Bluebirds Flyer Josh On The Gaffer, Twin Jacob, Anfield, England, ‘Madders’ And Life In South Wales

Newcastle United's Javier Manquillo (left) and Cardiff City's Josh Murphy battle for possession. (Photo by Simon Galloway/PA Images via Getty Images)

Bluebirds Flyer Josh On The Gaffer, Twin Jacob, Anfield, England, ‘Madders’ And Life In South Wales

Neil Warnock, in his prime, was a better winger than current Cardiff City flyer Josh Murphy. The Bluebirds gaffer was quicker too.

Who says so? Warnock of course.

It’s all part of the training ground banter which is a daily part of City life at the Vale of Glamorgan Resort.

“The manager gives me stick saying he was quicker than me in his day and a much better winger,” says Murphy. 

“We have a great rapport between us, but I’m certainly not teacher’s pet.

“It’s Sol Bamba who gets special treatment.”

Warnock’s boys are buzzing after their 4-2 Premier League home win against Fulham, three points which lifted Cardiff out of the bottom three.

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Murphy is loving life in the Premier League, loves running at defenders and says: “Pace is one of my strengths and I work to use it for the good of our team.

“I say to the boys ‘keep giving me the ball, either to my feet or let me chase it’. My wish is to be constantly involved and taking people on.

“I get as excited as fans when I have the ball and am thinking I can make something happen.

“There is security behind me with the big lads in defence and a counter-attacking style suits me, running at the back four and exploiting spaces left behind.

“I am relishing the rest of this season.”

Murphy has given several defenders the run around already this season including Spurs and England full-back Danny Rose at Wembley Stadium, just down the road from where and twin brother Jacob he grew up.

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England under-20 international Murphy says: “I remember when the new Wembley was being built. My mum, Jacob and I would look out of the window and see the arch.

“Mum would say that one day we’d be able to play there.

“It was always there when we were growing up. It’s every player’s dream to play at Wembley.”

Murphy was talking to Welsh comedian Elis James on the weekly BBC Wales podcast he records with former international footballers Iwan Roberts and Danny Gabbidon.

The programme was broadcast from the Vale of Glamorgan Resort and Murphy sounded relaxed and at ease chatting about life in Cardiff.

He made it clear that Bluebirds players believe in Warnock and love his man management style, saying: “He looks after the boys, makes sure we don’t get disheartened when things don’t go as well as we would have liked and helps everybody in any way possible.

Jacob Murphy playing for Newcastle United. Pic: Getty Images.

“The gaffer is happy for the pressure to be on him and not his players. He’s a great guy, an excellent manager, motivator and has the players wanting to run through brick walls for him.

“The other forwards and I are allowed a lot of freedom.WE have to defend at the right times, but he tells us to get forward and express ourselves.

“He encourages attacking players to get on the ball and make things happen.”

Murphy was selected by BBC pundit Garth Crooks in his Premier League Team of the Week, alongside the likes of Juan Mata, Fernandinho and Etienne Capoue.

“I heard about the lad Murphy when he was a kid at Norwich along with his twin brother Jacob,” said Crooks. “He seems to be developing into an exciting prospect at Cardiff.

“What impressed me was the way he took his goal against Fulham – the finish oozed class and suggests he has a lot more to offer.”

The 23-year-old Murphy was also given honourable mentions on BBC’s Match of the Day after the highlights of Cardiff v Fulham, but he won’t be getting carried away with the praise.

“I just want to keep playing well,” he said. “It’s good to get that recognition and to be helping Cardiff. My job is to keep that going and if I’m in Garth’s team again I’ll be doing something right.

“It felt weird to be mentioned on television. I grew up watching Match of the Day.”

Murphy, who has scored in the last two home appearances for the Bluebirds, admits it felt a ‘bit awkward’ on his first day with Cardiff and he said: “I had nutmegged a couple of boys last season and sent Mozza (Sean Morrison) completely the wrong way on another occasion.

“That awkwardness didn’t last long. They are a great bunch of guys and the transition was far easier than I expected.

“The gaffer and I met a couple of times before I signed and saw a different side to him. My only experience of him before that was as a manager who screams on the sidelines, but he was extremely welcoming and helped me settle quickly into the club.”

While Josh gains Premier experience with the Bluebirds, twin brother Jacob is with Newcastle United in the North East of England.

They played against each other for the first time in League action when manager Rafa Benitez brought his team to Cardiff City Stadium and Josh says: “We had played against each other in training at Norwich. When Jacob had the ball I’d think ‘shoot or pass quickly’.

Leicester City’s James Maddison is a close pal of Josh Murphy (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

“I didn’t want to tackle him. But in a match I had to close him down and tackle. It felt strange, but it only has to happen twice a season which is good.

“Twins have a special bond and we speak to each other every day. I found it hard when Jacob left Norwich and went to Newcastle, but that’s a twin thing.

“Now, though, we are coping with the situation well.”

Josh says Cardiff City played a major role in helping him settle into life in South Wales, saying: “I have a good network around me and that transition was easier than I thought. 

“Guys from my football agency guys came to see me and a number of friends visited, while City’s player liaison man Callum Davies was a massive help.

“He helped me find an apartment in the city and simply took a lot of stress and pressure away. Personally, I found that a major plus and it allowed me to focus on football.”

Josh and close pal James Maddison both left Norwich City last June, heading to Cardiff (£11m transfer) and Leicester (£22m) respectively – and now ‘Madders’ has been called into the England squad.

“For any young player in the Premier League it’s an exciting time to be an English boy,” says Josh. “You look at the great work Gareth Southgate is doing, showing he wants to promote youth.

“My focus has to be playing for Cardiff City and producing my best form, but of course I would love to play for my cousin try one time. I’m delighted James was selected and hope he does really well.

“If you have ability it’s important to show it. I will work hard to do that and hopefully my chance will come one day.”

Now Josh and his fellow Bluebirds are preparing to take on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool this Saturday and he said: “It’s been lively in training this week and everybody is in good spirits.

“There is a togetherness in the squad. Liverpool away is a tough match, but we are going there with high hopes.

“We have gone about preparing in the same way as usual and the boys are looking forward to going there. We are a team who ruffle feathers and impose ourselves physically. 

“If we are at 100 per cent we could be in with a chance of nicking three points.”

Josh certainly won’t worry about playing against Liverpool, Mo Salah and Co. After all, the former Canary turned Bluebird scored a hat-trick for Norwich City at Anfield three years ago when he was in an under-21 match which ended 4-4.

Now he’s heading back to Merseyside and how he’d love to be on the scoresheet again.

A Josh Murphy special – Elis James, Iwan Roberts and Danny Gabbidon on BBC Wales.

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