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Post by allezlesrouges on Dec 10, 2022 12:24:15 GMT
I would love to see a club in the Welsh pyramid emulate the Basque model of Welsh players only
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Post by jimexotic on Dec 10, 2022 12:28:22 GMT
It would be amazing and I'd become a fan overnight. The real shame is that we have 5 clubs in Cardiff City, Swansea City, Newport County, Wrexham and Merthyr who could drop into the Welsh pyramid and do that but it will never happen now, not in our lifetime. Still, if they can spend the next 10-20 years really trying to grow the Welsh leagues who knows what could happen with the current sides?
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Post by aberbeeg on Dec 10, 2022 15:17:52 GMT
Never ever going to happen. It would be like asking Man United/ Man City to join the the Third Division with no way of ever getting out of it. The two big clubs in Wales take more fans away than any Welsh league club gets at home.
I would go as far to say the league has gone backwards from a spectator point of view ( especially since the bigger clubs have been relegated) you now have “clubs” like Cardiff Met with no history and no fan base in the top league. They offer zero incentive for fans to brave the rain and cold to come and watch.
it all feels very stagnant and more like a glorified Sunday league. Even S4C must be tearing their hair out at times because I can’t imagine viewing figures being brilliant.
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Post by aberbeeg on Dec 10, 2022 15:21:39 GMT
You’ve misunderstood that. They’ll have 98 in their top 3/4/5 tiers and then the tier will be a closed shop but there will be more clubs after that playing in a different structure. However, I would agree and I have said on this forums wales needs 20 pro teams. 2 divisions of 10. It would be very interesting to compare attendances.in my opinion That’s where there’s much more meat on the bones. you can have 200 professional teams but if they are only getting 150/200 fans it means the FAW are basically running the teams ( very much like our regional rugby teams ) Another thing about the Croatian league is that all teams must play minimum 3 under 21 players and max 2 foreigners |
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Post by cadno on Dec 10, 2022 16:46:17 GMT
The set up needs shaking up. New coaches, fresh ideas, new players young and experienced. That's not fair to say. If Page makes a mess of this qualification then yes, but you can't make that claim on the back of a Nations League promotion, Euros knockouts, World Cup qualification. These are historic achievements for us. Coaches can change their mind and come up with new solutions, for it's the playing pool that needs the biggest shake up, and even then I don't think it needs to be a monumental shake up, just introducing a new 4-5 players Found the Euro 2020 campaign underwhelming apart from the Turkey game. Switzerland battered us, Denmark completely pulled us apart. To be fair, with the CCS in full voice we’ve made it a difficult place for teams to visit. We managed a draw against a Belgium team that never left 2nd gear and they had nothing to play for by then, and our lads were knackered in the end. Against Ukraine they battered us but Hennessy had a stormer and we scored from a lucky deflection. Performance wise surely we need to improve, and then this WC we were a complete shambles. Let’s wait and see, hopefully we become a difficult side to face again - I’m not expecting much though with Page in charge. |
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Post by aberbeeg on Dec 11, 2022 8:16:42 GMT
Maybe the CCS factor has been even bigger than we first thought. I agree with every part of your post
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Post by jimexotic on Dec 11, 2022 13:12:49 GMT
You’ve misunderstood that. They’ll have 98 in their top 3/4/5 tiers and then the tier will be a closed shop but there will be more clubs after that playing in a different structure. However, I would agree and I have said on this forums wales needs 20 pro teams. 2 divisions of 10. It would be very interesting to compare attendances.in my opinion That’s where there’s much more meat on the bones. you can have 200 professional teams but if they are only getting 150/200 fans it means the FAW are basically running the teams ( very much like our regional rugby teams ) Another thing about the Croatian league is that all teams must play minimum 3 under 21 players and max 2 foreigners Whilst the idea of that is good surely it's illegal? I loved the three foreigners rule in European club competition, it made football as a whole far more competitive. I have to remind kids at work of the fallen greats like Malmo and Steau |
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Post by Griff105 on Dec 11, 2022 15:43:56 GMT
If Croatia win the world cup their first defence of the belt will be against us!!!
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Post by marsvolta on Dec 11, 2022 16:19:04 GMT
Hopefully we can catch them cold, ‘after the Lord Mayors show’ and all that.
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Post by allezlesrouges on Dec 13, 2022 15:47:38 GMT
Based on my squad I've picked in another thread here's a few ideas for how we could set up to get a point out of Croatia away...
5-3-2;
Ward
Neco-Mepham-Rodon-Davies-RND
Morrell-Ampadu-Lowery
Brennan-Moore
4-4-2;
Ward
Neco-Mepham-Rodon-Davies
DJ-Ampadu-Morrell-Brooks
Brennan-Moore
4-2-3-1;
Ward
Neco-Mepham-Rodon-Davies
Ampadu-Morrell
Brooks-Ramsey-Brennan
Moore
5-4-1 defend;
Connor-Mepham-Rodon-Davies-RND
DJ-Ampadu-Taylor-Neco
Moore
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Post by fiveattheback on Dec 13, 2022 16:00:47 GMT
Didn't we give Will Vaulks his competitive debut out in Croatia? Didn't go particularly well and I'd be wary of giving anyone their debut against a top ranked side. I see you're ignoring Smith etc, but shouldn't Jordan James be ahead of Lowery & Taylor if we're going for new caps?
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Post by iot on Dec 13, 2022 16:18:54 GMT
Like the idea of bringing RND in over Connor and moving Neco out to the right - RND has been in much better form this season. With that in mind, I would go with:
Ward
Neco-Mepham-Rodon-Davies-RND
Ampadu-Allen
Ramsey
Moore-James
The Moore-James partnership has worked really well. We've used it in most of our best recent performances - the 2-2 out in Prague, the 1-1 against the Belgians, even the 2-1 loss in Poland (they came off at half time when we were on top).
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Post by insertname on Dec 13, 2022 18:04:19 GMT
That would be my preference, they have linked up really well on occasion. Just not sure that James is going to be consistent enough going forward. Not that we have anyone to come in ahead of him so he’ll be involved in some form for the foreseeable but he’s not had a good end to the year for Wales and seems to not have nailed down a first team spot in the prem despite moving about trying to find his level.
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Post by bale-droed on Dec 18, 2022 21:56:07 GMT
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Post by allezlesrouges on Dec 18, 2022 22:04:05 GMT
Given that he'll be halfway through another qualification campaign, I'd be surprised if he calls it quits after the Nations League finals. I reckon he'll hang around for one more season and play in Euro 2024
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Post by jimexotic on Dec 19, 2022 0:27:21 GMT
Wales aside, I hope he carries on playing because I find him an absolute joy to watch. He's an education to younger players of how you can play the game and one of the most naturally gifted central midfielders of all time, he makes the difficult look very simple.
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Post by erasedcitizen on Dec 19, 2022 9:08:08 GMT
You feel like Modric, Messi and Ronaldo will just go on forever.
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Post by erasedcitizen on Dec 19, 2022 13:15:18 GMT
If fit, I'd go with something like:
Ward
Neco
Mepham
Rodon
Davies
RND
Ampadu
Morrell
Wilson
James
Moore
I think Morrell is better equipped to put pressure on the Croatian midfield and Ampadu can provide that extra solidity with a touch of class. I think Wilson is capable of keeping up a high press as well.
Brennan misses out for me, but that doesn't mean I don't rate him. I just think James will be better utilised there as we'll be playing a more defensive game, and Moore's height will also play into that.
Before his injury, RND was getting rave reviews from the Sheffield United fanbase. If he comes back and his form returns he starts for me.
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Post by jbt95 on Dec 20, 2022 10:53:22 GMT
Joe Allen, if fit, starts v Croatia.
We missed him so much before he came on v Iran. Yes he gave away the ball for the opening goal but we had nobody doing what he did. Very good v England.
Hopefully Morrell can kick his career on as he’s good enough to take over from Allen, just needs to playing regularly. However, against Modric, only one outcome.
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Post by iot on Dec 20, 2022 12:06:12 GMT
If fit, I'd go with something like: Ward Neco Mepham Rodon Davies RND Ampadu Morrell Wilson James Moore Bring allen and ramsey in for wilson and morrell and that's the team i'd go for. I can't see the justification for starting wilson. People can go on about how we were carrying ramsey and bale, but the same was true of wilson. He is the very definition o a luxury player unfortunately. Ramsey, meanwhile, was playing well and regularly in the French top flight going into the world cup. If he continues to do so before March, I think we have to back him. If we had better alternatives it would be different, but we don't. Allen is back in the Swansea squad, so if gets to a point where he's starting regularly, he's just a much better player than Morrell. |
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Post by bale-droed on Dec 20, 2022 12:11:57 GMT
If 442 is good enough to win the World Cup in 2022... then I’d like this
Ward
Davies
Rodon
Ampadu
Neco
Johnson
Allen
Morrell
Tom Lawrence (plays in a 442 for Rangers)
Bale (Faith Gareth will be back to full fitness by then)
Moore
Ramsey can be an impact sub. If Allen isn’t fit then move Ampadu there put Ben Davies back as CB and being in RND
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Post by talyfan on Dec 20, 2022 12:39:05 GMT
It will be interesting to see how we line up. In my head I've put numerous squads together but in all honesty it's difficult to predict. In the BBC interview he mentioned:-
"We need to get the next group of players coming through now. We've seen the athleticism from some of the teams at the World Cup and we need that to keep us at the top table.
"We need energy and pace in the team. We are already in the process of doing what we need to make us competitive.
"We know we need some fresh blood and new blood in the dressing room and changes will be made."
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Post by bale-droed on Dec 20, 2022 12:49:31 GMT
It will be interesting to see how we line up. In my head I've put numerous squads together but in all honesty it's difficult to predict. In the BBC interview he mentioned:- "We need to get the next group of players coming through now. We've seen the athleticism from some of the teams at the World Cup and we need that to keep us at the top table. "We need energy and pace in the team. We are already in the process of doing what we need to make us competitive. "We know we need some fresh blood and new blood in the dressing room and changes will be made." . Well first of all let’s hope Ben Woodburn keeps doing what he’s doing because then we could start talking about possibly trying a 4231 formation with him on the left and maybe trying like harris in a CAM role which in a friendly would absolutely be something I’d like to see. He certainly has to talking about giving Jordan James a try and rightly so. No Brainer calling up olli cooper in March. We’re at a new 4 year cycle now and I don’t know if it’s just me but I’m getting James Chester vibes and by that I mean is it possible someone who’s eligible for us that we don’t know about publicly could be a surprise inclusion ? Or even someone we do know is eligible such as Phillips at Blackburn? |
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Post by talyfan on Dec 20, 2022 15:25:20 GMT
Do you think we'll see Colwill playing centre midfield again? Like we did when he came on against England.
Thought it was strange seeing him come on in place of Allen when we had Smith and Levitt on the bench. Maybe something Page sees long term playing there for us?
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Post by scarfer on Dec 20, 2022 15:40:13 GMT
I'd choose:
Ward
Mepham
Rodon
Davies
Sorba
Ampadu
Morrell
Neco
James
Kieffer
Brennan
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Post by iot on Dec 20, 2022 16:12:22 GMT
Surely that was more just the fact we were 3-0 down, so we went from two holding midfielders behind rambo, to just Ampadu with Colwill pushing up alongside Rambo. Think it's far more about that than any long-term plan around dropping Colwill deeper.
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Post by talyfan on Dec 20, 2022 16:26:56 GMT
You're probably right just thought it was odd as he played quite deep when he came on. Probably more to do with the fact England were pinning us back.
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Post by allezlesrouges on Dec 20, 2022 17:06:13 GMT
If fit, I'd go with something like: Ward Neco Mepham Rodon Davies RND Ampadu Morrell Wilson James Moore I think Morrell is better equipped to put pressure on the Croatian midfield and Ampadu can provide that extra solidity with a touch of class. I think Wilson is capable of keeping up a high press as well. Brennan misses out for me, but that doesn't mean I don't rate him. I just think James will be better utilised there as we'll be playing a more defensive game, and Moore's height will also play into that. Before his injury, RND was getting rave reviews from the Sheffield United fanbase. If he comes back and his form returns he starts for me. If we're carrying a luxury player in the attacking mid role, I'd rather it be Brennan than Wilson. Brennan has the pace and dribbling ability to counter, which this lineup would need to be doing a lot. James can help cover defensively if Brennan goes wandering. I like that as a team |
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Post by barneycat1 on Dec 23, 2022 20:48:39 GMT
Heathrow - Frankfurt - Split.
Any others on this?
24th - 26th March
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Post by conwy10 on Dec 24, 2022 7:40:18 GMT
Ward
Neco Mepham Rodon Davies
Ampadu Allen Morrell
Johnson Moore James
Very defensive but hope we can catch them on the break or have Moore force his way through. Midfield 3 of workhorses to hopefully disrupt Croatia marshalled by Allen. Have Bale, Ramsey, Wilson, Roberts as options to change the game.
I do think we will be extremely light up top, but if its 0-0 after 80 mins it's a result we'd take but Croatia might not. Either we flap under the pressure or we catch them on the break.
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