Cardiff (H) - Match thread

[DE56Ram]

1 hour ago, Leeds Ram said:

Loved the first half and thought at times we went through them like a knife through butter. If Ozoh hadn't have gone off it would have been 2 or 3-0 i think. Osbourne didn't look great but i guess that can happen and we looked gassed out after 70 minutes. But crowd stuck with them, we dug in and looked comfortable. 

Cardiff look prime relegation fodder tbh. I thought they were playing walking football with no energy, passion or tempo.  They don't have the quality to play the way they want  to and ultimately despite having a lot of the ball did f*** all with it. I thought it was interesting how their fans also still seemed to think we were terrible and it's a game they should have won. Similar thoughts by Bristol so maybe us being such underdogs is going to really help us get a grip in the division

Read those Cardiff and Brizzle comments with a smile too?!

and Brizzle got another 0-3 at Blackburn Rovers. 
 

that result helps me to put our fledgling start into perspective. We gave Rovers a game and their quality changes won it for them. They smacked sorry Brizzle 3-0 as did we. . .

we’re competitive in the division and there are at least 8 sides I reckon going to be worse than us COYR

[Comrade 86]

2 hours ago, Leeds Ram said:

I thought it was interesting how their fans also still seemed to think we were terrible and it's a game they should have won. Similar thoughts by Bristol so maybe us being such underdogs is going to really help us get a grip in the division

I don't think your average fan will be that aware of the huge re-build that's midway. If they still think our ceiling is as it was last year, then they probably will make the mistake of underestimating the current team. Have to say I'm quite enjoying opposing teams' meltdowns when 'lil ol Derby' ram-raid them. Makes the victory all the sweeter as did the pre-game bravado.

On 10/09/2024 at 06:09, Comrade 86 said:

Pre-match pep talk sorted 😋

COYR

[Sean]

Well, a wonderful return to Pride Park after 16 months away, shame Ebou couldn't put the cherry on top but no bother!

Particularly impressed watching Goudmijn live, he's going to be some player.

I look forward to returning next year for one of our first games back in the Premier League

Edited Sunday at 15:47 by Sean

[Van der MoodHoover]

23 hours ago, FKANorwichExile said:

Also, we need a moment of appreciation for Cashin doing a Cruijff turn in his own box and starting a counter attack. The balls on that man.

[HorsforthRam]

Just remembered the ball boy (South Stand) presenting the ball very slowly to their player for their corner 😂😂😂

[LittleEatonRam]

I know the crowd was nervy for the last 15 mins or so but I thought it was all quite comfortable. Cardiff huffed and puffed but created very little. We looked pretty firm.

[jono]

12 hours ago, IlsonDerby said:

Interesting how since Blackburn we’ve gone ahead in every match we’ve played including the loss. It’ll be interesting to see how we respond to going a goal down when it happens. 

Love musings like this. It’s part of fixing the team and it’s character in your DNA. 
We don’t look like a team who’s head drops easily but you don’t know for sure until we’ve been under the cosh. Really looking forward to the Sheffield game. Team is gelling, had a reasonable start. A real away test against a good side. 

[MadAmster]

21 hours ago, Sparkle said:

I thought Harkness needs to get up to speed because he looked stand offish and contributed little especially when the likes of Wilson Tompson and Barkhauzen don’t have a place on the bench 

According to PW, Wilson, Tommo and Barks are all injured and that is why they weren't on the bench.

[Alty_Ram]

19 hours ago, Leeds Ram said:

I thought it was interesting how their fans also still seemed to think we were terrible and it's a game they should have won.

Coulda shoulda woulda 😉...

The post-match interview by whoever they sent out to face the press, described our goal as 'scrappy'.. really ?! Sure, you could perhaps be slightly disappointed with how easily we carved them open and finished a flowing move by giving their keeper no chance with an emphatic finish into the bottom corner with the keeper rooted to the spot.. but 'scrappy' ?!! Yeah, whatever mate !

[Srg]

I love Kenzo, and long may his goalscoring continue. Not only could he help keep us up, he could eventually be the reason we kick on if he develops into that £15m type player.

[Animal is a Ram]

The real question is...

...who starts the next thread? 😂

[Animal is a Ram]

😍

[Eoghan1884]

1 hour ago, Animal is a Ram said:

The real question is...

...who starts the next thread? 😂

👀 

[Crewton]

1 hour ago, Animal is a Ram said:

😍

He did another trick on the touchline just inside our half, first half of the game, where he slipped two Cardiff players trying to close him down. I've no idea how he did it - it was Baiano-esque.

He really lifts the crowd.

[Eoghan1884]

JWZ is the goalie for the championship TOTW

[Animal is a Ram]

2 minutes ago, Crewton said:

He did another trick on the touchline just inside our half, first half of the game, where he slipped two Cardiff players trying to close him down. I've no idea how he did it - it was Baiano-esque.

He really lifts the crowd.

I think the best thing is that he can't be considered a luxury player - it's not as if he doesn't do the dirty work to go alongside the tricks and flicks.

[ramsbottom]

1 hour ago, Eoghan1884 said:

JWZ is the goalie for the championship TOTW

I guess Beck must've played like prime Roberto Carlos to keep Elder out of LB...

[Animal is a Ram]

1 hour ago, ramsbottom said:

I guess Beck must've played like prime Roberto Carlos to keep Elder out of LB...

Beck - 8.47 - 90mins, 0 shots, 0 assists, 2 key passes, 2 aerial duels won, 75% pass accuracy (of 25 attempted), 58 touches, 3 dribbles, 5 tackles, 3 interceptions, 4 clearances, 3/5 accurate crosses

Elder - 7.33 - 81mins, 2 shots (0 on target), 1 assist, 2 key passes, 2 aerials, 76% pass accuracy (of 25 attempted), 52 touches, 0 dribbles, 0 tackles, 0 clearances, 0 interceptions, 0 clearances, 3/7 accurate crosses

I would expect that WhoScored places more value on the defensive aspects. 

[brady1993]

Just got round to watching this.

First half was excellent and honestly I thought in some ways better than the Bristol performance. Building on those positive signs. Noticeably we were trying to play our way out far more, less aimless punts and some of the linkup play was sublime at times, I think with that fraction extra sharpness I think we'd have put them to the sword here. Kenzo and Yates were real standouts, the two of them are quickly raising up the list of individual players that I've most enjoyed watching play for us. I may be one of the biggest proponents for possession based football on here but when I'm talking about it I'm not necessarily talking just keeping it for the sake but more that we look like we care about having the ball and recycle it when something isn't on. That's the big shift I'm seeing in this first half performance and against Bristol is a shift towards going quickly when it's on and then showing some patience if it isn't. I think it's a fantastic sign that our first 11 can play good football and be very competitive in the division. 

Second half though.... in some ways I'm not sure to make of it. I suspect I'll be more negative than some about it because I honestly feel that Cardiff weren't terrible we could have easily been in trouble. All the positives I was talking about above went out the window and we looked every bit the recent promoted league 1 wanting to play the percentages and try to hold onto the lead. I'm not sure how much was tactical, how much was down to player responding to the game situation and how much was the enforced change. 

With Ozoh going we seemed to completely lose the ability to play through the midfield. Adams brought in a deeper role was punting possession away left and right and players were reluctant to move the ball through him, it has to be said that whilst he's truly excellent out of possession he's a liability in it. Shifting so he was the sole pivot means the ball kinda has to go through him and it just couldn't. Osborn wasn't much help either both slow to react to get into space for the pass and sloppy in possession. It was noticeable how we tried to keep playing the same way for about 10 minutes before giving up, with nerves visibly spreading through the team. Which meant we started play long aimless balls to a 5ft9 striker. I don't how much of this shift was tactical from the bench versus how much was a team getting the jitters with a slender lead but it needed to be addressed quickly. This has had the following impact that we tired faster and first time in the past two games it started to get easy to cut through the middle. We did try to address it in some ways by shifting to a back 3 but that felt more like tackling the symptom of 'Cardiff are on top' versus the root cause of losing our ability to progress with the ball and in anyway retain it. I think some changes needed to come earlier and I think needed to be another striker coming on instead of forsyth, nyambe going off and either Harness coming on at RWB or Ward coming on.

My main concern is how singularly disruptive losing Ozoh was and what we do about it going forwards because based on this game it can't just be swap him for Osborn and move Adams further back. It's not something that I think can be cleanly solved either.

On a brighter note:

- The connection building between the front 3 and Goudmijn is exciting to watch. Give them a platform and I think they'll be hard for any team to stop.

- It's outrageous how consistently Yates can open a defence with a flick.

- Goudmijn's confidence is growing and it's going to be fun to see exactly how high a level he can reach for us. There were several moments throughout the game were I thought to myself how the hell did nobody else snatch him up.

- Zetterstrom's reactions and awareness are fantastic. I'm not talking purely making saves either  but there were a couple moments where his fast reaction to danger snuffed out it out (when Cashin got caught and when the ball didn't go out and nobody reacted).

- The connection on our left hand side is really promising to see, it's noticeable how we can work a dangerous attack between Cashin, Elder, NML and Yates. 

 

[brady1993]

Also Adams' kinda distils everything excellent and bad about him as a player into a single highlight.