A season and a bit of watching BBM’s Cardiff City has taught me that, like with any manager I suppose, there are norms you can expect from them. Thankfully, the good norms have tended to outweigh the bad ones so far, but in giving their worst performance of the season so far in losing 2-1 at Blackburn today, this was a day when it very much a case of the bad ones being to the fore.
This afternoon, City looked physically and temperamentally weak as well as naive. This was typified very late on when, with City chasing the goal which would have given them an undeserved point, the same Blackburn player won three fifty fifty balls in quick succession against opponents whose tackles, to put it diplomatically, lacked power.
Without being dirty at all, Blackburn were much too strong physically for us as it looked like some of our players had let all of the nice things that I’ve seen said and written about us in recent weeks go to their heads.
The truth was though that, even if we had been able to match Blackburn physically, we were worse than our opponents in the things were supposed to be good at. Put this together with the all too common lack of precision and poise in our finishing (one shot on goal all game) and passing in our attacking third and you wonder why there was only one goal in it at the end.
City deserve some credit for a second half improvement because, trailing 2-0 at the interval, it had the potential to become a four or five nil, but, truthfully, apart from the goal we got early in the second half, there was little for the home side to get concerned about apart from when the effervescent Jack Moylan was involved.
It was a mystery why so many of the team, most of whom had three weeks without a game to get in some really valuable work on the training ground, were so far behind Moylan in attacking thought and deed – it was also a mystery why some looked so tired when they hadn’t played for three weeks.
If I were to be critical of Moylan, it would be because he took too much on himself, but, given the disappointingly limp contributions of many of those around him, it’s hard to blame him for this.
For someone who has not been here too long, it felt to me that City definitely missed the suspended Krystian Bielik today. Dylan Lawlor came in for him and I thought he did better than most in his first start of the season. The switching of Cian Ashford for Chris Willock was not a success though, as the Rhondda born player looked out of sorts from the start and he could have few complaints when he was withdrawn for Willock after an hour.
However, my mind goes back to the Sheffield United game where Ashford was many people’s man of the match as he played himself into the Wales squad, but he’s barely played since then. Therefore, I would argue that by keeping Ashford on the bench for so long since then, BBM and Craig Bellamy have turned a player in the form of his life in senior football into the struggling lightweight we saw today between them.
I should have been prepared for Yousef Salech’s absence because BBM had hinted at it beforehand. However, it came as a shock to see the team sheet with him absent and Callum Robinson leading the line despite the impression having been given that he’d been very much a bit part player for us this season.
I’d have taken Robinson off at half time today as he’d contributed nothing, but, to be fair to him, he was doing well when he also made way after an hour – besides his goal, he was doing a better job of bringing others into play and we certainly didn’t improve up front in his absence.
By missing out on the first game back after a three week gap, Salech has ensured it’ll be the best part of a month, at least, before he returns. This means he would have now been looking at something like a five game absence with the prospect of more to come were it not for the international break. So, how would we have coped with our tiny squad if Salech’s shoulder injury had come about just after an international break? This really brings out that, for all the talk about quality over quantity, we needed another striker in during the summer.
I would also have said we needed another number six, but maybe there’s no need for one if we can ever get a Alex Robertson/Bielik double pivot on the pitch.
With Lawlor back and Will Fish on the bench, maybe we can see that combination in action at Middlesbrough next weekend as I think we definitely need that double pivot in away games as it’s now four lost on the trot and I’m afraid we’re looking something of a soft touch on our travels.
For a while, it looked like we’d dominate possession again as we played out from the back continuously, but with the hardly original tactic of pressing man for man on Nathan Trott, our centrebacks and Robertson, Blackburn nullified that. This meant that, a little like Wales in their last four matches, we were always struggling to beat the press and, when we did manage to do that, we were let down further up the field by slipshod passing.
With Robertson having his worst game so far ( to be fair, he was another injury doubt beforehand) and Joel Colwill again proving to be much less effective in away games for some reason, Ashford struggling, Ollie Tanner fading after an okay first half, City were over reliant on Moylan. Indeed, they only really threatened in the first half when the last named found Tanner who, after a delay, did well to manufacture an attempt which initially looked to be going well wide only for it to curl no more than a foot past an upright However, Tanner should have got his shot away earlier when the chance was an easier one.
Blackburn by contrast took control of the game’s second quarter and could have had more than the two goals they did score in that time.
The first goal on twenty eight minutes had an element of luck to it as Joel Bagan’s attempted tackle sent the ball into the path of Andri Gudjohnsen who beat Trott from around fifteen yards, but it has to be said that, not for the first time this season, our defence looked to have a soft centre.
Ten minutes Blackburn scored one of those goals which would have you purring if you’re a fan of theirs, but has you railing against weak and ineffective defending if you support the opposing team. Therefore, while I’ll admit it was slick passing, which we never matched, by the home team, we made it easy for them to get in down our left and deliver a cross which was knocked in by the unmarked Todd Cantwell despite Trott getting a hand to it so that the ball only just trickled over the line.
City showed little sign of improvement after the break until Robinson did well to chest Trott’s long clearance into the path of Moylan who burst past two opponents to feed his fellow Ireland international who finished well past underemployed goalkeeper Toth.
Although David Turnbull’s introduction improved our passing, there were only a couple of blocked efforts by Moylan to suggest we had an equaliser in us, whereas it needed a few good saves by Trott and a clearance off the line by Bagan to deny Blackburn the third goal they deserved. For their part, City delivered the type of display that will keep them in and around the relegation zone all season if repeated too often.
After two wins in their opening games in the Premier League Cup, the under 21s were well beaten at Leckwith last night by Leicester despite going into an early lead thanks to Jake Davies who was quiet otherwise. The visitors were level by half time through a penalty and then a couple of goals in quick succession midway through the second half decided things in their favour.
With Wales’ travails, it’s not been a great few weeks if you support City and the national side and the misery was compounded by the under 18s being thrashed 5-1` at Charlton this afternoon – no news on who scored.
The bad news continued last night with a 1-0 home defeat to Ammanford for Cambrian in the Welsh Premier, but at least there were a couple of 2-2 draws in the Highadmit South Wales Alliance with Ton Pentre finishing level at home to league leaders Cardiff Bay Warriors in the Championship and Treorchy Boys and Girls Club getting a home point in a bottom of the table clash in Division One (East) with Porth Harlequins.
