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Post by dragon64 on Oct 14, 2024 22:47:55 GMT
Just watched the second half back as I had to pop out half time. I think we did much better sort of closing off the game than in the previous 3 matches. Sheehan did surprisingly well and deserved motm. Harry Wilson's really grown into a bit of a team leader hasn't he? Proper stepping into Ramsey's/Bale's shoes. Lovely to see Allen back, didn't look out of place at all, but obviously bigger tests to come. But jesus wept, why are we so poor in the final third? I've never seen so much dithering and goal shy ness from international footballers. It was genuinely like watching Sunday League at times with the constant extra touches, panicking and just the general lack of composure around and inside the box. Something to really work on, as failing to score a goal from open play tonight was incredibly poor considering the opportunities we created! it doesnt seem to be that he is telling them to walk into the net, as we see wilson have shots from all over, its as if some players dont seem confident to have a go or they are looking to take an extra touch when it isn't needed to create an even better chance some of the crossing too Sorba when he just had to play it in across the 6 yard box but he launched it no composure at all  I was hoping to see koumas come on instead of sorba as he will have a go looking forward to Turkey already |
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Post by manulike on Oct 14, 2024 22:52:37 GMT
2 wins 2 draws  memo to FIFA/UEFA can all international games be 45 mins We can always swithch to basketball - its 40 minutes - we'll do great! |
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Post by aberbeeg on Oct 14, 2024 23:28:10 GMT
Definitely think we can beat Turkey. They won’t be looking forward to playing us
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Post by allezlesrouges on Oct 14, 2024 23:48:54 GMT
Thought some of the fringe players who have previously been unimpressive came out with credit tonight. In fact I think I'll give my thoughts on everyone who played tonight that wasn't tried and tested
Darlow (7) - Seems quite a bit calmer than Ward in my opinion, and I think that's a testament to the fact that he's played 250 senior games compared to Ward's 160. Just has that extra composure, and whilst neither are playing for their club I favour Darlow's experience. If he can get a January loan the number 1 shirt is his for the foreseeable in my opinion
Cabango (8) - Thought he was very solid tonight, no hairy moments playing out from the back that I can remember. Seems very controlled in a system that makes it easier for him to play out, it's almost as if it simplifies things for him and patches up his weaknesses. He's a good battler too and I think we got a lot more out of playing him tonight than playing Mepham would have. I have no major concerns about playing him in a qualifying game. He just adds to our depth
Sheehan (9) - Thought he was quite brilliant tonight, did a very decent Joe Allen impression. Yes it was only Montenegro but I think he's shown he has the ability to boss a game against sides of that calibre - which a lot of people thought wouldn't be possible, wanting him to never play for us. Just goes to show what a change of manager can do! I feel we could have done with someone like him against Iceland to help us control the ball better. Did what I expected in that he elevated his game with better players around him. I also think he looked like a better player than Morrell. Morrell always plays tippy tappy passes that keep the ball moving, but on a few occasions Sheehan played more ambitious defence splitting passes with accuracy. Tonight made me feel more confident about the whole DM situation, and I'd like to see Sheehan given more games in the future
Cullen (6) - The quality wasn't quite there but I think he displayed a lot of energy and running, and in the second half he got on the ball a lot better. I don't really know what his game is, I thought he was more of an out and out 9 for Swansea, but seemed to be playing as a 10 for us tonight? He buzzed about well enough for me to notice his defensive contributions. Previous performances have made me think he's nowhere near international level, and I still think he doesn't really have the quality for it, but tonight I think he showed more promise than before
Burns (4) - 9 caps into his Wales career and I stick by my assessment, he's one of those players whose skills don't translate well to international football. Maybe he just needs to fully recover from his injury and get sharpness, but I've seen nothing from his 9 caps that makes me want to see him start many more games. I'd rather see Koumas have another go. He was a bit better tonight than against Iceland but that isn't really saying much at all. He did make one really lovely turn in the 2nd half though and I will credit him for that
Harris (7.5) - I thought he did really well tonight. I will immediately caveat that by saying he was obviously lacking quality on the ball, I think we all knew that. But I think the rest of his game in leading the line was excellent. His pressing was noticeably better than Moore's and that got us higher up the pitch and on the front foot. He did a decent job of holding the ball up and laying it off on a few occasions, and also ran the channels in behind - something Moore hasn't been able to do effectively for a while now. Yes all that stuff isn't exciting, but I think it gave the other forwards a good platform and was a very selfless performance. He'll never be a flashy goalscorer, but I think he better suits Bellamy's system and it seemed like he made a better contribution to the team performance than Moore did in my opinion
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Post by allezlesrouges on Oct 15, 2024 0:00:51 GMT
Top scorers in the squad today:
Moore - 13
Wilson - 11
Brooks - 4
Neco - 4
Roberts - 3
0 international goals between Harris, Burns, Cullen & Sorba and I think that showed a bit tonight. Ramsey (21), DJ (7) and Brennan (4) are the only players who would make it onto that list if available. I think most of our goals moving forwards will come from Wilson, Brennan, DJ, Brooks & Ramsey (when fit)
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Post by insertname on Oct 15, 2024 2:47:16 GMT
Had he played much for Wales and not looked very good before dropping down? That’s my point, it’s less about droppibn down a level and more about not looking great in a Wales shirt, then dropping a level, hitting form and *then-* coming back into the fold and then looking “up to” international level. I don’t think there were any doubts that Wilson would be a good player for Wales That’s a strange take on Mark Harris. He didn’t play for us much at all when he was involved under Page. Think he made 3 or 4 substitute appearances where notably he had an excellent impact out in Belarus where he was key in overturning a 2-1 loss into a 3-2 win. He then dropped out because he wasn’t doing well enough at club level, it has since improved and merited a call up. All that said, I think he struggled to make an impact tonight unfortunately He’s not international level in much the same way as Bradshaw hasn’t had many chances but it’s still apparent that he isn’t the answer. I have little faith in this belief that dropping down, scoring a few goals to boost his confidence then bringing him back in would produce something better than had been seen before. Unfortunately so it proved for the most part. As has been said, made a nuisance of himself in the wrong way by disrupting the play with fouls and (imo) should have had more of a striker’s instinct to be in place for a tap in from a cross. Saying that he did get the ball down and spot the opportunity for a quick free kick to the wing which set up Broadhead’s chance iirc. But overall, on a night where the big negative was the lack of any sort of scoring threat one can’t help but look at Harris and think that he offered no real respite from that. I’ve long advocated giving Mullin a try if only for his ability to pressure the opposition defence. That’s probably unlikely to happen now, if only for the fact that calling up a league one player who isn’t playing regularly doesn’t seem to fit Bellamy’s new high standards regime, but it’s bad times if there aren’t others we can try instead. |
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Post by aberbeeg on Oct 15, 2024 5:39:19 GMT
Thought some of the fringe players who have previously been unimpressive came out with credit tonight. In fact I think I'll give my thoughts on everyone who played tonight that wasn't tried and tested Darlow (7) - Seems quite a bit calmer than Ward in my opinion, and I think that's a testament to the fact that he's played 250 senior games compared to Ward's 160. Just has that extra composure, and whilst neither are playing for their club I favour Darlow's experience. If he can get a January loan the number 1 shirt is his for the foreseeable in my opinion Cabango (8) - Thought he was very solid tonight, no hairy moments playing out from the back that I can remember. Seems very controlled in a system that makes it easier for him to play out, it's almost as if it simplifies things for him and patches up his weaknesses. He's a good battler too and I think we got a lot more out of playing him tonight than playing Mepham would have. I have no major concerns about playing him in a qualifying game. He just adds to our depth Sheehan (9) - Thought he was quite brilliant tonight, did a very decent Joe Allen impression. Yes it was only Montenegro but I think he's shown he has the ability to boss a game against sides of that calibre - which a lot of people thought wouldn't be possible, wanting him to never play for us. Just goes to show what a change of manager can do! I feel we could have done with someone like him against Iceland to help us control the ball better. Did what I expected in that he elevated his game with better players around him. I also think he looked like a better player than Morrell. Morrell always plays tippy tappy passes that keep the ball moving, but on a few occasions Sheehan played more ambitious defence splitting passes with accuracy. Tonight made me feel more confident about the whole DM situation, and I'd like to see Sheehan given more games in the future Cullen (6) - The quality wasn't quite there but I think he displayed a lot of energy and running, and in the second half he got on the ball a lot better. I don't really know what his game is, I thought he was more of an out and out 9 for Swansea, but seemed to be playing as a 10 for us tonight? He buzzed about well enough for me to notice his defensive contributions. Previous performances have made me think he's nowhere near international level, and I still think he doesn't really have the quality for it, but tonight I think he showed more promise than before Burns (4) - 9 caps into his Wales career and I stick by my assessment, he's one of those players whose skills don't translate well to international football. Maybe he just needs to fully recover from his injury and get sharpness, but I've seen nothing from his 9 caps that makes me want to see him start many more games. I'd rather see Koumas have another go. He was a bit better tonight than against Iceland but that isn't really saying much at all. He did make one really lovely turn in the 2nd half though and I will credit him for that Harris (7.5) - I thought he did really well tonight. I will immediately caveat that by saying he was obviously lacking quality on the ball, I think we all knew that. But I think the rest of his game in leading the line was excellent. His pressing was noticeably better than Moore's and that got us higher up the pitch and on the front foot. He did a decent job of holding the ball up and laying it off on a few occasions, and also ran the channels in behind - something Moore hasn't been able to do effectively for a while now. Yes all that stuff isn't exciting, but I think it gave the other forwards a good platform and was a very selfless performance. He'll never be a flashy goalscorer, but I think he better suits Bellamy's system and it seemed like he made a better contribution to the team performance than Moore did in my opinion Think that’s pretty much spot on |
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Post by winsumluzsum on Oct 15, 2024 7:42:51 GMT
Thought some of the fringe players who have previously been unimpressive came out with credit tonight. In fact I think I'll give my thoughts on everyone who played tonight that wasn't tried and tested Darlow (7) - Seems quite a bit calmer than Ward in my opinion, and I think that's a testament to the fact that he's played 250 senior games compared to Ward's 160. Just has that extra composure, and whilst neither are playing for their club I favour Darlow's experience. If he can get a January loan the number 1 shirt is his for the foreseeable in my opinion Cabango (8) - Thought he was very solid tonight, no hairy moments playing out from the back that I can remember. Seems very controlled in a system that makes it easier for him to play out, it's almost as if it simplifies things for him and patches up his weaknesses. He's a good battler too and I think we got a lot more out of playing him tonight than playing Mepham would have. I have no major concerns about playing him in a qualifying game. He just adds to our depth Sheehan (9) - Thought he was quite brilliant tonight, did a very decent Joe Allen impression. Yes it was only Montenegro but I think he's shown he has the ability to boss a game against sides of that calibre - which a lot of people thought wouldn't be possible, wanting him to never play for us. Just goes to show what a change of manager can do! I feel we could have done with someone like him against Iceland to help us control the ball better. Did what I expected in that he elevated his game with better players around him. I also think he looked like a better player than Morrell. Morrell always plays tippy tappy passes that keep the ball moving, but on a few occasions Sheehan played more ambitious defence splitting passes with accuracy. Tonight made me feel more confident about the whole DM situation, and I'd like to see Sheehan given more games in the future Cullen (6) - The quality wasn't quite there but I think he displayed a lot of energy and running, and in the second half he got on the ball a lot better. I don't really know what his game is, I thought he was more of an out and out 9 for Swansea, but seemed to be playing as a 10 for us tonight? He buzzed about well enough for me to notice his defensive contributions. Previous performances have made me think he's nowhere near international level, and I still think he doesn't really have the quality for it, but tonight I think he showed more promise than before Burns (4) - 9 caps into his Wales career and I stick by my assessment, he's one of those players whose skills don't translate well to international football. Maybe he just needs to fully recover from his injury and get sharpness, but I've seen nothing from his 9 caps that makes me want to see him start many more games. I'd rather see Koumas have another go. He was a bit better tonight than against Iceland but that isn't really saying much at all. He did make one really lovely turn in the 2nd half though and I will credit him for that Harris (7.5) - I thought he did really well tonight. I will immediately caveat that by saying he was obviously lacking quality on the ball, I think we all knew that. But I think the rest of his game in leading the line was excellent. His pressing was noticeably better than Moore's and that got us higher up the pitch and on the front foot. He did a decent job of holding the ball up and laying it off on a few occasions, and also ran the channels in behind - something Moore hasn't been able to do effectively for a while now. Yes all that stuff isn't exciting, but I think it gave the other forwards a good platform and was a very selfless performance. He'll never be a flashy goalscorer, but I think he better suits Bellamy's system and it seemed like he made a better contribution to the team performance than Moore did in my opinion Agree with most of your ratings and assessments. However Darlow didn't have a save to make all night and had a bit of an armchair ride. So I don't think a fair comparison is possible. I'd persevere with swapping the keepers between games for now. I'd also be inclined to give Cullen a 6.5. Not everything came off but his attempts to link play and be a creative outlet were admirable. He doesn't do this for Swansea much because Williams wants him to limit himself largely to the box. I'd give Harris a 6. Yes, he put himself about and perhaps I've underestimated how much he contributed. But his quality was lacking I thought. Happy to reconsider when I watch the match back. |
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Post by hal on Oct 15, 2024 9:01:23 GMT
Thought some of the fringe players who have previously been unimpressive came out with credit tonight. In fact I think I'll give my thoughts on everyone who played tonight that wasn't tried and tested Darlow (7) - Seems quite a bit calmer than Ward in my opinion, and I think that's a testament to the fact that he's played 250 senior games compared to Ward's 160. Just has that extra composure, and whilst neither are playing for their club I favour Darlow's experience. If he can get a January loan the number 1 shirt is his for the foreseeable in my opinion Cabango (8) - Thought he was very solid tonight, no hairy moments playing out from the back that I can remember. Seems very controlled in a system that makes it easier for him to play out, it's almost as if it simplifies things for him and patches up his weaknesses. He's a good battler too and I think we got a lot more out of playing him tonight than playing Mepham would have. I have no major concerns about playing him in a qualifying game. He just adds to our depth Sheehan (9) - Thought he was quite brilliant tonight, did a very decent Joe Allen impression. Yes it was only Montenegro but I think he's shown he has the ability to boss a game against sides of that calibre - which a lot of people thought wouldn't be possible, wanting him to never play for us. Just goes to show what a change of manager can do! I feel we could have done with someone like him against Iceland to help us control the ball better. Did what I expected in that he elevated his game with better players around him. I also think he looked like a better player than Morrell. Morrell always plays tippy tappy passes that keep the ball moving, but on a few occasions Sheehan played more ambitious defence splitting passes with accuracy. Tonight made me feel more confident about the whole DM situation, and I'd like to see Sheehan given more games in the future Cullen (6) - The quality wasn't quite there but I think he displayed a lot of energy and running, and in the second half he got on the ball a lot better. I don't really know what his game is, I thought he was more of an out and out 9 for Swansea, but seemed to be playing as a 10 for us tonight? He buzzed about well enough for me to notice his defensive contributions. Previous performances have made me think he's nowhere near international level, and I still think he doesn't really have the quality for it, but tonight I think he showed more promise than before Burns (4) - 9 caps into his Wales career and I stick by my assessment, he's one of those players whose skills don't translate well to international football. Maybe he just needs to fully recover from his injury and get sharpness, but I've seen nothing from his 9 caps that makes me want to see him start many more games. I'd rather see Koumas have another go. He was a bit better tonight than against Iceland but that isn't really saying much at all. He did make one really lovely turn in the 2nd half though and I will credit him for that Harris (7.5) - I thought he did really well tonight. I will immediately caveat that by saying he was obviously lacking quality on the ball, I think we all knew that. But I think the rest of his game in leading the line was excellent. His pressing was noticeably better than Moore's and that got us higher up the pitch and on the front foot. He did a decent job of holding the ball up and laying it off on a few occasions, and also ran the channels in behind - something Moore hasn't been able to do effectively for a while now. Yes all that stuff isn't exciting, but I think it gave the other forwards a good platform and was a very selfless performance. He'll never be a flashy goalscorer, but I think he better suits Bellamy's system and it seemed like he made a better contribution to the team performance than Moore did in my opinion Fully agree with Burns rating, thought he was really poor. I was sitting there thinking I would much rather see Koumas or even Collwill playing. What have we got to lose? |
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Post by fiveattheback on Oct 15, 2024 9:26:53 GMT
Harris seems to be getting criticism for so many fouls, wasn't that Cullen?
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Post by johnoster on Oct 15, 2024 10:22:45 GMT
Couple of things I noted yesterday:
Darlow seemed to be given the option to hit it long when required, which is an option Danny Ward didn't seem to have against Iceland. I'm all for playing out from the back, but at times this was needed to relieve some pressure. I wonder if this was down to the opposition, or Bellamy has decided that going forward we will need to use this option at times.
Again regarding playing out from the back, at times it seemed a bit pedestrian with too many sideways passes. We caused them most problems with quick forward passes between the lines, and looked very dangerous when finding Wilson in particular inside the Montenegro half. This tactic may be by design to draw Montenegro on to us, or it may be that the defenders weren't capable of making those passes more regularly.
Montenegro made us uncomfortable when they implemented an aggressive press. But they only did this for a short period in the second half. It led to a period of incomplete passes, poor touches, and fouls given away, so I was bemused when they went back to a low block. Iceland pressed us aggressively for most of the second half, and took the momentum of the game.
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Post by jimexotic on Oct 15, 2024 10:31:13 GMT
Sheehan, Neco and Brooks stood out for me. This was a real opportunity for Burns and he blew it. By and large Cullen and Harris looked Championship level and unlikely to change much but I wouldn't say they were poor, they just didn't cause enough of a threat for me, maybe one can start at a time because they're not bad players, we just looked impotent up top with Burns, Cullen and Harris. Sorba needs to apply himself more, he tends to coast if he hasn't got the ball and doesn't react fast enough or read things that well, maybe in time that will come but his cross to nobody because he didn't look up was really poor. We won but we could have done a lot of things better, our finishing needs to improve drastically.
In summary, given the changes I'll take the win, it was really nice to see Sheehan do well and I have questioned what he can really bring in the past but he did a fine job last night and I'm really pleased for him. Brooks played some lovely stuff at times and if we can get Ampadu and Dan James back soon, along with Ramsey and possibly giving Beck a go we could really be onto something, I trust the process with Bellamy, he's really giving this a go.
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Post by surge on Oct 15, 2024 10:46:53 GMT
Think with Bellamy's more proactive style, with some players being expected to be be unable to play due to injuries or suspensions, pretty much every Welsh pro is in contention for the squad and then for minutes.
A good performance moves you up the depth chart, a bad performance may move you down, but everyone is coming away with things to work on and improve from the camp.
Especially as it's early days.
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Post by morg on Oct 15, 2024 10:53:05 GMT
Would be great to see Colwill involved soon. I think he'd thrive in the company of Wilson,Neco, Brooks and Johnson etc. Needs to match his more prosaic colleagues' work rate I guess!
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Post by iantov on Oct 15, 2024 11:00:16 GMT
great effort should be 1-1 To be fair, shots against the woodwork aren’t counted as shots on target, officially. So I think it’s wide of the mark when people (in the nicest possible way) argue them as reasons for a different scoreline The shot that Iceland had cleared off the line by Neco was not counted as a shot on target as it was not a save by the 'keeper! Who makes this shit up!?  |
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Post by conwy10 on Oct 15, 2024 11:51:29 GMT
In front of goal was awful. I know it's easier from the sides, but a few times a ball coming down and just needed to help it on its way over the keeper but took it down and lost the chance. Broadhead for one did it, a few others but can't recall who. I think it's just a lack of composure, we always seem to take the wrong option in front of goal.
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Post by hal on Oct 15, 2024 12:57:03 GMT
One thing that stood out for me last night was how less effective Neco was playing in a back 4 at right back. Not that I thought he was poor last night, just wasn’t in the game.
I feel like when he plays on the left and he can cut on his right foot he’s more effective.
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Post by ddirpytnop on Oct 15, 2024 13:32:41 GMT
One thing that stood out for me last night was how less effective Neco was playing in a back 4 at right back. Not that I thought he was poor last night, just wasn’t in the game. I feel like when he plays on the left and he can cut on his right foot he’s more effective. I think right back or right wing back is a much more natural position for Neco to play, good as he is cutting in from the left hand side. With Brooks, Wilson and Neco on the right, we looked very threatening on that side last night. It would have been good to see Owen Beck and Koumas given a run out on the left to see is they could achieve something similar but disappointly, they played no part. I think this window was a wasted opportunity in relation to those two. |
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Post by insertname on Oct 15, 2024 13:54:05 GMT
Couple of things I noted yesterday: Darlow seemed to be given the option to hit it long when required, which is an option Danny Ward didn't seem to have against Iceland. I'm all for playing out from the back, but at times this was needed to relieve some pressure. I wonder if this was down to the opposition, or Bellamy has decided that going forward we will need to use this option at times. Again regarding playing out from the back, at times it seemed a bit pedestrian with too many sideways passes. We caused them most problems with quick forward passes between the lines, and looked very dangerous when finding Wilson in particular inside the Montenegro half. This tactic may be by design to draw Montenegro on to us, or it may be that the defenders weren't capable of making those passes more regularly. Montenegro made us uncomfortable when they implemented an aggressive press. But they only did this for a short period in the second half. It led to a period of incomplete passes, poor touches, and fouls given away, so I was bemused when they went back to a low block. Iceland pressed us aggressively for most of the second half, and took the momentum of the game. Yeah this is a reservation I have. Some of the possession was very slow and want hurting Montenegro. We don’t have the ability of the likes of Man City to be able to play slowly and crab across the pitch as we don’t have that killer pass required. And Montenegro weren’t really making it difficult for us so we saw a “best case” scenario. Another thing I noticed was how bare it was in the midfield after the ball was cleared by Montenegro following an attack. It was like the infamous Iran game at times, committing men forward leaving Montenegro with counter attacking opportunities they strangely declined to take. I would be concerned going forward that such ambition going forward will lead to the sort of tactical fouls Man City commit to enable their game plan of players out of position to form overloads and whilst at club level you can absorb the yellow cards at international level it’s one something we could sustain. Overall it’s been a step up from Page’s approach and web’ e probably benefited from being able to initially establish it in the second tier of the nations league but I’m interested to see how it will fare against top tier nations league sides. They won’t be anywhere near as permissive with us as we’ve seen from the likes of Montenegro so far under Bellamy |
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Post by insertname on Oct 15, 2024 14:02:24 GMT
Sheehan, Neco and Brooks stood out for me. This was a real opportunity for Burns and he blew it. By and large Cullen and Harris looked Championship level and unlikely to change much but I wouldn't say they were poor, they just didn't cause enough of a threat for me, maybe one can start at a time because they're not bad players, we just looked impotent up top with Burns, Cullen and Harris. Sorba needs to apply himself more, he tends to coast if he hasn't got the ball and doesn't react fast enough or read things that well, maybe in time that will come but his cross to nobody because he didn't look up was really poor. We won but we could have done a lot of things better, our finishing needs to improve drastically. In summary, given the changes I'll take the win, it was really nice to see Sheehan do well and I have questioned what he can really bring in the past but he did a fine job last night and I'm really pleased for him. Brooks played some lovely stuff at times and if we can get Ampadu and Dan James back soon, along with Ramsey and possibly giving Beck a go we could really be onto something, I trust the process with Bellamy, he's really giving this a go. From what I saw I think Cullen is getting a bit downplayed. Had some nice touches at times and as far as I understand (as pointed out previously) not playing in his natural position |
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Post by underwood on Oct 15, 2024 14:08:22 GMT
Sheehan, Neco and Brooks stood out for me. This was a real opportunity for Burns and he blew it. By and large Cullen and Harris looked Championship level and unlikely to change much but I wouldn't say they were poor, they just didn't cause enough of a threat for me, maybe one can start at a time because they're not bad players, we just looked impotent up top with Burns, Cullen and Harris. Sorba needs to apply himself more, he tends to coast if he hasn't got the ball and doesn't react fast enough or read things that well, maybe in time that will come but his cross to nobody because he didn't look up was really poor. We won but we could have done a lot of things better, our finishing needs to improve drastically. In summary, given the changes I'll take the win, it was really nice to see Sheehan do well and I have questioned what he can really bring in the past but he did a fine job last night and I'm really pleased for him. Brooks played some lovely stuff at times and if we can get Ampadu and Dan James back soon, along with Ramsey and possibly giving Beck a go we could really be onto something, I trust the process with Bellamy, he's really giving this a go. From what I saw I think Cullen is getting a bit downplayed. Had some nice touches at times and as far as I understand (as pointed out previously) not playing in his natural position It was noticeable after Allen came on that Cullen had more space in which to run into, this enabled him to become more effective in the final third. The introduction of Sorba & Joe freed him up. |
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Post by johnoster on Oct 15, 2024 14:09:56 GMT
If you haven't watched the highlights from Iceland v Turkey then I recommend you do so.
Iceland gave away two penalties for handball (one which was scored but disallowed as the taker hit the ball with both feet).
The third Turkey goal was an absolute howler from the keeper.
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Post by 1gwaunview on Oct 15, 2024 14:52:13 GMT
Thought some of the fringe players who have previously been unimpressive came out with credit tonight. In fact I think I'll give my thoughts on everyone who played tonight that wasn't tried and tested Darlow (7) - Seems quite a bit calmer than Ward in my opinion, and I think that's a testament to the fact that he's played 250 senior games compared to Ward's 160. Just has that extra composure, and whilst neither are playing for their club I favour Darlow's experience. If he can get a January loan the number 1 shirt is his for the foreseeable in my opinion Cabango (8) - Thought he was very solid tonight, no hairy moments playing out from the back that I can remember. Seems very controlled in a system that makes it easier for him to play out, it's almost as if it simplifies things for him and patches up his weaknesses. He's a good battler too and I think we got a lot more out of playing him tonight than playing Mepham would have. I have no major concerns about playing him in a qualifying game. He just adds to our depth Sheehan (9) - Thought he was quite brilliant tonight, did a very decent Joe Allen impression. Yes it was only Montenegro but I think he's shown he has the ability to boss a game against sides of that calibre - which a lot of people thought wouldn't be possible, wanting him to never play for us. Just goes to show what a change of manager can do! I feel we could have done with someone like him against Iceland to help us control the ball better. Did what I expected in that he elevated his game with better players around him. I also think he looked like a better player than Morrell. Morrell always plays tippy tappy passes that keep the ball moving, but on a few occasions Sheehan played more ambitious defence splitting passes with accuracy. Tonight made me feel more confident about the whole DM situation, and I'd like to see Sheehan given more games in the future Cullen (6) - The quality wasn't quite there but I think he displayed a lot of energy and running, and in the second half he got on the ball a lot better. I don't really know what his game is, I thought he was more of an out and out 9 for Swansea, but seemed to be playing as a 10 for us tonight? He buzzed about well enough for me to notice his defensive contributions. Previous performances have made me think he's nowhere near international level, and I still think he doesn't really have the quality for it, but tonight I think he showed more promise than before Burns (4) - 9 caps into his Wales career and I stick by my assessment, he's one of those players whose skills don't translate well to international football. Maybe he just needs to fully recover from his injury and get sharpness, but I've seen nothing from his 9 caps that makes me want to see him start many more games. I'd rather see Koumas have another go. He was a bit better tonight than against Iceland but that isn't really saying much at all. He did make one really lovely turn in the 2nd half though and I will credit him for that Harris (7.5) - I thought he did really well tonight. I will immediately caveat that by saying he was obviously lacking quality on the ball, I think we all knew that. But I think the rest of his game in leading the line was excellent. His pressing was noticeably better than Moore's and that got us higher up the pitch and on the front foot. He did a decent job of holding the ball up and laying it off on a few occasions, and also ran the channels in behind - something Moore hasn't been able to do effectively for a while now. Yes all that stuff isn't exciting, but I think it gave the other forwards a good platform and was a very selfless performance. He'll never be a flashy goalscorer, but I think he better suits Bellamy's system and it seemed like he made a better contribution to the team performance than Moore did in my opinion Agree with all the above except Harris, It's a (6) from me, never looked like scoring, but did run and put himself about. Whether Keiffer suits Bellamy or not, he's been a regular scorer for us, and also does his fair share of running down defenders. |
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Post by rushy on Oct 15, 2024 14:53:04 GMT
We are not an easy watch, it's an old chestnut for me but the standard of passing especially in the final third when creating chances is so poor, it was the same with Page and is something that needs addressing if we are to score more goals.
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Post by winsumluzsum on Oct 15, 2024 15:33:37 GMT
The aim of passing it around between the centre halves, goalie and DM are multifarious:
1. Resting with the ball. Maintaining high levels of intensity for 90 minutes is impossible, so controlling possession for periods of time can be a way to recover, whilst the opponents are tiring themselves out by closing down the ball carrier and potential pass recipients.
2. The opposition sooner or later will get impatient and lose positional discipline creating gaps in the defence that can be exploited. Under Bellamy there is a clear intent to exploit these opportunities ruthlessly. The accusation of keeping possession for possession's sake doesn't apply to Bellamy's Cymru. Rapier thrusts are very much the norm for us now.
3. The alternative, as we saw second half against Iceland, is a loss of control of the game. There were opportunities in that second half, that I've previously highlighted (e.g. around the 60th minute where we had a corner and chose to put it in the mixer rather than taking a short corner and looking to keep possession for a period of time) for us to regain control of possession for a period and draw the sting from Iceland's unrelenting attacks. We squandered those opportunities through a lack of game management. Had someone like Allen been on the pitch it could have been a different story.
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Post by welshwhite on Oct 15, 2024 16:28:11 GMT
Bet there are a few Sheehan bashers eating humble pie tonight ! Really? I haven’t seen much of that on here. I'm not sure if your comment is facetious. There are plenty on this forum, after the Summer friendly double header, who never wanted to see Sheehan anywhere near the national team again, or discounted his worth because of the level he plays at for his club. One of the things people miss about Josh is how intelligent his play is. They see him pick up the ball in front of the back four, wait for the opposition AMs to bear down on him, pirouette and play what seems like a simple ball. In fact, he's taken two opposition players out of the game and created space for his team mates. This is not simply a happy accident. |
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Post by allezlesrouges on Oct 15, 2024 16:49:49 GMT
We are not an easy watch, it's an old chestnut for me but the standard of passing especially in the final third when creating chances is so poor, it was the same with Page and is something that needs addressing if we are to score more goals. It's funny though, the perception that our passing was poor in the final 3rd despite the fact that we created a whole host of chances. I'm not saying I disagree, but our incisiveness is levels beyond what we were doing under Page. I think we created more chances yesterday that we would have in 5 games under Page, and yet the perception is that our passing was poor I think when it all comes together we will be laughing, but need the personnel for that to happen |
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Post by iot on Oct 15, 2024 18:06:20 GMT
Just watched the game back. Fairly happy with the performance and result. If we'd played like that with a full strength team I would have been disappointed, however considering this was a real scratch-side, I think we have to be happy with that!
Bellamy has now played 26 different players in his first 4 games which is absolutely nuts! We've learnt a lot from this window I think.
On the new players, I came from the game yesterday thinking Burns had a shocker, but watching it back he didn't do as poorly as I thought. He was involved in two excellent pieces of play, but equally some really sloppy moments. Overall, he comes out of the camp with less credit.
With Mark Harris, again I came out of the game thinking he hadn't done enough, but watching it back he was really important in our dominant first half performance through his off the ball work. I also hadn't noticed that he was heavily involved in creating about 3 really good chances. So a decent showing overall.
Liam Cullen had some good moments, but doesn't offer enough for me.
I thought Cabango had a solid game but lacked composure at times in possession which I'm sure Bellamy will have noted.
Darlow showed good distribution first half, but then lacked bravery second half where we lost the ball a few times through his aimless punts.
Sheehan was class. The people who slate him for being too negative or playing too many sideways passes simply don't understand modern football and why it's needed to move the opposition about and create space. He played 2 or 3 excellent balls through the lines too.
I thought Wilson, Neco, and Rodon were all class too.
Ben Davies is starting to concern me slightly. I thought he was poor in both games and he's been poor in his cup appearances with Spurs too (although he was very good against Turkey tbf). I hope this isn't a sign of him starting to decline.
I hope Broadhead and Brooks get good moves in January. They could both be big players for us. I think Broadhead is well-suited to the false 9 role that Ramsey played against Turkey.
All in all I think this camp has been another encouraging one. Hopefully we'll get a few players back for the next round, with Turkey away a proper test of where we're at.
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Post by melynwy on Oct 15, 2024 18:15:05 GMT
To be fair, shots against the woodwork aren’t counted as shots on target, officially. So I think it’s wide of the mark when people (in the nicest possible way) argue them as reasons for a different scoreline The shot that Iceland had cleared off the line by Neco was not counted as a shot on target as it was not a save by the 'keeper! Who makes this shit up!? Good point with those kind of blocks, but hitting the woodwork is rightly classed as off-target, as the woodwork isn’t the target! |
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Post by iot on Oct 15, 2024 18:24:31 GMT
Couple of things I noted yesterday: Darlow seemed to be given the option to hit it long when required, which is an option Danny Ward didn't seem to have against Iceland. I'm all for playing out from the back, but at times this was needed to relieve some pressure. I wonder if this was down to the opposition, or Bellamy has decided that going forward we will need to use this option at times. Again regarding playing out from the back, at times it seemed a bit pedestrian with too many sideways passes. We caused them most problems with quick forward passes between the lines, and looked very dangerous when finding Wilson in particular inside the Montenegro half. This tactic may be by design to draw Montenegro on to us, or it may be that the defenders weren't capable of making those passes more regularly. Montenegro made us uncomfortable when they implemented an aggressive press. But they only did this for a short period in the second half. It led to a period of incomplete passes, poor touches, and fouls given away, so I was bemused when they went back to a low block. Iceland pressed us aggressively for most of the second half, and took the momentum of the game. I don't really agree with those points. I've said this before a couple of times, Bellamy always says if he can go from back to front in one pass, that's perfect for him and something he encourages in his players. So in the very first game, Ward played a couple of excellent long balls with Sorba making a run behind after the Turkish backline had pushed right up. Also, sometimes you need to invite pressure and play through it - that's often you can get in behind. If we were to say that we should lump it long every time a team presses us intensely, we would be very easy to play against and would be far less effective. Regarding being too "pedestrian", I don't see it that way. Dangerous balls through the lines is almost never on first time. You have to be patient in order to move the opposition around and work the angle before you can play the killer pass. I thought we struck a good balance most of the game, particularly first half. |
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