" Joe Ralls/Aaron Ramsey "

" Cardiff City Fan Zone: Why Joe Ralls could be the next Aaron Ramsey if Russell Slade backs him "


We'd 22nd July 2015

Cardiff City Fan Zone writer Daniel Bevan takes a look at midfield starlet Joe Ralls and says the Bluebirds should make him the star man

All the best teams build their squad around a high quality midfielder who sits back and dictates the play - no matter what system the manager wants you to play.

Juventus had Andre Pirlo, Chelsea had Frank Lampard, Barcelona had Xavi and Cardiff City have... Peter Whittingham. Granted there is a bit of a skill gap there but the point is still relevant.

Pirlo, Lampard and Xavi are all leaving their respective clubs after many years of service and it's looking ever more likely that Peter Whittingham will be doing the same. Even if it's not this year we can't rule out the fact that it could happen in January or next summer.

The last three Cardiff City managers have all built the team around Peter Whittingham, especially Malky Mackay. Russell Slade is also guilty of relying too much on the cultured midfielder, even when he was out of form and low on confidence.

This leads me to believe that maybe it's time to turn to a new generation of Cardiff players and at the top of my list of candidates is Joe Ralls.

Ralls has been at Cardiff for five years and finally made his breakthrough last year but there is still some serious competition in the Cardiff squad, with Peter Whittingham, Stuart O'Keefe, Aaron Gunnarsson and Kagisho Dikgacoi all competing for two places in the starting eleven.
But Ralls has been compared to a young Aaron Ramsey and I find it hard to disagree. They are very similar players and what Cardiff fan wouldn't want Aaron Ramsey on the team sheet?

Russell Slade may have a similar line of thinking. Ralls came into his own under Slade and got a really good run in the side. Ralls played 60 minutes in Wednesday's pre-season friendly against Forest Green, more than any other player.

This could have been because of fitness but it might be because Slade believes that Cardiff play better, and are more likely to score, with him on the pitch. It's impossible to know for sure but it could be the latter. The Bluebirds struggled to find a goal in the first half despite dominating and when the breakthrough came from Joe Mason in the 55th minute, Ralls was substituted just five minutes later.

The Aldershot born midfielder is still only 21 and was the player who seemed to improve the most under Russell Slade last season. The Cardiff manager had previously said that they were still trying to find his best position but after stints of playing at left back and left midfield it's clear that Ralls comes into his own in the centre of the park.

I'm not the only one who thinks that Cardiff should be playing to Ralls' strengths. I've spoken to many Cardiff fans who believe that Ralls has the potential to be the mainstay in the squad that Peter Whittingham has been over the last few years, however the main source of some scepticism is his age. Some believe that it's too much pressure for a 21 year old to handle but I think that if it doesn't happen now it may never will.

Whitts joined Cardiff at 21 and quickly became a regular in the staring eleven and within a season the squad was playing to his strengths, I don't see any reason why Joe Ralls can't do the same.

Ralls has come on a fair bit but don't think you could ever compare him with Rambo

Sorry, not in the same league as Ramsey.

Sorry, not in the same league as Ramsey.

op asks is he next ramsey ! not hes as good as him.

How will he be next Ramsey? We never built a team around him he was gone too early. He was still but in pick n mix when we sold him.

I love Rambo but I have no idea what this heading was getting at? Is he next whitts would
Make more sense

Sorry, not in the same league as Ramsey.

op asks is he next ramsey ! not hes as good as him.

And my opinion is that he's not. Read my post again you over opinionated prick.

Ramsey was better than him when he was 17

ridiculous

unfair comparison

Absolute cobblers.

What a ridiculous bit of writing.

Great post, totally agree. Ralls is the way forward.

He is not even as good as Whitts at 21 forget Rambo......

:lol: He is not even as good as Whitts at 21 forget Rambo......

Wow, that's an unbelievable statement

It is a difficult one for me, but overall I think that Ramsey is better than Ralls will ever by a huge margin.

Feel free to knock me down.

How can he be the next Aron Ramsey?
Lol.
Hes already about 24
And not a guaranteed name on first team.
Ramsey was the best midfielder in the championship at 17

Ramsey was Welsh so there was a positive when he moved to Arsenal.

With Ralls I hope he either stays or we get our moneys worth.

How can he be the next Aron Ramsey?
Lol.
Hes already about 24
And not a guaranteed name on first team.
Ramsey was the best midfielder in the championship at 17

Ralls is 21.

And some of the premier league players such as Schneiderlin are only now getting big money moves. After years of game time for their clubs.

Lallana was highly rated by fans of the championship/league one. No one in the Prem cared. Now look at him. And he is 27.

Most players peak at 25-28. So give him 4 years and then lets see.

Some really unfair comments on this post regarding joe ralls
IMO what I've seen from his 4years ago in academy game to what he his now he's gone on even more better.
Let's remember he puts on the Cardiff shirt for us.
But as always people slate them off
He's going to get even better ! Maybe not as good as Ramsey but he still got more to come .
And to the one person who said he not good as whittingham then shame on you . He's going to become better than him not too long. Probably maybe not far from it .

Some really unfair comments on this post regarding joe ralls
IMO what I've seen from his 4years ago in academy game to what he his now he's gone on even more better.
Let's remember he puts on the Cardiff shirt for us.
But as always people slate them off
He's going to get even better ! Maybe not as good as Ramsey but he still got more to come .
And to the one person who said he not good as whittingham then shame on you . He's going to become better than him not too long. Probably maybe not far from it .

Saying he is not as good as Ramsey is hardly being unfair. Most of the midfielders in the premiership aren't near his level. It was the article that was pish likening him to Ramsey.

The article is why the jacks laugh at us....

If he ends up as good as Joe ledley i'll be happy, but to compare him to one of the top European players is the writing of an early years teenager.

He can barely get into the team now, remember there was uproar when Jones didn't play 18 year old Aaron in the FA Cup Final.

By the end of the season I expect him to oust either Whitts or Gunnar especially if we play 442. He is one of our only genuine 442 central midfilders, Whitts and Dikachoi are not due to thier mobility, Gunnar due to his inability to pass to a team mate, so we could be left with Ralls and o'keefe !

Its the starry eyed he is only 21 dreamyness in the article that i reacted to not the player.

Whitts at the same age played for England U21's 17 times

Some really unfair comments on this post regarding joe ralls
IMO what I've seen from his 4yein his cors ago in academy game to what he his now he's gone on even more better.
Let's remember he puts on the Cardiff shirt for us.
But as always people slate them off
He's going to get even better ! Maybe not as good as Ramsey but he still got more to come .
And to the one person who said he not good as whittingham then shame on you . He's going to become better than him not too long. Probably maybe not far from it .

Spot on! Comparing him to Ramsey is debatable however Ramsey had the advantage of being picked and played regularly In his preferred position which allowed him to develop. He was also arguably in a much better side than we have now. Ralls on the other hand is only picked either as a substitute or in an alternative position to his own. He hasn't the luxury of a manager who can see or develop his potential. As for Whittingham, he didn't develop an awaful lot after his heady early days and left the Premiership soon after. Ralls is a much more complete and all round accomplished player who is on the reverse trajectory.

Some really unfair comments on this post regarding joe ralls
IMO what I've seen from his 4yein his cors ago in academy game to what he his now he's gone on even more better.
Let's remember he puts on the Cardiff shirt for us.
But as always people slate them off
He's going to get even better ! Maybe not as good as Ramsey but he still got more to come .
And to the one person who said he not good as whittingham then shame on you . He's going to become better than him not too long. Probably maybe not far from it .

Spot on! Comparing him to Ramsey is debatable however Ramsey had the advantage of being picked and played regularly In his preferred position which allowed him to develop. He was also arguably in a much better side than we have now. Ralls on the other hand is only picked either as a substitute or in an alternative position to his own. He hasn't the luxury of a manager who can see or develop his potential. As for Whittingham, he didn't develop an awaful lot after his heady early days and left the Premiership soon after. Ralls is a much more complete and all round accomplished player who is on the reverse trajectory.

I'd like to think I know football unlike some idiots on here
But your spot on too.
Made me laugh that whittingham quote .
There's a reason villa got rid of him and he's been in championship most his career . As he's just a good championship player which now is starting to come avergage player now . But I honestly do think ralls will be become a good player and better than whittingham . Got more than whittingham had . But some reason you'd think whittingham was messi the way people rate him here

Some really unfair comments on this post regarding joe ralls
IMO what I've seen from his 4yein his cors ago in academy game to what he his now he's gone on even more better.
Let's remember he puts on the Cardiff shirt for us.
But as always people slate them off
He's going to get even better ! Maybe not as good as Ramsey but he still got more to come .
And to the one person who said he not good as whittingham then shame on you . He's going to become better than him not too long. Probably maybe not far from it .

Spot on! Comparing him to Ramsey is debatable however Ramsey had the advantage of being picked and played regularly In his preferred position which allowed him to develop. He was also arguably in a much better side than we have now. Ralls on the other hand is only picked either as a substitute or in an alternative position to his own. He hasn't the luxury of a manager who can see or develop his potential. As for Whittingham, he didn't develop an awaful lot after his heady early days and left the Premiership soon after. Ralls is a much more complete and all round accomplished player who is on the reverse trajectory.

I'd like to think I know football unlike some idiots on here
But your spot on too.
Made me laugh that whittingham quote .
There's a reason villa got rid of him and he's been in championship most his career . As he's just a good championship player which now is starting to come avergage player now . But I honestly do think ralls will be become a good player and better than whittingham . Got more than whittingham had . But some reason you'd think whittingham was messi the way people rate him here

Great to see someone knows a bit about football on here

Some really unfair comments on this post regarding joe ralls
IMO what I've seen from his 4yein his cors ago in academy game to what he his now he's gone on even more better.
Let's remember he puts on the Cardiff shirt for us.
But as always people slate them off
He's going to get even better ! Maybe not as good as Ramsey but he still got more to come .
And to the one person who said he not good as whittingham then shame on you . He's going to become better than him not too long. Probably maybe not far from it .

Spot on! Comparing him to Ramsey is debatable however Ramsey had the advantage of being picked and played regularly In his preferred position which allowed him to develop. He was also arguably in a much better side than we have now. Ralls on the other hand is only picked either as a substitute or in an alternative position to his own. He hasn't the luxury of a manager who can see or develop his potential. As for Whittingham, he didn't develop an awaful lot after his heady early days and left the Premiership soon after. Ralls is a much more complete and all round accomplished player who is on the reverse trajectory.

Well Joe Ralls has played over 50 games for Cardiff Ramsey played 26. You could see right away Ramsey had something a bit special. That's not to slate Ralls he just isn't anywhere near the quality of Rambo. No one currently in the Championship is or will ever be.

Some really unfair comments on this post regarding joe ralls
IMO what I've seen from his 4yein his cors ago in academy game to what he his now he's gone on even more better.
Let's remember he puts on the Cardiff shirt for us.
But as always people slate them off
He's going to get even better ! Maybe not as good as Ramsey but he still got more to come .
And to the one person who said he not good as whittingham then shame on you . He's going to become better than him not too long. Probably maybe not far from it .

Spot on! Comparing him to Ramsey is debatable however Ramsey had the advantage of being picked and played regularly In his preferred position which allowed him to develop. He was also arguably in a much better side than we have now. Ralls on the other hand is only picked either as a substitute or in an alternative position to his own. He hasn't the luxury of a manager who can see or develop his potential. As for Whittingham, he didn't develop an awaful lot after his heady early days and left the Premiership soon after. Ralls is a much more complete and all round accomplished player who is on the reverse trajectory.

Well Joe Ralls has played over 50 games for Cardiff Ramsey played 26. You could see right away Ramsey had something a bit special. That's not to slate Ralls he just isn't anywhere near the quality of Rambo. No one currently in the Championship is or will ever be.

Well I saw them both Maccy, and, maybe its just me being weird, but I can see something special in Ralls. That is, on the odd occasion we are lucky enough to see him, and although he might have played less games than Aaron he doesnt play regularly enough to continue his development. That of course is an indictment on the manager not him. By the way, I would be interested to learn why you thought you could use the word ever?

Some really unfair comments on this post regarding joe ralls
IMO what I've seen from his 4yein his cors ago in academy game to what he his now he's gone on even more better.
Let's remember he puts on the Cardiff shirt for us.
But as always people slate them off
He's going to get even better ! Maybe not as good as Ramsey but he still got more to come .
And to the one person who said he not good as whittingham then shame on you . He's going to become better than him not too long. Probably maybe not far from it .

Spot on! Comparing him to Ramsey is debatable however Ramsey had the advantage of being picked and played regularly In his preferred position which allowed him to develop. He was also arguably in a much better side than we have now. Ralls on the other hand is only picked either as a substitute or in an alternative position to his own. He hasn't the luxury of a manager who can see or develop his potential. As for Whittingham, he didn't develop an awaful lot after his heady early days and left the Premiership soon after. Ralls is a much more complete and all round accomplished player who is on the reverse trajectory.

I'd like to think I know football unlike some idiots on here
But your spot on too.
Made me laugh that whittingham quote .
There's a reason villa got rid of him and he's been in championship most his career . As he's just a good championship player which now is starting to come avergage player now . But I honestly do think ralls will be become a good player and better than whittingham . Got more than whittingham had . But some reason you'd think whittingham was messi the way people rate him here

I am sure that you would like to think that you know football, but your comments about Whittingham show that you really don't. And, contrary to what you also think, disagreeing with you on this does not make someone an idiot. Take a look at yourself.

He must have wrote that piece the night after the staff summer party. What a load of rubbish. It baffles me that people actually get employed to come out with this garbage.

Some really unfair comments on this post regarding joe ralls
IMO what I've seen from his 4yein his cors ago in academy game to what he his now he's gone on even more better.
Let's remember he puts on the Cardiff shirt for us.
But as always people slate them off
He's going to get even better ! Maybe not as good as Ramsey but he still got more to come .
And to the one person who said he not good as whittingham then shame on you . He's going to become better than him not too long. Probably maybe not far from it .

Spot on! Comparing him to Ramsey is debatable however Ramsey had the advantage of being picked and played regularly In his preferred position which allowed him to develop. He was also arguably in a much better side than we have now. Ralls on the other hand is only picked either as a substitute or in an alternative position to his own. He hasn't the luxury of a manager who can see or develop his potential. As for Whittingham, he didn't develop an awaful lot after his heady early days and left the Premiership soon after. Ralls is a much more complete and all round accomplished player who is on the reverse trajectory.

Well Joe Ralls has played over 50 games for Cardiff Ramsey played 26. You could see right away Ramsey had something a bit special. That's not to slate Ralls he just isn't anywhere near the quality of Rambo. No one currently in the Championship is or will ever be.

Well I saw them both Maccy, and, maybe its just me being weird, but I can see something special in Ralls. That is, on the odd occasion we are lucky enough to see him, and although he might have played less games than Aaron he doesnt play regularly enough to continue his development. That of course is an indictment on the manager not him. By the way, I would be interested to learn why you thought you could use the word ever?

Ever as in Ralls would never be as good as Ramsey? He won't be. Of course that's my opinion. Ramsey certainly was never sent out on loan to Yeovil.

Some really unfair comments on this post regarding joe ralls
IMO what I've seen from his 4yein his cors ago in academy game to what he his now he's gone on even more better.
Let's remember he puts on the Cardiff shirt for us.
But as always people slate them off
He's going to get even better ! Maybe not as good as Ramsey but he still got more to come .
And to the one person who said he not good as whittingham then shame on you . He's going to become better than him not too long. Probably maybe not far from it .

Spot on! Comparing him to Ramsey is debatable however Ramsey had the advantage of being picked and played regularly In his preferred position which allowed him to develop. He was also arguably in a much better side than we have now. Ralls on the other hand is only picked either as a substitute or in an alternative position to his own. He hasn't the luxury of a manager who can see or develop his potential. As for Whittingham, he didn't develop an awaful lot after his heady early days and left the Premiership soon after. Ralls is a much more complete and all round accomplished player who is on the reverse trajectory.

Well Joe Ralls has played over 50 games for Cardiff Ramsey played 26. You could see right away Ramsey had something a bit special. That's not to slate Ralls he just isn't anywhere near the quality of Rambo. No one currently in the Championship is or will ever be.

Well I saw them both Maccy, and, maybe its just me being weird, but I can see something special in Ralls. That is, on the odd occasion we are lucky enough to see him, and although he might have played less games than Aaron he doesnt play regularly enough to continue his development. That of course is an indictment on the manager not him. By the way, I would be interested to learn why you thought you could use the word ever?

Ever as in Ralls would never be as good as Ramsey? He won't be. Of course that's my opinion. Ramsey certainly was never sent out on loan to Yeovil.

Ah but you said "any Championship player" really? That's a big claim! Ever is a long time! If Aaron had been sent out to Yeovil like Joe it might have helped to further his career