"Talent does speak for itself" - Cardiff City "disappointment" voiced over summer arrival | OneFootball

Our Bluebirds fan pundit has been underwhelmed by Willock's impact this season

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...

Cardiff City midfielder Chris Willock has been branded a disappointment for his performances in the Welsh capital this season, after supporters had set high expectations for his impact following a move on a free transfer from QPR last summer.

Arsenal academy graduate Willock joined the R's from Benfica in 2020 after failing to impress in Portugal and spending time out on loan at West Brom and Huddersfield Town, but he found his feet at Loftus Road and soon became one of the second tier's most highly-rated wingers for his impressive showings.

The England youth international scooped a host of Rangers' individual awards at the end of the 2021/22 campaign after being a key player under Mark Warburton, and continued to be a regular goal contributor over the last two seasons, but saw fit to leave for a new challenge at the end of his contract last summer.

Cardiff were the beneficiaries of that decision, as he chose to join the Bluebirds on a three-year deal in July despite previous interest from Norwich City and Sunderland, and his arrival at the club was met with excitement and optimism, but his first seven months have not panned out how he would have wanted them to so far.

Chris Willock "hasn't worked" at Cardiff City

Willock has flattered to deceive for the Bluebirds in his debut season at the club but probably hasn't been helped by their overall poor fortunes and a change in manager, as Erol Bulut was sacked and replaced with Omer Riza back in September.

The left-winger has featured 27 times in all competitions this term, with two goals and one assist in 15 starts. He has struggled for minutes particularly in recent weeks, with just three appearances in the club's last seven outings.

FLW's Cardiff fan pundit, Jack Price, admits that Willock has been a disappointment this season, particularly when compared to the lofty expectations set by his time in West London, and he believes that boss Riza has not taken to him since he was installed as interim following Bulut's departure, and then appointed permanent head-coach in December.

“I’d say I am a bit disappointed in Chris Willock. It did very much appear as a statement of intent when we signed him," Jack told FLW.

“His final season at QPR hadn’t been great by all accounts, but his talent does speak for itself, and he had been widely regarded as one of the best wingers at this level with them for quite a long time.

“I think signing him on a free when he’d rejected a deal with a league rival, who I think we expected to be near in the league this season, did appear like a statement, but it just hasn’t worked. It just hasn’t worked.

“He was encouraging at the start of the season, but after the sacking of Erol Bulut, he has struggled to really get that much of a look in under Omer Riza. I don’t think Riza fancies him all that much.

“We’ve seen glimpses, like when he came on when we beat Plymouth 5-0 and he was great. He came on, actually, as a number 10, and scored and got an assist.

“He also scored a brilliant goal in what was a brilliant individual display against Millwall last month. There has been a few other games where he has really impressed, but it’s just not really enough.

“I don’t think the expectation of Willock when we signed him was for him to be a squad player, rarely starting and occasionally making an impact.

“In fact, given our deficiencies in the final third, I really did think that he was going to come in and be a bit of a floor-raiser for us and really be a key player.

“Do I think he could still come good? Yes, I do. I think Willock is really, really gifted, and I really like him as a footballer. I’m just not sure if he will fit in under Riza.

“The problem is that I personally think he is maybe better as a number 10, where he can see a bit more of the ball and drift into those pockets of space, because I don’t think he has the pace to burn past an opposition full-back the way Cian Ashford or Will Alves maybe can.

“But then we’ve got Alex Robertson there, and we’ve got Rubin Colwill there who is also struggling for starts himself. Willock hasn’t done a lot to merit taking either of those players out of the equation.

“So I think we will just have to wait and see with Willock. I want it to come good for him, I think he has got all the ability.

“It’s definitely not about a lack of talent, but yes, this season, I think, much like a couple of our other summer signings, Willock has to go down as a disappointment for the time being.

“That’s unfortunate because he is more than good enough to make it come good here, but he really needs to start seizing the opportunities that he gets.”

Chris Willock may not be the type of player Cardiff need in a relegation battle

Cardiff's 2024/25 season has followed a very similar pattern to others before it, in that they have been in and around the bottom three but never really looked like certain relegation candidates.

They are now, though, in real need of a consistent wins run to pull away from danger over the coming months. Riza's side sit 21st in the Championship table as it stands, and are three points above Plymouth Argyle in the bottom three with a game in hand this week against fellow strugglers Hull City, which is obviously a must-win.

Judging off recent team selections, and his poor form when he has played, it does appear to be the case that the Bluebirds' boss doesn't really fancy Willock as a starter in his side, despite their poor form that has seen them win just one league game of the last six.

That may seem harsh on the 27-year-old, as he is clearly more than capable of producing a star turn in the second-tier, but he is a luxury player and Cardiff cannot really afford to carry too many of those as they aim to preserve their Championship status for another season.

He is not the type of player that will get stuck in, win duels and constantly track back when they are under pressure in defence, which is fine when he is in a good team that is competing near the top of the table, like QPR in 2021/22 for example, but is a real downfall of his in the situation that the Bluebirds find themselves in currently.

With that said, he may need to discover that edge to his game to be considered for more playing time by Riza in the run-in, because he can certainly be a game-changer and does possess the tools to help keep Cardiff up this season, but is not able to show that right now likely due to that very reason.