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Post by insertname on Mar 29, 2022 22:26:59 GMT
Brennan and Colwill look like the future. RND played decent at left-wing back but Cabango massively struggled. One of him or Gunter should make way for Lockyer in the next camp, if he had watched that game he would feel incredibly hard done by being left out. With Gunter's experience supposedly being invaluable to the dressing room, Cabango is the more likely to make way. Shame we didn't get to see Levitt tonight. I think Lawrence would feel hard done by too |
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Post by iot on Mar 29, 2022 22:27:34 GMT
Quality link-up between Colwill and Johnson. Mental to think some on here don't think the latter is "ready". Has Cabango gone backwards or is he just having an off-game? What are you talking about? There was no debate about Johnson not being "ready" - why the quotation marks btw? Who are you quoting? The debate was about whether we start Johnson or Bale, and thank god we started Bale! |
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Post by iot on Mar 29, 2022 22:42:13 GMT
A very pleasing performance overall, although I still would have liked a bit more mix and matching to see how fringe players interact with some of the regulars -particularly in defence.
There have been some people on here who have been incredulous that Cabango hasn't been starting more often, particularly that he's been behind Mepham. I think tonight we saw that Mepham is miles ahead of Cabango, I thought Meps was really good.
Brennan was absolutely brilliant, and will be a starter very soon. I still wouldn't bring him now, because we have a winning formula at the moment and it would mean taking out one of Bale or James. I'm sure most people want him in instead of James, but if we play without James in a big game, I think people will notice it. Having James' work rate and his ability to constantly put the opposition on the back foot is essential imo.
Colwill was very good too, whilst I though Matondo put in an encouraging performance, despite not reaching the heights of the other two.
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Post by quetzal on Mar 29, 2022 23:17:39 GMT
For the play off final Dan James got enough credit in the bank for me. Brennan sounded(radio) great but ultimately didn’t score. Brennan off the bench or due too injuries could start. Great to have though.
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Post by robin1864 on Mar 29, 2022 23:26:11 GMT
For the play off final Dan James got enough credit in the bank for me. Brennan sounded(radio) great but ultimately didn’t score. Brennan off the bench or due too injuries could start. Great to have though. Brennan threatened for most of the game and set up Colwill. Definitely putting himself in contention. |
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Post by cadno on Mar 29, 2022 23:26:17 GMT
For the play off final Dan James got enough credit in the bank for me. Brennan sounded(radio) great but ultimately didn’t score. Brennan off the bench or due too injuries could start. Great to have though. Agree, DJ ahead of him at the moment |
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Post by jbt95 on Mar 30, 2022 0:26:13 GMT
Next friendly should be in Wrexham for sure. Although there might be none over the next few years if we are in a 6-team group for Euro 2024 qualification? Once the Kop is redeveloped I, as somebody who lives close to Cardiff, would have no problem playing the sixth seed in Wrexham instead of a friendly, but seems that will be too soon for the euro campaign next year. |
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Post by allezlesrouges on Mar 30, 2022 0:45:05 GMT
I watched the game but had to run a couple of errands during it, so it would be unfair to give each player a rating as I didn't quite get the full picture. I have a few comments for each player though and I'm going to split the players into 2 lists. The first list is players who had nothing to prove tonight, the second is players who had something to prove;
List 1
Wayne - Really happy for him tonight, and played well on the big 100th. Unlucky that he didn't get the clean sheet but a bit of quality from Soucek ended that
Gunter - I really like him as a RCB. Imagine a scenario where we are 1-0 up in the playoff final and get an injury at RCB, and we have a choice of Gunter, Lockyer, Cabango & J.Lawrence - for me Gunter is top of that list. I'd trust him in a big game, and feel he is well-suited to RCB - far more than RWB at his age now
Mepham - Showed his class, and showed why he's only an injury at CM/in the back 3 away from our starting lineup
Morrell - From what I saw nothing much to talk about here. Proved his worth in big games, particularly Belgium. A good option for when we need to be more defensive, although I think Page will be keen to continue with a more attacking make-up in midfield for the foreseeable (and for the playoff final)
List 2
Cabango - People remember things like the slips, even though they are nothing to do with his performance really. Unfortunately though he can come across as a bit shaky as well, which means things like the slips feed into the overall perception about him. If I'm being fair, tonight hasn't pushed forward his cause to start for us at all. And I echo what another poster has said about him needing to really hit form again with the Swans to be back in that conversation. I'm more than happy for him to continue playing friendlies for us moving forwards
RND - Thought he did well from what I saw, good energy and although he's not going to light the world up he's very worthy of a squad place. He's a Championship regular now as well, which is great. I also think he's the long term answer to B.Davies' understudy. Left footed and seems more trustworthy in that role than James Lawrence. Ultimately I hope RND displaces the needs for us to pick J.Lawrence
Vaulks - Tonight he actually showed that energy and desire to take shots and get involved that we haven't seen from him since T&T. Despite nearly scoring a few times I just felt his overall game is lacking. Have been quite confused as to why he was brought back in from the cold, and tonight has just confirmed that for me - I'd rather be giving game time to an U21 in a game like tonight. I'd rather Terry Taylor come in, or whoever impresses in the EFL camp. I can forgive it for the next camp as I appreciate it will be a high pressure one so consistency is important. After that though, time for new blood
Sorba - Still quite raw I think. You can see the player in there, and possibly he just looks more raw at wing back because he's often used as a winger for Huddersfield now. Saw glimpses of his quality delivery which I still think is up there compared to the rest of our squad. Showed good energy at times, but decision making wasn't there at times too. Again won't be pushing to start ahead of Connor or Neco, but a good impact player when chasing a game for now I think. Again I want to see him given more friendlies like this
Colwill - Excellent tonight and took his goal brilliantly. Came out of it with real credit. You can see the player there, I just hope he gets more time for Cardiff next season. Still some maturing to be done, but I think he'll just get better the more we see of him
Brennan - MOTM and was a cut above all night long. If Bale, James, Ramsey or Wilson get injured I'd be calling for him to start. He's just so dangerous, what a talent!
Matondo - Has definitely improved since he was last involved, but still the same issues as before in that he can be a bit raw, bit erratic and needs to continue improving his quality in the final third. It's obviously better with his goal output this season, but it's also decision making, passing & crossing that needs to get better. His pace is such a threat however, and you can see there is a player in there. Overall after tonight I feel positive about him being back in the squad and want him to stay and keep playing for his club
In summary;
I think the stock of the following players has risen; Colwill, Brennan, Matondo
It has fallen for; Vaulks & Cabango
And nothing has really changed for; RND & Sorba
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Post by quetzal on Mar 30, 2022 1:39:09 GMT
The Welsh football crowd are a funny bunch. Where was everyone yesterday? A bit embarrassing that.
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Post by jbt95 on Mar 30, 2022 7:07:39 GMT
The Welsh football crowd are a funny bunch. Where was everyone yesterday? A bit embarrassing that. - Crowd size we used to get prior to 2014 for a competitive game & 5k better than Belarus 2019 - £27 a ticket - Cost of living crisis - Had to pay last month for 2 expensive games - Davies, Ramsey, Allen, Bale being announced would be rested - South Wales Derby Saturday, Newport home Saturday, Wrexham got about 600 home games in a row |
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Post by welwyn on Mar 30, 2022 7:26:58 GMT
I think Sorba is always going to get an unfair hit because people see him as a WB.
He was an out and out forward for Boreham Wood, I think Huddersfield saw him as a Brennan-style winger but at the start of the season they had Pipa out so I think Carlos decided to try him at RWB because he wanted to get his set-piece delivery into the team.
I am worried that set-piece delivery is pretty much all that he is. Yesterday, the set-piece delivery was in a completely different stratosphere to his open-play one. Admittedly that view is probably not helped by my only non-Welsh viewing of him live was in quite possibly the worst 0-0 draw I have seen in a LONG time when they came to the Kenny.
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Post by quetzal on Mar 30, 2022 7:27:16 GMT
The Welsh football crowd are a funny bunch. Where was everyone yesterday? A bit embarrassing that. - Crowd size we used to get prior to 2014 for a competitive game & 5k better than Belarus 2019 - £27 a ticket - Cost of living crisis - Had to pay last month for 2 expensive games - Davies, Ramsey, Allen, Bale being announced would be rested - South Wales Derby Saturday, Newport home Saturday, Wrexham got about 600 home games in a row Cost Of Living Crisis. Fair enough. I haven´t lived in UK since 2004. I´m out of touch. |
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Post by underwood on Mar 30, 2022 7:54:54 GMT
The crowd was on a par with every other ‘after the Lord Mayor’s Show’ friendly we’ve played in recent years. It’s only stand alone friendly games that get decent crowds, those that are in amongst other competitive home matches just don’t register.
To illustrate:
Netherlands end 2015; 26,000
N Ireland pre-Euro 2016; 21,000
Spain 2018; 50,000
Belarus 2019 (3 days after Azerbaijan Euro qualifier); 7000
Czech 2022 (5 days after Austria Play Off); 12,000
The quality of opposition also matters, if we had played Italy or Portugal last night we would have had over 20,000.
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Post by erasedcitizen on Mar 30, 2022 8:26:04 GMT
The Welsh football crowd are a funny bunch. Where was everyone yesterday? A bit embarrassing that. Speaking for all of those in North Wales... piss off. |
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Post by bringbackelmo on Mar 30, 2022 8:55:04 GMT
Johnson was great last night and Colwill had a good game as well. Really exciting times ahead for Cymru. A few years ago I'd have been really worried about Bale and Ramsey retiring. They're irreplaceable, but it could be worse!
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Post by quetzal on Mar 30, 2022 8:58:58 GMT
The Welsh football crowd are a funny bunch. Where was everyone yesterday? A bit embarrassing that. Speaking for all of those in North Wales... piss off. Hope they can get some games up to you guys. Fair play to the North Wales crowd. It’s a slog to get down then up then back down. Well done Wayne on the 100!!! Will South Wales ever chip in with a goalkeeper? |
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Post by ddirpytnop on Mar 30, 2022 9:12:10 GMT
My take on the performance of the players who started the game against Czechia.
Forwards:
Brennan - he's got it
Colwill - he's getting there
Matondo - he might get there (definite improvement)
Midfield:
Morrell - his game is based around being neat and tidy. But for me, he wasn't/isn't neat and tidy enough.
Vaulks - carries a goal threat (which Morrell doesn't) but doesn't have the close control necessary to be an international midfielder.
This would have been the ideal game to see whether Levitt is a potential long term successor to Joe Allen. Great shame that he wasn't available.
Defenders:
Gunter - contributed to the goal. But otherwise......
Cabango - not a big fan of Lawrence or Lockyer but I think they are ahead of him
Mepham - has a mistake in him, but he's streets ahead of the others who started.
Thomas - definitely not a wingback. His stats in the Championship flatter him rather.
RND - works hard but a squad player atm.
Big Wayne - has rarely let us down. 100 caps is a fantastic achievement.
All in all a useful exercise as friendlies go, if only to confirm that our first team really is our best team (although I'd like to see Brennan given more game time in June).
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Post by dai on Mar 30, 2022 9:32:29 GMT
Watched the game back again late last night.
Johnson clearly the stand out player, gutted he didn't get a goal as he deserved something for all his hard work.
Colwill started off poorly, but grew into the game and looked very good in the second half. Finish for the goal was excellent, incredibly composed to just pass the ball into the net where other players would have snatched at it.
1-1 to the Czechs with a B-team should be nothing to complain about (at all really), however I couldn't help but feel that we could have done with some older heads in there:
Lawrence > Matondo
Taylor > Sorba or RND
Chester > Cabango (where was Lockyer this time?)
I really get the whole idea of giving youngsters or fringe team players experience, but just think it's odd to completely ignore seasoned and experienced championship regulars.
The two areas of worry going forward for me are WB's and CM's. There's a huge gulf in class between Roberts/Neco and Sorba/RND, and we don't have much in the locker in midfield - Vaulks and Morrell and not long term solutions imo. Shame Levitt was ill, but we really need to see some players kick on in those positions.
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Post by iot on Mar 30, 2022 10:07:16 GMT
Watched the game back again late last night. Johnson clearly the stand out player, gutted he didn't get a goal as he deserved something for all his hard work. Colwill started off poorly, but grew into the game and looked very good in the second half. Finish for the goal was excellent, incredibly composed to just pass the ball into the net where other players would have snatched at it. 1-1 to the Czechs with a B-team should be nothing to complain about (at all really), however I couldn't help but feel that we could have done with some older heads in there: Lawrence > Matondo Taylor > Sorba or RND Chester > Cabango (where was Lockyer this time?) I really get the whole idea of giving youngsters or fringe team players experience, but just think it's odd to completely ignore seasoned and experienced championship regulars. The two areas of worry going forward for me are WB's and CM's. There's a huge gulf in class between Roberts/Neco and Sorba/RND, and we don't have much in the locker in midfield - Vaulks and Morrell and not long term solutions imo. Shame Levitt was ill, but we really need to see some players kick on in those positions. We know what we would get from Lawrence, Taylor and Chester, I think we learnt a lot from playing the likes of Matondo, Sorba and Cabango yesterday. There have been plenty on here furious with Page not giving Cabango more gametime, particularly ahead of Mepham, and there was all the usual 'closed shop' complaints when Sorba didn't get into the first squad. As ever, it comes from people who haven't really watched them play but just assume the latest flavour of the month player will be an upgrade. So yesterday will have given many a good reality check. Cabango and Sorba have plenty of time to improve, and they may be important internationals in the future, but on yesterday's evidence it looks like they're not good enough yet or possibly not up to speed with international football, so will need more time to bed in. I wouldn't worry about the wing back position - I'm really excited about Owen Beck personally, whilst the likes of Finn Stevens look good too. Also, we're never likely to have more than 2-3 outstanding wing backs but we can always change to a back 4 if injuries make that necessary. |
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Post by conwy10 on Mar 30, 2022 11:27:41 GMT
Until Cabango sorts himself out for Swansea I don't want him starting for Wales, I said the other day that he was an accident waiting to happen and for one reason or another he was tonight. I don't get why he was slipping so much. Can't have been just his footwear. Maybe he was always nervous and off balance. I really wanted him to do well to as we need that cover and an option who could last 10 years. |
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Post by insertname on Mar 30, 2022 11:31:36 GMT
I think Sorba is always going to get an unfair hit because people see him as a WB. He was an out and out forward for Boreham Wood, I think Huddersfield saw him as a Brennan-style winger but at the start of the season they had Pipa out so I think Carlos decided to try him at RWB because he wanted to get his set-piece delivery into the team. I am worried that set-piece delivery is pretty much all that he is. Yesterday, the set-piece delivery was in a completely different stratosphere to his open-play one. Admittedly that view is probably not helped by my only non-Welsh viewing of him live was in quite possibly the worst 0-0 draw I have seen in a LONG time when they came to the Kenny. LiveScore always have him down as the right side of a front three for Huddersfield, which seems about right from what I have heard of him…. ….but then saying that they had him down as left back in a 4-4-2 last night 🤪 |
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Post by conwy10 on Mar 30, 2022 11:38:57 GMT
I thought Sorba did OK. Nothing spectacular but he likes to get involved. Good thing with him being so highly rated at Huddersfield is he will develop there. Obviously a few in our squad can't get matches so it's on us 100% to get them their in game action.
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Post by insertname on Mar 30, 2022 11:39:13 GMT
Watched the game back again late last night. Johnson clearly the stand out player, gutted he didn't get a goal as he deserved something for all his hard work. Colwill started off poorly, but grew into the game and looked very good in the second half. Finish for the goal was excellent, incredibly composed to just pass the ball into the net where other players would have snatched at it. 1-1 to the Czechs with a B-team should be nothing to complain about (at all really), however I couldn't help but feel that we could have done with some older heads in there: Lawrence > Matondo Taylor > Sorba or RND Chester > Cabango (where was Lockyer this time?) I really get the whole idea of giving youngsters or fringe team players experience, but just think it's odd to completely ignore seasoned and experienced championship regulars. The two areas of worry going forward for me are WB's and CM's. There's a huge gulf in class between Roberts/Neco and Sorba/RND, and we don't have much in the locker in midfield - Vaulks and Morrell and not long term solutions imo. Shame Levitt was ill, but we really need to see some players kick on in those positions. We know what we would get from Lawrence, Taylor and Chester, I think we learnt a lot from playing the likes of Matondo, Sorba and Cabango yesterday. There have been plenty on here furious with Page not giving Cabango more gametime, particularly ahead of Mepham, and there was all the usual 'closed shop' complaints when Sorba didn't get into the first squad. As ever, it comes from people who haven't really watched them play but just assume the latest flavour of the month player will be an upgrade. So yesterday will have given many a good reality check. Cabango and Sorba have plenty of time to improve, and they may be important internationals in the future, but on yesterday's evidence it looks like they're not good enough yet or possibly not up to speed with international football, so will need more time to bed in. I wouldn't worry about the wing back position - I'm really excited about Owen Beck personally, whilst the likes of Finn Stevens look good too. Also, we're never likely to have more than 2-3 outstanding wing backs but we can always change to a back 4 if injuries make that necessary. Given how lacklustre we were up front (more down to Matondo than Johnson) I thought it was a real miss that Lawrence wasn’t given much of the second half considering the form he had been in (although “had” is quite the operative word). I think that’s a failure with the squad system for double headers like this. Lawrence wouldn’t have been in contention for the Austria game but with a friendly straight after there should be a mechanism to inter-change players a bit more freely from a squad so there can be more of an emphasis of having two different groups of players for two totally different contexts. |
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Post by rico on Mar 30, 2022 11:49:34 GMT
Loved watching Brennan, like everyone's saying, one of our brighter prospects. Mepham I'm always nervous about, but clearly best defender on pitch before Rodon came on, great recovery to shut off options (after the first Cabango slip?), thought they were nailed on to score there. I'm fully behind Rabbi, he's still very very young and could be a useful player in the future if he can improve his decision making. His club form shows there's some goals in him too, hopefully he can continue to improve.
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Post by jimexotic on Mar 30, 2022 14:23:39 GMT
The fact that Rabbi has had the balls to go abroad at such a young age and have a real go says a lot about his character, I've got a lot of time for young players who go abroad to make it happen rather than rot on multiple loans in League One and League Two until they're 24/25 and the life and talent they had has been slowly sucked out of them.
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Post by morg on Mar 30, 2022 14:50:13 GMT
Feasible that Bale, Ramsey and Allen could call it a day after world cup. Hope not but feasible. Next team? And one which would have a chance of staying together beyond the 26 world cup. Ward Roberts Mepham Rodon Davies Williams Ampadu Wilson Colwill Brooks/James Johnson Sorry. Slow day in the office  |
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Post by allezlesrouges on Mar 30, 2022 20:55:36 GMT
Feasible that Bale, Ramsey and Allen could call it a day after world cup. Hope not but feasible. Next team? And one which would have a chance of staying together beyond the 26 world cup. Ward Roberts Mepham Rodon Davies Williams Ampadu Wilson Colwill Brooks/James Johnson Sorry. Slow day in the office  I think that team is spot on... Plenty of other players who could do a job filling in in that system too |
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