Ralls in the side.
When he plays, there is more bite in midfield, more energy and someone is in place to put out the fires.
When he’s absent, a lot of these qualities remain absent and these functions go unattended. The thought of him leaving therefore fills me with dread, but that appears to be a very real possibility.
If you were to canvas supporters regarding the multitude of players heading out of contract in the summer, Ralls is pretty much the only one that features on most people's retained list. It’s hardly surprising because he has long been considered one of our own, which used to be an exceptional occurrence.
He’s also 28, so still in the prime of his career and wind, rain or shine, always gives everything, never less than a seven out of 10 every week, which appears to be a strangely rare quality. There is no such thing as a lost cause and those standards do not fluctuate depending on form.
Ralls has long been captaincy material, but he has always been surrounded by leaders. Neil Warnock sought them out, so in Cardiff’s present and recent history, there have been Sean Morrison, Aden Flint, Marlon Pack, Sol Bamba, Bruno Ecuele Manga and Aron Gunnarsson to name a few.
Ralls may end up being the last man standing in this regard.
I think most people understand the current climate, Cardiff’s need to cut their cloth accordingly and the likelihood that they will lose a lot of players at the end of the season. Most of them are high earners and the landscape has changed significantly since they agreed those terms.
My view though is it would be a catastrophic blow if they were all to leave.
Cardiff finally have the good fortune of a fresh batch of academy graduates to call upon, but they will need to be nurtured and developed. If they’re all thrown in at the deep end next year, don’t be surprised if some of them can’t quite swim yet and struggle to stay afloat.
They will need senior professionals around them every step of the way, so if these out of contract men leave, they will presumably need to be replaced. When you look at the list of players that will likely be available in June, it’s not exactly overflowing with leaders.
For this reason, I’m sure that Cardiff’s free agents will definitely not be short of offers.
Looking ahead to next season and what Cardiff may look like, there is a core of Dillon Phillips, Perry Ng, Mark McGuinness, Curtis Nelson, Tom Sang, Ryan Wintle and Kieffer Moore (hopefully!). Fleshed out with the likes of James Collins, Max Watters, Rubin Colwill, Joel Bagan, Isaak Davies, Sam Bowen, Kieran Evans and Mark Harris, it looks like an exciting young group, but there’s not even enough to fill a matchday squad.
A huge recruitment drive would be required. A high turnover of staff that would need to bed in and hit the ground running.
We don’t even know if Cardiff will have the same manager next season. With Steve Morison only contracted until the summer at present, he will be appraised and either dealt in or cut loose. Lots of disruption and change awaits, but the continued presence of Ralls would provide some much-needed continuity and stability.
My hope is that the players that do depart get a suitable send off. That has not always been the case in the past because the decision making has tended to drag on to the post season. Presumably, once it has been confirmed which division Cardiff will be playing in next season, these decisions can be finalised and an announcement can be made.
Everything is crossed that their fate won’t need to be decided in the final few games though and that Championship status will be comfortably, rather than frantically secured.
This is also Ralls 10th year at the club, so I guess he is due a testimonial and hopefully that can be arranged in good time because that is a remarkable, rare feat and warrants some sort of celebration.
Ralls is reportedly one of the club’s highest earners, so there may be a need for compromise on each side if new terms are to be agreed. Football can be a stubborn industry though, where pride can sometimes get in the way of finding middle ground. Hopefully that won’t be the case here.
For now, Ralls remains a fundamental part of Cardiff’s midfield trio and their hopes of climbing the table. He is sure to remain twinned with Tommy Doyle, who looked very accomplished and technically gifted in his hour at Bristol City. It is likely to be those two plus one other going forward and their primary task will be to plug the holes that opponents pour through every week in the centre of the pitch.
I wrote about the merits or Ralls in these pages not so long ago because this a season where positives have been in short supply. You can’t always write about the various disappointments and how bad things have been. Similarly, you can’t just recycle pieces about the academy finally bearing fruit over and over again.
So, this is likely to be the last time I write about Ralls this season, but hopefully not the last time I write about him. He’s one of the good guys, a model professional and a great ambassador for the club.
When you write about Ralls, it tends to be positive, so hopefully the next time I cover him it will be to report that he has extended his stay because my own view is that the club should do everything they can to try and keep him.
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