"Would feel harsh" - Cardiff City urged to drop El-Ghazi and Turnbull for West Brom | OneFootball

FLW's Cardiff City fan pundit speculates what changes, if any, are needed ahead of Saturday's West Brom clash.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

With just one point from their opening seven games, relegation favourites Cardiff City have made a miraculous turn around in October, with three wins from four making the Welsh side the form team in the division.

The most recent of these being Tuesday night's 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Portsmouth. The Bluebirds were superior in possession, goal attempts, discipline and near enough every other statline that matters, and according to individual statistics accumulated by FotMob, of the starters, only Calum Chambers (6.9) achieved less than a seven out of ten rating for the match.

Regardless of solid performances across the board, with the grueling schedule that the EFL so often presents, there is always a necessity for some level of rotation on three-game weeks. But who could be the unlucky few to miss out on a starting spot during Saturday's tie at West Bromwich Albion?

Anwar El Ghazi is not a 90-minute player

Ensuring his adulation for the Dutch forward was well documented, Price explained that despite his good form, the former Aston Villa winger has missed a lot of football in the past year, and he was not yet ready to be a three-game-a-week player.

“Reflecting on last night’s victory over Portsmouth, and ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game at West Brom, I think there are a few tweaks we’ll need to make as we need to approach the game in a different manor

“We would also have played three games in the space of a week, so you’ve got to be resting legs here

“The first change I’d make is that I would probably bring Anwar El Ghazi out of the fold for Chris Willock, El Ghazi has started the last two games and he’s really nailing down a spot under Riza. Last night was arguably his best game for us, he was very direct and caused the opposition a lot of problems, he probably should have scored another goal as well after opening his account against Plymouth.

“While it would feel harsh to drop him, you’ve got to look at the facts as before El Ghazi came here he hadn’t played competitive football in nearly a year. I still don’t know if he’s a 90 minute player, I certainly don’t think he’s a three game a week player.

“I’m speaking as someone who really likes El Ghazi, the quality and pedigree that he can bring to this team over the course of a season could be massive. But yeah, I would bring Willock in, he came off the bench to both score and assist against Plymouth, and he was really lively again in my opinion against Pompey last night.

“I think there’s a mad stat where he only had four touches but created three chances. With these sorts of performances you’ve got to be asking yourself when am I going to get a start? I think he’s definitely warranted it”

El Ghazi signed a one-year contract with Cardiff City in August, having been terminated from his contract at Mainz 04.

In an internal interview after the Portsmouth match, El Ghazi stated he was "grateful for every minute" after spending ten months in footballing obscurity.

Siopis provides more grit and steel

A change in midfield has also been recommended, again, for reasons unrelated to the player in question's form.

“The second one I’d make, which also feels a bit harsh, but it would be to bring out David Turnbull for Manolis Siopis. Just like with AEG, this isn’t really based on performance, this one’s based on approach.

“I think when we go to West Brom, we’re going to need more steel. We’re not going to dominate, because we were classes above Portsmouth, we dominated, and it was a really one-sided display. We’re going to get a tough test at the Hawthorns, we’re going to need steel and grit to break the game up. With that in mind, I think a profile like Siopis would work, somebody dogged who can do the nasty work, nip at the heels. I think he just fits a lot more in what we’re going to get more than Turnbull.

“For what it’s worth, Turnbull has been a complete revelation in the last few games, and it feels he’s finally started his Cardiff career now. That double pivot of him and Alex Robertson has been fantastic, and it’s going to be so key for us when we’ve got our home games, when we’ve got control, we’ve got the ball, and we’re going to be on the front foot.

“But it’s these away games where you sense it’s going to be a bit more scrappy and a bit more pragmatic. I just think Siopis would be a better fit for it”

Cardiff finally beginning to click

Getting the eleven right at the Hawthorns will be imperative to the growing fortunes of Omer Riza's side.

While a loss to West Brom on Saturday afternoon will by no means be a catastrophe, continuing the good feeling around the Welsh capital during this point in the season could soon see them evade a relegation battle that at one time looked inevitable.

Riza was appointed as interim manager in late September after the departure of Erol Bulut. Since collecting ten points out of a possible 15, the former Leyton Orient gaffer may soon earn himself a permanent role under Vincent Tan, if he wants it.

The squad appears to be galvanized on and off the pitch, so whoever does find themselves unfortunate enough to find the Bluebird's bench over the weekend will hopefully understand the wider cause at hand.