A very busy day with two football matches and a managerial appointment to cover. I’ll start with the two games Wales played today which left both the senior and Under 19 sides knowing that a win in the final match of their qualifying pools should see them progressing in their respective competitions – although a shock half time score of Croatia 0 Slovakia 1 as I write this leaves the seniors facing the almost certain prospect of missing out no matter what happens against Hungary on Tuesday.
Starting with the seniors, I was not optimistic that they would be able to secure the win they needed against Azerbaijan in Baku this evening for a number of reasons.
Firstly, although much had been made pre game of the fact that our big two of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey were fit enough to both be in the side from the start, the announcement of the team conveyed a different message – Bale was there (although he only spluttered into life occasionally), but Ramsey was only on the bench and the word coming out of the Welsh camp was that neither of them were ready for a full ninety minutes.
In the event, Ramsey replaced Bale for the last half an hour or so and was busy and inventive in the number ten role, while Bale may have been fitful, but when he did throttle up a bit he had too much for his markers and was able to knock some quality crosses in from the right hand side position he occupied throughout the time he was on the pitch.
All over the pitch there were question marks about the Welsh team and Ryan Giggs’ selection only amplified them – the in form Ashley Williams strolled through last week’s Severnside derby as he organised the Bristol defence to a clean sheet, but there was no place for him as Giggs opted for Chris Mepham who had not featured since an injury in late September.
In midfield, with Joe Allan suspended, there must have been a temptation to use Ramsey in a deeper role, but instead the manager went for the very inexperienced duo of Ethan Ampadu and joe Morrell with Harry Wilson just behind Keiffer Moore.
Out of the side that started the match, only Tom Lockyer at centreback, Morrell in the middle of the park, Dan James on the left wing and striker Moore could be called regular starters with their clubs and, between them, the four of them were playing for a top half Premier League side, a top half Championship side, a bottom half Championship outfit and a League One team.
This mish mash of sometime crocks, reserves, bench warmers and the odd first team regular were up against a side that may not have had the points to suggest they would be a challenge, but, almost without fail, they had been competitive in the group throughout – indeed, Azerbaijan had drawn with group leaders Croatia in their last home match.
All of this left me feeling that, while I thought it unlikely that we would lose, a low scoring draw against a side that we needed a couple of lucky goals to overcome in Cardiff could be on the cards.
In the event, it all turned out so easy for Wales as they went 2-0 ahead in the first thirty five minutes and kept Azerbaijan at arms length for the rest of the match. The only slight criticism I would have is that they should really have won more comfortably, but I would certainly have taken 2-0 against opponents who had drawn and suffered a couple of single goal defeats on the three previous occasions when they have entertained Wales,
Azerbaijan weren’t a patch on the team that fought so well in Cardiff back in September though, looking disinterested and sluggish most of the time against opponents who were “at it” from the first whistle.
Although a win in which they were a couple of goals better than a team who are likely to finish with just a single point from their eight games may not sound like it, this was probably Ryan Giggs’ most impressive game in charge so far.
Yes, he may have got lucky a little with his centreback selection because Mepham was uncharacteristically sloppy in possession on a few occasions, but Giggs got all of the big calls right in this game and nowhere was this more true than in central midfield.
Ampadu may have been a bit rash in the opening minutes as he picked up a quick booking, but, maybe for the first time since his outstanding showing against the Republic of Ireland in Cardiff a little over a year ago, he justified some of the extravagant claims we heard about him as a fifteen year old at Exeter.
Here, he was often too powerful, decisive and quick for his opponents while displaying a range of passing that belies his years. Ampadu was impressive, but, if anything, the unheralded Morrell alongside him was even moreso, because there was a composure, intelligence and maturity beyond his twenty two years that marked him out as a genuine man of the match candidate.
Morrell also fired in a twenty five yard shot which forced home keeper Balayev into a good save which produced the corner from which Moore headed his second Wales goal in just four starts – there had been little sign of nerves from the Welsh side, but if there were any, then this goal after just ten minutes would have helped settle them.
Such was the quality of Harry Wilson’s corner that Moore barely had to jump to get his goal and the big striker enjoyed himself immensely in his aerial battles against opponents who did not know how to cope with him. Sometimes his limitations on the deck showed, but, by and large, he is pretty effective and finds a way to get things done with the ball at his feet,
Moore, who only has a solitary goal from the penalty spot to show from his league season with Wigan had an incredible ten goal attempts tonight. That was half of Wales’ total and that figure rather tells the story of how easy it was for them in the end.
Of course, I’m sure things would have been different if Wales had only had a single goal to rely on, but once Wilson had headed probably the simplest goal of his career so far to double the lead ten minutes before half time, Azerbaijan tended to meekly accept their fate.
When Junior Hoilett is able to cut in from the left at a certain angle and shapes to shoot, I get the feeling that City might be in business here and I get it even more when Dan James does it for Wales. This time, the right footed curler was almost perfect, but the Manchester United player was unlucky to see his effort from the corner of the penalty area strike the crossbar and then drop on to the post only for fortune to favour Wilson as the rebound landed perfectly for him to apply the final touch from six yards.
Just to say at this stage that my sense of dread has been eased by the news that Croatia have turned things around and now lead 2-1 with around twenty minutes left against a Slovakia team that have had a player sent off!
Anyway, on to a very enjoyable match this afternoon between Wales and Russia in the round robin four team tournament that is being held in Newport and Cardiff during the international break with places in the Elite qualification round of the UEFA Under 19 Cup at stake.
Poland and Kosovo are the other sides involved with Russia the top seeds and the Poles above Wales in the rankings. However, the first round of games on Thursday went really well for the home country with Russia v Kosovo at Leckwith ending 1-1 and Wales seeing off Poland 3-0 at Rodney Parade, Newport.
One of the Welsh goals was scored by Cardiff City’s Keenan Patten who is currently on loan to Pen -Y-Bont in the Welsh Premier League and was considered to be the Man of the Match by the commentators on the stream of the game that I watched online.
Sam Bowen, alongside Patten in central midfield, and Isaak Davies, playing up front, brought the City contingent in the starting eleven up to three and a fourth Academy product Harry Pinchard replaced Davies at half time with Wales a couple of goals ahead. Patten’s goal made it 3-0 early in the second half and, although the victory margin probably flattered them against useful opponents, it was still very impressive stuff from the Welsh.
Patten and Bowen again started today, but Davies, Pinchard and the fifth City member of the squad,Dan Griffiths (also on loan to Pen-y-Bont at the moment) were all on the bencjh against a Russian team that began in ominous fashion.
If Patten attracted the plaudits against Poland, there was only one Welsh Man of the Match candidate after the first quarter of the game today and that was goalkeeper Lewis Webb of Swansea who made two absolutely outstanding saves and a couple of good ones as well to keep the game goalless.
At this stage, it looked like the bigger Russian side were too quick and powerful for Wales, but, rather like they had done against a more physically imposing Polish side, Wales’ good technique and clever passing gradually allowed them to show they were no slouches themselves and the Russians were no longer having things their own way.
Ironically, Wales’ improvement was “rewarded” by them going a goal down when Webb parried another shot into the path of Kosarev who gave the keeper no chance from eight yards out.
The dual between Kosarev and Webb continued when they clashed heads as they contested a cross and the latter’s injury was bad enough to force him off to be replaced by Norwich’s Daniel Barden.
It was an illustration of how the game changed in its final hour or so that Barden was never once called upon to make the sort of saves Webb had to. The writing was on the wall to some extent in the ten minutes before half time as the ball flashed across the Russian goal on a couple of occasions with no one able to get a decisive touch, but it was in the second period, with Pinchard introduced, that Wales got on top.
A lot of the dominance stemmed from the control Bowen and Patten, with help from Pinchard. established in midfield. Bowen is a stylish playmaker, while Patten is more of an all rounder who has a good habit of usually coming out with the ball when he goes into a challenge and they were instrumental in making sure Brentford’s Josh Adams was receiving the ball with a bit of time and space out on the left wing.
Adams constantly caused an overworked Russian defence problems, but it was beginning to look like all of Wales’ good work would come to nothing until they were awarded a penalty for what I think was a shirt pulling offence as Russia struggled to deal with an Adams corner.
Just to say, the great news for the seniors is that Croatia beat Slovakia 3-1 – I’ll come to what this means to our qualification hopes presently.
Going back to the Under 19s, Neco Williams, who made his debut for Liverpool against Arsenal in the League Cup recently and looks a great prospect on today’s evidence, sent Budachev the wrong way as he fired high to the keeper’s left to level things up at a time when there were five Cardiff players on the pitch for the Welsh team with Davies and Griffiths having been brought on.
City’s Academy comes in for a lot of stick (not least from me!), but this was a good day for them as it offered proof that there are good home produced players at the club and there has to be a hope now that the manager appointed today will be more sympathetic towards the youngsters at the club than the one who has just left was.
It was Griffiths who drew a second penalty inside the last ten minutes when he burst down the left and was brought down as he cut in for a clear spot kick. Again, Williams did the trick by this time going low to the keeper’s right and, for a short while, Wales were looking at winning the group with a game still to play, but, to their credit, Russia, who it seemed to me were blowing a bit in the face of the Welsh pace and movement, found a second wind and Prokin levelled after the visitors had got in down Wales’ right.
Patten almost won it very late on with a long range effort that was just too high and so a fine and enjoyable match ended 2-2 with Wales knowing that a draw in their final game against Kosovo will see them qualify, while a win would see them top the group following Poland’s 4-1 win over the Kosovons in Newport.
Just to quickly talk about what needs to happen for Wales to qualify for Euro 2020 on Tuesday, it’s now simple, they have to beat Hungary at Cardiff City Stadium. The Hungarians would go through themselves with a win, while a draw would see Slovakia go through on account of their record in games with the Hungarians in the very likely event of them beating Azerbaijan at home.
Finally, some thoughts on the appointment of former Millwall manager Neil Harris to replace Neil Warnock. Harris, who scored once for City in a very short loan spell here in 04/05, has been the favourite for the job virtually since it became available and comes here having done a good job with the London club. i say that because he got them promoted, steered them to an unlikely play off challenge in our promotion season and also led them to a series of notable cup wins.
However, last year was a bit of a struggle and the same applied this season until Harris decided to resign early last month with the club eighteenth in the table. As I mentioned earlier, I’d say that is a good record overall given the budget Harris had to work with, but I must say that I agree with the views expressed by an awful lot of City fans on social media that this is an underwhelming appointment with, seemingly, more than a hint of the Russell Slade to it.
One of the reasons I say that is that Harris would have come comparatively cheap as there was no compensation to be paid to a current club and, as a manager used to working with a small budget, I do wonder about scenarios I read on a messageboard today in relation to the Emiliano Sala case where City are, seemingly, facing a three window transfer embargo if they do not pay up the first third of the £15 million transfer fee for the tragic Argentinian striker.
With what is to all intents and purposes a guilty verdict against them from FIFA that the club are taking to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, is this an appointment made in anticipation of an embargo or, maybe more realistically, the fee being paid and there being a subsequent lack of funding for a budget that would come nowhere near the one Neil Warnock had?
Of course, you’d like to think that there would be insurance to cover the second option, but there has to, surely, be some doubt as to whether any such company would be willing to pay up given the circumstances behind the flight that ended with the loss of two lives.
Leaving that aside, it is clear that Harris comes here with a perception that he is yet another in a long line of long ball merchants. Certainly, the relevant stats tended to show that Harris’ Millwall were the side most like Warnock’s Cardiff in the \Championship when it came to style of play.
Indeed, Harris has spoken of how Millwall fans do not want to see the sort of game favoured by so many these days and you have to wonder if he comes here thinking the same about Cardiff City supporters? Billed by Mehmet Dalman as an “offensive” manager whose sides have thirty five shots per game, I’m afraid that’s not how I recall his Millwall side – “offensive” has a variety of meanings, but I don’t think of it as meaning attacking when it comes to how Millwall played.
If the City hierarchy believe they have appointed a manager who plays attacking football, I think they may be in for a disappointment and, while I feel this may have been the case a few years ago, they could also be in for a surprise if they think that City fans wanted more of the sort of football that was seen in the latter stages of Neil Warnock’s time with us.
It seems to me that if there is one main reason for the lack of enthusiasm from Cardiff fans regarding this appointment it is because it is seen as being more of the same and speaking for myself, I’m sick of seeing the sort of football that has been the staple diet at Cardiff for far too many of my fifty six seasons watching the team.
In saying that, I accept that I’m being unfair in many ways towards Neil Harris there because it may be that he’ll come here and, gradually, look to play in a more rounded and progressive way – I always accepted my opinion of the style of football favoured by Neil Warnock was a fickle one in that I put up with it while we were winning, but would criticise it when we stopped doing that.
I also realise that I leave myself open to charges of being a football snob by taking that approach, but, increasingly, I think this line of thinking is shared by the modern football fan. The attitude to the likes of Tony Pulis. Sam Allardyce etc. has changed in recent years and “long ball” managers have to accept that the level of patience shown to them when their approach isn’t working is much lower than it once was – it seems people just don’t like their club playing in such a manner these days.
In many ways this isn’t fair in what is, after all, a results business, but the reaction to what has been happening this season at City has been an interesting one in that so many more supporters than I would have expected are sharing my opinion of the sort of football Cardiff have become associated with.
Given the response to his appointment, I feel sorry in some ways for Neil Harris and I genuinely want him to prove so many of us wrong because that will mean that we are doing well, but, as yet, there is no sign of the sort of structured thinking that it was hoped by many would arise from Neil Warnock leaving.
Hopefully, when Neil Harris and representatives from the Board speak to the media for the first time, there will be some sort of talk about an overhaul of the club’s approach to things like player recruitment, youth development and playing style which many now desire, but, realistically, I’m not expecting it.
Although it might not sound like it, I do wish Neil Harris all the best at Cardiff like I would any new manager and I think it’s only fair that he be given time to prove himself, but, rather like the aforementioned Russell Slade, I’m not sure he will get that from everyone – in fact, I’m pretty sure he won’t.
Once again, can I make a request for support from readers by them becoming my Patrons through Patreon. Full details of this scheme and the reasons why I decided to introduce it can be found here, but I should say that the feedback I have got so far has indicated a reluctance from some to use Patreon as they prefer to opt for a direct payment to me. If you are interested in becoming a patron and would prefer to make a direct contribution, please contact me at paul.evans8153@hotmail.com or in the Feedback section of the blog and I will send you my bank/PayPal details.
