| + Visit Cardiff FC for Latest News, Transfer Gossip, Fixtures and Match Results |
I find it rather funny that some of us feel inclined to turn our nose up at the prospect of signing a current Welsh international, up until recently a premier league player and a cardiff boy to boot, on a free. Bearing in mind the current love-in with a manager who we apparently trust 100%
Show how far we've come I guess, but while I accept the concerns about Joe's age/pace/fitness we'd be mad not to sign him.
Apart from Tomlin our central midfield cover against QPR was Greg Halford. And Tomlin doesn't play central mid does he?.Originally Posted by TH63
People forget we will get injuries. It is guaranteed. What happens if one of the three get injuries who are starting now??.
Anyone who wouldn't want Ledley is an idiot!.
Bang on
Glad to see some supportive posts for this signing if it comes off. People are talking as if Ledley is about 35, he's never been the quickest, but he's always had very good stamina - I fail to see how our squad cannot be stronger with Joe in it.
Of course the squad would be stronger but yet again I repeat the question.
Who gets dropped for Ledley to play? There's zero chance he would come here to be a backup. Zero. If there was, then I'd happily have him around. Ralls, Gunner and Damour have all earnt the starting roles.
I'm pretty sure he knows he's here as a back up at the moment - When was the last time he played any competitive football? He can't and won't expect to walk straight back in to the team. He needs to prove himself, when he has got match fit, to be a better option than either Ralls, Damour or Gunnar - He has got his work cut out in that respect and if he does get in there in merit he will be one hell of a free signing.
Of course he can't expect from our perspective but we're talking about a footballer here. Not always the most rational of people.
There's been very little interest in him from teams at Prem or Championship level. Maybe he only wants to come here. Maybe other mangers see something people here don't. We do need backup for the central midfield area, I just personally would prefer someone younger who can work for the longer term.
You talk as if the first team is cast in stone - it isn't, there are ebbs and flows in form from all players throughout a forty six game season, people get injured, people get suspended, people have off pitch issues that can effect hoe they perform on it.
To answer your question, my guess is that Ledley would be on the bench initially because of his lack of match practice. However, two things occur to me - first, I remember all of those seasons up until the year we got promoted where promotion bids floundered because, from about March onwards, we had a squad that was running on empty. Second, I remember how tired we looked in the last fifteen minutes against Sheffield United when we were over reliant on Etheridge keeping our two goal lead - we are playing a very physically demanding game in central midfield and I reckon there's every chance that there are going to be times when Warnock will want to shake things up in there for reasons of tiredness, as well as all of the things I listed above.
Agreed, we need backup, need to increase the squad size for central midfield for exactly the reasons you give. Those reasons however don't mean that Ledley is the answer to that question.
Don't you think if Warnock really wanted him he'd have been here a long time ago? The same lack of quality depth is the same now as it was three months ago - and I doubt anybody at the club would have expected Damour to play the way he has. Ledley has been available all summer. If there was interest on his part in returning here, surely it would have already happened by now given the utter lack of interest in other clubs picking him up?
my thoughts exactly. Spot on.
Hopefully at a non premiership wage , this imbalance of wages does effect dressing rooms
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote