BFTG - Cardiff

[URZZZZ]

:lol: @ the usual moaners, sharpening their knives on pages 4 & 5 of the match thread.
We're very inconsistent, but it was pleasing to see some ability and desire on show for 90 minutes today.

It’s easy to say comments like yours after an event has taken place.

Yep, fair play, you've never said comments like that after an event has taken place.

Didn’t say I hadn’t, that’s why I said “it’s easy to say”. The point is there was understandable confusion as to why Rino was dropped. But it worked so fair enough. That’s why Gomes is a manager and I’m not

[Hound]

I cant remember a single call the ref got wrong tbh. Hull fouled way more and that ref was useless.

he certainly wasn't the worst, and like I said, think he did well after the hour

They definitely got away with a lot of sneaky kicks etc prior to that. There was one in particular early in the second where Morrison was literally all over Joao - arms over his shoulders etc. Really should have been called

[URZZZZ]

I cant remember a single call the ref got wrong tbh. Hull fouled way more and that ref was useless.

I know our assistant likes a bit of a whinge but you can generally tell the performance of a ref based off the reaction of the two benches. Gomes and Co were getting seriously frustrated with some of the calls from the ref. I agree that some weren’t fouls on Joao but some were borderline ridiculous

Also agree that the ref did improve after minute 60 or so though

[NewCorkSeth]

I cant remember a single call the ref got wrong tbh. Hull fouled way more and that ref was useless.

he certainly wasn't the worst, and like I said, think he did well after the hour

They definitely got away with a lot of sneaky kicks etc prior to that. There was one in particular early in the second where Morrison was literally all over Joao - arms over his shoulders etc. Really should have been called

Fair enough. I dont like it about myself but I do sit there criticising refs a lot and didnt have that moment of rage once.

Take the Bacuna booking for example. 2 fouls and a card. Fair. The Hull LB took the piss before and after he got carded.

Also I think every single corner, free kick and throw in was correct. That's pretty rare. Credit to the linesman.

[Hendo]

Not a whole lot more to add to what previous posters have said. We really did play very well.

Was impressed with Morrison and I'm glad that Moore has gone back to the left of the 3. Seems much more comfortable there.

We looked really dangerous going forward which was great to see and topped it off with 3 great goals, shame for GP who couldn't get the third.

Joao looks a real handful and looks like perfect foil for GP.

Ovie and Swift were just pure class, when Swift plays like that, there isn't too many who can get close to him and he is in such good form at the moment. 3 assists and a goal in 3 games, loved his celebration as well.

Everyone played their part today and for the first time in a long time, we looked like a team who can dominate opposition.

Was not impressed with Cardiff who had one plan of attack, long throws. Although, I'm not sure what else we were to expect from the footballing dinosaur in the other dug-out.

[NewCorkSeth]

Miazga, Swift, Ejaria and Puşcaş are all in the Whoscored team of the week.

[Maneki Neko]

really very impressed. with the change in formation and the managers willingness to play to our strengths/protect our weaknesses.
impressed with new players and the way those new players fit into that formation. impressed with how quickly those new players have slotted in.

having a steady keeper looks to have made a difference.
thought we matched Cardiff in the physical side of the game which Warnock had clearly targeted as a weakness.
joao, puscas, ejaria, swift, the 3 CBs, and Richards all impressed,
the bench looked strong too. and you can see now how tweaks can be made to play away from home etc, with 2 defensive midfielders, or with 1 up front (either joao or puscas) even think that joaoa would be an excellent foil for loader and the rest of the forwards.
having a striker who can hold the ball and put himself about, and a proper goalscorer makes a huge difference and is a massive releief to see

Ejaria my MOTM, he was incredible, all over the pitch, close control was genius. 3 million slooks a massive bargain.

lovely to have a good home performance and some optimism.
that team, playing like that looks like it has what it takes to push for promotion.

not saying we will be able to play that well consistently, but if we did...

[stealthpapes]

yeah, it was just so much fun to watch.

sure, we'll not reproduce it every week, sure, sometimes it won't come off but that level and style of performance will just be so much more more enjoyable to watch, win lose or draw.

[Snowball]

Since the 16th minute at Hull we have not let in a goal and scored four

79 minutes (5ET) Hull
94 minutes v Cardiff

173 league minutes without conceding a goal while scoring four

I'd take 0-0 at West Brom

[Hendo]

Since the 16th minute at Hull we have not let in a goal and scored four

79 minutes (5ET) Hull
94 minutes v Cardiff

173 league minutes without conceding a goal while scoring four

I'd take 0-0 at West Brom

In the league... Wycombe might have something to say about that.

[Snowball]

Since the 16th minute at Hull we have not let in a goal and scored four

79 minutes (5ET) Hull
94 minutes v Cardiff

173 league minutes without conceding a goal while scoring four

I'd take 0-0 at West Brom

In the league... Wycombe might have something to say about that.

[Hendo]

Should clarify your point in the opening sentence, not hidden away in the body

[Lower West]

I guarentee there are thousands of "fans" who left after we got relegated from the EPL and have never returned. That coincides with our financial troubles and nearly going into administrations. Coincidence?

Let's be honest. The past few years have hardly been entertaining. With football not being a cheap pastime to follow live.

[Tilehurstsouthbank]

Wow! I haven't enjoyed a game at the Mad Stad as much in quite some time. That was a truly exceptional performance.

I drove over to Reading from Farnham early doors and decided to go to town for some breakfast. I didn't fancy anything greasy so I want to Subway. Whilst I was in there I got chatting to four people who were over from Norway. They'd stayed in the town centre for a couple of nights and had been down to Saint Mary's for the Liverpool game on Saturday as they're all big Liverpool fans, but they had also decided to take in the Reading v Cardiff game too.

I was trying to make our little club sound as enticing as possible, but they were looking forward to the game anyway and were keen to see Ovie, being a Red on loan at Reading. They had tickets in the East and randomly I bumped into them again after the game and they loved it. Hopefully this might be the start of a small RFC fan club in Norway!

Anyway, my marks for the game as follows:

Rafael- 8 Solid when called upon which gave our three centre backs much more confidence
Morrison- 7 Good all round display and his vast experience and ability to organise really showed
Moore-7 Steady Captains performance and even brought the ball out into the middle a couple of times
Miazga-7 Strong in the air and time one particular crunching tackle superbly in the second half
Yiadom-8 Seems to really enjoy this new Wingback role. Got forward on plenty of occasions and Cardiff couldn't cope with him
Richards-7 He's really growing into his role at LB/LWB and showed great pace and skill. Still learning his positional sense though
Pele-7 Didn't seem to notice him too much, but when called upon, he protected his back line and made good use of the ball
Ejaria- 10 My MOTM. Absolutely superb. Hassled when out of possession and when he had the ball, he either bamboozled the Cardiff defence or played the simple pass- £3m is looking a steal at this rate
Swift- 9 This was the John Swift we eulogised about a couple of years ago. Linked superbly between the Midfield and attack and a decent finish for his goal.
Joao-8 I felt sorry for the big guy. His performance deserved a goal. He held the ball up superbly and showed a good amount of skill and guile. Reminded me of Dave Kitson in his pomp
Puscas-9 harried the Cardiff back line and made former Royal Morrison look like a fool on more than one occasion. What a finish for that first goal that was basically all his own work

Subs-
Boye- 7 Looked very lively when he came on and a great option to have
Meite- 6 Looked a little bit p!ssed of at the whistle and a shame the pen didn't go in. Maybe that was why?

José- 9 Got his tactics spot on! Cardiff looked dangerous early doors but the manager kept his cool and dictated like a world class manager to make sure his team came out on top.

[RoyalBlue]

The ref was pretty average to poor until about 60 odd mins when he picked up what Cardiff were up to and started pulling them up for their multiple fouls

Joao did fall over to easily, but he was still being constantly kicked, pulled and wrestled before the ball came to him. You're not actually allowed to do that and could easily have been a foul to him on numerous occasions

That's the way I saw it too. Shame the East Stand Assistant Referee decided to be a Linesman rather than an Assistant Referee because a lot of it happened under his nose. There were an awful lot of shoves in the back of the likes of Joao, Puscas and Ejaria as the balls were coming to them too, sneakily done but sufficient to prevent them winning headers, controlling the ball etc.

On a more positive note, I loved the way that Joao and Puscas were clearly playing for each other - linking up well, quick one-twos, movement off the ball to create space for the other, looking to create opportunities for their strike partner but also 'selfish' on the right occasions. Sky caught them chatting and laughing with each other after they had been subbed. They are clearly bonding well and I reckon there is a very high chance that they will end up being a deadly striking partnership.

[LWJ]

I cant remember a single call the ref got wrong tbh. Hull fouled way more and that ref was useless.

Missed an easy caution for Morrison when he sarcastically clapped him after a foul went against him.

[LWJ]

I guarentee there are thousands of "fans" who left after we got relegated from the EPL and have never returned. That coincides with our financial troubles and nearly going into administrations. Coincidence?

Let's be honest. The past few years have hardly been entertaining. With football not being a cheap pastime to follow live.

I think I saw a stat saying this is the first time we've been above 19th in 5 seasons....

[Sanguine]

Well we were third in 16/17.

[RoyalBlue]

https://youtu.be/N6CnkD_YiWU?t=71

Cardiff Vlogger filmed all the good bits and is very fair in his comments to boot.

That's really good. A fair and objective report giving credit where credit was due. He's clearly a genuine fan and I actually felt a bit sorry for him as the game wore on and he started to get more and more depressed to the point that he started referring to 'doing a Sunderland' and turning into Bangor City!

Love the point where he says 'hang on and score now just before half-time' at which point Puscas immediately grabs his second!

The other thing it showed was Joao dropping back to help out the defence, clearing the ball and then racing forwards into the Cardiff area to get onto the end of Swift's pass. Sadly I think he was knackered from the charge forward and blazed his shot over. Had he scored, he would have been challenging Puscas for the best goal!

[The Royal Forester]

I guarentee there are thousands of "fans" who left after we got relegated from the EPL and have never returned. That coincides with our financial troubles and nearly going into administrations. Coincidence?

Let's be honest. The past few years have hardly been entertaining. With football not being a cheap pastime to follow live.

I think I saw a stat saying this is the first time we've been above 19th in 5 seasons....

At this unusual height, it's no wonder I am feeling dizzy!