Harry Wilson has been fine as Cardiff City's number 10 but that's not where they need him
There are couple of tactical tweaks Neil Harris could make to get his Cardiff City side firing on all cylinders once again following Friday's disappointing defeat to Bristol City
By Tom Coleman
Monday 9th November 2020
The dust has just about settled on what was another disappointing day at the office for Cardiff City.
Friday night's Severnside derby defeat was frustrating for all involved, particularly boss Neil Harris, who was understandably unable to hide his disappointment at watching his side come away with nothing.
Harris likened the defeat to having his wallet pinched, and City's 17 shots on goal, on the face of it, added weight to that analogy.
However, the quality of chance was perhaps not as strong as the quantity in this case, with Bristol City goalkeeper Daniel Bentley, on the whole, left with little to do for much of the night.
It's left some to question the cutting edge of this Bluebirds side once again, with many fans asking why, with such a great deal of attacking talent available, Cardiff are so often labouring in front of goal.
They have every right to be asking those questions. Harry Wilson, Kieffer Moore and Lee Tomlin all the boast the technical quality needed to lead the charge for a promotion challenge, but it just hasn't quite clicked so far.
What's so frustrating is that Friday's blank came after a vastly improved attacking performance in the 3-0 win over Barnsley, a game that saw Cardiff play with a freedom in the final third that arguably hadn't been seen before this term.
Wilson, who got on the scoresheet that night, was one of those to shine brightest, as he bids to justify some of the understandable fanfare around his season-long loan from Liverpool.
The 23-year old scores goals, yes, but it's that creative spark that he brings to the table that could really help to elevate Cardiff's promotion ambitions.
Already, he has put in a higher average number of crosses per game (2.6) than any other City player so far this season.
The next best player in that rundown? Marlon Pack with 1.6.
No offence to the former Bristol City star, but he's not really the sort of player a team should be relying on to ping balls in the box. His role is more in the midfield engine room alongside Joe Ralls or Leandro Bacuna.
It's a stat that shows just how important the loanee is to the creative output of this team.
Wilson is far and away the best crosser of the ball Cardiff have at the moment, despite mainly being deployed as a number 10.
He's not exactly done an awful lot wrong there. Indeed, he's still a very exciting option, but given his clear ability to put a ball in, one can make the argument that a more central role doesn't take full advantage of his abilities.
A case in point. He was given a role out wide in that win over Barnsley as part of a more traditional 4-4-2 formation, and Cardiff thrived, although admittedly one can perhaps make the argument that playing two up loosened up the attacking shackles.
Playing two strikers is fine when Cardiff are able to go for the jugular against the lesser sides in this division, but it does leave them too open to being overrun in midfield against some of the better teams.
And besides, Moore is certainly capable of leading the line on his own.
When it comes to aerial challenges, the Wales forward is the best player in the entire division, a stat that won't surprise anyone that's had the pleasure of watching him for club and country.
Harris won't thank me for suggesting it, but he's exactly the sort of player that would have probably thrived under Neil Warnock's direct style of football. He's the target man that Robert Glatzel never was.
Warnock's successor has clearly tried to implement a slightly more 'attractive' style of football, and he has absolutely every right to doe just that, but when you have a presence like Moore in the box, why not launch balls into the mixer a bit more?
Cardiff, on average, have made 18 crosses a game so far this season, less than all of sides sitting in the Championship's bottom three, and 16th overall for the division.
Improving that tally has to be a key priority if Harris is to really maximise his side's efforts in the final third, and the likes of Wilson will certainly have a role to play in making that happen, although Joe Bennett and Junior Hoilett have shown that they too are capable of chipping in when it comes to creating those opportunities.
Of course, on the evidence of Friday night, the standard of finishing will need to improve too, but a couple of tactical tweaks may well help City maximise their ability to create a better standard of chance.
One would hope that goals would soon follow.
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