I usually try to make these post match pieces a minimum of one thousand words long, but I think I may struggle to manage that tonight because I honestly do not have much to say that doesn’t fall into the bleeding obvious category about Cardiff City’s 1-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest.
In many ways, it was a case of for Forest, read Stoke because the clear deficiencies laid bare by the absence of Lee Tomlin on Saturday were there again for all to see. The frustrating thing is that you don’t need to be a genius to know what would happen as soon as Tomlin wasn’t available because the rest of the squad are just confirming what has been clear all season – there is a lack of creativity, incisiveness and decisiveness in the final third which is hardly helped by not having a striker that is convincing in front of goal. Therefore, I repeat something that I said on Saturday, it should never have been allowed to get to the stage where an injury to one member of the squad means such a drastic reduction in its capacity to do the unexpected or provide that X factor that provides something out of nothing.
Although I was saying that tonight was a rerun of what happened on Saturday, that’s not quite true, because this was definitely better than the limp showing at Stoke in terms of attitude and attacking intent, but it was still hard to escape that feeling that the belief wasn’t quite there that the team could unlock defences without their most creative player.
Maybe that’s a bit harsh on reflection, because there wasn’t really a lack of players willing to take on responsibility when it came to that final ball, incisive cross or shot from distance, but, sadly, the quality was lacking – the word that kept on coming into my head as I watched us huffing and puffing to no real effect as we put Forest under pressure in the search for an equaliser was conviction.
I’m afraid there was a lack of it in almost everything we tried to do in the final third, whether it be passing, crossing or shooting.
When it came to the latter, the only shot I can remember from us that was truly struck in the manner that the player was aiming for was a twenty yard effort by Robert Glatzel that provided Forest keeper Samba with one of his few awkward moments of the night as he dived to turn the ball aside for a corner.
As for the rest of our goal attempts, they weren’t all totally undermined by poor technique, but many of them were – too many for a side which seriously believes it can be involved in the end of season hunt for that final promotion place.
At least there was one shot that almost brought about the desired effect, that was not true when it came to crosses – I did not see one which seriously inconvenienced the Forest backline and keeper, they were of a generally poor quality and gave the impression that they were just being aimed in the general direction of a blue shirt.
With the delivery from free kicks and corners also being pretty ordinary, City, as they do too often lately in home games became over reliant on Will Vaulks’ long throws, but even they were not as effective as normal – something which a resolute and well organised Forest defence should be given credit for I suppose.
Although Junior Hoilett did some good things in defence and always showed for the ball in attack, I I do find myself wondering why wingers are considered automatic selections under our last two managers when they too often prove to be utterly ineffective when it comes to crossing and cutting in from your wing to shoot.
On the other wing, the best word to describe Josh Murphy’s contribution is exasperating. In the last month or so, he has upped his game and, in a different way to Tomlin, suggested he could be a catalyst for the lift off the team has been needing from the start of the season. Unfortunately, tonight was more like the pre Christmas Murphy – I hesitate to say he wasn’t trying, but to use a term that we hear an awful lot of these days, his body language was terrible.
Murphy had already lost a ball weakly in midfield in the very early stages of the second half to set Forest on a dangerous attacking raid, when he erred again in the same manner to present Forest with a chance to counter attack from around the halfway line and Lewis Grabban and Tiago Silva combined with such good effect that the latter was soon celebrating a well taken and decisive goal.
Murphy’s final contribution was.to send in a free kick from a dangerous area out on the left so poorly that it barely ever got off the ground and so it was no surprise that, just as against Preston shortly before Christmas there were cheers when his number was held up within seconds as one of those to be withdrawn.
With both wingers under performing and Callum Paterson quiet as he returned to his highly unorthodox interpretation of the modern day number ten roles, the bulk of the attacking responsibility fell on Glatzel who responded to a surprise recall to the team after having not been used at all from the subs bench in recent games with one of his better showings in a City shirt as he showed a strength which has not been too apparent up to now – his hold up play was good and he won the team a lot of free kicks as well because of his ability to keep the ball just as he looked to be on the point of losing it.
Of course, that shot I mentioned apart, Glatzel never really looked like scoring because that is the lot of a striker at modern day Cardiff City – given what’s behind him in terms of inventiveness and flair, you’d have to be another Harry Kane to get to ten goals a season for us!
Glatzel was one of the night’s plusses, as well as Alex Smithies who was worked a lot harder than his opposite number, a fact which tends to prove that Forest were, by not too big a distance, the better side and, although he didn’t do anything brilliant, I thought Dion Sanderson, in for Jazz Richards, added pace and some urgency to our attacking game on his debut. Certainly, I don’t believe he deserved to be taken off in a substitution that I thought smelt of management by numbers – you know, the youngster has to be taken off no matter what and I thought there was an element of getting your just deserts as Sanderson’s replacement, Leandro Bacuna was booked within thirty seconds of coming on as he struggled for defensive pace in a way that the man he had come on for may well not have done.
A word to for Joe Ralls who came on for the last twenty minutes and definitely improved the team’s level of performance – he really should be in from the start every week if available.
One last thing, Murphy’s miserable showing did include one major talking point when he went down in the penalty area under challenge from Forest’s Matty Cash just before half time for what to me, admittedly from the opposite end of the pitch, seemed a clear penalty, but referee Steve Martin, another weak and inefficient official to follow on from John Brooks in the Wigan game, thought otherwise. .
Well, that’s it, sorry for a shorter reaction piece than normal, but it’s hard when it’s so clear what is wrong – if I’d done, say, another thousand words, I would only have been trying to find different ways of saying the same thing and I fear this is going to be a problem I’m going to have to wrestle with for the rest of the season.
Good morning Paul – Thanks as always for your thoughts. Within a few minutes of the start of last night’s game, I was angry – angry because three of our lot gave passes that failed to reach a colleague and collected by the opposition. Were they difficult, no, they were straightforward, and that set me in a mood that really failed to improve as the night progressed.
Your comment about our obsession with wingers is true, or it is with the two wingers that we selected last evening. As attackers, quite ineffective and useless. That Murphy should have had a penalty is undoubted, but injustices happen and fairly often in the Championship. But get on with it. His was a wretched performance and Hoilett not far behind. Their attempts at crossing the ball were miserable and now wonder the Forest defence had a comparatively easy night.
I am no great fan of Tomlin, but without him we are bereft of alternative attacking options, or we certainly were last night. And the galloping Scot has now no idea what is his best position. What I fail to understand is the Manager’s lack of appreciation that a completely different approach is needed. Forget two wide men and put those who have good legs in midfield and attack that way. Through balls for runners to latch onto and perhaps Glatzel will finally prove that he is worth £5 million.
The young lad did not let us down at full back and I would keep him there. So my selection would be the same back four, with a midfield of five (and not Adomah) of Whyte, Pack, Ralls, Vaulks (who I thought was our star player last night) and Bacuna, with the German up front. Apart from Pack, there is energy in the other four which is desperately needed..
The news that we are releasing eight youngsters was hardly surprising. We are clearly in a cost cutting exercise. The lack of support last night is, sadly, symptomatic of the fare being produced, and Sky’s offer to televise the game must have been seized gratefully by the Club as it added another £100,000 to the coffers even if we are miserable TV performers.
I’m glad I’ve got this off my chest. I know I’ll be there on Saturday, but I’m not sure how many more will bother.
Thanks, Paul and BJA.
Between you have said all that I was going to.
I have been saying for some time that we need more bodies in midfield and agree that playing two wide men is a luxury, even if the wingers perform better than our two did last night.
A cold night and there was very little happening on the field to warm me up. We seem to be passing the ball better these days, generally speaking that is BJA, but every time an attempt was made to play a killer pass the play broke down.
Thought Sanderson did well going forward but I’m not convinced on his defence yet, early days. I thought Bennett had a nightmare first half (no more free kicks from Joe, please) but redeemed himself with an excellent, brave ,block late on.
The penalty shout, if given, could have seen a totally different second half and outcome, that’s assuming we would have scored from it. Didn’t have a great view of the incident but seeing it on TV I’m not convinced, Murphy does go down very easily.
Right, with the chance of a play-off place rapidly disappearing, how does our manager approach the rest of the season?
When I was about 9 or ten I played in a competitive game for the first time. I’ve long forgotten the name of the man in charge of us, but I think it must have been something like Neil Warnock-Harris. I do remember his advice to the team — “Kick the ball up in the air and run after it as fast as you can.” I wonder if he was a milkman or had a bicycle and clandestinely visited Neil Warnock’s mother and some years later the mother of Neil Harris? How else could their tactical knowhow be otherwise? How else can we explain the constant reliance on the long throw and inaccurate, predictable, and embarrassing use (or rather, misuse) of the dead ball? As for passing, every team must surely be aware of what used to be the mantra of the Saturday morning cowboy films of my childhood “We’ll cut them off at the pass.”
Nice one, Mr. O’Brien.
Thanks Paul and All.
Nothing to add – low attendance and freezing weather just added to the general mood of the evening.
Lots of huffing and puffing, but it’s all so predictable with long throws, poor set pieces and no quality crosses from any of our wide men.
On the plus side. Sanderson looked lively and galloped forward nicely with some purpose. Glatzel did hold up play well, but still looks unsure on the rare occasions when he can get a shot off. Vaulks continues to provide some much needed energy and agree be good to pair him up with Ralls and rely on one less winger. Also feels much better to have a keeper who can provide a variety of restart options- even though lumping to Patterson still seems No 1 on that particular list!
Other than that I suppose Forest were clearly the better team, but another on a growing list of ok teams to have visited who, with some of our previous years gritty performances , we would expect to overcome.
Feel like we are just drifting towards the end of the season now so need to try not to get too frustrated – easier said than done!
Thank you for the replies, BJA your anger at what happened on Tuesday comes through clearly in your message. I take your point about Tomlin because, although he has produced some great moments that have turned losses into draws and draws into wins this season, he did little in his first two seasons here and had been living off his reputation to a large degree for the two or three years before that. I believe Tomlin would find it much more of a struggle to gain and then keep a place in the starting eleven of many sides in this league, but, to Cardiff City fans who have been almost completely starved of creative, technical players with a touch of flair and guile since Peter Whittingham left he has been a godsend and the simple fact is that he is heads and shoulders better than any one else in the senior squad when it comes to the qualities I mention.
Colin, I notice that, just as up at Stoke, we had more possession than Forest. I used to look at our awful possession share figures in every match and think things would be so much better if we could turn those late twenties, early thirties into, say, forty five, but that looks simplistic and naive now because the lesson which was emerging through Neil Harris’ time with us and has become pretty clear now is that opponents are happy to let us have the ball because they know that, particularly without Tomlin, they would have to make a mistake for us to hurt them from open play -if sides keep their concentration and deal with our set pieces, they know they are very unlucky to concede a goal.
Anthony, I can only join Colin in his praise of your contribution – bravo!
Huw, I agree with you about Forest, they were the better side, but they didn’t look like a third in the table outfit. They were like so many of the teams that have come here this season in that they were decent, passed the ball better than us and valued possession more than us. In fact, I’m struggling to come up with a side that has looked worse than us down here this season when it comes to the technical side of the game – although I think Neil Harris got it wrong by not adding A Tomlin type player to the squad last month, I’m reluctant to be too critical of him until he has had a summer and pre season to put together something that he would view as his team – for now, I would say that, despite the change of manager and all of the talk of wanting to change our style of play, I bet you that sides prepare for a match with us in the same, or very similar, manner as they did when Neil Warnock was in charge.