Yahoo News Tonight's Cardiff City news as Josh Murphy makes admission and teen now impossible for Bulut to ignore
Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Wednesday, April 24.
Josh Murphy: I 'didn't deliver' at Cardiff
Josh Murphy has spoken candidly about his rollercoaster ride at Cardiff City and admits, at times, he felt the expectation from fans and "didn't deliver".
There was a lot of expectation on the club's then-record £11m signing from Norwich City after earning promotion to the Premier League and he enjoyed a decent campaign in the top flight, despite ultimately suffering relegation.
Murphy was expected to tear it up in the Championship, but the winger never really got going, despite impressing in patches. Looking back on his four years at the club, the 29-year-old told WalesOnline, via SkyBet: “My time at Cardiff City was a learning curve, that’s the best way to put it. I went there and started off really well, then I think it was just trying to manage loss of form and bad performances, and the expectation, I had a lot of expectation going there.
"At times, I didn’t deliver and probably took that harder on myself than I should have, whereas now, I’m older and wiser so can deal with stuff a lot better now.”
READ MORE: The other major calls Cardiff City need to get right this summer besides Erol Bulut's future
A learning curve is a mature way of putting it. He was subjected to boos from his own supporters during his time in the Championship, which was tough to watch, while he admits he struggled to adapt to the style of play at Cardiff.
He is now in a rich vein of form at Oxford United in League One alongside a number of his former Cardiff City team-mates – Mark Harris, Joe Bennett and Ciaron Brown – in an end-of-season push for the play-offs.
Thinking back on why it didn't click for him in the Welsh capital, he added: “At the time, it was a very different system to systems that I’d played in. I joined Cardiff from Norwich City, under Daniel Farke, where it was total football, having 70% possession a game, a lot of passes, to probably a slightly more route one philosophy under Neil Warnock.
"But that’s what football is about: you must be able to make those adjustments and fit into different systems. That’s probably why I’m doing well now because the system is suited to me and the brand of football, the play here at Oxford is much more suited to me.”
Colwill sticks his hand up for Championship debut
Joel Colwill has sent Erol Bulut a timely reminder that he is champing at the bit to make his Championship debut.
Colwill, 19, has seen his academy contemporaries, Cian Ashford, Luey Giles and Raheem Conte, all make their first-team debuts in recent weeks – and he is likely desperate to get in on the action.
Well, after being an unused substitute nine times in the Championship this season, the 19-year-old turned out a five-star display against Peterborough United for the under-21s yesterday. Sign up to our Cardiff City newsletter here.
Colwill scored twice and and set up one as the Bluebirds routed Posh 5-1 at Cardiff City Stadium. A mention must go to Tanatswa Nyakuhwa, 18, who has also had an impressive season and also scored two in the triumph at CCS yesterday.
Interestingly, though, with regards to Colwill, he scored two and assisted one before being pulled at half time. The last under-21s player to score twice in a midweek under-21s game? Cian Ashford against Birmingham under-21s last week – before he made his full debut and proved the match-winner against Southampton for the first team on Saturday.
Perhaps it's a good omen!
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Purse: You have to have a first-team manager that will give kids a chance
Under-21s boss Darren Purse has understandably been buoyed by the progress of so many of his players in recent weeks.
Those mentioned above have earned debuts in the Championship and Joel Colwill will surely follow. That feather in his cap has also been added to with a run of four games unbeaten for the under-21s, including that Peterborough thrashing yesterday.
But Purse also said first-team boss Erol Bulut needs praise, too, for trusting these young Cardiff kids enough to play them in big Championship games. Without that, Purse says, the work done below the first team is rendered meaningless.
“If you look at the week or even the last few weeks it’s been awesome, and I love watching it," Cardiff's under-21s manager said.
"You get attached to these younger lads and want to see them do well, and the last week or two has been fantastic to see them develop and grow. The next crop coming through are putting in performances; we’re four unbeaten, and that’s great, but it’s nice to have that mentality and have some real performers in there.
“We do it for those individuals to get into the first team. Not every player is going to make it, and it’s about supporting the players who don’t but also celebrating when they do well. It’s good that we’ve got a gaffer who is backing the young players, giving them the opportunity. No matter what you’re producing, if there’s not a manager above you willing to play the young players and give them a chance then the Academy isn’t succeeding. It’s been fantastic, and from that point of view it’s going really well, but the work doesn’t stop.”
Leonard link surfaces again
Cardiff City have once again been linked with Brighton's Marc Leonard.
The midfielder is currently out on loan at Southampton and Football Insider claim the Premier League club will allow him to leave the club for just £300,000.
The 22-year-old is also said to be of interest to Plymouth Argyle and Preston North End, while south Wales rivals Swansea have also been linked in recent months.
Links with Leonard have been played down to WalesOnline, however, with the club having to prioritise Erol Bulut's position as manager before summer transfers come to the fore.
Tommy Doyle to move permanently
Former Cardiff loanee Tommy Doyle looks set to make his Wolves move permanent.
Manchester City product Doyle was fantastic for Cardiff at the back end of the 2021/22 campaign and went out on loan to Sheffield United after that.
He has been on loan at Wolves from Man City and the Molineux club have an option to purchase him for £4.3m at the end of the campaign. The Express and Star report that Wolves will indeed take up that option.
