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What to expect from devastating 1v1 merchant Josh Bowler and where he sits in Cardiff City's pecking order
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/...chant-27437280
Bowler now represents yet another promising acquisition ahead of Sunday’s curtain-raiser away to Leeds United.
The 24-year-old has the credentials at Championship level owing to two separate spells with Blackpool, where he initially made his mark prior to sealing a switch to the City Ground last summer, and later returned on loan for the second half of last season.
In his most recent stint with the Tangerines, Bowler found the back of the net on four occasions but was unable to prevent their relegation to League One, while he previously scored seven Championship goals in the 2021/22 campaign to emerge among the second-tier’s most captivating wide players.
And that spell allowed for clarity regarding just where his best position is, as he notched eight strikes and laid on a further three from 22 appearances on the right flank, but did not contribute to a single goal in 14 when playing from the left.
All things considered, supporters will be glad to see the arrival of yet another winger who can chip in with goals alongside Grant and Meite, though that element is not where Bowler’s qualities optimally shine through.
Indeed, his stock has been built upon a devastating one-v-one ability that has seen the QPR academy product routinely terrorise his opposing full-back, thus allowing him to transition and carry his team upfield.
So, it is no surprise to see just how well he scores in this particular department from a statistical standpoint.
According to FBRef, Bowler ranked above 95 per cent of Championship wingers last season for both attempted and successful take-ons (6.3 attempted, 3.10 successful) per 90 minutes.
Importantly, though, his knack of driving forward with the ball is productive and instrumental when it comes to directing play into key attacking areas, and, by the same criteria, he tallied higher than 97 per cent for carries into the final third (3.25) and 95 per cent for progressive carries (4.54).
In many avenues, he mirrors the profile of Jaden Philogene, who, of course, dazzled during the latter stages of the season while on loan from Aston Villa and provided supporters with a rare sense of excitement in what was an otherwise tough campaign for the club.
Philogene brought much of the same tantalising talents to the table in south Wales and embraced the name tag of being a ‘maverick’, spurred on by an overarching sense of self-belief and an ability to execute the extraordinary.
Therefore, bringing in an individual with genuine parallels to Cardiff’s Young Player of the Year winner will only serve to amplify the enthusiasm that has swept among fans as of late, and he surely feels their best bet of replacing the Villa prospect.
Though similar to Philogene, Bowler’s individualist nature means his passing is less influential.
He fared below average in comparison to second-tier wide players for passes into the final third with just 1.45 per 90, instead choosing to utilise his direct running and skill to advance possession up the pitch.
However, we have already seen in pre-season that Bulut demands his wingers to dovetail with the number 10 in his side — which, fitness permitting, will be Ramsey — and the creative and match-intelligent influence of the Wales captain could help Bowler to add to his game.
Elsewhere, and rather interestingly, Bowler is also proactive in his shooting, despite being far from a bona fide goalscoring winger.
In the league, few players in his position fired off more shots than his 2.74 per 90, and now it will be hoped that his willingness to shoot at goal can transition into a lethal end product that would no doubt promise to fire Cardiff up the table.
He is set to face competition to make that right-wing berth his own, though.
Bulut will now be dealing with a healthy headache, with the likes of Bowler, Grant, Meite, along with two of the rare stars from last term, Callum O’Dowda and Callum Robinson, all tussling for potential starting spots on the flanks in the coming weeks.
In particular, former Reading forward Meite has a wealth of experience coming in off the right, and displayed some seriously impressive goalscoring form there during his stay in Berkshire.
So he appears Bowler’s direct rival for that role in the side.
Of course, Meite should go on to play an important part in proceedings for the Bluebirds as the value of his physicality, work-rate and end product cannot be understated, although you feel Bowler may now have just usurped the Ivorian in the pecking order somewhat.
Bowler is a more natural fit and while, historically speaking, Meite’s baseline numbers at this level are stronger, the Forest loanee's all-round quality in possession can probably give Cardiff a bit more in the final third.
And, that said, what about a first-hand view of the ways in which Bowler plies his trade?
To gain further insight into the sort of player Cardiff can expect to see this season, we sought the expert advice of MATT SCRAFTON, the former Seasiders correspondent at the Blackpool Gazette.
Here is what he had to say...
Q. What type of player are Cardiff getting in Josh Bowler?
MS: A throwback, a proper old-school winger who - when he’s on it - will get fans off their seats and is worth the admission fee alone.
He’s your archetypal left footer who loves to cut in from the right wing and cause chaos. He’s not the finished article, but that’s part of the charm. But when he’s confident and in full flow, he’s a special player who will be right up there among the Championship’s best players.
He was a real fans’ favourite at Bloomfield Road, I’ve not seen a player given that level of adoration for a long time. But he’s a maverick and we all love one of those, don’t we?
Q. What are his biggest strengths and why should Cardiff be excited?
MS: Collecting the ball deep in his own territory and dribbling his way up the pitch, which is an invaluable trait to have in this day of pressing, counter-pressing, transitions and so on.
He’s got a magical left foot and a superb touch. At times it’s like the ball is glued to his boot.
He’s all about dribbling, moving forwards and committing to taking players on, sometimes multiple defenders at a time. He loves a solo run and has scored some memorable goals for Blackpool doing exactly that.
Q. Any weaknesses we should be aware of?
MS: Tracking back and defending clearly isn’t the favourite part of his game, he’s almost a free spirit who benefits from being left to his own devices. But as we all know, that’s not really an option nowadays where every player has to muck in.
In his defence, Bowler certainly improved on that side of his game during his time with Blackpool, even if he is guilty of switching off in the final third every now and then and giving the ball away in dangerous areas. It also became a running joke among some of the supporters about his distaste for headers, he must have only headed the ball once or twice during his time with the club.
Finally, it’s not a negative per se, just an observation, but he’s very much a confidence player. If the team is struggling, like Blackpool were last season, he can be very quiet and it’ll prove difficult to get the best out of him. But if you play to his strengths he’s a matchwinner, it’s as simple as that.
Q. The Bluebirds struggled massively for goals last season, will he help in that department?
MS: He’ll certainly help. He can be hit and miss in front of goal and he will often go through phases, which goes back to my point about his confidence. He once enjoyed a spell of scoring six goals in eight games, where everything he touched turned to gold.
At other times he won’t be as clinical, but he’s still a big threat either way and will certainly contribute in terms of assists as well. He’ll often be double marked as well, which obviously creates space elsewhere on the pitch for other players to exploit.
Q. Anything our readers might not know about him that would be worth knowing? (On or off pitch)
MS: He loves a headband.
Don’t think we’ve ever had a player analysed so thoroughly
Q. Any weaknesses we should be aware of?
MS: Tracking back and defending clearly isn’t the favourite part of his game, he’s almost a free spirit who benefits from being left to his own devices. But as we all know, that’s not really an option nowadays where every player has to muck in.
Hopefully both sides will be able to bomb on with O'Dowda and NG offering good support, we are already strong on the left, hopefully we will now offer a threat on both sides.
I was thinking along those lines as well, I'll check on War and Peace when I get home because I don't think that's much longer to be fair 😎Originally Posted by splott parker
Don’t think
we’ve ever had a player analysed so thoroughly
Interesting read, that
In summary
He’s quick, exciting, scores the odd goal
Runs and takes players on, sometimes where he should make the pass
Inconsistent
Lacks confidence
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