Eli King

[gimli]

Signed a new 3 year contract at Cardiff. Hopefully he impresses the new manager and gets a chance this season. Our midfield is terrible but overcrowded. Let's hope Bulut breaks the recent trend of blindly persisting with the "experienced" players even though they're failing, and instead backs the youth.

[talyfan]

What's the crack with Oli Denham, Isaak Davies and Mark Harris?

On the cusp or way down the pecking order?

[dai]

Jun 27, 2023 9:58:08 GMT talyfan said:

What's the crack with Oli Denham, Isaak Davies and Mark Harris?

On the cusp or way down the pecking order?

I'd add Colwill to that list as well.

[gimli]

Jun 27, 2023 9:58:08 GMT talyfan said:

What's the crack with Oli Denham, Isaak Davies and Mark Harris?

On the cusp or way down the pecking order?

Who knows really.

Denham was officially considered a first team player last season but didn't make a single appearance, didn't even the bench I don't think, though he was injured for a big chunk of the season. Hopefully a full preseason with the firsts now and he can impress the manager, but I'm not overly optimistic. A loan to L2 is probably realistically the best case scenario.

Davies' season was ruined by Morison playing him in the last game of the previous season when he wasn't fully fit, where he then got injured and missed 6+ months. By the time he was fit we were already in a relegation scrap so he never really got a chance because our various managers invariably stuck with experienced players (even though they were shite). I'm sure he would have played more of a part last season if not for that long lay off. He should be in the mix this season.

Harris is out of contract but he's been offered a new one. No word as of yet whether he'll stay though. If he does, I imagine he'll be a decent squad player. He runs all day and Bulut apparently likes his players to do that, so he might take a liking to him.

[gimli]

Jun 27, 2023 11:01:31 GMT dai said:

Jun 27, 2023 9:58:08 GMT talyfan said:

What's the crack with Oli Denham, Isaak Davies and Mark Harris?

On the cusp or way down the pecking order?

I'd add Colwill to that list as well.

On talent and game-changing ability alone he should be one of the first names on the team sheet. Unfortunately he doesn't really offer much defensively and these days managers demand their forwards/attacking midfielders to tirelessly press. When he's allowed off the lead and can focus on attacking and being creative he does well (like in his games with Wales U21). Not sure if Bulut will let him do that though.

[allezlesrouges]

Could be a dark horse for the squad in Sept if Bulut takes a liking to him and plays him, especially given our lack of options at CM

[iot]

Had a really mixed bag performance in our draw with Denmark. He showed a fair bit of ability with some excellent switches of play, but then was at fault for the two goals - sloppily giving away a penalty and then losing his man for the set piece equalizer

[cymroircarn]

Jun 27, 2023 17:49:48 GMT iot said:

Had a really mixed bag performance in our draw with Denmark. He showed a fair bit of ability with some excellent switches of play, but then was at fault for the two goals - sloppily giving away a penalty and then losing his man for the set piece equalizer

This sums up Colwill for me. Flashes of brilliance but few and far between and his all round game is lacking. I hope he proves me wrong as he has the physical attributes to go to the top.

[iot]

Jun 28, 2023 7:52:46 GMT cymroircarn said:

Jun 27, 2023 17:49:48 GMT iot said:

Had a really mixed bag performance in our draw with Denmark. He showed a fair bit of ability with some excellent switches of play, but then was at fault for the two goals - sloppily giving away a penalty and then losing his man for the set piece equalizer

This sums up Colwill for me. Flashes of brilliance but few and far between and his all round game is lacking. I hope he proves me wrong as he has the physical attributes to go to the top.

They're very different types of midfielders but I agree. The main question on Colwill is whether he can offer enough off the ball and put a shift in. I don't think it's an attitude issue with him, he always comes across well and has responded really positively to being dropped to the u21s. He just seems to really struggle to move around the pitch and has next to no defensive instincts, which can be problematic when struggling in the league and trying to implement a press. 

[fiveattheback]

Jun 28, 2023 10:04:20 GMT iot said:

Jun 28, 2023 7:52:46 GMT cymroircarn said:

This sums up Colwill for me. Flashes of brilliance but few and far between and his all round game is lacking. I hope he proves me wrong as he has the physical attributes to go to the top.

They're very different types of midfielders but I agree. The main question on Colwill is whether he can offer enough off the ball and put a shift in. I don't think it's an attitude issue with him, he always comes across well and has responded really positively to being dropped to the u21s. He just seems to really struggle to move around the pitch and has next to no defensive instincts, which can be problematic when struggling in the league and trying to implement a press. 

Hopefully Colwill etc will improve now that Cardiff seem to have coaches who actually know what they're doing

[cymroircarn]

Jun 28, 2023 10:40:35 GMT fiveattheback said:

Jun 28, 2023 10:04:20 GMT iot said:

They're very different types of midfielders but I agree. The main question on Colwill is whether he can offer enough off the ball and put a shift in. I don't think it's an attitude issue with him, he always comes across well and has responded really positively to being dropped to the u21s. He just seems to really struggle to move around the pitch and has next to no defensive instincts, which can be problematic when struggling in the league and trying to implement a press. 

Hopefully Colwill etc will improve now that Cardiff seem to have coaches who actually know what they're doing

Yes would love nothing better than a Colwill and King midfield ar Cardiff for the next decade

[surge]

Jun 29, 2023 6:11:28 GMT cymroircarn said:

Jun 28, 2023 10:40:35 GMT fiveattheback said:

Hopefully Colwill etc will improve now that Cardiff seem to have coaches who actually know what they're doing

Yes would love nothing better than a Colwill and King midfield ar Cardiff for the next decade

King has featured as a CB so far in pre-season. 

Wrth gwrs, this may be due to slight CB shortage at the club currently, at least ones who have had a pre-season, and may just being exposing him to more defensive role to improve this side of his game, however it's interesting to see hints of a positional switch. If not a little disappointing seeing as Wales/Cymru need CM's! 

[gimli]

Gone on season long loan to Morecambe in League Two. I suppose he was never going to get much of a look in at Cardiff this season but it's a shame they couldn't find a League One or SPL club for him.

[iot]

Jul 28, 2023 15:27:12 GMT gimli said:

Gone on season long loan to Morecambe in League Two. I suppose he was never going to get much of a look in at Cardiff this season but it's a shame they couldn't find a League One or SPL club for him.

He was never going to get anything better after a pretty poor loan spell at Crewe in L2 last season. Fairly pleased with this.

[welshwhite]

Lordy, Morecambe's football is dire.
Good Luck Eli !

[surge]

I don't mind our players dropping down the leagues to get experience if I'm confident that experience will be good. I'm not sure Morecombe under Derek Adams give me a confident feeling, but it's up to Eli to prove this feeling wrong.

On pre-season I felt King was Cardiff's third best CM.

[dai]

Deary me, this transfer window just gets worse and worse!

[vvm]

I'm a Morecambe fan so seems like a decent acquisition from our perspective. Almost identical level to the Crewe team he was playing in last season so very much a sideways step from the players perspective.

Considering the issues we've had with our ownership, Derek Adams has managed to put together a decent team on paper and I don't expect us to be right down there. He's had some success with developing decent box to box midfielders in the last few years so I see this as being a pretty good opportunity for Eli.

[surge]

Jul 31, 2023 9:03:16 GMT vvm said:

I'm a Morecambe fan so seems like a decent acquisition from our perspective. Almost identical level to the Crewe team he was playing in last season so very much a sideways step from the players perspective.

Considering the issues we've had with our ownership, Derek Adams has managed to put together a decent team on paper and I don't expect us to be right down there. He's had some success with developing decent box to box midfielders in the last few years so I see this as being a pretty good opportunity for Eli.

Stat websites show that he played full game yesterday in a 2-1 win over Walsall. 

Lancashire Evening Post seems a bit PNE obsessed but their report on Morecombe includes following line: "J J McKiernan and Eli King combined well in midfield and played the ball in for Adam Mayor, who drilled the ball past Evans from 12 yards out."

Don't know how often you look at this website, VVM, but would be good to know how he's getting on through the season, if possible please. 

[vvm]

Aug 6, 2023 9:27:43 GMT surge said:

Jul 31, 2023 9:03:16 GMT vvm said:

I'm a Morecambe fan so seems like a decent acquisition from our perspective. Almost identical level to the Crewe team he was playing in last season so very much a sideways step from the players perspective.

Considering the issues we've had with our ownership, Derek Adams has managed to put together a decent team on paper and I don't expect us to be right down there. He's had some success with developing decent box to box midfielders in the last few years so I see this as being a pretty good opportunity for Eli.

Stat websites show that he played full game yesterday in a 2-1 win over Walsall. 

Lancashire Evening Post seems a bit PNE obsessed but their report on Morecombe includes following line: "J J McKiernan and Eli King combined well in midfield and played the ball in for Adam Mayor, who drilled the ball past Evans from 12 yards out."

Don't know how often you look at this website, VVM, but would be good to know how he's getting on through the season, if possible please. 

I was at the game on Saturday and he played really well, was my shout for man of the match. 

His passing and quick feet with the ball were really good, he was excellent for our first goal. My only criticism was it seemed quite easy for Walsall to play around him at times, his positioning and reading of the game when defending could be improved but I'm sure that will come in time when he gets a run of games behind him. 

Having said that he wasn't scared to get stuck in, played most of the second half with a big bandage wrapped round his head. 

Great start from the young man!

[surge]

I wonder if it's come up in the introductory interview how he has bossed the pre-season fitness test at Cardiff City? Thank you for the report.

[vvm]

Little update on Eli, he's been playing brilliantly on loan at Morecambe. These clips from the Accrington game last week paint him in a positive light... x.com/ShrimpsOnline/status/1709674915094212696?s=20

Unfortunately he's gone back to Cardiff with an injury. Unclear of the severity at the moment but understand he's just gone back for treatment and should be returning to Morecambe if all is ok.

[surge]

Looks like he had a really good game today as Morecambe push up their league.

[vvm]

He was outstanding against Doncaster. Too good for this league in all honesty and there is a slight concern he could be recalled in Jan.

He’s playing every week here at Morecambe and I feel like playing at this level is giving him the opportunity to have more time on the ball and develop his ability to read and dictate the game. Biased of course but I think it would be best for him to stay put for the remainder of the season and then wouldn’t be surprised to see him properly kick on at Cardiff next season.

[CrackityJones]

Sounds promising. Thanks for the updates

[iot]

Cardiff have just recalled him from his loan at Morecambe, which seems to have gone very well. The reactions from their fans to this post are all very positive:

Only just turned 21 a couple of weeks ago. I've liked the look of him for a while. He's rumoured to either go back out on loan but to a L1 side, or may feature for Cardiff in the second half of the season. Really good step in his development this.

[vaulksthrowfanclub]

Jan 8, 2024 13:24:57 GMT iot said:

Cardiff have just recalled him from his loan at Morecambe, which seems to have gone very well. The reactions from their fans to this post are all very positive:

Only just turned 21 a couple of weeks ago. I've liked the look of him for a while. He's rumoured to either go back out on loan but to a L1 side, or may feature for Cardiff in the second half of the season. Really good step in his development this.

A League 1 loan please. Hope he isn’t used sparingly at Cardiff for half a season. Would be a waste of 6 months imo

[vvm]

Gutted about losing him but we're a mess at the moment. Still would have made a case for him seeing out the season and looking at this from the Wales perspective I'm nervous we might see a repeat of last season where his loan recall seemed to stunt things.

I don't think he's quite ready to be a championship regular but a league one club where he can continue to play week in week out would be perfect.

[iot]

Jan 8, 2024 15:04:24 GMT vvm said:

Gutted about losing him but we're a mess at the moment. Still would have made a case for him seeing out the season and looking at this from the Wales perspective I'm nervous we might see a repeat of last season where his loan recall seemed to stunt things.

I don't think he's quite ready to be a championship regular but a league one club where he can continue to play week in week out would be perfect.

How much have you have you seen him play this season? What would you say are his main attributes and areas where he needs to improve? I've only seen him a handful of times, but my impression is that he has the core ingredients - he's quite a big lad, positionally disciplined, and good technically - but that he can be inconsistent with some very quiet performances. He'll be good one week and then might be invisible in the next game. Is that fair? 

I've been impressed when I've heard him speak - seems like an intelligent and thoughtful guy

[vvm]

Jan 8, 2024 15:19:08 GMT iot said:

Jan 8, 2024 15:04:24 GMT vvm said:

Gutted about losing him but we're a mess at the moment. Still would have made a case for him seeing out the season and looking at this from the Wales perspective I'm nervous we might see a repeat of last season where his loan recall seemed to stunt things.

I don't think he's quite ready to be a championship regular but a league one club where he can continue to play week in week out would be perfect.

How much have you have you seen him play this season? What would you say are his main attributes and areas where he needs to improve? I've only seen him a handful of times, but my impression is that he has the core ingredients - he's quite a big lad, positionally disciplined, and good technically - but that he can be inconsistent with some very quiet performances. He'll be good one week and then might be invisible in the next game. Is that fair? 

I've been impressed when I've heard him speak - seems like an intelligent and thoughtful guy

Stats tell me he played 24 times for us and I'd say I probably caught about 14 of them.

His main attributes for me were that he was comfortable with the ball at his feet, his passing was generally quite tidy and he was decent for us at controlling the pace of the game. A lot of league 2 games can descend into hoof ball so it's helpful to have a player in the middle who actually looks to do something with it. 

When he initially came in, teams were playing the ball around him quite easily but he seemed to improve in that area over time. Wasn't afraid of a tackle or to put his head anywhere either. 

As for negatives you're probably right in saying he could disappear in some games and in the last few weeks he was making a habit of messing around trying to play out from the back in dangerous positions, a couple of goals have been conceded as a direct result of his mistakes. 

Thinking back on it, he was making clear and quick progress under our previous manager, Derek Adams, but had started to plateau (like the rest of the team) under the new manager, Ged. This probably contributed to the decision to recall him.