Post-Match City 0 - 1 Cardiff

[Legend_in_blue]

The goal was initiated through Whitbread giving the ball away with one of his trademark hoofs to no one up front.

As soon as any player does that it becomes at best a 50-50 ball to go and win. However, since we couldn't win the ball in the air all day long, what was a 50-50 ball becomes virtually unwinnable. We may as well just pass it straight to them.

When we do that we put unnecessary pressure on ourselves and end up backing off and playing too deep. This inevitably leads to even more errors and Konchesky bears the brunt of it.

However, imo the way we bring it on ourselves doesn't do us any favours at all. The ball needs to be protected better and that means the CBs taking more responsibility with it in terms of keeping sensible possession and making decent passes TO FEET!!!

[Guy]

And, Bellamy was different class yesterday. His workrate and movement was second to none, better than anybody else's on the pitch. Good attitude towards the game. Made a lot of space before he even scored the goal as well.

To all intents and purposes Bellamy's still a Prem. player really and has only dropped down to the Championship to be playing for his hometown team, much like he did when he was loaned out by Liverpool to them two seasons ago!

[Guest Col city fan]

Well like I said, I might have been talking shit.

What player would that have been then a DM?

I love how EVERYTHING would have been stopped with a defensive midfielder in your world.

I think you have misunderstood Thracians post as it seems to me he's suggesting it was a defenders job to pick him up, not advocating a DM.

Does a 'defensive specialist' have to be a defender?

Neil Lennon wasn't a defender? Nigel deJong isn't a defender. Javier Mascherano isn't an orthodox defender?

They were/are simply midfielders with a defensive mind and a defensive responsibility in the team.

Yes I do believe this is something the team lacks and has been demonstrated all season. I've not changed my mind on that.

With regards to King, I also agree with Thrac. King can be a sensational player on his day, but playing him in a flat 4-4-2 such that he needs to defend so much, is wasting possibly the most naturally gifted player in the squad. Support him defensively and let him do damage in the oppositions half. That's where King shines out.

[Babylon]

Does a 'defensive specialist' have to be a defender?

Well you will have to ask Thracian, but I read it a different way to you.

Does a 'defensive specialist' have to be a defender?

Neil Lennon wasn't a defender? Nigel deJong isn't a defender. Javier Mascherano isn't an orthodox defender?

They were/are simply midfielders with a defensive mind and a defensive responsibility in the team.

Yes I do believe this is something the team lacks and has been demonstrated all season. I've not changed my mind on that.

With regards to King, I also agree with Thrac. King can be a sensational player on his day, but playing him in a flat 4-4-2 such that he needs to defend so much, is wasting possibly the most naturally gifted player in the squad. Support him defensively and let him do damage in the oppositions half. That's where King shines out.

If we were missing anything yesterday it wasn't a DM. A driving force in the midfield to drag everyone forward definitely, defensively we were hardly troubled at all. Going forward the last 30 minutes the only player with any driving force and desire was Morgan. That's what I found so infuriating, hardly anyone looked like they wanted it or were willing to run through walls to get the goal we needed.

[LJS]

Col is right. We need a midfielder who can defend. That doesn't have to be somebody who starts the game sitting in front of the defence, but it does need to be somebody who plays with a more defensive mindset, thus reducing the gap between the defence and the midfield which currently results in us hoofing the ball forward because passing options are too far up the pitch.

Our midfield, whilst talented, is horribly imbalanced. It's also one of the reasons we tend to sit deep, collectively, once we take our foot off the attacking pedal. If we had someone in the middle who could support the backline that wouldn't be necessary as the defence would be protected without having to squeeze the entire outfield into an area on the edge of our penalty box.

[Happy Fox]

King did drive forwards yesterday personally feel the formation is the major stumbling block we need to get Marshall and Knockaert into the game is we are playing 4-4-2 it isn't working yet NP seems to reluctant to change which is annoying.

[cc_star]

Well you will have to ask Thracian, but I read it a different way to you.

If we were missing anything yesterday it wasn't a DM. A driving force in the midfield to drag everyone forward definitely, defensively we were hardly troubled at all. Going forward the last 30 minutes the only player with any driving force and desire was Morgan. That's what I found so infuriating, hardly anyone looked like they wanted it or were willing to run through walls to get the goal we needed.

Makes no difference if Morgan uncharacteristically joins Whitbread & Konch in lumping it forward... may as well sub the entire midfield and stick more forwards on if the players are going to regress to missing the midfield out.

If people really are clamouring for a DM, I think Drinkwater could do that job, he's awful at shooting not much point in him being in the final third - he could take one for the team and specialise in breaking up play and simple 10 yard passes to start attacks off, Neil Lennon style, passing to the speed of Dyer or the one-touch guile of King & Knocky

[Guest Col city fan]

Well you will have to ask Thracian, but I read it a different way to you.

If we were missing anything yesterday it wasn't a DM. A driving force in the midfield to drag everyone forward definitely, defensively we were hardly troubled at all. Going forward the last 30 minutes the only player with any driving force and desire was Morgan. That's what I found so infuriating, hardly anyone looked like they wanted it or were willing to run through walls to get the goal we needed.

That's my point mate. Rid Kung of his defensive duties and he can be that driving force on a greater scale. Again, I'm sure I saw King make some great runs in the first half? The 'driving force' you speak of?

It could well be that it drops off in the second half because King is actually starting to tire, due to his 'dual role' so to speak?

Just a thought..

[Babylon]

That's my point mate. Rid Kung of his defensive duties and he can be that driving force on a greater scale. Again, I'm sure I saw King make some great runs in the first half? The 'driving force' you speak of?

It could well be that it drops off in the second half because King is actually starting to tire, due to his 'dual role' so to speak?

Just a thought..

Desire Col, not so much forward runs. We just didn't look like we wanted it, or believed we could do it. They subbed the only bloke other than Morgan who looked like he believed he could break them down for a player who spent his time on the pitch seemingly seeking out Cardiff players to hide behind.

[Guest Col city fan]

Probably gonna get shot down in flames for this but don't the best teams usually play that defensive minded midfielder and get success from it?

Man City and DeJong/Barry

Barcelona and Mascherano/ Busquets?

Chelsea and Obi Mikel/ Essien?

Inter and Cambiasso?

Even Man U and Carrick?

Of course, we ain't in the same ball park as these teams, but it seems like the best sides cover their back four such that their best attacking players can simply, attack?

Desire Col, not so much forward runs. We just didn't look like we wanted it, or believed we could do it. They subbed the only bloke other than Morgan who looked like he believed he could break them down for a player who spent his time on the pitch seemingly seeking out Cardiff players to hide behind.

Can't argue with that buddy..

[Bert]

King made a mistake. He was ball watching, not marking anyone, and not aware of Bellamy pulling back to the edge of the penalty area. It's the job of the central midfielder to guard against the pull back.

Exactly. King should've been on the edge of the box. The defensive line was fine where it was, there was no need for king to be where he was.

[THEBIGJOHNSTEADER;]

It was actually very annoying seeing that ball hit the back of the net. My balls melted when I saw the pull back to Craigy Bell

[kingfox]

Still don't know why King is the one to blame, the ball shouldn't of even been crossed to Bellamy in the first place. I've seen the goal three times now, well four if you count it live in the Stadium, and Konchesky's defending keeps on making me cringe. It's shocking, well and truly shocking, he had enough time to put his foot in, or stop the cross but he didn't do it, Drinkwater was next to him as well and he failed to do the same. Yes King should of been closer to Bellamy, but Konchesky should of never let the cross come in, i'm sorry but isn't it his job to do that?

Also going on the defensive midfielder again, I still think we need one in some games, but yesterday I didn't think the midfield did too bad, I have seen them play a lot worse this season. Either Drinkwater and King needed to find those killer passes, or play with more urgency, but like I said yesterday King played well, won balls, created two good chances for himself, and defended pretty well, especially when they counter attacked, played it across the box and King got his toe onto it and poked it away, if he didn't do that it then it would of most likely been 2-0.

[whoareyaaa]

/.

[Guest ttfn]

Why do people have to establish blame for a goal?

It was a great finish by Bellamy to settle a game we should have won. If there was a mistake for the goal, it certainly didn't cost us the game.

[okie fox]

Still don't know why King is the one to blame, the ball shouldn't of even been crossed to Bellamy in the first place. I've seen the goal three times now, well four if you count it live in the Stadium, and Konchesky's defending keeps on making me cringe. It's shocking, well and truly shocking, he had enough time to put his foot in, or stop the cross but he didn't do it, Drinkwater was next to him as well and he failed to do the same. Yes King should of been closer to Bellamy, but Konchesky should of never let the cross come in, i'm sorry but isn't it his job to do that?

King isn't the only one to blame. Koncheskey didn't do enough.

[Corky]

Should've won the game in the first half, had enough chances and gave away a soft goal, although well-finished.

They were nothing special and there for the taking, we ran out of ideas in the second half but had our opportunities in the first to take control of the game.

[Phil Bertstreet]

The goal was initiated through Whitbread giving the ball away with one of his trademark hoofs to no one up front.

As soon as any player does that it becomes at best a 50-50 ball to go and win. However, since we couldn't win the ball in the air all day long, what was a 50-50 ball becomes virtually unwinnable. We may as well just pass it straight to them.

When we do that we put unnecessary pressure on ourselves and end up backing off and playing too deep. This inevitably leads to even more errors and Konchesky bears the brunt of it.

However, imo the way we bring it on ourselves doesn't do us any favours at all. The ball needs to be protected better and that means the CBs taking more responsibility with it in terms of keeping sensible possession and making decent passes TO FEET!!!

I thought RDL headed the ball out to a Cardiff player for the goal...?

Keep saying....the midfield should make themselves available to receive the ball. But they run off upfield and leave the defence to clear their lines with no option to pass on the ground. Don't blame the defence, it happens all the time.

[Phil Bertstreet]

Why do people have to establish blame for a goal?

It was a great finish by Bellamy to settle a game we should have won. If there was a mistake for the goal, it certainly didn't cost us the game.

Agreed. I would have been disappointed if we'd drawn 0-0 given the chances we had.

[Leicesterpool]

To be fair we didn't deserve anything from the game, Cardiff looked stronger than us in every department yesterday. We had a fair few chances in the first 20 minutes but weren't dangerous enough after that. A few players yesterday didn't have good game at all, Nugent looked weak, Knocky just got closed down every chance of attack, King looked poor, none of the substitutions made a difference. Lingard coming on was really a weird one, Waggy looked a bit unfit for me, Marshall didn't actually do much.

Overall we weren't great but weren't bad either, it's just I feel we need that attacker upfront who can but the ball in the back of the net, also we need a ball winner in the centre midfield position.

Plus what's happened to Futacs and Schlupp are they both injured?

Another thing to add i feel that Konchesky at the back slows the game down for me in my opinion.

[leicesterseddon]

To be fair we didn't deserve anything from the game, Cardiff looked stronger than us in every department yesterday. We had a fair few chances in the first 20 minutes but weren't dangerous enough after that. A few players yesterday didn't have good game at all, Nugent looked weak, Knocky just got closed down every chance of attack, King looked poor, none of the substitutions made a difference. Lingard coming on was really a weird one, Waggy looked a bit unfit for me, Marshall didn't actually do much.

Overall we weren't great but weren't bad either, it's just I feel we need that attacker upfront who can but the ball in the back of the net, also we need a ball winner in the centre midfield position.

Plus what's happened to Futacs and Schlupp are they both injured?

Another thing to add i feel that Konchesky at the back slows the game down for me in my opinion.

I disagree with Cardiff being 'better in every department' than us yesterday. I thought we played well enough when you consider the standard of the opposition, and certainly deserved at least a draw.

In all honesty I suspect Cardiff would have been more than happy with a point and rather played that way, defending deep and trying to hit us on the counter-attack. They had a small number of genuine chances and one of their better players took one of them. They did a job on us really; I certainly don't think we were outclassed.

Our problem is that if we don't go ahead early on we seem to lack the conviction to kill games off, or come back if we go behind. We're better than we were at this under Sven, but still not good enough to put in the sort of run of form you need to reach the top echelons of the league.

I fear that automatic promotion is now probably beyond us - although as is glibly repeated in Championship analysis, it does remain true that 'anything can happen in this league'. I think we're more than capable of a PO spot, however.

[marbelladave]

That's my point mate. Rid Kung of his defensive duties and he can be that driving force on a greater scale. Again, I'm sure I saw King make some great runs in the first half? The 'driving force' you speak of?

It could well be that it drops off in the second half because King is actually starting to tire, due to his 'dual role' so to speak?

Just a thought..

Sorry Col, but that is completely arse about face. King is in no way an attacking midfield player, he is forced into getting forward as there is no-one in front of him to support our attacks. He and drink water are simply overwhelmed by being required to cover everything from our deep lying back 4 to out front men, no wonder they both look knackered.

Exactly. King should've been on the edge of the box. The defensive line was fine where it was, there was no need for king to be where he was.

No, just plain wrong. King's defensive play in our box is an integral part of our defensive play, he has got us out of trouble more times than I can count. Our attacking midfielders should be picking up the loose stuff on the edge of our box, if we actually had any that is.

To be fair we didn't deserve anything from the game, Cardiff looked stronger than us in every department yesterday. We had a fair few chances in the first 20 minutes but weren't dangerous enough after that. A few players yesterday didn't have good game at all, Nugent looked weak, Knocky just got closed down every chance of attack, King looked poor, none of the substitutions made a difference. Lingard coming on was really a weird one, Waggy looked a bit unfit for me, Marshall didn't actually do much.

Overall we weren't great but weren't bad either, it's just I feel we need that attacker upfront who can but the ball in the back of the net, also we need a ball winner in the centre midfield position.

Plus what's happened to Futacs and Schlupp are they both injured?

Another thing to add i feel that Konchesky at the back slows the game down for me in my opinion.

Actually we deserved at least a goal in the first half, we were pretty good for most of it.

The problem was that when Cardiff started the second half with pretty much everyone behind the ball and made the game scrappy, we had no idea how to change the game iand make things happen. Making like for like substitutions did not do it, unlikely that it would, our second best attacking players were not going to achieve what our best players could not, not in the same formation anyway.

[Thracian]

I disagree with Cardiff being 'better in every department' than us yesterday. I thought we played well enough when you consider the standard of the opposition, and certainly deserved at least a draw.

In all honesty I suspect Cardiff would have been more than happy with a point and rather played that way, defending deep and trying to hit us on the counter-attack. They had a small number of genuine chances and one of their better players took one of them. They did a job on us really; I certainly don't think we were outclassed.

Our problem is that if we don't go ahead early on we seem to lack the conviction to kill games off, or come back if we go behind. We're better than we were at this under Sven, but still not good enough to put in the sort of run of form you need to reach the top echelons of the league.

I fear that automatic promotion is now probably beyond us - although as is glibly repeated in Championship analysis, it does remain true that 'anything can happen in this league'. I think we're more than capable of a PO spot, however.

How did we deserve a draw. They scored once and had by far the easiest chance of the game to make it 2-0 when they somehow missed a tap in to an open goal.

I'm not forgetting that we hit the woodwork twice and that Kingy might well have scored from one of his two promising runs but Cardiff had the best chances and took one.

Truth is we didn't do nearly enough to test their defenders and we very rarely busied their keeper. You deserve nothing for "nil" and that's what we registered - again.

[okie fox]

No, just plain wrong. King's defensive play in our box is an integral part of our defensive play, he has got us out of trouble more times than I can count. Our attacking midfielders should be picking up the loose stuff on the edge of our box, if we actually had any that is.

King was in a useless position, ball watching and not in position to mark anyone or to cut out the pass to Bellamy!

[marbelladave]

King was in a useless position, ball watching and not in position to mark anyone or to cut out the pass to Bellamy!

I have not seen the goal other than live, at that time I was cursing Koncheski for allowing the cross and our central defenders for failing to command our area.

These are common failings of ours so even if King could have done better in this instance, the point stands in general terms.