Wed Sep 18, 2019 3:14 pm
‘ THESE CARDIFF CITY PLAYERS THAT ARE RETURNING ‘
By Glen Williams
Wednesday 18th September 2019
Neil Etheridge
I don't think you can take the jersey off Alex Smithies. He was signed as though it was going to be a dogfight between him and Etheridge for the No 1 shirt and that's what it might be now.
I don't think you can point the finger or attribute any goals or mistakes to him, he has been Steady Eddie.
If you get injured or have a bad run of form, you expect the next player to come into your position, pick up the shirt and run with it and I think Alex Smithies has done that.
As good as Etheridge has been, it's not a case of just because he is fit he has to play. He is a great goalkeeper, but with Smithies there his loss hasn't been enormous.
There's a new back four who are not playing well. They are conceding too many opportunities, especially against average opposition like Wigan and Reading, but I'm not looking at Smithies and saying that's the reason the defence is looking shaky.
For me, Smithies holds down his place.
Sol Bamba
This Cardiff City side needs Sol Bamba.
Player to player, they are more suited to a back three with two wing backs. With Bamba in there, marshalling them, the defence would look better.
Him in the centre, Leandro Bacuna on the right and Joe Bennett on the left, all of a sudden it looks more attacking and there is a good balance.
Potentially, then, you have Joe Ralls and maybe Marlon Pack in the centre with Lee Tomlin spearheading the diamond, with Robert Glatzel up top.
Then again, if you stick to a back four you have to stick with the partnership which, at its best, is great for the Bluebirds – Morrison and Bamba.
But then you end up in a situation then whereby you have Flint, who Cardiff have just paid money for, sitting on the bench.
And dropping players when they are not having a stinker, which would be the case with Flint, is the quickest way to a dressing-room upset.
But they miss Bamba, drastically. He is a far bigger miss than Etheridge. So I would bring him straight back into the fold.
Marlon Pack
The beauty of someone like Pack is that he is such a quality player and, given his size and stature, you can play him on his own in the middle of the park with two players ahead.
But he also gives you the versatility to play in deep alongside Joe Ralls with one player ahead.
Of the current injured players, and given the problem area in central midfield, he is the one who I think comes straight back in no questions asked.
With Bamba and Pack in, they come with confidence and strength in the spine and with Tomlin's creativity just in front and Glatzel up front, it's a far stronger-looking side.
Marlon Pack isn't far away from a return (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
Danny Ward
Glatzel gets the nod because Warnock has forked out the money for him and he has just got off the mark against Derby County. But I don't think any No.9 at Cardiff City is a standout at the moment.
We haven't had one for a long time. I really like the way Ward plays, but does he leapfrog Omar Bogle and Isaac Vassell? If so, on what basis?
If, at the back end of the Premier League season, he had scored five goal in seven games to really stake his claim then of course he would be top of the pecking order.
But, at the moment, there's no consistent, go-to goal man. So there is no order, but there is a clutch of strikers all desperate for an opportunity.
Cardiff have to score goals, but they all have to fight it out to get that shirt off Glatzel.
Wed Sep 18, 2019 5:23 pm
Forever Blue wrote:‘ THESE CARDIFF CITY PLAYERS THAT ARE RETURNING ‘
By Glen Williams
Wednesday 18th September 2019
Neil Etheridge
I don't think you can take the jersey off Alex Smithies. He was signed as though it was going to be a dogfight between him and Etheridge for the No 1 shirt and that's what it might be now.
I don't think you can point the finger or attribute any goals or mistakes to him, he has been Steady Eddie.
If you get injured or have a bad run of form, you expect the next player to come into your position, pick up the shirt and run with it and I think Alex Smithies has done that.
As good as Etheridge has been, it's not a case of just because he is fit he has to play. He is a great goalkeeper, but with Smithies there his loss hasn't been enormous.
There's a new back four who are not playing well. They are conceding too many opportunities, especially against average opposition like Wigan and Reading, but I'm not looking at Smithies and saying that's the reason the defence is looking shaky.
For me, Smithies holds down his place.
Sol Bamba
This Cardiff City side needs Sol Bamba.
Player to player, they are more suited to a back three with two wing backs. With Bamba in there, marshalling them, the defence would look better.
Him in the centre, Leandro Bacuna on the right and Joe Bennett on the left, all of a sudden it looks more attacking and there is a good balance.
Potentially, then, you have Joe Ralls and maybe Marlon Pack in the centre with Lee Tomlin spearheading the diamond, with Robert Glatzel up top.
Then again, if you stick to a back four you have to stick with the partnership which, at its best, is great for the Bluebirds – Morrison and Bamba.
But then you end up in a situation then whereby you have Flint, who Cardiff have just paid money for, sitting on the bench.
And dropping players when they are not having a stinker, which would be the case with Flint, is the quickest way to a dressing-room upset.
But they miss Bamba, drastically. He is a far bigger miss than Etheridge. So I would bring him straight back into the fold.
Marlon Pack
The beauty of someone like Pack is that he is such a quality player and, given his size and stature, you can play him on his own in the middle of the park with two players ahead.
But he also gives you the versatility to play in deep alongside Joe Ralls with one player ahead.
Of the current injured players, and given the problem area in central midfield, he is the one who I think comes straight back in no questions asked.
With Bamba and Pack in, they come with confidence and strength in the spine and with Tomlin's creativity just in front and Glatzel up front, it's a far stronger-looking side.
Marlon Pack isn't far away from a return (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
Danny Ward
Glatzel gets the nod because Warnock has forked out the money for him and he has just got off the mark against Derby County. But I don't think any No.9 at Cardiff City is a standout at the moment.
We haven't had one for a long time. I really like the way Ward plays, but does he leapfrog Omar Bogle and Isaac Vassell? If so, on what basis?
If, at the back end of the Premier League season, he had scored five goal in seven games to really stake his claim then of course he would be top of the pecking order.
But, at the moment, there's no consistent, go-to goal man. So there is no order, but there is a clutch of strikers all desperate for an opportunity.
Cardiff have to score goals, but they all have to fight it out to get that shirt off Glatzel.
Etheridge and Pack straight back in when up to speed, Bamba in at the first mistake or injury, Danny Ward may make the bench?