In today's press conference the Gaffer confirmed that Bryan and Cairney are definitely out but Fosu-Mensah is closer than expected to being available. Specifically on him he said "he's not 100% fit but you don't have to be to play football". Don't wish to read to much into that but it seems like a huge dig at Cairney, who the 'doctors' have yet again said is okay to play. So far as Cardiff go, they'll be without Joe Ralls who lost his red card appeal, following his 'Stefjo tackle' in their game against Spurs. Not surprisingly given Colin's reasoning was that it would only have been a yellow in the Championship. Not a lot need be said about what to expect - physical, long ball and long throw ins. Fair play to them though, Colin has given them one style and they not only stick to it but their pretty good at it as well. Our ex-player Neil Etheridge is in fine form in goal and the one I'd watch is Harry Arter; a player a certain person on this Forum tipped as someone to join us in the summer. For us, if there's one team you need to be 100% fit against it's Cardiff. So rule out Tim Fosu-Mensah. Which gives the recurring headache of who plays in the back 4 (or 3 or 5). Le Marchand because of his height and reasonably okay with his head? The two left footed, back suffering pair of Ream and Mawson? Christie who might have regained his confidence from the Arsenal debacle after playing well for the Republic of Ireland, albeit in midfield? Oh my, it's more like a migraine than a headache!! Midfield isn't a whole lot better. Anguissa and Seri haven't been hitting it off and are only just returning from long trips. McDonald has had a depressing tour with Scotland. The one thing badly missing recently has been a "leader" and for that reason alone KMac will surely start. Who sits in midfield with him is a BIG question. Jokanovic says the break has given an opportunity to work on a game plan. Don't know who with 'cos none of his midfield have been around. So, in for a penny - ..........................Bettinelli............... ...Odoi.......Mawson.....Ream.....Sessegnon.... .........................McDonald..... ..............Ayite........Seri........Vietto..... ..................Mitrovic......Schurrle...
Whichever team you put out it will be enough to overcome our very average squad. Put it large on that Sessignon to notch like he always does versus City. It’s been a traumatic start to our season. Not unsurprisingly our squad which did wonders against the odds to get auto has failed to cope with the higher standard. Bewilderingly City didn’t strengthen in vital areas and despite being better than Hfield, Ncstle & Burnley the failure to land a striker has cost us dearly. Mind you it’s not a bed of roses at the Cottage. Aside from crushing a poor Burnley team, it’s been surprising to see Fulham not up higher on the league. Should be a good open game tomorrow as City can not afford to play for a narrow win, which will play into Fulham’s hands. Comfortable away win sadly. Here’s a local take on the journey of our two clubs https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cardiff-city-vs-fulham-two-15285485
That's probably the best defence we can muster at present. Worryingly Cairney has not recovered over the international break. Will Warnock think this is winnable and play a more open game. It's the formation that will decide this match for us, Jokanovic needs to get it right.
It's an important game tomorrow even so early in the season. So many players away on Int'l break, no chance to work with many of the team and Cairney for this game is a real miss. I'm thinking draw but have my fingers crossed.
The man we have today is Kevin Friend. please log in to view this image We haven't seen a lot of Kev recently, although he recently did the League Cup game when Kamara got his two goals against Exeter. The Leicester City supporting Whistler hasn't seen many Premiership games this season - only 5 so far. Managed 19 yellows though.
Sounds like we handed yet another First to the opposition on a plate. As a consolation there were a series of Firsts for Ryan Sessegnon; * his 1st goal in the Preniership * 1st player born in 2000 to score in the Premiership * 1st teenager to score in the Premiership this season And this makes it 5 out of 5 against Cardiff - Sad that the rest of the team weren't as sharp as he was.
Mmm.....I didn’t see that coming? Tell me what was £100m spent on? Most of those players save Schurrle and Mawson we’re playing for Fulham last season. To be honest Fulham were not as good as I had expected. It really could have been 6-7. Mind you bar a wonder save late on from Mawson it would have been a lucky point for the Cottagers. I was right that Sessegnon would score though
Over our last 4 or 5 Premier games (with only the Watford 2nd half revival) it's been hard to pick an outstanding player for MOTM. As a collective of a team the last 3 games have been abysmal, no cohesion or any proper sense that we are about to turn the defensive lapses around. What all 3 games have in common are defensive capitulation in the 2nd half, so the team talk or change of tactics haven't worked for us, but the opposition has worked us out and Jokanovic has failed to combat that.
A serious lack of confidence in our players minds when defending. Every slip, mistake or poor decision is being punished and often rightly so. We have lost pace of thought, pass and reaction, it's not looking promising, in fact quite sad to see. I'm hoping the penny drops and we can turn things around in the next few games, less injuries, less changes and less mistakes are needed. We are a quarter of the way though our season, 9/38, and our lads need to believe once more. COYW's.
Still a long way to go for both of us. An unrelenting league, very different from the championship. In the championship it is unrelenting due to the speed at which the games come. In the big league, while there isn't the intensity in number of games, its the frequency with which you come across a top team. We picked up 3 points against you yesterday to stay in touch with teams in the bottom half. And having played Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal in Sept, we have Liverpool next up.
