Nathan Blake Praises Omer Riza’s ‘Premier League’ Football Style at Cardiff

Nathan Blake has previously stated his belief that Omer Riza, Cardiff City’s interim boss, should be appointed to the role permanently. The former Wales striker has now further suggested that Riza’s approach to football represents the best style seen at Cardiff in a decade. Following a significant improvement in their form, marked by a 2-1 victory against Norwich City last weekend, Riza’s Cardiff team is set to face Luton Town on Wednesday. “The managerial changes there’s been at Cardiff for the last over 10 years has been ridiculous,” Blake, an ex-Bluebird, informed BBC Radio Wales Breakfast. He continued, “But the style of football I’ve seen, personally, probably is the best I’ve seen in the last 10 years. I would include the Neil Warnock era in that, even though Neil got promotion.” Blake further elaborated, “I think the style of football is more updated and more in tune with what you see in Premier League football. If that is your goal, and you’re trying to get there, then you need to at least adopt a style that if you get there, it’s going to keep you there.” Under Riza’s leadership, Cardiff has experienced only one loss in seven games, and Blake attributes this positive impact to an uplift in players’ morale. “They’re playing a different brand of football than they were under Erol Bulut,” Blake observed. “I think everyone can see that, and it’s just surprising how a few results can change confidence in players… a slight style of play change and all of a sudden a few results and then they’ve really kicked on.” He concluded, “A lot of players are in good form, rather than the flip side, [a lot of players] who were struggling. So I put it down to confidence. Results breed confidence.”