' Aron Gunnarsson? / Ralls-Bryson? '
Tue Oct 31, 2017 6:49 am
Can Cardiff City live without Aron Gunnarsson?
Does the Ralls-Bryson partnership work?
By Jamie Kemble
Tuesday 31st October 2017
Cardiff City’s form has taken a dip of late and Neil Warnock will be carefully scanning his team to find the find the cause.
The Bluebirds have won just one of their last four games, and while there’s no panic around the Cardiff City Stadium just yet, they will be all to aware how fast things can change in the Championship.
Warnock’s men have bought themselves some margin for error with their fantastic start to the campaign, but if they truly have ambitions of remaining in the top six, they can’t afford too many dips in form.
Cardiff were one of the most fluent and dangerous attacking teams in the division at the start of the season, scoring three against Aston Villa and then Leeds United, but that threat has dried up.
The Bluebirds have scored just one goal in their last four games and that was from the spot, meaning they haven’t netted any from opening play.
A troubling statistic for Neil Warnock and his coaching staff and one they will be desperate to put right against Ipswich Town on Tuesday night.
But what’s causing the problem? They haven’t been helped by the absence of Aron Gunnarsson, and star striker Kenneth Zohore has also missed the last two.
Gunnarsson’s injury has resulted in Craig Bryson and Joe Ralls being linked together as the midfield two, with Sol Bamba occasionally being deployed as a defensive option just behind – a sweeper if you like.
And while that midfield duo impressed with Aron Gunnarsson present to do the dirty work, they haven’t always cut the mustard on their own.
To their credit, they were a big part of the win against Middlesbrough the weekend before last, but they didn’t seem to do enough against Millwall in the goalless home draw on Saturday.
Craig Bryson spoke before the clash about he and Ralls sacrificing their performances for the sake of the team.
However, arguably, they did that a little too much against a Millwall team who – despite being surprisingly strong – were there for the taking.
It’s a given that at least one of the midfielders has to do the dirty aggressive work in midfield, and few do that better than Gunnarsson.
But you also need someone in midfield who is going to create with regular service through the middle to the front three.
Without that creative player in midfield, chances are that you’re going to come up short and that’s just what happened for Cardiff City against Millwall.
It wasn’t for the lack of trying and both Bryson and Ralls put in a real shift, but as a two, too much was asked of them.
That partly comes down to Neil Warnock who did face some criticism for playing five at the back against a newly promoted team.
There was a real feeling that Bruno Ecuele-Manga could have been sacrificed for a more creative midfielder like Lee Tomlin, or a more defensive midfielder like Loic Damour could have been brought in to allow Bryson or Ralls a more creative role.
Damour started the season excellently in that Cardiff midfield, but it seems that may have been forgotten a little amidst the arrival of the more experienced Bryson.
Playing two in midfield left Cardiff far too much to do against a physical and resolute Millwall side.
A two-man midfield can certainly work, but you need a player like Aron Gunnarsson who is going to absorb all the pressure for his partner to push on and enjoy the space.
There’s no doubt Bryson and Ralls are both good enough to feature in the Bluebirds’ midfield, but without someone a little stronger in behind, it’s not something Warnock should call upon too often, at least not on Saturday’s evidence.
You can’t afford to lose the midfield battle in the Championship, and while it was no disaster against Millwall, against tougher opposition, the outcome could have been a lot worse.
Teams in this league will punish you for not having the strength needed in midfield, and there’s a feeling that’s always a possibility with just Ralls and Bryson in midfield.
They are both creative players and both could have a big impact on Cardiff City’s season, but they’re wasted when left with all the dirty work and if you want promotion from this division, you cannot afford to waste any of your starting XI.
Does the Ralls-Bryson partnership work?
By Jamie Kemble
Tuesday 31st October 2017
Cardiff City’s form has taken a dip of late and Neil Warnock will be carefully scanning his team to find the find the cause.
The Bluebirds have won just one of their last four games, and while there’s no panic around the Cardiff City Stadium just yet, they will be all to aware how fast things can change in the Championship.
Warnock’s men have bought themselves some margin for error with their fantastic start to the campaign, but if they truly have ambitions of remaining in the top six, they can’t afford too many dips in form.
Cardiff were one of the most fluent and dangerous attacking teams in the division at the start of the season, scoring three against Aston Villa and then Leeds United, but that threat has dried up.
The Bluebirds have scored just one goal in their last four games and that was from the spot, meaning they haven’t netted any from opening play.
A troubling statistic for Neil Warnock and his coaching staff and one they will be desperate to put right against Ipswich Town on Tuesday night.
But what’s causing the problem? They haven’t been helped by the absence of Aron Gunnarsson, and star striker Kenneth Zohore has also missed the last two.
Gunnarsson’s injury has resulted in Craig Bryson and Joe Ralls being linked together as the midfield two, with Sol Bamba occasionally being deployed as a defensive option just behind – a sweeper if you like.
And while that midfield duo impressed with Aron Gunnarsson present to do the dirty work, they haven’t always cut the mustard on their own.
To their credit, they were a big part of the win against Middlesbrough the weekend before last, but they didn’t seem to do enough against Millwall in the goalless home draw on Saturday.
Craig Bryson spoke before the clash about he and Ralls sacrificing their performances for the sake of the team.
However, arguably, they did that a little too much against a Millwall team who – despite being surprisingly strong – were there for the taking.
It’s a given that at least one of the midfielders has to do the dirty aggressive work in midfield, and few do that better than Gunnarsson.
But you also need someone in midfield who is going to create with regular service through the middle to the front three.
Without that creative player in midfield, chances are that you’re going to come up short and that’s just what happened for Cardiff City against Millwall.
It wasn’t for the lack of trying and both Bryson and Ralls put in a real shift, but as a two, too much was asked of them.
That partly comes down to Neil Warnock who did face some criticism for playing five at the back against a newly promoted team.
There was a real feeling that Bruno Ecuele-Manga could have been sacrificed for a more creative midfielder like Lee Tomlin, or a more defensive midfielder like Loic Damour could have been brought in to allow Bryson or Ralls a more creative role.
Damour started the season excellently in that Cardiff midfield, but it seems that may have been forgotten a little amidst the arrival of the more experienced Bryson.
Playing two in midfield left Cardiff far too much to do against a physical and resolute Millwall side.
A two-man midfield can certainly work, but you need a player like Aron Gunnarsson who is going to absorb all the pressure for his partner to push on and enjoy the space.
There’s no doubt Bryson and Ralls are both good enough to feature in the Bluebirds’ midfield, but without someone a little stronger in behind, it’s not something Warnock should call upon too often, at least not on Saturday’s evidence.
You can’t afford to lose the midfield battle in the Championship, and while it was no disaster against Millwall, against tougher opposition, the outcome could have been a lot worse.
Teams in this league will punish you for not having the strength needed in midfield, and there’s a feeling that’s always a possibility with just Ralls and Bryson in midfield.
They are both creative players and both could have a big impact on Cardiff City’s season, but they’re wasted when left with all the dirty work and if you want promotion from this division, you cannot afford to waste any of your starting XI.
Re: ' Aron Gunnarsson? / Ralls-Bryson? '
Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:22 am
We need Bryson and either Gunners or Damour as the fighters in midfield with Tomlin as the creator. Ralls is just to slow on the ball. Gets caught on many occasions. Come on NW clean sheets are all well and good but we are at home you have to entertain the fans with attacking football as we saw against Villa and Leeds. In NW we trust. 
Re: ' Aron Gunnarsson? / Ralls-Bryson? '
Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:44 am
Its all horses for courses.
With Gunnar and Ralls as the sitters Bryson looks more than likely to pop in with a goal and has a championship record to back that up (38 goals).
The problem is he can't do Gunnars job as well as Gunnar can, but if we want to play an out and out stopper Bamba is better than Gunnar. IMO our problem as been when we have played Bamba as the stopper when we didn't need to and he has not got the quicker feet and general understanding of a CM as Gunnar.
Gunnar is a little like Whitts, very good at what he does but well, but has huge deficiencies that will stop him being a starter in the premier league. He reads the game well, can intercept, tackle and block well but is poor at heading and can't pass at all (by championship DMC standards).
The problem is we haven't really got a back up for Gunnar. Bamba is too defensive and Ralls is a traditional CM with Bryson more an AMC but not a 10.
I thought Damour was going to be a Kante, not great in stature but nicking balls and breaking up play. I would go 4141 with Damour as the DMC if he can play it. Otherwise we need to 4411 with Ralls / Bryson and Tomlin at the second forward.
With Gunnar and Ralls as the sitters Bryson looks more than likely to pop in with a goal and has a championship record to back that up (38 goals).
The problem is he can't do Gunnars job as well as Gunnar can, but if we want to play an out and out stopper Bamba is better than Gunnar. IMO our problem as been when we have played Bamba as the stopper when we didn't need to and he has not got the quicker feet and general understanding of a CM as Gunnar.
Gunnar is a little like Whitts, very good at what he does but well, but has huge deficiencies that will stop him being a starter in the premier league. He reads the game well, can intercept, tackle and block well but is poor at heading and can't pass at all (by championship DMC standards).
The problem is we haven't really got a back up for Gunnar. Bamba is too defensive and Ralls is a traditional CM with Bryson more an AMC but not a 10.
I thought Damour was going to be a Kante, not great in stature but nicking balls and breaking up play. I would go 4141 with Damour as the DMC if he can play it. Otherwise we need to 4411 with Ralls / Bryson and Tomlin at the second forward.