Craig Noone is not the answer

[A-team]

" CRAIG NOONE IS NOT THE ANSWER "

By Paul Abbandonato

Thursday January 1st 2015


Craig Noone is not the playmaker Cardiff City desperately need... Russell Slade had FOUR better options in his squad!


Around this time last year, Craig Noone produced the best outfield display by a Cardiff City player in the Premier League when he had a blinder of a match against title-winners Manchester City.

The Bluebirds lost the game 4-2, but Noone dazzled and danced down the wing and gave Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis and Aleksandar Kolarov a torrid time as he constantly ran at and tormented them over the 90 minutes.

I recall penning an article four days on saying I didn't realise Noone was that good, although perhaps it's fair to say he hasn't hit those lofty heights since.

What that Manchester City match demonstrated, though, is that on his day Noone can mix it with the very best... played in a familiar position out the right wing.

That, in my opinion, is what Noone is. A winger who can use his pace and directness down the flanks to get at full-backs and whip over crosses to create scoring opportunities. As happened, of course, when Noone so splendidly beat two men by the touchline before setting up Kenwyne Jones' goal against Watford the other day.

He started that match in the creative position at the tip of a midfield diamond, Russell Slade realising he had to bolster his engine room by bringing in Tom Adeyemi next to the over-run Peter Whittingham and Aron Gunnarsson.

While Adeyemi did well, bringing much-needed legs to the Cardiff midfield for the 61 minutes he was on the pitch, Noone didn't look comfortable in the new role he has been handed.

Noone, whose busy, purposeful style of play makes him a fans' favourite, has many qualities as a footballer. I've outlined a few of them above, but having the guile and passing vision required to be a successful creative playmaker isn't necessarily one of them.

Sticking him in that traditional 10 role reminded me of the times Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tried Gunnarsson in the advanced position.

It didn't work then, although Solskjaer stubbornly refused to accept what was staring everybody in the face, and I'm not convinced it will work with Noone, either.

There were no pass-and-move one-twos in and around the Watford box, no slide rule through-balls. No getting into the space between the opposition midfield and defence to wreak havoc. Cardiff lacked craft, were far too reliant upon set-pieces.

This is not Noone's fault. He's probably got more about him as a 10 than Gunnarsson, but surely he's better suited to the wing?

I raise the issue because Cardiff City have had no fewer than FOUR players at the club this season who ARE perfectly suited to playing as the advanced midfielder, possessing the range of passing, creativity and the dribbling ability (with some of them at least) to make the Bluebirds a much more offensive force from open play.

The best of the lot is Mats Moller Daehli, who the club are letting leave in a couple of days' time when he joins Bundesliga outfit Freiburg.

Daehli is a quality footballer and, to the best of my knowledge, was still a Cardiff City employee for the last few matches.

The club say Daehli wishes to leave, but if he was being paid by Cardiff City FC why not utilise him? The fear, one presumes, was that he may not try as hard as he should, but would Daehli really have fared any worse than the rest of Slade's players against Watford and Charlton?

Many fans believe his presence would have vastly improved the side. I'm in that camp, too.

In my view, Daehli is the most naturally gifted footballer the Bluebirds have had on their books since Aaron Ramsey and losing a player of that talent is the last straw for some fans.

Cardiff's loss is very much Freiburg's gain.

Ravel Morrison was another player signed by the Bluebirds this season who, like Daehli, possesses the football intelligence and craft to get between the lines and create. He, too, has left, for different reasons, of course.

Kim Bo-kyung is also more suited to the creative midfield role than he is stuck out on the wing, which is where the Bluebirds have tended to use him too often over the past couple of seasons.

Kim had one run as the central offensive midfielder, played just in front of Jordon Mutch and Gunnarsson, when Malky Mackay ditched Peter Whittingham in the closing months of the Championship winning 2012-13 season.

At this level, Kimbo proved brilliant in the role, bringing fresh energy and effervescence to a City side who had begun to go off the boil and, next to Mutch, galvanising the team and helping them roar over the promotion line.

Kimbo, too, has been overlooked. Whittingham hasn't been, a consistent pick for Slade even though the Cardiff midfield is regularly overpowered and desperately in need of box-to-box legs.

Whittingham starts deeper, but he, too, might be better suited to the more creative position. He wouldn't be as comfortable with his back to goal as Daehli, Morrison or Kim, can't twist and turn like they do, lacks their pace.

But instead of playing square balls near halfway, at least a more advanced Whittingham would be strutting his stuff further forward where it really matters. He certainly has the vision to put his strikers into space.

Sadly, Daehli and Morrison, the logical choices, are not available any more. Kim and Whittingham are... would they be better options to Noone?
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cr aig-noone-not-playmaker-cardiff-8368128

[cardiff55]

Typical tush from Wales Online 's finest! He seems to think Daehli us in of the best players we've ever had? He was at best a talented youngster with potential, which was never fulfilled at City. Getting £2m back fir him was a good deal. He could have stayed and been developed but bviously wanted away. What is the point about bleating on abou Ravel Morrison, he only started one game for us and we don't know what happens in training. Kim seems to gave lost it totally. If we played 5 in midfield to two wingers can support the central striker, and we'd still have 3 in central midfield, and all 5 can sit back when we are defending. Don't forget this chap us paid to wrote articles, so they don't have to make sense or be good.

[insider]

That article just skips all around the fact that the Gunnarsson and Whittingham partnership does n`t work.

[ragbone]

We have not had a creative midfield player for years

[Cretin Hop]

City's central midfield this year has been the worst since 2000. Constantly outpaced and outfought and outplayed since game 1. Staggering that 2 managers and several assistants/coaches haven't been able to get it right.

[ragbone]

City's central midfield this year has been the worst since 2000. Constantly outpaced and outfought and outplayed since game 1. Staggering that 2 managers and several assistants/coaches haven't been able to get it right.

I would say since Kav left , we have not had a real playmaker.

[Penybont Blue]

Pretty spot on our better players are being pick and played out of position, by Laurel and Hardy

[poc]

knob

[A-team]

Typical tush from Wales Online 's finest! He seems to think Daehli us in of the best players we've ever had? He was at best a talented youngster with potential, which was never fulfilled at City. Getting £2m back fir him was a good deal. He could have stayed and been developed but bviously wanted away. What is the point about bleating on abou Ravel Morrison, he only started one game for us and we don't know what happens in training. Kim seems to gave lost it totally. If we played 5 in midfield to two wingers can support the central striker, and we'd still have 3 in central midfield, and all 5 can sit back when we are defending. Don't forget this chap us paid to wrote articles, so they don't have to make sense or be good.

That is not Noone. He is not the most intelligent of players, he is a winger runs at the defence he doesnt have the skill set to play in the middle, he looses the ball all the time his pass completion is rubbish. If you want to play someone there of the current squad its whitts or maybe Kim.

[Vimana.]

City's central midfield this year has been the worst since 2000. Constantly outpaced and outfought and outplayed since game 1. Staggering that 2 managers and several assistants/coaches haven't been able to get it right.

I would say since Kav left , we have not had a real playmaker.

Or maybe none of the above ..

[WJ99mobile]

Amen.

[life on mars]

Got one now Tomlin