yeah it was a shit game but an away win is never to be sniffed at
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Ethan Ampadu:
Clean Sheet
4 Clearances
3 Tackles Won
5/6 Duels Won
76 Passes Completed
97% Pass Completion
4/5 Long Balls
Good win and importantly, Neco Williams now committed to Wales.
Good away win. A lot of minutes for our new striker and a goal for his confidence. Happy days.
Decent result in the end, but I thought that Levitt and Morrell looked ponderous in midfield. Moore played well and looked more mobile than in his previous appearances for Wales. I'm excited to see what he can do in a City shirt.
So the next competitive Wales game is Sunday, the day after Cardiff's competitive game against Northampton.
God knows what's going to happen if there's another fixture pile up
Levitt was playing in only his second game of senior football last night. His only other senior appearance was for Manchester United in the Europa League. All his other games have been for the Man Utd U18 & U23 teams, plus the Welsh age group sides. Giggs has obviously seen something in the player that he thinks he can nurture outside of club football. I have watched him at U18 & U23 level, and he is quite capable of spraying 40 or 50 yard passes all around the pitch. It could be that Giggs just wants him to train with the senior players so that he feels part of team, as he has done with the other young Welsh lads, or maybe there is an outside chance of him making the Euro 21 squad? Whatever happens, three more young Welsh players being capped last night is a good thing in my book.
http://mauveandyellowarmy.net/
There's also an appreciation of Fred Davies underneath the piece on the Wales game.
He's basically only played two games in 2020, and he's stood out in both of them, so I think a lot of credit has to go to Julian Nagelsmann for polishing out some of the rough edges. We still haven't seen the best of him, and when he gets a proper run in the Premier League he is going to be some player. Being around Thiago Silva will also be a fantastic learning experience if he stays at Chelsea, although many people expect him to go out on loan, especially with with the Declan Rice talk still doing the rounds.
I think Neeco Williams is also going to be a revelation for Wales. He is a natural winger and he glides over the pitch. It great to have so many options.
Giggs deserves some credit though. He blooded three new caps but in a way that they weren't exposed as he adjusted his formation to protect them. Levitt was understandably conservative but Giggs made sure that the central midfield wasn't overwhelmed, then tweaked the system later. He is growing as an international manager and I think bravely blended in talent whilst still getting results. I suppose the lack of friendlies these days helps his mind set!!
On a side note I met Dylan Levitt's mum and grandma in Osijek as we were picking up tickets for the game. They found out he was in the squad very late and flew out knowing he would only be on the bench. Lovely people and Grandma was in an administrative role for Rhyl FC who have gone through some tough times since.
I just noticed you were talking about Davies moving into a back three last night. I was thinking of future games with Ampadu and two others. Do you think Davies will play at centre back? I can see him playing there, but he is also effective as an attacking full back. Like I said we have a lot of versatile players in the team, and I can see Brooks playing as a Number 10 in the future. We are just waiting for a world class striker to come off the production line, and we will be sorted for a generation :biggrin:
We've got some very promising centrebacks coming through and you'd like to think that competition for places would be very intense in years to come, but I see Davies as potentially being an Ashley Williams type experienced player who can help those alongside him through matches - we already have a few players who you'd like to think would become good quality international wing backs, so you'd hope that we wouldn't lose too much ion those areas if Davies moved inside..
As I said in my piece, I'd earmark Ampadu as a centreback for Wales from now on - I thought he was excellent on Thursday and am somewhat surprised that his performance has not been praised more.
Cyril, I agree, Giggs had a good game on Thursday and I admit he is turning into a more substantial and effective manager for Wales than I expected him to.
As for Dylan Levitt, I received an e-mail from someone saying that he only played because he was a Man United player and that his performance was poor, I disagree completely with that view. Levitt didn't pull up any trees, but like the quietly impressive, Morrell, he didn't look out of place at all - I'd like to have seen Will Vaulks get some game time, but both of the central midfielders justified their selection and I would have thought they'd both start tomorrow.
Does playing in the Nations League tie a player to that country?