Four players have a case for Cardiff City's player of the year but one stands out

With a mammoth two-and-a-half weeks until Cardiff City's next game and the finish line just over the horizon, it provides an opportunity to reflect on the season as a whole, and what a weird season it has been!

For the third consecutive year, Cardiff started the season with high hopes, having made a strong finish to the preceding campaign, but for the third year in a row, things felt very wrong almost immediately. Neil Warnock, Neil Harris and Mick McCarthy were all relieved of their duties midway through the season after collapses in both form and confidence.

McCarthy, who immediately steadied the ship when he arrived, identified a formation that optimised the options at hand and with a mixture of calm and experience, propelled Cardiff up the table and earned a new deal. Those strengths soon became weaknesses, as his favoured shape became more of a straightjacket and culminated in fielding five centre-backs, which felt akin to a letter of resignation.

Steve Morison was in the right place at the right time and despite vocal reluctance from the board, not only made it work but has thrived and continues to impress. His longer contract is just reward and once again, there is positivity with a view to next season.

In terms of rounding out this year though, who should be Cardiff’s player of the year?

Lots of players have made an impression, but there has been what has felt like a perpetual turnover of staff. Ryan Giles made an immediate impact, but was recalled too soon. Tommy Doyle and Cody Drameh look like stars in the making, but only joined in January and are sadly passing through.

Even the senior players have been in and out of the side. Take Marlon Pack, who was largely an ever-present and has played the sixth highest