"When you create chances, you need to kill them. But we didn't score and that's why we are the worst attack in the league. We need, absolutely, to work on this situation."
That is the most salient takeaway from Sabri Lamouchi's post-match press conference following Cardiff City's 2-0 defeat by Norwich City at the weekend.
The new manager does not mince his words when it comes to his post-match assessments. He gets to the core issues quickly and addresses them head on. He needs to do the same - and he knows it - when it comes to addressing the shortcomings of Cardiff's misfiring forward line.
It's not a new problem, of course. It's something which has plagued Cardiff all season and has belied much positive work.
Saturday's defeat at Carrow Road followed a similar narrative arc to many games this season. The Bluebirds began brightly and had countless opportunities to get their noses in front, but all of them were squandered.
Connor Wickham had a great early chance from close range blocked, while Mahlon Romeo did terrifically to intercept a wayward pass to launch a counter-attack, but his meek effort was comfortably saved by Angus Gunn. A simple squared ball to the unmarked Wickham would have presented a far simpler chance.
Jaden Philogene was a real bright spark for City during their early moments in the ascendancy, too, causing Norwich defenders all sorts of bother, but his final act always pulled up short of the mark, typically resulting in his shots flying over the Canaries' cross bar.
After the half-time break, Ryan Wintle had a chance put on a plate for him, but he snatched at his shot and dragged his effort wide from 20 yards out. Perry Ng also hit a lovely free-kick, but Gunn was equal to it as he tipped the curling effort over the bar. Philogene skimmed the post with a late strike, too.
The end result, though, was: Nine shots, zero goals.
Cardiff are, quite literally, the worst attacking team in the league. They have scored only 25 goals in their 34 games this season, five behind the next-worst attack, Preston North End, in the division.
They also boast the worst conversion rate in the Championship. The Bluebirds have fired off 514 shots and have converted only 25 times, meaning their ratio of shots to goals is just 4.9 percent. Wigan, who are 23rd in that particular metric, have a shot conversion rate of 6.4 percent.
The Bluebirds are very rarely played off that park and are defensively, largely, pretty robust. But at the other end, well, therein lies the problem.
Cardiff are clearly doing enough to trouble opposition by getting into positions in which they can take these shots. That, in many ways, is the most frustrating part. Only eight teams have fired off more shots on goal than City this season. They have the players and the quality to get up the pitch and into dangerous areas, but just not the killer instinct or quality when it matters to make it count.
For Cardiff fans interested in the expected goals (xG) metric, brace yourselves. The quality of chances Cardiff have created throughout the season has given them an xG average of 1.38 per game. Their actual goals scored is 0.74 per game. In real money, by this metric at least, they are 20 goals shy of where they should be.
That is the worst xG vs actual goals scored deficit in the entire division, measuring at -0.64, the next worst is West Brom on -0.49.
But how do they improve these numbers with only 12 games left of the season to play? That is the crucial question which needs answering. Lamouchi has a number of options available to him, but are they good enough to keep Cardiff in the second tier? If so, what is the right combination?
Last week was a hammer blow for Cardiff when they learned top-scorer Callum Robinson is out for at least five games, a stretch which takes them into the international break. Who scores the goals in his absence?
The strikers' numbers this season make for poor reading, there's simply no getting around that.
In the Championship, Mark Harris has three goals in 29 games, Kion Etete has one in 18, Sory Kaba has one in five, Isaak Davies has no goals in five and Connor Wickham has none in three. That's a combined five goals in 60 Championship appearances from City's current crop of strikers, an average of one goal every 12 games.
Of course, Kaba and Wickham are new and both have shown signs of promise. Wickham actually started the game well at Norwich and it was a surprise to see him come off at the break, with Kaba struggling to really impose himself on the tie thereafter. While Davies has had his injury troubles this term and has perhaps fallen victim to the managerial change.
Elsewhere, players such as Romaine Sawyers, Callum O'Dowda, Jaden Philogene and Ryan Wintle have chipped in with useful goals and their output will have to increase, too, if City are to dig themselves out of a hole.
Cardiff are in 21st, having played one more game than the three teams below them but with a four-point gap to the drop zone. As reflected in the xG numbers, though, their league position does not reflect how the team have played this season as a whole. They should not be in this situation with just a dozen games left in the tank.
It is the first and most glaring transfer priority for the club as they begin to look ahead to the summer transfer window, but getting a goalscorer in is arguably the hardest task in football. It's made even more difficult, too, when, at the time of writing, Cardiff are under a partial transfer embargo which renders them unable to spend a transfer or loan fee on any player.
But that bridge can only be crossed when they come to it. For now, Lamouchi, who has seen his team score only four goals during his six-match tenure, knows he simply has to find the right formula, balance and, crucially, personnel to start ramping these numbers up as we approach the season's crunch point. The relatively strong defence and organisation can only get you so far.
So, does the Kaba-Etete partnership, which started in the wins over Birmingham City and Reading, show the way forward? Did Wickham show enough promise in that first half at Carrow Road to warrant another chance? Or does Mark Harris, who has the most goals of any striker after Robinson, come in from the cold?
All questions and options are doubtless being explored by the coaching staff. But it's the players who now have to start delivering before it's too late.
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