How has your year been? Not as good as Jack Moylan’s I suspect.
Moylan is having quite the year. Firstly, he was Lincoln’s joint top scorer in a historic, championship-winning season, including home and away wins over Cardiff. He was then shortlisted for the League One Player of the Year award and scored a hat-trick on his international debut for the Republic of Ireland. His achievements were rewarded with a move to Cardiff for a total sum believed to be in the region of £3.5m and hit the ground running by scoring on his debut.
Moylan has quickly become Cardiff’s most effective player, with four goals in 10 games and is now a mainstay at international level, scoring an attention-grabbing goal against Israel and starting all three games in the recent international break. A hero for club and country, Moylan is very much finding his stride having just turned 25.
Embed from Getty ImagesWith two goals in Cardiff’s first win ahead of the international form, the hope is that this white hot form will continue when the Championship reconvenes at the weekend with a trip to Blackburn.
All the qualities Moylan has provided were immediately apparent in his brief and decisive cameo off the bench in the EFL Cup game with Swindon. In a match that was desperately short on quality, Moylan’s attacking instincts immediately sparked the game into life. His energy and attacking instincts opened up the Swindon defence and he made the finish for his goal look deceptively easy.
As good as Moylan is and has been though, I can’t help but think that at least part of the reason he has stood out to the degree he has is due to the long-standing deficiencies of the group. Moylan is a high intensity grafter in a squad that is not renowned for their pace and intensity. Moylan’s decisiveness and anticipation also feel a cut above those around him. He has set the bar for the level others will need to match in order for Cardiff to thrive at Championship level.
Embed from Getty ImagesMoylan is also a great advert for Brian Barry-Murphy’s calm and considered approach to the transfer market. We would all prefer the security of a few more bodies, but the quality of the permanent signings made that have required a fee; Nathan Trott, Krystian Bielik and Gabriel Osho, probably Cardiff’s second best player so far this season, is very impressive. The current overriding feeling is where can we get a few more of Moylan’s calibre, but accelerating a Cardiff overhaul requires greater revenue, so primarily more bums on seats. Moylan can certainly aid that task because he’s a bums off seats sort of player.
Moylan may be shunted out to the left once Rubin Colwill returns to fitness and I think he is slightly less effective in that role because he tends to naturally drift to that side from the centre anyway, but accommodating and harnessing the talents of will be key to maximising Cardiff’s potential. Omari Kellyman has yet to feature for Strasbourg in four games since joining permanently in the summer. To round out a formidable trio, Cardiff would be wise to try and entice him back in January to fill the Kellyman-shaped hole on the right and form a trio befitting Moylan’s ability and impact.