OPINION: TIME FOR RUBIN COLWILL TO SIEZE HIS OPPORTUNITY

Time For Rubin Colwill To Be All Ryan Mighty, Says Cardiff City FA Cup Hero
By Graham Thomas

Rubin Colwill must step up and fill the void left by the departed loan star Ryan Giles for Cardiff City to prosper in the second half of the season.

That’s the view of Giles’ namesake, David Giles, with the former Bluebird and Wales international urging Colwill to rise to the challenge.

Cardiff play their first knockout match of 2022 on Sunday, when they host Preston North End in the Third Round of the FA Cup in a tie that is live on S4C.

It is also their first match without 21-year-old winger Giles, who has been recalled by parent club Wolves after making a big impact at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Statistically, Giles was one of the most influential players in the Championship with a chart-leading nine assists as well as an average goal creation time of every 29 minutes – more than anyone else in the division.

“Ryan Giles has been outstanding,” says David Giles, who is no relation.

“He’s 21, an attacking player, loaded with pace and very confident. He stands people up and is prepared to gamble and take a chance. He will go at people and get crosses in.

“If anything, Cardiff have not fully capitalized on some of the great crosses he has put in.

“But Wolves have been watching and thought, ‘Hang on. This kid could do this in the Premier League if we bring him on for 20 minutes.’

“There is no substitute for pace like that. He is going to be a massive loss and you just wonder where the service is now going to come from for the likes of Kieffer Moore and James Collins.

“But it means a chance for others and I really hope that Rubin Colwill can step up to the plate.

“He has great ability but he has blown hot and cold. He starts a game and then suddenly he’s on the bench. But he’s a Welsh international and I just hope that some added responsibility might see him respond.”

Colwill was good enough to be taken to the Euro finals by Wales last summer and when the 19-year-old came off the bench to score twice at Nottingham Forest in September it appeared he would have a major impact on the Championship.

Instead, his performances have been fitful with both Steve Morison and his predecessor as manager Neil Harris seemingly uncertain over how best to utilize Colwill’s talent.

Giles believes the player himself now has to seize his moment.

He adds: “He has all the ability in the world. If we can see the best of him then that would go a long way to filling the gap left by Giles.

“His form for Cardiff seems to have stood still, but you just hope that he can grab this opportunity now with both hands.

“Rubin Colwill playing well at the top of his form is a huge asset to Cardiff.”

Giles is a firm believer that an FA Cup run for his old club could spark an upturn in their Championship form and enable them to move away from the relegation zone.

He played in Cardiff’s memorable FA Cup victory over Tottenham in 1977 and recalls: “There was a good crowd there that day, great excitement and we beat them 1-0.

“Then, we played Wrexham in the next round and beat them 3-2.

“That got us to the fifth round but we lost 2-1 to Everton after going 1-0 up. It was a decent Cup run and it generated momentum.

“A Cup run for any team is a good thing. For Cardiff, who haven’t been getting good results and are down at the wrong end of the table, then it could lift everyone.

“It would improve morale and also lift the fans. It’s a gloomy time at the moment – poor performances and losing to teams Cardiff shouldn’t be losing to.

“Cardiff were annihilated by Bournemouth last month. But they earned a solid 1-1 draw at West Brom and that’s a decent result. Now, they need to build on that and a Cup run.”

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And here we are again, putting the weight of our hopes on a 19 year old!

And here we are again, putting the weight of our hopes on a 19 year old!

Playing such a potentially decent player in a poor team will make him very average at best.

If he had better more experienced players around him he may flourish.
As it stands I don't think he will progress unless he gets a move away, which is unlikely the way he is playing.

A vicious circle.

And here we are again, putting the weight of our hopes on a 19 year old!

Playing such a potentially decent player in a poor team will make him very average at best.

If he had better more experienced players around him he may flourish.
As it stands I don't think he will progress unless he gets a move away, which is unlikely the way he is playing.

A vicious circle.

I tend to agree and the expectations on him now are sky high in a god awful team so really it doesn't look grand.

He is a player i can’t make my mind up on him yet The player i saw on Sunday was slow and sloppy in his play and most times he has started he has not impressed me Coming off the bench he has been much better
However he has been one of the better youngster to come through in recent years and being in the welsh senior squad , somebody thinks a lot of him from his training with the squad.

He usually looks disinterested in games , but Nathan Blake always looked like that as well and he was one of my favourite players

And here we are again, putting the weight of our hopes on a 19 year old!

That's true unfortunately, when he was breaking through you could see he had something, it must be really difficult coming into a team that is struggling.

Just crappy journalism, only to be taken seriously by the gullible and our rebranded roathie..