Interesting interview with Mark Hudson
More than a decade has passed since Mark Hudson signed for Cardiff City, but the club finds itself in a somewhat similar position.
Touted as having one of the strongest squads in the division, the play-off battle was one that Bluebirds found themselves in year after year when Hudson was the beating heart of the defence.
City were branded the 'nearly team' under Dave Jones, in fact Hudson helped the club to the play-offs in each of his first three seasons in the Welsh capital, having been unable to get over the line to reach the Premier League.
Cardiff were known for their relatively sluggish starts, often coming strong at the back end of the season, and the same appears to have happened this season, with the Bluebirds sitting in 15th position after 11 games as we reach the international break.
But Hudson, who played 162 games for the Bluebirds between 2009 and 2014, fully expects Neil Harris' side to be challenging at the top end of the table come the end of the season.
"They have got a good, good squad and good people in charge," Hudson tells WalesOnline. "Neil [Harris] is doing the job and they have got good staff there as well. They are all one, driving in the right direction.
"They brought in some good players in the window towards the end, Harry Wilson and Sheyi Ojo, another exciting player, they've got good balance and knowledge of this league and maybe the one above.
"They've got a great squad, a good mix and they are all together. The form will change and I fully expect them to be up near the top come the end of the season.
"Don't panic, it's a long season. I think they've got plenty of goals in them, good defenders, a balanced squad and the form will come right when they need to."
Hudson, now 38, cites the lack of fans as a big factor in Cardiff's water-treading start, and he knows the impact they can have all too well from his time with the Bluebirds, and believes their away form is not to be sniffed at.
Cardiff, naturally, is a club Hudson follows closely and holds dearly to his heart and he thinks fondly about the special group of players which donned the City blue alongside him.
"When you have success somewhere, I had two of my three children here, I see it as part of home," adds Hudson, who was speaking while on the FAW's Pro Licence coaching course.
"My family home was here and we created something amazing with the group that we had.
"It's definitely part of my life and route so far."
It is fair to say that many Bluebirds fans' favourite time supporting the club was around that turn of the decade, with the likes of Michael Chopra and Jay Bothroyd leading the line and the class of Peter Whittingham, Joe Ledley, Stephen McPhail and others behind them in midfield.
It was a period of transition for the club, having just moved out of Ninian Park, but also a tragically difficult time for Hudson personally.
His wife's sister committed suicide on the day he signed for Cardiff City back in 2009 and weeks later his then-pregnant wife Marie-Louise lost their baby.
He has previously opened up about just how horrendous that period was for him and his family and it took some time for those wounds to heal.
"Signing [for Cardiff] is something I think about a lot," he says of his first memories as a Bluebird.
"When I signed and what went on at the time that I signed was so ingrained in my path as a human being.
"What came and what we went through in that first year, it's part and parcel of it."
But after somehow managing to find a way to cope with those heartbreaking losses, Hudson found his feet and firmly established himself as a leader in the Welsh capital.
The club, too, were riding on the crest of a wave and the former defender hailed the special atmosphere and fervour which swirled around the stadium at that time.
"When I joined we had just moved into Cardiff City Stadium, it was maybe a transitional year for the club and for me as well, it's pretty well publicised what I went through in that year," he adds.
"After that, for four and a bit years, it was amazing. The fans, I deemed the stadium a fortress.
"I have very, very fond memories of being there."
Hudson was voted the club's Player of the Season in 2013, the year they did eventually seal promotion to the Premier League, and unsurprisingly picks winning the title as his favourite Bluebirds memory.
Unfortunately, though, it went downhill sharply from there. Cardiff signed Steven Caulker for the top-flight campaign and Hudson fell down the pecking order as a consequence.
He eventually left the club after the Premier League campaign and fired a an explosive parting shot
in an interview with WalesOnline after there were grumblings that he netted an own goal against Wolves on purpose in his final Bluebirds outing.
He described his exit as "sad" and "difficult" after he claimed he had been given assurances that his future lay in the Welsh capital.
While the emotion was quite clearly raw at the time, his attitude towards his departure appears to have mellowed somewhat.
"You want to play as much as you can in the Premier League, but it is what it is," he says.
"That's what happened and it's part of my route to where I am now.
"I was Player of the Year the year before, but there were big changes at the club and I went on and succeeded somewhere else.
"I'm not one to dwell on things, paths take you in certain directions. You have to embrace them and I did, I went to Huddersfield and won promotion with them.
"Things happen in life. There is not one part of me that looks back and thinks 'I wouldn't have done that', it's a waste of your effort.
"I'm so fond of my time there and part of my heart is still there, it's amazing."
Hudson's path crossed with Cardiff City's again through the years, but the most recent was last season when he stepped in as interim manager of the Terriers following the departure of Jan Siewart.
His first fixture was, of course, Cardiff City away, where Junior Hoilett struck in the dying minutes to seal a 2-1 win for Neil Warnock's Bluebirds.
A frustrating day for him, for sure, but to feel that Cardiff City crowd one more time? Even he admits that will never get old.
"It was exciting," he remembers. "Every time I come back to Wales or Cardiff it puts a smile on my face.
"We wanted to get a result and we nearly did, but that's football.
"Coming back and being stood on the touchline at Cardiff was amazing. I didn't think I'd go back there on that side of the dugout!
"But it was a great experience to be back, to see it and to feel it all again."
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