Blackburn

Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
The season’s finale. And our start line-up is ......

Swansea City: Kristoffer Nordfeldt; Connor Roberts, Mike van der Hoorn (capt), Cameron Carter-Vickers, Declan John; George Byers, Jay Fulton, Matt Grimes; Wayne Routledge, Courtney Baker-Richardson, Oli McBurnie.

Subs: Steven Benda, Kyle Naughton, Joe Rodon, Nathan Dyer, Barrie McKay, Joel Asoro, Yan Dhanda.

James is out with a bad toe. John starts in place of Naughton. Fulton starts in place of McKay. Dhanda ... remember him from the first game of the season ... joins the bench; will we get another cameo with a goal.

As a season of promise, hope, risk, and what could have been comes to a close, we have baptized and seen a number of players come of age in the senior ranks. The dessert of worry and turmoil of close season starts in about 2 hours time as I am posting. May Birch see the value and carry the mind of a builder and investor not a liquidator.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Looking at the table Derby, Middlesboro and Bristol have something to battle for today. Bristol and Middlesboro !?!?! I ask you? West Brom are the key deciders. The Derby v WBA game is being covered by ESPN+.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Nordfeldt yet again never fails to disappoint. Flapping his fists in the air missing two punches when any competent keeper at any level could / should / would have caught the ball ... twice. Nordfeldt is the biggest pussy of a keeper I have ever seen. In fact, he makes McKay look like Tommy Smith. And McKay could never be confused with Tommy Smith.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
If Potter doesn't sign a new keeper for next season or dump Nordy and promote Benda then he's a fucking idiot. Nordy has cost us this season and we cannot suffer that again if we have any ambition to be promoted.

If I was Potter I would have sub'd Benda just to make a point.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
McB scores with a lovely header from a Grimes free kick. Despite inept keeping on our part, we are leading and deservedly so after an initial burst of high pressing from Rovers
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Nordfeldt's dismal attempt to impersonate a keeper notwithstanding, a solid first half performance in a game that matters little. Scoring 2, it could easily have been 3 or 4 and if you want to be critical and we had been more committed and incisive in front of goal.

How will Wyndham avoid pissing on Nordfeldt at half timie? It's a struggle.

Good performances from John, McB, and Grimes at left back. Grimes is one of the top players in this league at every position he plays.
 
ivoralljack

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
From what I'm hearing, we're doing well and have created a few chances. Considering we've been missing our major playmaker in Celina we've been doing okay. But I have to agree about Grimes. The lad is becoming a force at this level and must be the first name on the team sheet these days.

Yankee_Jack said:
May Birch see the value and carry the mind of a builder and investor not a liquidator.
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more. There is so much potential in this team it would be criminal to break it up. I'd be more than happy to go into next season with just this team. But if the owners started showing that they care and injected some funds to buy a little experience to help nurture the youngsters on the field, I would be placing a sizeable bet on us making top six....... or even better.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Finished 10th. A draw that should have been a win. Rovers showed better in the second half, much better.

A game that clearly showed our one nagging weakness ... keeper. At every other position we have strength developing, which should be better and more mature next season. A season of frustration for the most part for this particular supporter, we could have done better had we not been dogged by lapses in performance and the bizarre first half that saw veterans like Dyer and Routs sidelined when they could have provided class, stability and guidance on the field. We do have a cohort of quality for next season that will provide a solid foundation to challenge for the top 6. It needs to be bolstered and we need to find people to fill immediate gaps ... at keeper and CB with the return of CCV to Spurs.

We will have a bevy of players show up at preseason returning from loan. Big money in wages that we will want to move off the books one way or another.. let's not wait until last minute to sell them, move them early and then apply the revenues to fresh blood
 
ivoralljack

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Here we go again indeed. Commentators said that Blackburn came out, upped the tempo and physicality and we conceded almost immediately. Where have I heard that before? It's a recurring theme. When will our team and coaches realise that other teams have worked out that we are uncomfortable with a side that gets in our faces? So that's what they do. It's a physical contact sport and it's about time that our namby-pambly players MUST start holding their own. Most teams know that if they allow us to play, they'll get mullered. So they stop us playing and we meekly accept it.

To be honest, it's an Achilles Heel that has to be addressed big time before next season. It's my one reservation about us, assuming that Nordy will be replaced and some intensive set piece training will be put in place to eradicate the goals we've been gifting all season.
 
CroJack

CroJack

Key Player
ivoralljack said:
When will our team and coaches realise that other teams have worked out that we are uncomfortable with a side that gets in our faces?
Click to expand...
Correct. We are still not good enough with the ball to figure out what to do when opposition presses us high and gets physical. Sometimes you have to hoof it. The worst thing to do is to lose the ball in our own third. For god sake hoof it and press THEM high. If Liverpool can hoof it when under pressure so can we.


ivoralljack said:
It's my one reservation about us, assuming that Nordy will be replaced and some intensive set piece training will be put in place to eradicate the goals we've been gifting all season.
Click to expand...
Yes, we need a better goalkeeper. We can't afford this crap to go on.
And it's not only set pieces (mostly corner-kicks) we have to adress but also crosses from open play, both low and high.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
At least we close out this season with the comfort and joy of knowing that Cardiff yet again don’t have what it takes to be a premier league club ... as the old saying goes there are premier league clubs and then there are those that play in the premier league ... Cardiff plays no more, and soon enough the rightful order of things will be restored.
 
ivoralljack

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Some highlights, or lowlights from a goalkeeping perspective. What a pig's guts Nordy made of that first goal!!


Basic stats:

POSSESSION: 47-53 SHOTS: 11-10 OT: 4-3 CORNERS: 11-3 FOULS: 9-9 GOALS: 2-2
 
ivoralljack

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Noticed that CBR's socks are gradually heading south in sympathy with Oli's and George Byers looks like his are on the way to joining that club as well. It's enough to make @Ladygargar go truly apoplectic!! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom