Yes, and it should only get better. It was the first game of the new regime against a team ranked 4 places above Wales, who reached the quarter finals of the last Euros.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue
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Yes, and it should only get better. It was the first game of the new regime against a team ranked 4 places above Wales, who reached the quarter finals of the last Euros.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue
👍Quote:
Originally Posted by Pearcey3
It's a just a shame that Sorba Thomas was having a much better game than Johnson though. I'm still not sure he's ever impressed me much in a Welsh shirt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pearcey3
Great performance and a style that should suit this squad going forward. Turkey were dreadful though and could have punished some mistakes at the back so I think we are going to have to accept that as a tradeoff for playing quicker football.
Ramsey should have buried that header
Difficult conditions but crossing into box was poor
Thomas had a good go
Enjoyed that. It was a very encouraging performance. Whilst Danny Ward playing it short had its perilous moments, I think it gave us alot more possession than if he'd just booted the ball upfield. We were never going to win many 50/50 headers around halfway, so the tactic worked. Nice to see Sorba Thomas do well and hope he gets another chance when Dan James returns. Ramsey did well too even though I still think he'd be more effective for Cardiff in a deeper role.
I would have taken Johnson off , he was a bit flat footed tonight I thought 🤔Quote:
Originally Posted by Pearcey3
Did you miss Austria and Croatia home games?Quote:
Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue
Just got back and I have this weird feeling.....I actually enjoyed the football, the match and the evening out. Will go again.
...just a couple of quick observations.
Definitely played better before the red. Thomas was really good but why oh why not switch play and bring Johnson more into the game. He's class. Crazy football played out from the back. Would have taken a point but feel we should have won. It was a really good Wales performance and I'm sure Bellamy is glad to get that out of the way without a loss.
Wasn't impressed with Koumas or the other subs. In fact, we lost all cohesion and front foot football after the subs. Watching Moore warm up was more exciting than watching him on the park. Would have preferred Harris and Colwill on instead of a big lump up front when no decent crosses were ever going to make it to him.
All in all though, I can't remember the last time I got home from CCS feeling like it was worth the effort. Good night of footie.
Johnson caused all kinds of problems in the first half and was being fouled constantly. They didn't know how to deal with him. He's Wales best player and is totally under appreciated and has been badly used under Page. Bellamy is the right manager for him.
Yes he was but it was good to see Bellamy want to play with two strikers.Quote:
Originally Posted by SLUDGE FACTORY
Don't think Moore was the right option - should have been Harris on to stretch them.
All in all very positive
Very impressed by Bellamy's first game. Great passing, great press, great intensity. Obviously lacked a cutting edge and a finisher. Thought we lacked an aerial threat in the first half when half decent crosses were coming in, but when we eventually brought Keiffer on the crosses were awful with Johnson being the biggest culprit. However very happy with a point and looking forward to montenegro on Monday.
I was at the Austria game when Woodburn scored.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Blue
Turkey weren’t dreadful! We made them look poor by how well we played. They didn’t get a second to think. That was down to us tirelessly and intelligently closing them down.Quote:
Originally Posted by caerkid
I’m referring to the play off game in March, sorry Finland. Austria play off was pre World CupQuote:
Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue
From my view in the canton those three ‘crosses’ looked more like shots s he hit them so hard. It was noticeable how our deliveries from wide and corners in the first half were hit low and hard rather than floated, so I suspect Brennan was doing what he’d been asked to do, albeit not very well.Quote:
Originally Posted by barrybloo
Thomas was good but tired before he got brought off. Thought they were good subs, and probably 20 min before Page would've made a change. Bit of a lack of quality options on the bench due to injuries. It's a shame that Wilson, who probably looked the most like scoring, had a lot of awful first touches. If he was on it like he has been in some of our recent games we'd have got a couple at least.
I think Koumas was always going to get some time on the pitch in at least one of the two games this week because, with England reportedly sniffing around him, we needed to get him capped. Must admit I was a little disappointed by his performance, but I think he’ll be a good player for us in time - surprised at the decision to bring Cooper, rather than an in form Harris, on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Citizen's Nephew
Playing football on the 'front foot' with an attacking intent which tries to win a game, entertains the crowd that then gains the plaudits.
Who'd have thought?
Back to Bulut Ball next week.
Proof that a home “nil” does not have to bring on an attack of despair.
Wales don't get the win they deserved from Craig Bellamy's first game in charge.
https://mauveandyellowarmy.net
Quote:
Originally Posted by dandywarhol
How dare Wales attack with panache, style, skill and flair and not score!
Much better that we watch BulutBall with relatively no attacking flair, style and hugely missing in excitement, than last night's game as we didn't hit the back of the net (well apart from Thomas's offisde 'goal')! How foolish of me to enjoy last night's match far more than City's endeavours for the last 12 months, even if we didn't score! Therefore, I'll probably give Monday's game V Montenegro a miss, and look forward to the inevitable boredom of Derby away on Saturday next.
Yeah, same here. If I remember correctly, an away game against Norway in a friendly I think. We beat them 3 nil in a not dissimilar style of play.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wash DC Blue
Yesterday just lacked a cutting edge in front of goal
Johnson is an incredibly frustrating player at times. Clearly talented but his crossing was poor. Koumas looks like a really exciting player, and certainly has some of his dad's skills on the ball. So refreshing to see us take a game to the opposition. Polar opposite to Page.
This Page business seems unfair. We saw plenty of decent games under Page. After watching Bulut for a year, even Page’s more cautious games seemed positively gung-ho.Quote:
Originally Posted by CopenhagenBlue
I welcome the change of management however and do feel we needed new energy which was there in last night.
Good point about Koumas there. I hadn't thought about it that way. In the second half I was able to watch Thomas up close and he's a bloody good footballer. Especially tight on the touchline and you could see him eyeing the Turkish defenders. They didn't like playing against him.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
Yes, Harris would have been my choice too.
Just another word of Johnson. I wish he'd been developed like Henry was under Wenger. Turn him into an out and out striker. I love him. I get why people find him frustrating but I still think he's under appreciated.
A word for Rodon. Not my favourite player but he was very good last night. Wilson's tackle for his yellow was horrible. Thought he gave the ball away too much too.
Very encouraging start for the new manager after only a few days to start developing his ideas with the players. Thought Wilson looked very good, exactly the kind of player Ramsey would benefit from playing next to for us. Had a good close view of Koumas, already he feels like a player to get you off your seat when he has the ball. Nice mix of going at the defender/s and playing the safer ball inside or backwards. Finally, disappointing again to see the supporters of another Welsh team slagging off Ramsey - you don’t have to click on their social media profile to see who their team is! I don’t care who a player’s club is when he pulls on the shirt for Cymru.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Johnson down the middle…..maybe Wilson putting in the crosses. That combination almost brought us a goal. As it did from the other side when Johnson had a decent chance at the end (pen shout)Quote:
Originally Posted by caerkid
Its patheticQuote:
Originally Posted by bluesp
mark Harris would work really well in this system as well, his pressing was always a strength
Plenty ??? I remember moments of games but nothing stands as A great game … Ukraine? Turkey in the euros…Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Blue
The Turkish view on last night from their broadcaster
Craig Bellamy, 45, who played his first match as head coach of the Wales national team last night, used the following sentence on the first page of his presentation to convince the federation officials a few months ago: "We will play for Gary Speed". Those of you who are old enough will remember. The late Gary Speed was a Premier League legend during his time as a player. He is also known as the man who took Wales from the bottom of Europe to the competitive level as a manager. He brought Wales, who could not go to the big tournaments for half a century, into the top level competition of the continent, and then unfortunately took his own life at a young age.
WE COULDN'T GO BEYOND 10-0-0
Craig Bellamy was both a teammate and student of the late Speed on the national team. It is clear that as soon as he took charge of the national team this summer, he tried to instill a “Speed spirit” in his group of players. The enthusiastic game they played in Cardiff yesterday, the mentality of putting one’s head in the kick, really seemed to indicate that something had changed in the dressing room. Our boys had not been so inconspicuous and chased the ball so much in the first 45 minutes of a match for a long time. Wales played a 4-6-0 without a centre forward yesterday. Bellamy did not start a classic centre forward in the first 11, he played Ramsey and Wilson freely up front, almost cutting the midfield. We, on the other hand, settled for a situation that looked 3-4-3 on paper but could not go beyond 10-0-0 in reality.
WAITING FOR RED FOR CHANGE
Of course, it would be insufficient to explain the difference between the two teams yesterday with abstract concepts such as “spirit, desire, appetite, desire”. After the first half in which we were completely devastated in Cardiff yesterday, it is interesting that Montella did not make a few substitutions in the 46th minute. Our Italian coach, who did very well until the last 45 minutes of Euro 2024, was too late to make a substitution while the Netherlands paralyzed our right wing in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, and it was as if he expected us to concede two goals. Even though we played for a terrible hour yesterday, it was as if he was waiting for the red card to make a substitution!
WE SHOULD 'RESET' ON MONDAY
The only consolation of such a bad night is that we left Cardiff with 1 point, where we didn't even deserve 0 points. I hope we can reset our grey mood against Iceland in Izmir on Monday night.
Not often a rival team's broadcaster is so glowing about the opposition
Austria in the playoffs and Turkey in the EurosQuote:
Originally Posted by Divine Wright
Beyond that it was definitely moments and getting out of jail on occasion
Johnson was a much more dangerous player IMHO when Forest played him in the middle as a striker, than he is out on the wingQuote:
Originally Posted by Citizen's Nephew
Not sure if he would have they sat very deep when he come onQuote:
Originally Posted by City123
I was very disappointed with Johnson in the second half. He's such a frustrating player to watch, with a mediocre end product much of the time. Thomas on the other hand was a revelation last night, especially in the first half. He only had one thing on his mind when he received the ball and that was to drive forward. Great to see and he totally unsettled the right hand side of the Turkish defence.
Exactly this 👍Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Soul '68
Not really sure what you mean by "Page business" to be honest. For the first time in a long time, I just watched my team take a game to the opposition from the first minute. Page was a nice guy but way out of his depth in my opinion, and not necessarily his fault as such. He took over when needed but shouldn't have been given the extension he got. I'd have liked to have seen him stay in a support role, as he was clearly popular with the squad. He just had no plan A, let alone a B.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Blue
As several others have said, there was definitely not plenty of decent games under Page. We scraped by, and did just enough without ever looking good in whole games, minus maybe one or two during his time. And the football was very rarely, if ever entertaining like last night's was.
I agree with the OP, there were some games with glimmers of a good team. Finland, Czech, Croatia to name a few.Quote:
Originally Posted by CopenhagenBlue
Problem is he didn't get the results when he needed and then started to regress and make bad decisions.
We beat Norway 4-1 and it was the best I’ve seen us. Russia in 2016 and last night weee the closest to it.Quote:
Originally Posted by CopenhagenBlue
I think Harris should’ve come on, he’s right amongst the goals at the moment. We deserved 3 points but it’s very positive. Bellamy said that’s the worst we’ll play, I’ll take that!