I wasn't expecting the one other to be Lawlor.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
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I wasn't expecting the one other to be Lawlor.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
Dan Ola. Not a goal Trey George will be scoring anytime soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by Undercoverinwurzelland
https://tv.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/video...1-36988cb7c755
Ah, no.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loramski
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">U21 | A dominant second half performance from the Bluebirds secures a big win!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CityAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CityA sOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/mynpT0fPWB">pic.twitter.com/mynpT0fPWB</a></p>— Cardiff City Academy (@CF11Academy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CF11Academy/status/1997047256541700134?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
City under 18 team for the game at Bristol City today, kick off 11 o clock.
https://x.com/cf11academy/status/199...220927860?s=61
I am surprised that Manny Barton is on that list. He came on as a substitute in last nights U21 game and scored.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
Lost 2 - 1. (Barton pelanty).Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
Luke Armstrong signs contract extension to summer 2028.
https://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/news...stay-bluebirds
Quote:
Originally Posted by jon1959
He’s not looking to get on the grass, he wants to be back in the building :hehe:
Another Friday night under 21 game this week, home to QPR at Leckwith, kick off 7 o clock - I’m sure that, as usual, it will be streamed.
U21 now v QPR live YouTube.
Troy Perrett penalty puts City 1-0 up.
Nyakuhwa makes it 2-0. It’s been a pretty even game, but we’ve just had a ten minute purple patch when we could have scored three or four.
3-0, Luke Pearce runs thirty yards to Rob the keeper and grab himself a deserved goal.
Finished 3-1, very enjoyable performance by City.
Good all round performance. Great pressing especially for the 3rd goal.
TOBW and BlueToujours have summed it up well there. A good performance from City and a very enjoyable game.
We got into so many good positions in the second half we should've scored more. Nyakuhwa was the guiltiest for poor balls in but it was good to see him playing with some swagger again. Luey Giles played well, I thought, but Luke Pearce stood out with a very energetic and combative performance. The win just about keeps us in with a chance of progressing in the PL Cup.
It's suddenly got a bit nippy out, by the way. I misjudged it tonight by rocking up in shorts and a Velikonja t-shirt but I won't be making that mistake tomorrow.
Under 18s playing their last game before Christmas today against Brentford at Leckwith, kick off 11.30.
3 - 1 win. :ayatollah:Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
The under-21s are back in action tomorrow night (Tuesday) against Watford at Leckwith Stadium, 7.00 kick off.
No Mafico, Giles, Spiers or Perrett (he's third top scorer in the league for now) but there should be enough strength in depth to be competitive for the rest of the season.
Interesting to see if we give Michael Reindorf a run-out tomorrow and if we give Axel Donczew more game time at that level as the season goes on.
Wonder why it's an evening kick off? Is it another one of those Premier league Cup games?Quote:
Originally Posted by Loramski
I was wondering when we were going to play in the FA Youth Cup this season as I'd seen nothing about it up to now. I looked on this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_FA_Youth_Cup
to try and find out and was beginning to think there'd been another "auditor's" cock up and we'd not been entered into the competition until I looked at the First Round and saw we lost 1-0 at home to Cheltenham on the day after I'd been admitted to hospital, so that explains why I'd not heard anything about it. i daresay it was a result that City must have been keen to keep quiet about because it's so embarrassing for a club that is having so many complimentary things said about it's youth development currently.
I'm not sure there's a conspiracy theory about the club keeping it quiet. It was the night of the Wrexham cup-tie so it got overshadowed by that.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
I saw the first half and posted about it on here. Cheltenham had an interesting tactic where they tried to stop us playing out down the wings and when it came inside they jumped on Hayden Allmark who couldn't cope with it. One time, Rob Tankiewicz (making his first appearance of the season at u-18 level) had to come racing back to try and bail him out but went down in a collision and broke his collar bone.
It was a poor performance from what I saw, we couldn't get anything going at all. I did say at the time that it seemed a bit hard on the lads to get a home tie then play it while the first team were on national television. Only 132 turned up to watch and a majority of them seemed to be from Cheltenham.
Will be very interesting to see the teamQuote:
Originally Posted by Loramski
Mafico, Giles, Spiers, Perrett and Nyakuhwa now all gone. I don't see the point persisting with Reindorf.
Strong enough team but no Reindorf. No Donczew either but it's probably past his bedtime to be fair.Quote:
Originally Posted by City123
Duw, this is a poor game.
Watford get a deserved lead on the basis that they’ve been slightly less bad than us. Just like the seniors on Saturday, City’s under 21s have seemingly forgotten how to pass the ball accurately.
It's not the best back 4 for passing out from the back and we're getting in trouble when we try so Griffiths is having to kick it long more often than not. We've got in a couple of decent positions and Pearce is looking lively again but it's not great, I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
Reindorf is here watching by the way. He seems to be limping which might explain why he dropped out of the picture so suddenly at Newport.
:hehe:Quote:
Originally Posted by Loramski
3 subs seems strange
2-0 to Watford now.
Superb finish from over twenty yards by Trey George makes it 1-2.
Bizarre finish. 3-1 down in the 89th minute then Dan Ola finishes our best move of the night to make it 3-2. Seconds later, the ball breaks to Luke Pearce who holds it up on the by-line till Ola gets into the box and rolls it to him but Ola's shot is blocked and Watford break away and score.
Barton then thought he'd won a penalty but the ref didn't give it and Watford broke away again and made it 5-2 when it could've been 3-3 a couple of minutes earlier.
Watford deserved the win but we showed plenty of spirit and played better football with an attacking 4-4-2 set up although it left the back four completely exposed at times.
5-2 was harsh on City, but they were definitely second best in a game which never deserved to have seven goals in it. Thought Jake Davies showed up well at times and it was a great goal by George, but, overall, City really did miss the loaned out players, Also, where were the likes of Apter, Dabono (who was interviewed about the game on the club website) and Jac Thomas? Thought Parfitt was the best of the defenders, but they all were struggling to some extent even before the switch to 4-4-2.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loramski
Jac Thomas came in with Reindorf, it was odd about Debono but he was out for a month or so before Xmas and no idea about Apter. Maybe one or two of them pulled out late which would explain why we only had three subs, as City123 pointed out.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
I like Parfitt but he's a bit limited as a full back, there was no one to link the back four to the front six. BBM has spoiled us a bit in that regard but it was very unusual to see it at that level.
The last half hour or so was entertaining to be fair. I don't think Warnock would see Twose and George as a midfield two but they did a good job in making us more of an attacking threat. Barton started to get in the game more and Pearce never stopped but when we lost the ball Watford were excellent on the counter attack.
Ex academy striker James Crole has joined Newport
Surprised he never really got a chance with us
Hard to know what to make of his time here. I was surprised to find he's still only 21, it was over three years ago he was scoring a good goal in our pre-season win over Newport and he was looking the part.Quote:
Originally Posted by City123
I'm not sure what wrong for him but there was a very brief loan to Torquay, the goals started drying up, Wales age-group stuff stopped and, although Bulut gave him a run out at Blackburn, his time here just petered out, finishing with another non-event of a loan, to Queens Park.
The fact he went to Penybont suggests he wasn't exactly in demand. Even if there was an attitude problem you'd have thought a league club might have taken a chance on him but any reputation he'd built up at 17/18 must have evaporated.
There's probably a backstory but I don't know what it is. Whatever went wrong, it looks like the penny has dropped for him now and his good form has earned him a two and a half year contract at Newport. It'll be interesting to see how it goes for him there. Nyakuhwa too, of course.
If such stats were kept, I reckon they may well show James Crole to be our most consistent scorer in terms of games per goal amon g the strikers who've played for us at below first team level (in particular under 18 and under 21 levels). I was surprised when he made so little impact during his loans while with us and wasn't there a fruitless spell at Colchester as well after he left us?
I hope I'm proved wrong, but I've found County's January transfer dealings fairly underwhelming so far - not sure Nyakuhwa is a player for a Fourth Division relegation scrap and loaning someone who couldn't get in the Shrewsbury side is hardly one to set the pulses racing. Crole's an interesting one though, particularly when you consider that two and a half year contract which they've given him. County clearly see him as part of the club's future and you'd hope that, like one or two other of their signings from the Welsh Premier League, he can make the step up to EFL football, now he's got a bit more experience of doing well in senior football.
Do you think we’ll be putting any more youngsters out on loan, or are short on options with the U21.s?Quote:
Originally Posted by Loramski
I thought we might have seen a couple going out to the League of Ireland as BBM is bound to have some good connections over there
I've had a quick look for a post I sent you on here a couple of years ago asking what was happening with Crole but I can't find it. It was somewhere between the two loan spells he had when his progress slowed and he started treading water.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
The first time I saw him was that Youth Cup tie with Ipswich where he got the winner. It was the day Tomlin flicked on to Glatzel for the equaliser at Leeds which shows how far back he goes here.
It was onwards and upwards from there but obviously something went wrong. There was talk of him being opinionated and awkward but it's pointless me speculating on why it stalled for him, maybe we'll find out one day.
He seems to have knuckled down at Penybont and hopefully he'll take his chance at League level now, however frustrating that might be for us.
I was wondering this the other night. Loan spells aren't the be all and end all for youngsters, Kpakio, Lawlor, Rubin and Ashford have come through without one, but it must be a bit deflating for some of the senior u-21s if there's no interest in them and no first team call-up either.Quote:
Originally Posted by olderblue
I'm certainly no expert but I can't see much changing for now. Tankiewicz is injured, Donczew too young, Barton and George too small. Twose is tidy but doesn't seem to be pushing on. I think BBM likes Kingdon but he's struggled when I've seen him lately.
Luke Pearce is buzzing but I can't quite make out how much quality he's got. He's already had a spell in the League of Ireland but my guess is that BBM would want him here as cover for now.
We'll see. Like I say, I don't see much changing, I reckon the u-21s will carry on on as they are from here with promising u-18s and the odd trialist being brought in but I could be talking bollocks so don't take my word for it.
I think you might see one of the goalkeepers go out on loan. Someone like Apter, who I’ve been impressed by this season, might benefit from playing seniors football and, as Loramski says, Twose seems to be standing still somewhat this season. Jac Thomas might be a candidate for a loan as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by olderblue
Morgan Wigley is back from his loan at Barry so the Under-21s should be able to have four subs in their next game now.