How Neil Warnock is Not-So-Quietly Preparing His Cardiff Side to Fail in the Premier League

If you ever needed a reason to doubt Cardiff City's Premier League ambitions, look no further than this summer's transfer market.

The club's current situation is about as Neil Warnock as it could possibly get, and while that certainly served them well last season, it has already doomed them to relegation before a ball has even been kicked ahead of this term.

Stu Forster/GettyImages

Let's head back to October 2016 - when Warnock took charge of his current side. At the time, the South Wales outfit were second from bottom at the foot of the Championship table, and his pragmatic approach helped guide the club to an eventual 12th place finish.

And why wouldn't it? Football is a simple game: get the ball from A (your feet) to B (the goal) as many times as you can and you might win - it doesn't matter how.

Warnock is the king of doing that...in the Championship, where the quality of football is a significant drop from the top flight. Success in the Premier League is acquired with less pragmatism, and more brilliance. In all his years of management, you'd think he would've learned that difference in class between the two leagues by now; but Warnock most definitely lacks the brilliance required to survive the brutality of the top flight.

Clive Mason/GettyImages

His history in the Premier League suggests that the 69-year-old is learning nothing from his time there. In 74 matches, he has won just 17 over the course of three seasons in the Premier League - all of which ended in either relegation or dismissal.

But this time, as Cardiff fans would have you believe, things are different. 

Are they? Last season saw Cardiff win promotion with the worst passing stats in the entirety of the Championship. But that's fine, they still finished second - which tells you that Warnock finds a way to win.

In the Championship, as previously stated, you can get away with that. The quality isn't quite there like it is in the Premier League. In the heart of defence you're coming up against the likes of John O'Shea and Liam Moore - prone to mistakes and letting things slip.

The top flight doesn't allow that. Players like John Stones and Toby Alderweireld will eat anyone who isn't quite up to scratch alive. They're more than just defenders, they're footballers. Warnock doesn't drill that in. "You defend, you give the ball to the striker, and you score goals. Those are your jobs. I don't care how you do it, I just want it done," - it's a small minded mentality.

At that point you say, okay, maybe Warnock's team isn't cut out for the Premier League - but the summer window can fix that problem.

Harry Trump/GettyImages

This could well have been the worst transfer window of any team in Premier League history. Not necessarily for the changes Cardiff have made themselves, but for the work that's been done around them.

Fulham and Wolves have come up and made huge signings. The Cottagers have somehow lured in the likes of Andre Schurrle, Maxime Le Marchand and Jean Michael Seri - three players of top quality, who can without doubt cut it in the toughest league of them all.

Nuno Espirito Santo has done what everyone expected and signed even more Portuguese players. Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio were born champions; they have an abundance of experience and even more quality. Few would be shocked to see them finish in the top ten this term.

Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/GettyImages

What have Cardiff bought? A few players from QPR, Preston, Norwich and Bristol. It's a joke. When you couple Warnock's obviously inept tactical ability compared to the rest of the Premier League, with some knock off young players who could barely make it in the Championship, it's quite apparent that Cardiff are headed straight back to their manager's comfort of the second tier.

A lot of work is needed to be done by the Bluebirds, and it needs to be done urgently.