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Subject: [U21] Cymru U21 talk
Done a bit of re-jigging and uploaded a fair few players onto Asistente at long last - taken me a while to have the time to sit and do it but they're finally on there. The next few games are U20 for us so it'll be a big turnover of players in the next few games. Defensively we're very well set for next season, and to be honest even going forward the options aren't the worst. Our midfield is going to take a big drop off in quality but that's the nature of U21 football with a small player pool.
Tomorrow we play Denmark, who are a higher ranked side also overhauling their player pool. Hoping for a good performance primarily, it'll be a good indication of where we sit against a team who will be probably in Pot 3 for the qualifiers next season.
Tomorrow we play Denmark, who are a higher ranked side also overhauling their player pool. Hoping for a good performance primarily, it'll be a good indication of where we sit against a team who will be probably in Pot 3 for the qualifiers next season.
yeah you added me to the assistente thanks, looking now we have a rough season or 2, especially since majority of the strikers wont be good until after 21, bishop, box and o'brien all similar levels. denmark game was close but yeah without the main 21 yos, lack of depth which is to be expected, nothing to be down about, i might switch next season or the season after to only cymru players and see what i can do.
Denmark 2-1 Cymru
Against a team usually on the periphery of qualifying and with a host of players making their first appearances was always going to be a test, we took the lead immediately from a penalty though. The 5-2-3 worked fairly well, I didn’t adapt it for the 20yos and down though and it showed as we were high and dry in midfield a lot from restarts. Midfielders were too deep and the winger too wide to get the ball between ourselves. We’ve got some really good defenders though and they were very solid, made 2 mistakes that led to both their goals but that is what it is. I was worried with the calibre of players coming in that we might get a hiding but this week we made it difficult and nearly stole a draw. It’s not pretty football but with what we’ve got it’s probably where we are at the moment! I want to use a bit more of a front footed tactic again when there’s the chance this season but I’m pretty pleased overall with what we did there.
I’ll be sticking with the U20s now for the next few weeks in a few different combinations and will adapt some of our tactics to suit. You can really see where we lose the likes of Maffia as players that are just that level of quality up but we’ve only got 5 academies! I’m enjoying the challenge so far so happy to stick with it into next season.
Against a team usually on the periphery of qualifying and with a host of players making their first appearances was always going to be a test, we took the lead immediately from a penalty though. The 5-2-3 worked fairly well, I didn’t adapt it for the 20yos and down though and it showed as we were high and dry in midfield a lot from restarts. Midfielders were too deep and the winger too wide to get the ball between ourselves. We’ve got some really good defenders though and they were very solid, made 2 mistakes that led to both their goals but that is what it is. I was worried with the calibre of players coming in that we might get a hiding but this week we made it difficult and nearly stole a draw. It’s not pretty football but with what we’ve got it’s probably where we are at the moment! I want to use a bit more of a front footed tactic again when there’s the chance this season but I’m pretty pleased overall with what we did there.
I’ll be sticking with the U20s now for the next few weeks in a few different combinations and will adapt some of our tactics to suit. You can really see where we lose the likes of Maffia as players that are just that level of quality up but we’ve only got 5 academies! I’m enjoying the challenge so far so happy to stick with it into next season.
Good effort. I feel like a broken record, but i do think at the moment if we can stay in games we should be happy. A little bit more luck and that could have been a draw against a good team.
I'm glad to see you're enjoying it and happy to keep at it for next season. The consistency can only be a good thing.
I'm glad to see you're enjoying it and happy to keep at it for next season. The consistency can only be a good thing.
i might switch next season or the season after to only cymru players and see what i can do.
I'm hoping to slowly increase how many welsh players i'm training. Currenly i have 4. One of which is 23, but i'm hoping the other 3 will be able to contribute to the U21s.
I'm hoping to slowly increase how many welsh players i'm training. Currenly i have 4. One of which is 23, but i'm hoping the other 3 will be able to contribute to the U21s.
Scotland 1-2 Cymru
Alex Ferguson once said “Give me Zidane and 10 pieces of wood and I’ll win you the Champions League”, after that game I feel the same about Alec Bishop. 2 goals in 3 minutes to take the game - we were under the cosh at first but really grew into it. Unlucky to give away a penalty but delighted overall - Hajgato was really terrific he made us tick.
Alex Ferguson once said “Give me Zidane and 10 pieces of wood and I’ll win you the Champions League”, after that game I feel the same about Alec Bishop. 2 goals in 3 minutes to take the game - we were under the cosh at first but really grew into it. Unlucky to give away a penalty but delighted overall - Hajgato was really terrific he made us tick.
Great result. Again, haven't watched it yet, but Hajgato was definitely one of the players that i was glad i could calk on when i was managing U21s. Really nice defender/midfielder... think i even played him upfront in the middle of a form and injury crisis!
Cymru 0-2 Paraguay
Paraguay have played similar teams to us this season so I wanted to see how we’d stack up against them with the 5-2-3 rather than the diamond after last week. I tweaked it somewhat but it’s still a bit too defensive - Paraguay still had a lot of time and space with a similar system! Ultimately our current attackers aren’t good enough to carry it forward in isolation so I think it’ll be a case of bulk out the midfield to compensate.
Paraguay have played similar teams to us this season so I wanted to see how we’d stack up against them with the 5-2-3 rather than the diamond after last week. I tweaked it somewhat but it’s still a bit too defensive - Paraguay still had a lot of time and space with a similar system! Ultimately our current attackers aren’t good enough to carry it forward in isolation so I think it’ll be a case of bulk out the midfield to compensate.
Cymru 0-2 Paraguay
Paraguay have played similar teams to us this season so I wanted to see how we’d stack up against them with the 5-2-3 rather than the diamond after last week. I tweaked it somewhat but it’s still a bit too defensive - Paraguay still had a lot of time and space with a similar system! Ultimately our current attackers aren’t good enough to carry it forward in isolation so I think it’ll be a case of bulk out the midfield to compensate.
Paraguay have played similar teams to us this season so I wanted to see how we’d stack up against them with the 5-2-3 rather than the diamond after last week. I tweaked it somewhat but it’s still a bit too defensive - Paraguay still had a lot of time and space with a similar system! Ultimately our current attackers aren’t good enough to carry it forward in isolation so I think it’ll be a case of bulk out the midfield to compensate.
Andorra 1-1 Cymru
Was able to give Dylan Orphan a debut in goal to start bedding him in for next season and we survived it, defence protected him well aside from conceding an early penalty! We did well to recover and had chances to win, they had more shots but their offside trap cut off most of what we were creating before it ever got going. A few tweaks to the system perhaps after that, not a terrible result but not the best either.
Was able to give Dylan Orphan a debut in goal to start bedding him in for next season and we survived it, defence protected him well aside from conceding an early penalty! We did well to recover and had chances to win, they had more shots but their offside trap cut off most of what we were creating before it ever got going. A few tweaks to the system perhaps after that, not a terrible result but not the best either.
Good performance in the last U21 game. Obviously the result went against us, but we were the better team despite being down to 10 men for a lot of the game and losing a key player in midfield to injury.
Hopefully the performances can translate to good results in the next qualifying campaign.
Hopefully the performances can translate to good results in the next qualifying campaign.
Cheers - I've been away for the weekend so just been able to log in for the bare minimum but catching up with the game today. The stats are positive, an early red card is always a bit of a killer. Playing another good side this weekend in Senegal but it's all good experience ahead of next season.
Cymru 0-2 Senegal
Senegal are a very good U21 side but a very disappointing defeat, tried setting us up a little deeper to retain the ball but it was counterintuitive as we never got a shot away. A lesson to learn for sure, taking on Malta next week so an opponent of a similar level to us. A win is much needed.
Senegal are a very good U21 side but a very disappointing defeat, tried setting us up a little deeper to retain the ball but it was counterintuitive as we never got a shot away. A lesson to learn for sure, taking on Malta next week so an opponent of a similar level to us. A win is much needed.
From experience I can tell you that a low defensive line or playing with a winger doesn t work at U21. Try playing a high line 4-3-3 with 2 of the 3 strikers close to each other. I dont know how many you will concede but defo you will have more shots on target.
Cheers, definitely something to take forward - our defence is much stronger than our attack so at least they're equipped for it!