|
Post by pendragon on Nov 12, 2020 21:59:41 GMT
Hmm.... Not overly impressed to be honest. I hope for a better performance from our first choice set-up next game and hope the off-pitch shenanigans don't cast too much of a cloud on the team's display, and that their collective resilience is enough to overcome Page's inexperience of managing our senior set-up 😕
|
|
|
Post by cadno on Nov 12, 2020 21:59:54 GMT
😂 Hard to disagree. Over the moon for Sheehan and Brennan
|
|
|
Post by quetzal on Nov 12, 2020 21:59:57 GMT
Another clean sheet. There’s another positive. But listened to first 70 on radio. Matondo’s name came up a lot. Did sound like Levitt and Smith were a complete waste of time
|
|
|
Post by alarch on Nov 12, 2020 22:03:59 GMT
Another clean sheet. There’s another positive. But listened to first 70 on radio. Matondo’s name came up a lot. Did sound like Levitt and Smith were a complete waste of time Levitt was very poor first half - somewhat better second half. Smith was OK, doesn't deserve to be singled out for criticism. Wilson on the other hand was very poor - again.
|
|
|
Post by rushy on Nov 12, 2020 22:07:09 GMT
It's the lack of creating goal scoring chances in our performances that is the concern for me, hoping we don't concede is not enough, whatever team we put out.
|
|
|
Post by manulike on Nov 12, 2020 22:34:46 GMT
Hmm.... Not overly impressed to be honest. I hope for a better performance from our first choice set-up next game and hope the off-pitch shenanigans don't cast too much of a cloud on the team's display, and that their collective resilience is enough to overcome Page's inexperience of managing our senior set-up 😕 Agree, All the more reason to start with Gunts, Davies and maybe also Jonny. We need all the calm and experience that we have on the field, as it is plainly lacking on the sidelines...
|
|
|
Post by robin1864 on Nov 12, 2020 22:40:26 GMT
Rodon will be our most valuable player in years to come, I just hope he gets games at club level. People writing this off as a Wales B team need to realise that very soon we could have Levitt & Smith regularly starting for Wales, which would be a disaster based on their recent appearances. Not really, Ampadu, Morrell and Allen to come back for March. Plus Smith and hopefully Levitt will get extra game time and experience + perhaps Burton. Hardly a disastrous situation. Allen is reaching the twilight stage of a career racked with injury, so I'm not sure how much more we can rely on him in the future either. Ampadu & Morrell are solid picks, but it's going to take a lot of adjusting to them in a post-Rambo/Allen world. Levitt & Smith may get more game time, but so far they've been overrun in most games they've played for us, and shouldn't play for us again until they pick up a run of form at club level. Until then, give me Sheehan & Lee Evans - players who aren't wet behind the ears and regularly play senior football.
|
|
rncfc
the carls
Posts: 84
|
Post by rncfc on Nov 12, 2020 22:41:59 GMT
Player Ratings for tonight Ward- 6.5, didn’t have a lot to do, distribution was poor but I’m sure the 90 mins did him a world of good. Roberts- 7.5, I’ve been critical of him last couple of Welsh games but thought he looked decent tonight Lockyer- 7, dealt with everything that came at him Lawrence- 7, same as above Gunter- 7.5, Looked very comfortable tonight, da iawn on 98 Smith- 6, did nothing wrong but also nothing good Levitt- 5.5, much better second half but still struggling to impress me. Lots of learning to be done though Matondo- 7.5, yes end product isn’t the best, but always looks like he could do something Wilson- 5, poor tonight from Harry, not in the game at all Lawrence- 6, decent but apart from the 1 shot on target, didn’t do anything else Moore- 5, tried but poor tonight from the little service he had Sheehan- 6.5, good debut and I’m sure he’ll be thrilled Johnson-6, should have scored with first touch, decent outing and looking forward to seeing more of him in the future James- 6 Rodon + Morrell - not enough time to score This is presumably a wind up? I would love nothing more than to see Matondo come up trumps, but he's nowhere near international quality at the moment. It's painful watching him try. Sheehan was very assured considering he plays league two football for an English side every week. I imagine he'll be in the championship come January and a regular feature for Wales. To conclude, a largely pointless game against pointless opposition. But Sheehan making his debut was worth it.
|
|
|
Post by allezlesrouges on Nov 12, 2020 23:01:24 GMT
Rodon will be our most valuable player in years to come, I just hope he gets games at club level. People writing this off as a Wales B team need to realise that very soon we could have Levitt & Smith regularly starting for Wales, which would be a disaster based on their recent appearances. Not really, Ampadu, Morrell and Allen to come back for March. Plus Smith and hopefully Levitt will get extra game time and experience + perhaps Burton. Hardly a disastrous situation. Plus Sheehan, who looked decent tonight I thought
|
|
|
Post by allezlesrouges on Nov 12, 2020 23:06:00 GMT
Player Ratings for tonight Ward- 6.5, didn’t have a lot to do, distribution was poor but I’m sure the 90 mins did him a world of good. Roberts- 7.5, I’ve been critical of him last couple of Welsh games but thought he looked decent tonight Lockyer- 7, dealt with everything that came at him Lawrence- 7, same as above Gunter- 7.5, Looked very comfortable tonight, da iawn on 98 Smith- 6, did nothing wrong but also nothing good Levitt- 5.5, much better second half but still struggling to impress me. Lots of learning to be done though Matondo- 7.5, yes end product isn’t the best, but always looks like he could do something Wilson- 5, poor tonight from Harry, not in the game at all Lawrence- 6, decent but apart from the 1 shot on target, didn’t do anything else Moore- 5, tried but poor tonight from the little service he had Sheehan- 6.5, good debut and I’m sure he’ll be thrilled Johnson-6, should have scored with first touch, decent outing and looking forward to seeing more of him in the future James- 6 Rodon + Morrell - not enough time to score This is presumably a wind up? I would love nothing more than to see Matondo come up trumps, but he's nowhere near international quality at the moment. It's painful watching him try. Sheehan was very assured considering he plays league two football for an English side every week. I imagine he'll be in the championship come January and a regular feature for Wales. To conclude, a largely pointless game against pointless opposition. But Sheehan making his debut was worth it. Sheehan doesn't play for an English side Re: Matondo - he's not worthy of a start for us in an important game yet perhaps, but he was our most dangerous player tonight by quite a way, strange to single him out for criticism
|
|
|
Post by walesgolfmadrid on Nov 12, 2020 23:08:06 GMT
On the whole, decent enough performance considering. The likes of McKennie and Dest were a level above what we had in terms of talent, some decent performances out there and some who've got plenty to improve. It really isn't the end of the world to be giving players like Matondo, Levitt and Smith who aren't quite ready to be starting competitive internationals, the opportunity to gain experience and develop as players. They didn't have good games, but they clearly do have potential, and they'll become useful players for us in time.
|
|
|
Post by dai on Nov 12, 2020 23:27:16 GMT
I don't understand this negativity towards Matondo, I thought he was one of the key players in seeing us get a result in Bulgaria.......
|
|
|
Post by texan on Nov 13, 2020 10:45:49 GMT
It was anything but pointless, it rather highlighted the need we have for these kind of matches as these kids need to learn how to play together, that's all that was wrong really.
Skill-wise the USA kids certainly seem very talented, ability-wise (individually) however we're both in the same ballpark. For all their back heels, flicks, direction changing rabonas & stepovers they led to nothing, and on the rare occasions where we found some rhythm and showed some ability of our own we were a match for them. Especially during the latter part of the 2nd half when we were rapidly growing into the game. Where they were streets ahead of us however was in team-play and cohesiveness, we were light years behind.
You tend to get these type of situations mainly in friendlies where there's a clash of development styles. The USA concentrates heavily on skills development (its in their nature, the influence on 'soccer' over there from Mexico & south America coupled with their demand for/love of the 'spectacle') and they also rigidly stick to their pathways, kids are (on average...the odd special case aside) promoted when ready and usually play through their age groups a couple years at a time. As a result their kids play together for many years. Since Speed we've preferred a more direct approach that promotes kids immediately the second they show they have something about them...they rarely, if ever these days, go back the other way. This is something only Tosh has done thus far, and we could see the effect of that circa 2010 when our youth side was solid and coming of age together, that hasn't happened to any Welsh generation since as we've tended to drip-feed our new talent a couple at a time into our established setup.
Its been a necessity for us over the past 10 years to develop this way for two reasons, expand the player pool and also by providing a quick pathway to the seniors many talented kids have chosen us over another eligible nation. It isn't a cause for alarm bells however as it is only a friendly and (barring a hellish injury crisis) the situations where we have to exclusively rely on the youth rarely present themselves in competitive matches. However on nights like last night where we've actively chosen to play the kids (and v England to a large extent) the clash of styles becomes obvious. The US kids were well drilled & used to playing together, ours was a side of strangers.
Even those with some experience struggled, like Smith, as the protection he's offered in competitive matches from our seniors wasn't there, he was the one who had to offer protection to Levitt (which he's not mature enough/ready for) which resulted in both being dragged down. Smith couldn't be himself as he was watching Levitt, and Levitt didn't have the steady hand he needed to guide him through, so our midfield was lost from the off really.
Levitt needs to be taken out of the firing line however, he's about a year to 18 months too early.
|
|
|
Post by iot on Nov 13, 2020 11:19:21 GMT
I don't understand this negativity towards Matondo, I thought he was one of the key players in seeing us get a result in Bulgaria....... Matondo seems to be a marmite player - most seem to think he was either one of our best players or one of our worst. I thought he was really poor. I can see why fans like him, he's a really good dribbler and does get you off your seat, but his touch and decision making are so poor. There were several occasions yesterday where we were under the cosh and a ball was played into him, but his heavy touch immediately led to a new onslaught of pressure. His passing is also terrible, even when with plenty of time on his hands. As others have said, both are coachable and he does have a couple of great attributes, but he's currently a poor all-round player imo, he just isn't technically good enough yet. The main worry is despite having more playing time than most at the age of 19-20, I can't see the progression.
|
|
|
Post by 1gwaunview on Nov 13, 2020 12:17:20 GMT
Another clean-sheet I suppose which is a massive plus, but a miserable lacklustre performance from Cymru 'B'. The only positive I can see besides the result was the emergence of Josh Sheehan. Hope he is given another opportunity.
|
|
|
Post by quetzal on Nov 13, 2020 14:20:36 GMT
Player Ratings for tonight Ward- 6.5, didn’t have a lot to do, distribution was poor but I’m sure the 90 mins did him a world of good. Roberts- 7.5, I’ve been critical of him last couple of Welsh games but thought he looked decent tonight Lockyer- 7, dealt with everything that came at him Lawrence- 7, same as above Gunter- 7.5, Looked very comfortable tonight, da iawn on 98 Smith- 6, did nothing wrong but also nothing good Levitt- 5.5, much better second half but still struggling to impress me. Lots of learning to be done though Matondo- 7.5, yes end product isn’t the best, but always looks like he could do something Wilson- 5, poor tonight from Harry, not in the game at all Lawrence- 6, decent but apart from the 1 shot on target, didn’t do anything else Moore- 5, tried but poor tonight from the little service he had Sheehan- 6.5, good debut and I’m sure he’ll be thrilled Johnson-6, should have scored with first touch, decent outing and looking forward to seeing more of him in the future James- 6 Rodon + Morrell - not enough time to score Like I said on other posts. I listened to the game on the radio. Danny Ward had a bit of a mixed bag right? Shanked a clearance
|
|
|
Post by dai on Nov 13, 2020 14:36:12 GMT
The main issue for me, like in many of our recent matches, is a lack of clear game plan or playing style:
Toshack had us playing defensively, while relying on the counter.
Speed brought us almost a tiki-taka, total football style of play during his short time in charge.
Coleman gave us a resilient, hard to beat, defensively structured looking team.
I'm still not sure what we are at the moment - it almost seems our gameplan or style of play is a bit hit and hope? Chuck a team on and hope for the best......
|
|
|
Post by allezlesrouges on Nov 13, 2020 15:48:33 GMT
The main issue for me, like in many of our recent matches, is a lack of clear game plan or playing style: Toshack had us playing defensively, while relying on the counter. Speed brought us almost a tiki-taka, total football style of play during his short time in charge. Coleman gave us a resilient, hard to beat, defensively structured looking team. I'm still not sure what we are at the moment - it almost seems our gameplan or style of play is a bit hit and hope? Chuck a team on and hope for the best...... Commented on our system during the game last night. Feels like the 4-2-3-1 has gone a bit flat for us. Players going through the motions with their movement, anyone that does a bit of atypical movement and finds themselves in space isn't given the ball because the player on the ball has been told to adhere to the structure and circulate the ball in accordance with the system. Makes it feel very stale I remember early on when we played with 4-2-3-1 and essentially had 4 rotating forwards. It didn't work particularly well (Ireland home aside), and bringing in Moore made it work better, but now it feels like the 3 behind him don't interchange at all & all the inventiveness of the formation has gone Fluid front 3 closer together with wing-backs coming from deep just seems to improve our link up play. I think it can work with Moore in there too for the games where we are up against it
|
|