AS McCARTHY SAYS WE NOW LOOK TOWARDS OUR YOUNGER PLAYERS

The Cardiff City youngster who is really taking his chance in pre-season and the 'great competitor' emerging as squad bolter


McCarthy: We've lost quite a few senior players, so we are looking to our younger players now."



Monday 26th July 2021



Cardiff could have up to 10 of their under 23 squad this season in the first team squad.


Mick McCarthy has been impressed with the youngsters who have been involved during pre-season and another young duo have caught the eye


When Mick McCarthy likes the look of a young player, you can rest assured they will be given their chance.

The Cardiff City manager thrust Rubin Colwill into the first-team fray at the beginning of 2021 and the young forward has not looked back since.

Isaak Davies was due to start the last game of the season against Rotherham but a training-ground injury on the eve of the game saw that plan hit the buffers at the 11th hour. He will have a part to play at some point this season, though.

So, at the start of what will be McCarthy's first full season in charge of the Bluebirds, all of City's academy graduates should be viewing this as a time to grab the manager's attention and catapult themselves into contention.

Well, one player has done just that.

Teenager Tom Davies is the latest to catch the eye as a raft of very promising youngsters being to come through the academy system.


Davies is the latest to benefit from an increased focus on producing homegrown talent and has really impressed supporters during his fleeting pre-season appearances.

But the manager is also suitably impressed, too. McCarthy branded the left-back's performance "outstanding" against Cambridge United last week, while after his outing in the stalemate against Exeter City on Saturday, the Bluebirds boss believes Davies has grabbed his chance with both hands.



MICK McCARTHY:

"We've lost quite a few senior players, so we are now looking to our younger players, as we all know," McCarthy said after the 2-2 draw with The Grecians.

"We've lost a few through international duty, injuries, Covid. So some of these have got a chance and Tom certainly took his chance."

Joe Bennett has left a fairly sizeable hole at left back, given his wealth of experience at Championship level.

Ryan Giles has been brought in on loan from Wolves, but the excitement he brings further up the pitch could see him be deployed in a more attacking position more often than not.

With Joel Bagan, still only 19 and a rookie, the most natural fit for that left back, or left wing-back, role, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Davies, a Wales under-18 international, could be eyeing something of a breakthrough season in this upcoming campaign.

He has looked particularly composed on the ball and solid enough defensively during pre-season, showcasing a real confidence too, and could well be one who is involved as this marathon Championship season progresses.




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Another who has commanded attention, and is very much admired by those who follow Cardiff's younger age group, is Taylor Jones.

Jones has shown leadership qualities throughout his schooling with Cardiff City and Wales, having captained his country at age-grade level.

He is an extremely solid centre back who looks likely to progress into a very good centre half in years to come, while he has also at times been deployed at right back in Cardiff's youth system.

And, importantly for the 18-year-old, McCarthy is also singing his praises.

"Taylor is great as well, he is a real competitor," McCarthy added.

"I've seen him playing at centre half and he's about 5ft 10in but jumps like someone who is 6ft 4in.

"He is a real competitor and I am loving having those two in and around the squad, as well as some of the other ones."

It is no secret that Ciaron Brown was the subject of a bid from Middlesbrough this week, with Neil Warnock, the man who brought the Northern Ireland international to the Welsh capital, keen on a reunion with the defender.

Should Cardiff see an offer fit for Brown and the player departs, Cardiff fans might see it as the weakening of two positions, with the 23-year-old capable of playing both at centre back and out at left back.

However, Bluebirds supporters should rest assured that if a transfer for Brown does transpire, both Jones and Davies are proving themselves to be more than useful prospects.

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We have been crying out for years to give youth a chance if they are good enough. We don't see them everyday in training, we only read about them. It could go either way and I'm praying like everyone else that our youngsters hit the ground running. We have some seasoned pros in our squad and hopefully that will help the kids out massively. I have enormous faith in MM & TC to get a tune out of our squad.

We all want MM to have a war chest to spend money on, but some people on here need to look at what has gone on in the world of sport in the past eighteen or so months. We aren't the only club not spending money and trying to cut costs. Teams who are established in the Premier League are even having to cut costs and reduce their wage bill.

We could well end up in a relegation battle with the Jacks, we need a good start to the season imho

We have been crying out for years to give youth a chance if they are good enough. We don't see them everyday in training, we only read about them. It could go either way and I'm praying like everyone else that our youngsters hit the ground running. We have some seasoned pros in our squad and hopefully that will help the kids out massively. I have enormous faith in MM & TC to get a tune out of our squad.

We all want MM to have a war chest to spend money on, but some people on here need to look at what has gone on in the world of sport in the past eighteen or so months. We aren't the only club not spending money and trying to cut costs. Teams who are established in the Premier League are even having to cut costs and reduce their wage bill.

Well said,too many people want top class signings and then moan that the youngsters aren’t coming through.
Can’t have it all ways.

We could well end up in a relegation battle with the Jacks, we need a good start to the season imho

Our pre season has been pretty crap but there is absolutely no way we will be involved in a relegation battle this season. Our signings may have been cheap but they have been very shrewd and we for the first time in a long time have two good strikers who can score plenty at this level. The worst I can see happening is we will play some dour hard working but dull route one football drawing far to many games to get into the playoffs. Don't think anyone betting on us drawing matches will go far wrong. MM kept a far worse Ipswich side in mid table and he will do no worse with us.

I'm optimistic about the season if these lads can inject competition this could be a surprise season especially as it looks like Moore is staying.

Need Mozza back though .

Were playing in blue so suck it up.Its what we wanted so no point moaning that Tan ain't spending.

We have been crying out for years to give youth a chance if they are good enough. We don't see them everyday in training, we only read about them. It could go either way and I'm praying like everyone else that our youngsters hit the ground running. We have some seasoned pros in our squad and hopefully that will help the kids out massively. I have enormous faith in MM & TC to get a tune out of our squad.

We all want MM to have a war chest to spend money on, but some people on here need to look at what has gone on in the world of sport in the past eighteen or so months. We aren't the only club not spending money and trying to cut costs. Teams who are established in the Premier League are even having to cut costs and reduce their wage bill.

Well said,too many people want top class signings and then moan that the youngsters aren’t coming through.
Can’t have it all ways.

Well said let's give them ago or what has been the point in all this money spent in the academy for all recent the years

I'm optimistic about the season if these lads can inject competition this could be a surprise season especially as it looks like Moore is staying.

Need Mozza back though .

Totally agree

We could well end up in a relegation battle with the Jacks, we need a good start to the season imho

Our pre season has been pretty crap but there is absolutely no way we will be involved in a relegation battle this season. Our signings may have been cheap but they have been very shrewd and we for the first time in a long time have two good strikers who can score plenty at this level. The worst I can see happening is we will play some dour hard working but dull route one football drawing far to many games to get into the playoffs. Don't think anyone betting on us drawing matches will go far wrong. MM kept a far worse Ipswich side in mid table and he will do no worse with us.

dont think we will be in relegation trouble either, but its too early to be calling any signings shrewd just because they are cheap....

We could well end up in a relegation battle with the Jacks, we need a good start to the season imho

Why? We finished 8th last season, 5th if you only count from when MM came in as manager. The main players we've lost are Wilson, Bennett and Ojo. Wilson is the biggest loss but hopefully Tomlin stays fit as I think he's a better player than Wilson. Bennett was also very good for us and we've probably downgraded overall at LB but our defence is very strong even without him, strong enough where we won't be pulled into a relegation battle.

With those 3 gone and if we don't sign anymore players I still can't see us finishing anywhere below mid table

Excited to see what young local players can do. Yes we won't likely get promoted but we are already in the best division for us. Money taken out of the equation