FT: WATFORD 1 - 2 CARDIFF CITY. Match thread

[llan bluebird]

I think Colwill needs threads and threads because he is so unique.

Youth to U18 football is no indicator of future success we all know that, but i think an almost Josh Meggennis reset is needed.
I don't think his growth spurt has done him no favours and Rubin, Wales and the club need a review.
His goals and assists tell us he isn't an attacking midfielder, we can blame anyone and everyone else but the facts are the facts.

He is not scared of the ball, can travel with it, and hits delightful wonderfully weighted passes. He can steal the ball, days of Midfield hardmen vanished with mass hooliganism. He isn't quick but visibly quicker than Chambers.
The crux is responsibility. He can't lose the ball cheaply when deeper and i feel the Riza "go and express yourself" instruction was great but weighed down on him as he seems unable to make a basic pass without stepovers and feints.

He is nowhere near the Wales squad as an AM, we desperately need a deep-lying playmaker, Ampadu is a stopper with a ropey long pass.
He is only 22 so repurposing him can't be that much of a jump. Whether its with us is another story

[Father Dougal]

I think Colwill needs threads and threads because he is so unique.

Youth to U18 football is no indicator of future success we all know that, but i think an almost Josh Meggennis reset is needed.
I don't think his growth spurt has done him no favours and Rubin, Wales and the club need a review.
His goals and assists tell us he isn't an attacking midfielder, we can blame anyone and everyone else but the facts are the facts.

He is not scared of the ball, can travel with it, and hits delightful wonderfully weighted passes. He can steal the ball, days of Midfield hardmen vanished with mass hooliganism. He isn't quick but visibly quicker than Chambers.
The crux is responsibility. He can't lose the ball cheaply when deeper and i feel the Riza "go and express yourself" instruction was great but weighed down on him as he seems unable to make a basic pass without stepovers and feints.

He is nowhere near the Wales squad as an AM, we desperately need a deep-lying playmaker, Ampadu is a stopper with a ropey long pass.
He is only 22 so repurposing him can't be that much of a jump. Whether its with us is another story

Josh macgennis reset? You mean play colwill in goals?

[llan bluebird]

Josh macgennis reset? You mean play colwill in goals?

I was exaggerating a bit

[The Lone Gunman]

Josh macgennis reset? You mean play colwill in goals?

He's tall enough and I've never been convinced by Alnwick.

[Father Dougal]

My final word on colwill is I would love to see him in the team with his brother.

It may not work but his brother looks a better player to me and would be a shame if we never got to see that midfield.

Particularly as most of our other options are so unappealing.

[City123]

I think Colwill needs threads and threads because he is so unique.

Youth to U18 football is no indicator of future success we all know that, but i think an almost Josh Meggennis reset is needed.
I don't think his growth spurt has done him no favours and Rubin, Wales and the club need a review.
His goals and assists tell us he isn't an attacking midfielder, we can blame anyone and everyone else but the facts are the facts.

He is not scared of the ball, can travel with it, and hits delightful wonderfully weighted passes. He can steal the ball, days of Midfield hardmen vanished with mass hooliganism. He isn't quick but visibly quicker than Chambers.
The crux is responsibility. He can't lose the ball cheaply when deeper and i feel the Riza "go and express yourself" instruction was great but weighed down on him as he seems unable to make a basic pass without stepovers and feints.

He is nowhere near the Wales squad as an AM, we desperately need a deep-lying playmaker, Ampadu is a stopper with a ropey long pass.
He is only 22 so repurposing him can't be that much of a jump. Whether its with us is another story

Didn't Bellamy suggest his future could be as a deeper midfielder?

[Pedro de la Rosa]

Didn't Bellamy suggest his future could be as a deeper midfielder?

Everything he does is so off the cuff, it'll be tricky I reckon. Maybe he can make it, I don't think playing in a succession of shambolic sides has helped him but then again, we shouldn't let him completely off the hook. He needs to kick on but it would obviously help (anyone not just him!) if he had better players around him. Our current wingers don't run away from the ball, they all come towards it and it isn't helpful. Tanner and him link up well as Tanner is direct, we need to sign more direct players if you want Colwill to flourish as Willock, AEG etc all occupy the same position as Colwill, it becomes way too congested and just stops any of them doing anything. Grant, Colwill and Tanner behind Robinson might work for example

[Tuerto]

It’s another well thought out assessment of Colwill and some really good points raised in your post

One question I’d ask is do you think Colwill would get to the levels expected if he’d had better coaching?

Let’s be honest about it even with the current one, we have endured some absolute rubbish served up for the last 4-5 coaches in charge

The fact that Colwill is playing is probably in-spite of them rather than because of any real quality coaching that’s been offered

The one thing that I think fans appreciate about him is his willingness to always look for the ball, he doesn’t hide

Should he have scored more goals, probably
Should we have seen more assists, definitely, but there again who has had in front of him who’s on the same page? Certainly not Kanga, Meite or El Ghazi (didn’t I get that one completely wrong 😑)

You don’t know what you’re going to get when Colwill gets the ball, and that’s half the excitement of watching a skilful player with talent

There’s been very little to get you off the edge of your seat for the last few seasons

It maybe that he does drift away down the leagues, I hope not, The Lone Gunman says in this thread that he expects more from him, and he’s probably right in terms of goals and assists

I still think he’s a special talent and enjoy watching him play, I can’t think there’s too many others that fans genuinely love to see

I’d start him, build a team around him, there again I’d have more of the U21’s in the team rather than the journey men we currently allow to steal a living

Thankyou mate for the considered post. I don't really know what to make of it all if i'm being honest, but if i had to hazard a guess, i'd say that previous coaches just didn't know what to do with Colwill. His style, shape, play is very unique. For a big bloke he doesn't do the things 'Big blokes' are supposed to do. He's not great in the tackle, he's one of the worst at heading the ball i've ever seen, in fact he does everything not to head a ball, on a par with Ken zohore. He has no idea how to impose his size, even his running style is odd, and i don't think that any of that is his fault, it's his body shape and level of athleticism in my opinion. I do believe that coaches throughout his footballing life just haven't known what to do with him, his greatest asset is with the ball at his feet so he's been put in a position (10) that compliments that, although i'm not sure he is a 10, and i'm not sure his coaches and managers have invested the time a patience into getting him to play in a way and in a position where he can be more effective, dictate things from deeper, use his size. So, without really knowing i would say that he's probably been let down and that coaches and managers have taken the easy route.

[Michael Morris]