FT: NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1 - 2 CARDIFF CITY.

[The Lone Gunman]

I think we can both agree, it's bloody awful on the eye.

Dreadful, really dismal, but I expect McCarthy can't believe his luck. He inherited a squad that included Moore, Flint and Morrison, he has Pack and Vaulks to take long throws and he has a cluster of workhorses in midfield who will happily run around all day like chickens with their heads cut off. It's almost perfectly set up for his brand of football (and I use the term loosely). Meanwhile, the bonus for McCarthy is that most of rest of the division is hopelessly weak this season both in terms of physicality and actual ability. While it's grim to watch, it's all set up for Big Mick.

[A Quiet Monkfish]

Dreadful, really dismal, but I expect McCarthy can't believe his luck. He inherited a squad that included Moore, Flint and Morrison, he has Pack and Vaulks to take long throws and he has a cluster of workhorses in midfield who will happily run around all day like chickens with their heads cut off. It's almost perfectly set up for his brand of football (and I use the term loosely). Meanwhile, the bonus for McCarthy is that most of rest of the division is hopelessly weak this season both in terms of physicality and actual ability. While it's grim to watch, it's all set up for Big Mick.

5 or 6 seasons ago in the Championship there would be 1 or 2 sides at most who set up to play effective, 'percentage' football. The rest would be trying to reach the utopia of attractive flowing football with sound defence. Slowly you're seeing more and more teams changing to long ball, long throw-ins, getting as many crosses into the box, at the expense of sacrificing neat passing movements from the back. Whether sides like Barnsley, Birmingham, Millwall, Preston, Stoke, City etc. have decided their squads are better suited to that style of play, or perhaps success is more readily attained that way - who knows, but City's style whatever we may think of it, is beginning to have it's imitators .

[Rjk]

5 or 6 seasons ago in the Championship there would be 1 or 2 sides at most who set up to play effective, 'percentage' football. The rest would be trying to reach the utopia of attractive flowing football with sound defence. Slowly you're seeing more and more teams changing to long ball, long throw-ins, getting as many crosses into the box, at the expense of sacrificing neat passing movements from the back. Whether sides like Barnsley, Birmingham, Millwall, Preston, Stoke, City etc. have decided their squads are better suited to that style of play, or perhaps success is more readily attained that way - who knows, but City's style whatever we may think of it, is beginning to have it's imitators .

There has always been a number of sides playing direct football at this level, I cannot remember this time when all but 2 sides were playing attractive flowing football.

[The Lone Gunman]

Whether sides like Barnsley, Birmingham, Millwall, Preston, Stoke, City etc. have decided their squads are better suited to that style of play, or perhaps success is more readily attained that way - who knows, but City's style whatever we may think of it, is beginning to have it's imitators .

None of the sides you've mentioned play in the same manner that City do.

[A Quiet Monkfish]

None of the sides you've mentioned play in the same manner that City do.

Yes they do.

[life on mars]

I can see how folk can look at today's game and think oh god this isn't progressive football and we lack top quality , the first half was dreadful, the second half saw a better intensity supplemented with great performances from young Welsh lads, winning crap games is a positive especially away from home , and we could have won even bigger if Moore's header had gone in , and Harris buries his chance , along with us hitting the bar in the first half .

Yes Forest are poor but you still have to win and we did ,after going one down .

Next weeks game will be of intrest .

Wonderful to see so many Welsh lads in our squad 👏

[fugsyphil]

My first time watching at the actual ground and I enjoyed it today. Atmosphere probably helped because the games I've seen on the TV have all been dire!!

[Moodybluebird]

Football lasts 90 minutes, split into two 45 minute halves. Ignoring one halves display and coming to the conclusion that we will be fighting the drop based on the other halves display is a bit daft don't you think ? You could just as easily take the second half and say that based on that we would be a play off team but that would be just as silly, wouldn’t it. I never cease to be amazed about the number of people that come on this board after a win and slag the team and manager off. Just enjoy the win for gods sake. Any win away in this league is a bonus.

Quite agree with you. Good post.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Quite agree with you. Good post.

This is a message board first!

[Seabird]

Not a great display of football but it is encouraging that the younger players are being given a chance.

[Refusenik-Blue]

Phillips 5/10
Ng 5/10
Morrison6/10
Fint 6/10
Nelson 5/10
Pack 6/10
Bowen 5/10
Vaulks6/10
Bagan 6/10
Collins 5/10
Harris 6/10
Moore 7/10
Colwill 8/10 *man
Evans n/a

Dour but the job got done.

[Moodybluebird]

Not a great display of football but it is encouraging that the younger players are being given a chance.

What I saw of the game (2nd half only), I was impressed by our ability to keep hold of the ball in the final third, allowing us to constantly keep pressure on the Forest defence, culminating in the winning goal, which was of the highest quality.

Looking forward, the younger players are only going improve and gain in confidence as the season progresses.

[life on mars]

I don't think Vaulks is terrible and I enjoyed seeing him in the starting 11 today. He's scored 9 goals in 71 v Bacuna's 4 in 99. People moan about his tackling but Ralls is just as dangerous (if not more so but I can't be bothered to look up the stats) IMO and that Arter bloke was adored by the fans who love players who run around a lot but don't do very much else other than get booked in the first 20 mins or sent off in the first 45. I don't think we'll keep him on after the summer and anyway, I think Bacuna's contract lasts 6 months longer than Vaulks.

Still only game 6 so let's not put these young lads under any more pressure by talking about possible league position until December.

Collins is a worry for me. He is painfully slow in thought and deed.

Great win though after 1-0 down today and Mick made the right call and early too. See, he does read this board!

Totally agree ,Vaulks cross was excellent.

[Rjk]

https://twitter.com/XGEEFAX/status/1...343287810?s=19

[Rjk]

https://eflanalysis.com/analysis/efl...s-cardiff-city

thanks to whoever it was who linked to this site after the Bristol game, here's their analysis of the forest match.
there's a lot of detail in there.

[dembethewarrior]

https://eflanalysis.com/analysis/efl...s-cardiff-city

thanks to whoever it was who linked to this site after the Bristol game, here's their analysis of the forest match.
there's a lot of detail in there.

It says we played a back 4 with Bagan in midfield? It was on in the pub bit I didn't take enough notice to see our formation?

[Hilts]

It says we played a back 4 with Bagan in midfield? It was on in the pub bit I didn't take enough notice to see our formation?

We played the usual 3 centre halves and wing backs.

[dembethewarrior]

We played the usual 3 centre halves and wing backs.

I assumed as much looking at the personnel.

Weird that an analysis of us gets that wrong.

[Rjk]

I assumed as much looking at the personnel.

Weird that an analysis of us gets that wrong.

that's how the sky sports app had us lined up as well I think, maybe that's how we told them we were playing.

[dembethewarrior]

that's how the sky sports app had us lined up as well I think, maybe that's how we told them we were playing.

And on Flash scores as well but they often have it random.

[the other bob wilson]

Bagan did get forward an awful lot on Sunday and watching the game it did strike me that Nelson was coming out to the left hand side a lot, so there may be some truth in it - maybe it was a one off given that Giles and Bacuna were out?

[AfricanBluebird]

Bagan did get forward an awful lot on Sunday and watching the game it did strike me that Nelson was coming out to the left hand side a lot, so there may be some truth in it - maybe it was a one off given that Giles and Bacuna were out?

I noticed that. I'm looking forward to seeing how Bagan develops. He does like getting forward.
I think on Sunday it was more to do with the space he had to run into that prompted him to play further up the pitch, forcing Nelson a bit wider in defence, rather than a tactical decision, but I guess we will never know.

I must say that I have been disappointed with Ng since the start of the season. While his crossing has been ok, he does look cumbersome in defence. A lot of mistakes and quite slow.
I would certainly be starting Sang as right wing back over Ng

[the other bob wilson]

I noticed that. I'm looking forward to seeing how Bagan develops. He does like getting forward.
I think on Sunday it was more to do with the space he had to run into that prompted him to play further up the pitch, forcing Nelson a bit wider in defence, rather than a tactical decision, but I guess we will never know.

I must say that I have been disappointed with Ng since the start of the season. While his crossing has been ok, he does look cumbersome in defence. A lot of mistakes and quite slow.
I would certainly be starting Sang as right wing back over Ng

Sang was a bit Curate's Eggish against the wurzels mixing some good things on the ball that I don't think you'd see from Ng with fairly basic errors like missing the cross which led to the winning goal. Ng is, perhaps, not quite the player we thought he was after his first few matches for us,, but, because the team is so much younger these days, it's easy to forget that he is still pretty young himself and he's inexperienced in this league. I think right wing back is a position where we can rotate a bit - although he's made mistakes, I'd still have Ng down as the better defender of the two, but Sang has the edge going forward, I wonder if we could be seeing quite a bit of Sang playing in home matches and Ng being used more away from home?