Really? You reckon? On the contrary, I'd say Wilson's performance yesterday underlined exactly what Johnson was saying.Originally Posted by J R Hartley
Nobody doubts Harry Wilson's natural ability - not Echo writer Scott Johnson, not Mick McCarthy, who regularly substitutes him or drops him altogether, not Jurgen Klopp, who has sent him out on loan during each of the last four seasons, and not me either. But the big question is how often that ability manifests itself and unfortunately it hasn't been often enough in a Cardiff shirt.
Before yesterday's stunning hat-trick at St Andrews, Wilson was on a run of 12 Championship appearances without a goal. In fact, he'd scored just two goals in his previous 32 appearances for City, which is a really poor return from a player with his talent, especially in a division that has been seriously lacking in quality throughout 2020/21.
When Wilson arrived at Cardiff back in October, he had a reputation of being a free-kick specialist and he netted two brilliant set-pieces at Birmingham. However, those were his first for the Bluebirds. It took him until the 40th minute of his 37th City appearance to score from a free-kick, by which time the season was effectively over. I bet none of us thought that would be the case when Harry initially arrived at the CCS.
There have been periods during games this season when Wilson has looked top drawer, but there have also been plenty of matches in which he's been almost totally anonymous. A player with his technical abilities should be able to impose himself at this level far more often and his influence on those around him should be much greater. But I guess that particular flaw in his game is one of the primary reasons why he ended up on loan at City in the first place.
Yesterday's glittering performance came in a pressure-free dead rubber against an experimental Birmingham side. Afterwards, Wilson told the press: "I've had the game time here at Cardiff. I'm in double figures for assists and I've got seven goals, so my numbers are okay, but they could be better."
Harry wasn't wrong and neither was Scott Johnson.
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