The contrasting styles of our Under 23's & the first team

[blueblade]

I've been thinking about this for a few weeks.

I recently attended an Under 23's game and Steve Morison has us playing very attractive 'football'. So much so that even with Zimba up front, the midfield still played it to feet to him enabling him to link up with Isaak Davies & Keiran Evans. After less than half hour into the game, my daughter commented as to why our first team don't play like this?

Now, whilst Morison probably needs to get positive results, his main task is to bring the youngsters/fringe players through and get them ready for first team action.

The problem then is these lads get a chance at the big time and McCarthy has them playing a completely different style!

Most Manager's these days go into a new job and get all the lower playing levels of the Club playing the same way so it's an easier transition in & out of the first team.

So, is Morison at fault for adopting his own style or should he promoted to first team manager as ours is stubborn & tactically limited?

[DubaiDai]

I've been thinking about this for a few weeks.

I recently attended an Under 23's game and Steve Morison has us playing very attractive 'football'. So much so that even with Zimba up front, the midfield still played it to feet to him enabling him to link up with Isaak Davies & Keiran Evans. After less than half hour into the game, my daughter commented as to why our first team don't play like this?

Now, whilst Morison probably needs to get positive results, his main task is to bring the youngsters/fringe players through and get them ready for first team action.

The problem then is these lads get a chance at the big time and McCarthy has them playing a completely different style!

Most Manager's these days go into a new job and get all the lower playing levels of the Club playing the same way so it's an easier transition in & out of the first team.

So, is Morison at fault for adopting his own style or should he promoted to first team manager as ours is stubborn & tactically limited?

Bellamy mentioned this very fact in an interview when he was coaching youngsters at Cardiff with Warnock as first team manager. Unfortunately the club seems disorganised and lurch from one problem to another.
It really comes back to the point everyone has made about Tan, Choo and Dalman not understanding football

[Sunnysideup]

I completely agree with both of your comments
I do watch the u23’s and they play football how it’s supposed to be played
When the youngsters do eventually get a chance of first team football they’ve got to adapt to a style of hoofball that is completely alien to what they’ve been taught with MM’s shackles around their boots
We lined up yesterday with two defensive lines and kieffer up front
The first cross into the box was when Colwill came on
Colwill and Bagan completely changed the tempo of the game and lifted the crowd
Everyone around us were so angry at the dire dross we’d all witnessed and I have to agree
This teams playing style under MM has to be the worst I’ve seen in years 🥺🥺

[LeningradCowboy]

I don't think you should draw too many conclusions from the performance of our Under-23s team. The standard of football is miles away from the Championship. It's not difficult to play pretty football when the games are essentially contested training sessions.

[Sunnysideup]

We’re not on about the standard of football LC but the STYLE 👍

[LeningradCowboy]

We’re not on about the standard of football LC but the STYLE 👍

Perhaps the two things are related. What style of football do you think we would play if Steve Morison took over the first team?

[the other bob wilson]

I don't think you should draw too many conclusions from the performance of our Under-23s team. The standard of football is miles away from the Championship. It's not difficult to play pretty football when the games are essentially contested training sessions.

I don’t think it’s what you meant, but that almost reads as if you think there is only one one to play in the Championship and that is how we do. Self evidently, that isn’t true, Cardiff’s almost unique “achievement” is to have put together a first team nucleus of senior footballers who it seems can only play one way to an acceptable standard.

I agree to an extent about under 23 football, but Blueblade’s daughter asked the question that should be occupying the club hierarchy and football management staff. I’m amazed how patient supporters have been in recent years given the dross they have to put up with in most games, but as soon as results suffer with such an unattractive brand of football, it’s inevitable that the fans will turn against it.

I believe the Under 23s have been a bit more willing to hit longer passes this season and are therefore a little more like the first team, but there’s still a big difference between them.

[goats]

Bellamy mentioned this very fact in an interview when he was coaching youngsters at Cardiff with Warnock as first team manager. Unfortunately the club seems disorganised and lurch from one problem to another.
It really comes back to the point everyone has made about Tan, Choo and Dalman not understanding football

And soon we will no doubt lose them all for peanuts as they don’t “fit in”

[surge]

I don’t think it’s what you meant, but that almost reads as if you think there is only one one to play in the Championship and that is how we do. Self evidently, that isn’t true, Cardiff’s almost unique “achievement” is to have put together a first team nucleus of senior footballers who it seems can only play one way to an acceptable standard.

I agree to an extent about under 23 football, but Blueblade’s daughter asked the question that should be occupying the club hierarchy and football management staff. I’m amazed how patient supporters have been in recent years given the dross they have to put up with in most games, but as soon as results suffer with such an unattractive brand of football, it’s inevitable that the fans will turn against it.

I believe the Under 23s have been a bit more willing to hit longer passes this season and are therefore a little more like the first team, but there’s still a big difference between them.

While I recognise it's one person's opinion I think this quote is key.

If this quote is fair reflection on what is happening, anyone saying that U23's and first team play completely different styles of football are speaking from what they saw three/four years ago.

That i) under 23's and first team are now more similar than since DJ's time here(?) and ii) it's a more attractive version of what we have currently is one of the signs that things are changing - I still expect it to be more like Nuno's Wolves rather than Bruno's but that was good enough for (just about) England, Portugal and (just about) Spain to select their players for international duty.

For the record, anyone who wanted Callum Patterson to stay at this club probably shouldn't be moaning about playing style. Sorry TOBW but I would include you in that as I would Eric 1/2 a Bee. The players we've chosen to let go also tell us about where we're going.