Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Monday, March 3.
Bloxham: What 'first-class' forward must do get first-team chance
Under-21s boss Matt Bloxham said that Roko Simic's movement and finishing is "first class", but Cardiff need him to work on his physical "robustness" if he is to break into the first team.
The Croatian was signed from RB Salzburg last summer but is yet to play a first-team game for Cardiff, having spent the first half of the season on loan at KV Kortrijk and not coming off the bench for the first team in the two games for which he's been named among the replacements.
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But he has impressed at youth level, with the 21-year-old having netted three goals in three games for the Bluebirds' under-21s side, the most recent of which was a header in the 1-1 draw with Coventry City on Friday.
First-team boss Omer Riza recently said he was off the pace when it came to other strikers he had in the building, however Bloxham was a little more effusive in his praise. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
"He is adjusting to the British game and is working really hard on that," Bloxham said after the Coventry stalemate.
"He's working hard on, not developing his skillset because we know what that is - his movement has been first class and his goal return has been first class - we are looking to prepare him for the physical robustness that the first team would require in the Championship.
"But three goals in three games, he's working hard. We hope that in the next few games he can get a few more."
Ramsey and Colwill axis encouraging
Former Cardiff City player and Wales captain Kevin Ratcliffe said he was "surprised" but encouraged by the midfield axis of Rubin Colwill and Aaron Ramsey at Aston Villa.
The Welsh duo formed an attacking-looking midfield partnership in the FA Cup clash, but Ratcliffe, best known for his success at Everton in the 1980s, said they looked "brilliant" together in the middle of the park.
"I was really surprised by the pairing which I wouldn't have thought of ever playing them together – but it worked brilliantly," Ratcliffe told the BBC.
"It meant that Colwill was allowed to have that little bit of free space that Aaron used to and Ramsey was picking up bits off him, making sure he was around if there was a mistake.
"It was a bit like the job Joe Allen used to do for Aaron with Wales."
He added: "The responsibility of playing deeper is completely different - you can't gamble as much as you can when you play further forward.
"Aaron has that talent to play that pass - but some of the passes Colwill played [at Villa] were second to none and it was lovely to see that he's come on and looks as though he's maturing.
"But he has to make that place his own in the Cardiff side, stamp his authority in the team first before he starts thinking of playing for Wales."
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O'Dowda, Robinson and Alnwick are Cardiff's 'cultural architects'
Callum O'Dowda, Callum Robinson and Jak Alnwick are three key players in curating the right environment at Cardiff City, according to head of recruitment Patrick Deboys.
The trio recently signed new deals with the club and Deboys, who has a big say in contract recommendations, believes they all add to the cultural make-up of the group and form an important core to the squad.
"With contracts, I report into the board on long-term squad building strategy for them to make the final decisions. We've done around 15 contract negotiations, from first team to top-emerging talent for the long-term benefit of the club," Deboys said in the club's match-day programme.
"Previously, those players might have left the club, but our focus is identifying the players than can really help us and build our squad over the next three to five years and invest in them.
"It's about finding the cultural leaders within the squad and making sure they're retained and valued. It's a big thing to have that continuity. If you take someone like Joe Ralls, for example, who has been here for many years, it's massive to have those players within the group. You want to make those guys feel valued, those who bring something extra to the club.
"With the three that have recently signed new contracts, they are real cultural architects within the squad."
