Colwill is becoming such a key man for City... and so boss Morison may find it difficult to hand him a rest
THERE is no doubt a delicate balance to be struck with regards to ushering through young talent.
Just last week, for example, Steve Morison spoke of how Joel Bagan had been chucked in at the deep end at the start of this season, with veteran left backs Greg Cunningham and Joe Bennett both having left the club within the space of six months.
Bagan was installed as the club’s first-choice left back and while he showed signs of promise, admittedly it is a big challenge to step up to Championship level and flourish week in, week out.
Few could argue with Morison’s assessment that Bagan is a promising talent and his decision to take him out of the firing line for a while will doubtless do him the world of good as he adjusts to life as a second-tier footballer.
But one youngster who is producing more often than not and presenting Morison with something of a headache is Rubin Colwill.
Colwill is a year Bagan’s junior at 19, but given he has an x-factor and is central to how this new-look Cardiff side play, it is harder to shield him from the limelight.
He opened the scoring on Saturday - his fourth Bluebirds goal of the season - but it was his all-round play with the ball which was mightily impressive.
His first touch, the way he uses his body to move his markers and create room for himself, really is an indicator of his natural talent and that will only continue to improve with time and experience under his belt.
Given the summer departures of Jonny Williams, Harry Wilson and, more recently, Lee Tomlin, creative players are at a premium in Cardiff’s squad. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find another beyond Colwill.
This new-look Cardiff City, one which emits confidence in possession and a willingness to pass through the lines, desperately needs a technical playmaker and Colwill is just about the only one who fits the bill at the minute.
The only question mark, and it is a small one, at the minute is that, by virtue of the position he plays and how he plays, he will make mistakes and he will frustrate. In a squad with more than one player in that position, he could be rotated.
But Colwill is becoming so central a pivot to how this Cardiff side transitions and hurts teams in the final third that Morison doesn’t seem to have the luxury of resting him in favour of another player of his ilk, like he does with Bagan, for example.
“We looked after him on Wednesday night, took him out on Wednesday, we are always thinking ahead.
“We don’t pick a team just on who you guys say, or people think should be in the team. There is a thought process.
“Why did we play Rubin today? Well, they play man for man in midfield, we wanted to match them up and we felt that Rubin, off of their deep-lyer, would be able to get space either side. That’s why he played.
“There is a hell of a lot more than just, ‘Oh he scored last week’. Rubin might not be the player who plays against Sheffield United. We will assess that this week and go with it.
“There is more to it than just ‘He has got the x-factor’. His x-factor next Saturday might be coming on for half an hour when the game opens up.”
That might well be the case, but Colwill’s growing importance within this side is becoming a far greater factor in the team selection.
He was a menace against Preston in that second-half turnaround, the same can be said for the win over Huddersfield Town.
At Luton, he made an impact early on with that first-half goal the first one Cardiff have scored since May 1 - and is proving to be a difference-maker.
He is still raw, though, and has room to improve. But of the youngsters to have broken into the side this year, Colwill’s ceiling, at the minute, appears to be the highest.
However, the 19-year-old still believes he can be better.
“Something for me personally is to improve my decision-making, when to run and when to pass,” Colwill said.
“That’s normally the message [to me], ‘Try and beat people, try and make stuff happen’.
“Everyone goes through that journey of trying to cement a nailed-on place in the team every week.
“I’m just going to keep working hard and hopefully over the next few weeks I can try and nail my spot down.”
He has gone some way to doing that over the last few weeks, that’s for sure.