The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

[jon1959]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

I know Riza said this and that it was the plan all along, no reason to doubt him I guess. At the same time I wouldn't expect him to say 'we've screwed up here and left ourselves short' either. This came up in the loan thread the other day and I said there's no point in me speculating, I don't know enough about it. Are there free agents out there who are match fit and ready to step into a Championship side? I've no idea. We haven't found one yet if there are.

I don't even know what the rule is to be honest. If we can add a free agent to the 24, can we add a player who's already here? If we can't then it seems odd to be playing Conte at under-21 level, if we can then it doesn't seem the worst option to bring him in. Not only are we down to our last right back while Rinomhota's out but we haven't got an attacking option there anyway while Kpakio's out.

I don't know the rules either but I can't think of any reason why a club can't add someone already on their books to the 25 man squad - although from the way Riza originally explained the decision it sounded as if Conte was frozen out of the first team until the summer.

Derby signed Jeff Hendrick today, and Portsmouth signed Alexander Milosovic - both to the end of the season - and neither have played for ages but presumably both clubs have left a vacancy in their squad lists.

[Loramski]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

I don't know the rules either but I can't think of any reason why a club can't add someone already on their books to the 25 man squad - although from the way Riza originally explained the decision it sounded as if Conte was frozen out of the first team until the summer.

Derby signed Jeff Hendrick today, and Portsmouth signed Alexander Milosovic - both to the end of the season - and neither have played for ages but presumably both clubs have left a vacancy in their squad lists.

It'll be interesting to see how they go. Going with 24 seems like a gamble to me (especially with the injury problems we've had) but, like I said to you in the loan thread, if Riza is happy to trust the youngsters to cover any gaps in the squad while looking for a free agent then that's fair enough, I hope it's a gamble that pays off.

[Loramski]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

89th minute equaliser for West Brom. A sickener for City, but it’s been like attack v defence in the last half an hour - I don’t get why City have only brought one sub on.

I'd say it was the midfield 3 who were tiring the most but we only had wingers and full backs on the bench. Mafico's energy would've been handy. Spiers had a good game, Nyakhuwa faded a bit but was still a threat to the end and Conte was the fittest player on the pitch so they didn't really need replacing. Beecher came on for Spiers in the end but it didn't change much.

WBA were big, strong and athletic but we stood up to them and counter attacked well. Neither keeper had much to do but I felt we got into dangerous positions more often than they did, for all the possession they had. The attitude was spot on, from back to front, everyone worked hard, stuck to their tasks, threw themselves into blocks and tackles and I never really felt a goal was coming until they finally opened us up after 90 minutes. We didn't buckle and could've won it in extra time, Simic's miss looked like a bad one although I was right up the other end so didn't have a great view of it.

By the way, I'm sure it was Dan Ola I saw going past on crutches earlier with a brace on his left foot. Shame if so, he'd been having a good season.

[the other bob wilson]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

I'd say it was the midfield 3 who were tiring the most but we only had wingers and full backs on the bench. Mafico's energy would've been handy. Spiers had a good game, Nyakhuwa faded a bit but was still a threat to the end and Conte was the fittest player on the pitch so they didn't really need replacing. Beecher came on for Spiers in the end but it didn't change much.

WBA were big, strong and athletic but we stood up to them and counter attacked well. Neither keeper had much to do but I felt we got into dangerous positions more often than they did, for all the possession they had. The attitude was spot on, from back to front, everyone worked hard, stuck to their tasks, threw themselves into blocks and tackles and I never really felt a goal was coming until they finally opened us up after 90 minutes. We didn't buckle and could've won it in extra time, Simic's miss looked like a bad one although I was right up the other end so didn't have a great view of it.

By the way, I'm sure it was Dan Ola I saw going past on crutches earlier with a brace on his left foot. Shame if so, he'd been having a good season.

It was the best game I’ve seen Conte play for the under 21s and I agree that he looked fitter than his teammates in extra time. He could have been moved into midfield and Beecher brought on to play left back or Perrett dropped deeper with Conte replacing Wigley as a winger. I also agree that West Brom’s equaliser came as a surprise - they suddenly discovered a cutting edge they hadn’t shown before and promptly lost it again after they scored, but the ball was coming back at us all of the time and something usually cracks in the end when that’s happening.

Extra time was more even and, as you say, we had the best chance through Simic who claimed his shot had been deflected by a defender, but I couldn’t see one on the numerous replays they showed. The fact we were able to push forward more in extra time was surprising - West Brom would have been tired as well, but I just hope we weren’t playing under orders for most of the second half.

[olderblue]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

It was the best game I’ve seen Conte play for the under 21s and I agree that he looked fitter than his teammates in extra time. He could have been moved into midfield and Beecher brought on to play left back or Perrett dropped deeper with Conte replacing Wigley as a winger. I also agree that West Brom’s equaliser came as a surprise - they suddenly discovered a cutting edge they hadn’t shown before and promptly lost it again after they scored, but the ball was coming back at us all of the time and something usually cracks in the end when that’s happening.

Extra time was more even and, as you say, we had the best chance through Simic who claimed his shot had been deflected by a defender, but I couldn’t see one on the numerous replays they showed. The fact we were able to push forward more in extra time was surprising - West Brom would have been tired as well, but I just hope we weren’t playing under orders for most of the second half.

I watched it last night, mainly because I wanted to see how Simic was getting on, I thought Conte looked head and shoulders above everyone else and a lot fitter, I don’t think the loan move worked out well for him, but there again it didn’t really work out for Tanner when he went to York

I might be wrong but there’s still something about Conte imho
Maybe the realisation of what it’s going to be like outside of league football can spur him on, he’s worth persevering with

As for Simic, he worked hard and held the ball up, but it was a tough job as he was often isolated

I wonder if he’ll get any sort of run out in the first team this season?

[the other bob wilson]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

I watched it last night, mainly because I wanted to see how Simic was getting on, I thought Conte looked head and shoulders above everyone else and a lot fitter, I don’t think the loan move worked out well for him, but there again it didn’t really work out for Tanner when he went to York

I might be wrong but there’s still something about Conte imho
Maybe the realisation of what it’s going to be like outside of league football can spur him on, he’s worth persevering with

As for Simic, he worked hard and held the ball up, but it was a tough job as he was often isolated

I wonder if he’ll get any sort of run out in the first team this season?

I'm quite boring about Conte because I always say the same thing about him in that he's the only City player I can remember watching who I always think plays better for the first team than he does for the under 21s. I've watched him play three times in the past week and, like most of his team mates, he was pretty ordinary in the first two games, bur yesterday was a real step up from him and a few others and, as I mentioned earlier, that's the best I've seen him play at under 21 level.

Lord knows what happened to him at Woking as the moment I heard he was going there, I thought he's too good for them and as someone who played originally for a London team, you'd think things like home sickness would not be a factor with him.

As for Simic, it was a bad miss by him in extra time if his shot did not get the deflection he claimed there was, but, as you say, he'd played around a hundred minutes when he missed that chance and for much of that time he was battling away by himself. I can see improvements in his all round game already from when he first started playing for the under 21s, but the only way I could see him playing first team football this season is if we went on a good run which made us safe with a few games to play.

[the other bob wilson]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

Under 18s at home to Bournemouth today, kick off midday.

https://x.com/cf11academy/status/1898327871363416333?s=61

[the other bob wilson]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

Finished 2-0 to Bournemouth.

[Loramski]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

Highlights of the u-21s game with WBA here. Good performance and unlucky to go out.

https://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/video/player/0_jqq46lxm?feed=f5d2eca5-ff32-4b10-b5a5-cd503863359f&section=6079c747-0cb6-44ae-9789-448cbd09a9e5

One player who I don't think got mentioned at the time was centre half Alyas Debono. He stepped up from the Academy with Dylan Lawlor unavailable and didn't look fazed at all by coming up against a Cat 1 under-21 side. I kind of forgot he was there for a lot of the time which I think is a positive thing only for centre halves and referees. I can't remember him making a mistake through the 120 minutes. His dad (I assume) was there shouting encouragement now and again, he must've been very proud.

[the other bob wilson]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

You're right about Debono Loramski, don't think he's looked out of place at all in the under 21 matches he's played.

As seems to have been the case so often lately, the under 21s are in action on the same day as the first team - they're in action tghis lunchtime at Bournemouth.

Edit - just noticed that the under 18s are playing at Ipswich as well, kick off 11 o clock - can't remember a time when all three of them played on the same day before.

[the other bob wilson]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

A couple of players you may have thought would be involved with the under 21s in the under 18 line up.

https://x.com/cf11academy/status/1899400071654900158?s=61

[the other bob wilson]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

Giles and Lawlor playing for the under 21s.

https://x.com/cf11academy/status/1899431637189836842?s=61

[jon1959]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

Big win for the u18s:

Ipswich 1 - 5 Cardiff

'Mannie Barton bagged a brace, while Alyas Debono, Lennon Talbot and Jack Sykes were also on the scoresheet!'

https://x.com/CF11Academy

[the other bob wilson]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

0-0 at half time for the under 21s.

Nice to see the under 18s win after City’s nightmare weekend.

[the other bob wilson]

Re: The Bluebirds Academy and DVP thread...

It all went wrong for a strong looking under 21 team in the second half - beaten 4-0.

Take away the two Premier League Cup matches and results have been terrible for them in 2025.