BLAKEY’S MESSAGE TO CITY STRIKER GLATZEL
NATHAN BLAKE ON HOW CITY’S NEW FRONT MAN MUST BE GIVEN TIME TO MAKE HIS MARK
I’VE watched some footage of Robert Glatzel, I’ve done my research on him - he is a really good player.
But, crucially, he is a footballer. If you expect him to come to Cardiff City and be a target man, it’s not going to happen.
He can play with his back to goal, but he’s not an old-fashioned Mick Harford, put it up in the air and I’ll hold it, bring you in and spin to the far post. He is a footballer.
If you look at his goals, they are in between the six-yard box. Most of his goals come from running onto the ball and burying it beyond the keeper, that’s his game.
He has got beautiful feet for a big man, a lot of Jack and Jill – or skill for those who are uninitiated – and he is good in the air.
Look, I felt against Huddersfield that he was very tense. The goal will come, but we need to play to his strengths as well – the front line need to understand that.
If you cut inside on the half-way line, someone like Glatzel is going to be getting in behind, so they’ve got to be looking for those slide passes.
Cut inside on the 18-yard box, then use him as a wall and get one back, a one-two just like Lee Tomlin did on Wednesday night when he went close.
Alternatively, the wingers need to be getting on the outside of their men and crossing the ball to the front post – because he is going to be attacking it.
Firstly, of course, we need more possession of the ball to get players like Glatzel and Tomlin the time and space to work their magic.
Glatzel and Tomlin work off patterns, they thrive off them.
They don’t want the midfielders missing them out and then having to battle for the second ball.
They want the ball to be played through them all the time.
My fear is just because Glatzel didn’t score three against Huddersfield or Tomlin didn’t provide three, they might be out of the side next game. These things take time to gel and that understanding will grow with time, but they need to be afforded that time together on the field.
I hope they are doing the work behind the scenes to make that happen, too, because it doesn’t happen on their own.
We need more options to attack and these two together give Cardiff a different dimension.
Against Huddersfield they had good chances, but it wasn’t a great game to watch. It was broken.
I would put more trust in the players to play more football, because I think we’ve got good footballers. Huddersfield were down on their luck and they came to play, why can’t we be doing it week-in, week-out? But, look, Cardiff won, that is the main point and a big plus. It wasn’t pretty, but it was three points. They kept the chains moving after such a poor defeat at Reading and are trying to get some momentum going. Now on to Blackburn.
Most of his (Glatzel’s) goals come from running onto the ball and burying it beyond the keeper. That’s his game. Nathan Blake