FT: WIGAN ATHLETIC 0 - 2 CARDIFF CITY. Match thread

[the other bob wilson]

They aren’t facts, they’re opinions. You seem to get upset or irritated by the opinions of others regarding the quality (or lack of) in League One, but you don’t seem to have any opinions yourself. Strange.

He’s got a point though, when has anyone ever said on here about a season when we’ve been in the EFL “were in a really good division this year”?

[Garth Blue]

Based on what you’ve seen so far, how do you rate the quality of the football in League One and the strength of the division overall?

IMO League 1 is not as strong as the Championship but stronger than League 2 ( can't put my finger on why ). I see no evidence that League 1 this year is weaker than League 1 last year.

[The Lone Gunman]

IMO League 1 is not as strong as the Championship but stronger than League 2 ( can't put my finger on why ). I see no evidence that League 1 this year is weaker than League 1 last year.

Neither do I. But then, other than a couple of play-off games (which were grim), I didn’t watch any League One football last season, so I’ve got no real point of reference. How about you? How much much League One football did you watch last season?

[Garth Blue]

Neither do I. But then, other than a couple of play-off games (which were grim), I didn’t watch any League One football last season, so I’ve got no real point of reference. How about you? How much much League One football did you watch last season?

I watched very little L1, apart from a few Wrexham games and the play-offs. Which is why I see no evidence that League 1 is weaker (or stronger) than any other year. I doubt whether there have been many teams in L1 who play the way we do.

[The Lone Gunman]

I watched very little L1, apart from a few Wrexham games and the play-offs. Which is why I see no evidence that League 1 is weaker (or stronger) than any other year. I doubt whether there have been many teams in L1 who play the way we do.

Thing is, nobody mentioned League One being weaker than any other year.

[Rjk]

Thing is, nobody mentioned League One being weaker than any other year.

yet

[Garth Blue]

Thing is, nobody mentioned League One being weaker than any other year.

Just answering your question butty.

[The Lone Gunman]

Just answering your question butty.

Not really, bach. It was you who introduced the notion of a comparison with previous seasons, not me. I’ve got no idea what League One has been like in recent times. Like most City fans, I’ve been watching either Championship or Premier League football for the previous 22 seasons. I haven’t been paying any attention to League One games.

Now that I am watching games at this level, I’m surprised by how poor most of the sides appear to be. And judging by the comments on this message board and in the pub after games, I’m certainly not alone.

[Garth Blue]

Not really, bach. It was you who introduced the notion of a comparison with previous seasons, not me. I’ve got no idea what League One has been like in recent times. Like most City fans, I’ve been watching either Championship or Premier League football for the previous 22 seasons. I haven’t been paying any attention to League One games.

Now that I am watching games at this level, I’m surprised by how poor most of the sides appear to be. And judging by the comments on this message board and in the pub after games, I’m certainly not alone.

I answered your question but not in the way you liked. No surprises there.

[The Lone Gunman]

I answered your question but not in the way you liked. No surprises there.

You did, but it wasn’t a genuine answer. Just a smug, dismissive one, which is par for the course. But never mind, not important. To me, anyway.

[Garth Blue]

You did, but it wasn’t a genuine answer. Just a smug, dismissive one, which is par for the course. But never mind, not important. To me, anyway.

A smug person is someone who is overly pleased with themselves, often in a way that is annoying or condescending to others, showing a strong sense of self-satisfaction about their own cleverness, achievements, or position. This self-satisfaction implies a high opinion of themselves, making them seem arrogant, superior, and often lacking in humility. You do see the irony in your use of this word, don't you? But then, maybe not.

[kendoddsdadsdogsdead]

A smug person is someone who is overly pleased with themselves, often in a way that is annoying or condescending to others, showing a strong sense of self-satisfaction about their own cleverness, achievements, or position. This self-satisfaction implies a high opinion of themselves, making them seem arrogant, superior, and often lacking in humility. You do see the irony in your use of this word, don't you? But then, maybe not.

I

Very clever Garth.
I think Dave knows he can be quite smug sometimes.
Try not to take him too seriously.
He's one of the best WUMs on here...the amount of posters that bite is astonishing.

[Garth Blue]

I

Very clever Garth.
I think Dave knows he can be quite smug sometimes.
Try not to take him too seriously.
He's one of the best WUMs on here...the amount of posters that bite is astonishing.

Thanks Ken. On this occasion, I think Spiderman bit.

[TheBirchgrovePub]

It is quite noticeable how we have had a good start but it is still very tight at the top. It seems like a lot of teams towards the top end of the table are seeing off teams towards the bottom with ease.

There is a real gap in quality from top to bottom it seems so we are going to have to keep winning thatÂ’s for sure

[PaulWent76]

Apologies if I sound like I'm nit picking but Peterborough drew with Bradford City, Blackpool beat both Huddersfield and Barnsley. Burton drew with Huddersfield and Mansfield. We thrashed Plymouth when they were bottom 4 who are now on a strong run up the table. At the end of the season there will be a 40ish to 60ish point gap between top and bottom.
I seem to remember someone suggesting that if it's a small gap then that's a poor league and if it's a big gap it's a strong one. My opinion would be that's statistical bollox. If City finish top then IMHO that's a great league and if we finish bottom, not so.

[the other bob wilson]

He’s got a point though, when has anyone ever said on here about a season when we’ve been in the EFL “were in a really good division this year”?

Talking to myself again I see.

[The Lone Gunman]

Talking to myself again I see.

You’ve posed a question that can’t be answered unless someone is prepared to trawl through thousands of posts from years gone by. I’m not prepared to do that and I doubt you are. But what I will say is that any time anybody dares to suggest that an EFL division is weak, others will offer counter arguments (of sorts), as has happened in this very thread.

[North Cardiff Blue]

It is quite noticeable how we have had a good start but it is still very tight at the top. It seems like a lot of teams towards the top end of the table are seeing off teams towards the bottom with ease.

There is a real gap in quality from top to bottom it seems so we are going to have to keep winning thatÂ’s for sure

Yes, it does seem different in that respect. The top half seems a lot better than the bottom half and even winning most weeks we aren't pulling clear at all, we have to keep winning, lots of draws won't cut it.

[PaulWent76]

Not true in my case. I didn't dare offer a counter argument to the assertion a league is weak, I merely posed the question how do we know if it's weak or not. In fact I'd still be grateful if someone could help with evidence as to how judge that.
TOBW has pointed out (I think) that probably seldom or never has anyone suggested that the City have been in a really strong league. There are at least 2 of us who think that's the case, without trawling through the board's history.

[WJ99mobile]

What I’ve noticed is how much quicker we’re passing the ball compared to last year. The passes are earlier and hit with some purpose.

[North Cardiff Blue]

You’ve posed a question that can’t be answered unless someone is prepared to trawl through thousands of posts from years gone by. I’m not prepared to do that and I doubt you are. But what I will say is that any time anybody dares to suggest that an EFL division is weak, others will offer counter arguments (of sorts), as has happened in this very thread.

It's the same as every other year; the standard of all leagues improves just ever so slightly as players get slightly more professional and athletic. Of course, as it's a lower league than we are used to, it's a lower standard of team and player.

Our players are Championship standard, so are finding it reasonably easy most of the time, they are only there because of Riza and the board for appointing and keeping him.

[North Cardiff Blue]

With all due respect, I think you’re being way too precious. After all, the two things are not mutually exclusive - City can play well and win well against poor opposition, and they’ve already done so on a number of occasions this season. A good example was the Rotherham game back in August. The Bluebirds played well and cruised to a 3-0 victory. The Millers were utterly abysmal and offered virtually nothing from the first whistle to the last. It was an easy victory over really poor opposition.

At the end of last season, lots of fans were full of doom and gloom about our prospects for 2025/26. They apparently believed League One was a tough division and City would be likely to struggle in it. Some even went as far as predicting we’d be marooned in the lower divisions for years to come.

I wasn't one of those people. On the contrary, as I said on here on several occasions, I believed the chances were that League One would be a significant drop in standard. I could see no reason why City wouldn’t either bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking or at least within a couple of years provided the club appointed the right sort of manager and made some sensible signings.

Having said that, I must admit I’ve been surprised by just how poor the standard of football in this division is this season, or at least how poor it’s appeared to be in the games I’ve seen so far. I fully expected City to be challenging towards the top of the table, but I wasn’t aware of just how limited a lot of our opponents would be.

I can’t comment on yesterday’s victory as I haven’t even seen the highlights yet. Plenty of people who did watch it seem to be suggesting that City played well, but our players didn’t really need to extend themselves against poor opponents who offered very little. That makes perfect sense to me, as that has been the case in a number of other games this season.

If Riza had stayed, we'd have struggled; it's down to a decent Manager getting the best from pretty good players when coached correctly. Trott was also a key signing, allowing us to play it out from the back with so much more confidence, having an extra outfield player in goal.

[The Lone Gunman]

Not true in my case. I didn't dare offer a counter argument to the assertion a league is weak, I merely posed the question how do we know if it's weak or not. In fact I'd still be grateful if someone could help with evidence as to how judge that.

You judge it by the evidence you see with your own eyes (or at least I do). It's no more complicated than that really.

So far this season, the quality of the actual football in most of the League One games I've watched has been poor. The defending is generally erratic, the majority of teams seem to surrender possession very easily, a lot of the finishing is weak and a number of teams have seemed to offer very little in the final third. Also, most of the teams appear far less physical and direct than I'd expected. No doubt I'm biased to a degree as I've been watching Championship or Premier League football for so long, but while I expected a significant drop in the overall standard of play, I've been surprised by just how weak a lot of the team seem to be.

Are you sure you're not confusing the notion of a weak league with a competitive one?

[PontBlue]

Yes, it does seem different in that respect. The top half seems a lot better than the bottom half and even winning most weeks we aren't pulling clear at all, we have to keep winning, lots of draws won't cut it.

I was surprised after winning on the weekend to find we were still fourth

[Garth Blue]

You judge it by the evidence you see with your own eyes (or at least I do). It's no more complicated than that really.

So far this season, the quality of the actual football in most of the League One games I've watched has been poor. The defending is generally erratic, the majority of teams seem to surrender possession very easily, a lot of the finishing is weak and a number of teams have seemed to offer very little in the final third. Also, most of the teams appear far less physical and direct than I'd expected. No doubt I'm biased to a degree as I've been watching Championship or Premier League football for so long, but while I expected a significant drop in the overall standard of play, I've been surprised by just how weak a lot of the team seem to be.

Are you sure you're not confusing the notion of a weak league with a competitive one?

Like you did last season? Surely a competitive league is where the difference between top and bottom is less. Anybody can beat anybody. Several posters in this thread have suggested a marked difference in quality between to and bottom.