Quote Originally Posted by the other bob wilson View Post
I read somewhere in the last couple of days that John Toshack once said that you need four of a football team to be piano players and seven to be piano lifters - I would argue that at Cardiff City in recent years, that balance has sometimes been eight three or even nine two.

Thankfully, the game is changing slowly, but having seen literally hundreds of limited get stuck in merchants in City colours down the years, I can never remember a manager saying great at what he does, but he really needs more flair and skill to his game. On the other hand, when we do get someone with a bit of flair and skill, you can guarantee that there'll be people in the crowd, or even in the dug out, blasting them for not doing enough of what gets called "the dirty work" - it's always been the case that so many at Cardiff City want their piano players to do the lifting as well.
But you were one of the posters saying Whitts shouldn't be given another season back then so even you can appreciate that there's a line that has to be drawn somewhere and the Colwill debate is which side of the line he is, just like it was with Whitts towards the end of his time here.

I don't think it's as simple as getting 'stuck in'. Stuff like work rate, pressing and tracking back are the norm now surely? There's a level of physicality and athleticism expected that's higher than it was in the past. My lad can tell you how his sport has changed in the same way. I'm not saying you have to like it but it's the way it is.

I'm no expert on the Premier League but wasn't this what United were getting slated for last season, that their players just weren't working hard enough in comparison to Liverpool or Man City? Were United's fans happy to be watching their piano players? Didn't seem to be.