Cardiff City Boss Reveals Scouting Mission

Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy has revealed he used last weekend’s fixture-free Saturday to cast his eye on next opponents Reading.

The 47-year-old has enjoyed a relatively strong start to life in the Welsh capital. Having been handed the reins in June following the Bluebirds relegation to League One, he began the campaign with 7-game unbeaten run.

This saw Cardiff become the early pacesetters but home defeats against Bradford City and Burton Albion saw them drop to fourth. They recovered at the beginning of this month in an entertaining 4-3 victory over Leyton Orient to climb back up to third, 2 points off leaders Stevenage.

Barry-Murphy Takes Advantage Of Free Weekend

Cardiff’s trip to Barnsley was postponed last weekend due to the high number of international call-ups the club received. Meanwhile, Saturday’s opponents Reading were in action against Exeter City.

 

 

🗣️ “Being there for their game against Exeter City gave me an insight into the talent they possess and what we’ll have to do to overcome it.”

Brian previews Saturday’s clash with Reading ⬇️#CityAsOne

— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) October 16, 2025

This allowed Barry-Murphy the opportunity to watch the Royals first hand, one which he grasped with both hands. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the 47-year-old admitted he was impressed with Noel Hunt’s side:

“They’re a very big club in this division. I went to their game against Exeter City to watch it in person just to get a feel of the qualities they have. 

“When we’re so busy and watching games on video, sometimes you can see different things, but you don’t quite get a feel of the quality of certain players and the intricacies of their play. 

“I went to that game and you can see that their squad is full of players who have quality and have played at a higher level. 

“They’re not where they’d want to be in the table currently, but being there gave me an insight into the talent they possess and what we’ll have to do to overcome it.”

 

 

All the action from yesterday’s 1-1 draw in Devon 👇 pic.twitter.com/nDhBIcfQ3K

— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) October 12, 2025

Writer’s View

Cardiff’s weekend off has gifted Brian Barry-Murphy a fantastic opportunity to get the upper hand on Reading ahead of Saturday’s clash in South Wales. The Royals put in a spirited performance to extend their unbeaten run to 4 games and they will represent a stern test.

The Bluebirds know that a maximum points haul will give them a fantastic opportunity to return to at least the automatic promotion places. League leaders Stevenage face arguably one of the toughest away days in the division with a trip to Lincoln City, whilst second placed Bradford City host Barnsley at Valley Parade.