Cardiff City have got off to a horrid start in the Championship this season, made worse by watching former player, Mark Harris, impress across the division with Oxford United.

The Bluebirds currently sit bottom of the table after four games, and are still in search of their first win of the season. Erol Bulut’s side have lost three of their first four games, and picked up their only point against fierce rivals, Swansea City.

Perhaps the most alarming thing about the three defeats is the lack of goal threat and defensive stability. Cardiff have scored just one goal in their first four games, and have conceded a worrying 10, which is something they will be hoping to improve over the coming weeks.

Manager, Erol Bulut must start improving performances, or questions around his job will inevitably be raised. Cardiff have had a rather busy summer and have signed some rather high-profile names, with the likes of Callum Chambers, Chris Willock and Anwar El Ghazi.

There will be an expectation for Cardiff to enjoy a solid season after such a strong summer transfer window, but so far this is not the case. The side are massively struggling for goals, which may lead them to regretting the release of one of their former strikers who is doing very well in the Championship right now.

Mark Harris is flying at Oxford United right now

Oxford United striker, Mark Harris, has started this Championship campaign exceptionally well. Last season, Oxford stunned many by beating Bolton Wanderers in the League One play-off final to achieve promotion to the Championship after a 25-year absence.

Harris played a huge part in their success last season under Des Buckingham, as he scored 15 goals in 42 league starts. It was the first time he had reached double figures in goals in his career, so the campaign was considered a huge success for him.

The striker certainly had his doubters going into this Championship season, as he had never been able to score regular goals in the second tier before, with his former club, Cardiff.

However, those doubters have already been silenced, as he has scored one goal in each of Oxford’s four Championship games so far this season and has been their standout performer.

Oxford have taken the Championship by surprise so far, with two wins from four, despite being widely tipped to go straight back down, and they have a lot to thank Mark Harris for. He has scored 50% of their goals so far and has really upped his game since returning to the second tier.

Cardiff City may regret releasing Mark Harris last year

Harris was a Cardiff City player for many years, having progressed through the ranks as a youngster before going on to make the step-up into the first team.

Although he was receiving a fair amount of game time, he struggled for goals at Cardiff, netting just nine goals across three full Championship campaigns.

He was never really given a consistent run of starts though, and this clearly had an impact on him. At Oxford, he starts every game and scores frequently, so he has always had that in his locker.

In the summer of 2023, Harris’ contract with Cardiff expired and talks were underway regarding a contract extension. However, those contract talks came to nothing and he was soon released; a decision that they now may be regretting.

Cardiff are calling out for a player of his instinct in front of goal at the moment, but instead he is banging them in at Oxford United. The Bluebirds, on current evidence, will be dreading their first meeting with Oxford and Harris on Boxing Day.