Quote Originally Posted by the other bob wilson View Post
One thing that there does seem to be generalagreement on is that our transfer committee has been something of a disaster over the past decade or so. We’ve made some good signings down the years, but the recent publicity about Perry Ng being sold has offered something of a reminder as to how bad our record is at selling players at a profit.

With making a profit on players being such a rarity at Cardiff, you would have thought that developing our own would become more of a priority. If you believe what we hear in the media, there is a desire for younger players to see first team action in the Board room, but most of our recent managers have it seems to me been more reluctant to use them than many of their counterparts at other clubs.

Moving on to the current situation, Ashford is someone who was identified early as a good prospect and he’s done his cause no harm at all so far. Conte was a very pleasant surprise to me as he didn’t seem phased about things at all on Saturday and coped well in a position he’s not used to. There are others away from the club like Isaak Davies and Eli King who I think have got a chance of becoming Championship players with City.

However,there is one young player who came up through theranks with us who there should be no more argument about at the moment. I’ve always backed Rubin Colwill and fought his corner at times when he was having a rough time of it last year with his growth spurts or whatever they’re called.

With the season virtually over, his goal scoring and assist figures are disappointing, but, based on what he has shown since the turn of the year and given the general level of the squad when it comes to things like creativity and individual ability, I’d argue strongly that Colwill has to be starting every week for us.

I’ll admit the fact he’s Welsh has been a factor in me championing his cause, but I do because for most of my City supporting life, there has been a nucleus of young, home grown players in first team - indeed, Colwill is at an age now where he would not have been the subject of debates like these in the past because it would have been thought that if he hadn’t broken through to be a first team regular by now, he never would be.

The idea that players of the age Aaron Ramsey, Chris Gunter and Declan John were when they first played for City cannot do so now has become the accepted wisdom at the club in the last ten years or so, yet Premier Division Wolves had a fifteen year old on the bench on Saturday! City have spent fortunes under this owner while becoming a club where the winner of the annual young player of the year award is closer to twenty five than twenty and where’s it got us? Arguably, were worse now at first team level than when Ramsey and Gunter were breaking through.