Things are looking pretty bleak for Cardiff City right now.
Hovering just above the Championship relegation zone, their tier-two status is literally on the line; the three teams below them - Wigan Athletic, Huddersfield Town and Blackpool - all have games in hand over the Bluebirds and could move above City with a win.
Sabri Lamouchi has overseen three games and three defeats thus far; there have been shoots of optimism, as pointed out by Bluebirds correspondent Glen Williams here, albeit they are caveated by a number of problems he still has to solve to pull them out of this mess.
Fifteen finals, the Frenchman highlighted at the weekend, starting with Birmingham City tomorrow night.
When the window closed we asked supporters for their views on four pertinent topics/questions:
Rate Cardiff City's transfer window out of 10
How happy are you with Sabri Lamouchi's appointment?
Which position concerns you the most right now?
Will Cardiff City stay up this season?
The results have been enlightening although not entirely surprising.
Cardiff's transfer window was rated extremely lowly, with 883 of you giving it a one out of 10 scoreline. Now Cardiff's transfer window comes attached with a massive asterix; for the majority of the month they were operating under an embargo enforced by FIFA and the EFL, which meant they couldn't bring in players for a fee or sign anyone on loan.
Cardiff paid the first instalment of the transfer fee to Nantes for Emiliano Sala, which was in the region of £7million, which meant the EFL and FIFA embargoes were lifted, although the former's two-part stipulation meant Cardiff were unable to pay a fee for a player last month.
Cardiff were able to swing a deal for striker Sory Kaba on deadline day, with the forward grabbing his first goal at the weekend. He has signed on loan until the end of the season. There is also the imminent prospect of Connor Wickham penning a deal with the club, which could skew the score. Regardless, it was an extremely poor window for the Bluebirds which has been expressed by how fans voted.
Also understandably, the jury remains very much out on Lamouchi's appointment; 352 of you gave the appointment a one out of 10 rating, with 200 ranking it a five out of 10 decision, 180 saying seven out of 10 and 141 saying eight of 10. As ever, the proof will be in the pudding but the new man has faith. "I am not a magician," he said at the weekend. "I remember very well I said it was a tough challenge, but there is enough quality to do it. So I am still thinking we will do it."
For the third topic, we asked supporters about the squad concerns. Overwhelmingly fans focused on Cardiff's attacking deficiencies, with almost 1,000 supporters pinpointing it as an area of worry. Midfield (235) came in in a distant second, while defence (83) and keeper (five) were even further back.
And as for the big one - will Cardiff City stay up this season - supporters aren't optimistic judging by the results. A total of 370 of you said yes, while a damning 876 believe relegation will be their fate come May.
READ MORE:
- Sabri Lamouchi's three games as Cardiff City boss have presented him with huge dilemmas he now has to get right
- Cardiff City transfer news as Wickham deal on brink and Watters scores then sees red
- Cardiff City notes: Lamouchi insists 'I'm no magician', Bamba's Sory Kaba reaction and Connor Wickham transfer update
