|
15 Top Cardiff City Web Sites
More City Sites
Welsh Sites
World Football Sites
|
Aaron Ramsey Wonder Goal Lifts Wales U21s
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Cardiff City don't play this weekend and Wales don't either. The Red Dragons have a match this next week but not until next Wednesday when they host Russia at the Millennium Stadium. In short, this won't be a very busy weekend. Still, there was much to talk about as the Wales U21s squad beat Italy's U21s 2-1 last night at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea. Not only is there something magical and memorable about that Wales 2-1 Italy scoreline, but this match featured another very special goal from that special player, Aaron Ramsey. Not only is it something to see, but it proved the margin of difference as Ramsey's 68th-minute goal broke up a 1-1 game.
You can see the goal here. As it's been posted to Arsenalhighlights,com, I'm hoping it'll stay online for awhile. Nice goal, though, no?
For a quality report on the match visit Paul Evans's Mauve and Yellow Army blog. Get the report here.
Bothroyd Injuries Worries Ease
Friday, September 4, 2009
After Jay Bothroyd had to leave last Saturday's match with Doncaster Rovers after only ten minutes, the initial thought was that he'd suffered a hamstring injury. A bit later on, though, fears surfaced that an underlying knee problem would complicate matters and sideline City's forward for a lengthy stretch.
It appears now that Bothroyd may be ready to face Newcastle United on Sunday, September 13. According to this Club Call report, Bothroyd's injury has been diagnosed as a torn knee muscle. According to manager Dave Jones, "It's not too serious and we will nurse Jay through the next few days and see how he is early next week." Jones adds, "The signs are that he will be okay to play against Newcastle. We will wait and see how he progresses, but we hope he will be okay."
Needless to say, City need a healthy Bothroyd back in the frame as his style of play matters a great deal to the club's game plan. As noted today on Wales Online's Football Focus program, "City still look short on cover in attack and Bothroyd’s ability to hold the ball up is crucial." See the full eight-and-a-alf-minute program here.
Date Set for Aston Villa Carling Cup Match: It's September 23
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Cardiff City have drawn Aston Villa away in the Carling Cup third round draw. The draw was held last Saturday but it wasn't until yesterday that the date of the game was announced. That date is Wednesday, September 23, with kickoff set for 7:45pm. For details on tickets, check this page from City's official site.
Since I've neglected to mention the draw until now, let me post the full draw here:
Arsenal v West Brom
Chelsea v QPR
Bolton v West Ham
Barnsley v Burnley
Hull v Everton
Leeds v Liverpool
Manchester United v Wolves
Manchester City v Fulham
Sunderland v Birmingham
Peterborough v Newcastle
Carlisle v Portsmouth
Nottingham Forest v Blackburn
Stoke v Blackpool
Scunthorpe v Port Vale
Preston v Tottenham
Aston Villa v Cardiff
Note that three lower-division sides have managed to slip into the third round - Carlisle United, Leeds United and Port Vale. I wouldn't have minded drawing Carlisle or Vale at home but Aston Villa away will due, especially as the two clubs have not met in a competitive match in over 34 years. That's right - 34 years.
Transfer Windows Closes; Ledley Stays Put
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The transfer window closed on Monday and, fortunately for Cardiff City, no last-minute deals have upset the apple cart. Needless to say, it hasn't always been like this. Who will forget the start of the 2004/05 season and the end-of-August departure of Robert Earnshaw? I can't say I've quite got over that one yet. Have you?
This year's end-of-the-window drama centered on Joe Ledley. Last Spring, as the 2008/09 campaign came to an end, there was little doubt in anyone's mind that by this point in time Mr. Ledley would be playing for another club. And in this last week before the deadline, stories begin flying about of Wolverhampton Wanderers flashing big cash in a bid to pry the midfielder loose at the last minute. Would you believe Wolves splashing £6 million in cash? Sounded a bit outlandish and, as it turns out, it came to nothing. A huge sigh of relief.
I can remember a good bit of talk in late April/ early May of how City's disappointing finish would be made all the worse by an exodus of key players. Luckily, it hasn't turned out that way. In a note posted to Cardiff City Online, "No Move for Ledley," Michael Morris sums up the offseason activity as follows: "The only major move from the club this summer was Roger Johnson to Birmingham a month or so ago. Darren Purse was released at the end of last season and the last few days has seen Erwin Sak released and Darcy Blake loaned out."
Adding everything up and with the dust now settling, it looks as though City could be stronger this season. Let's hope injuries are kept to a minimum and that those who have been banged up in the past are able to recover and make contributions. Mainly, though, let's express relief that Joe Ledley is still a Bluebird.
City Drop to Third as Newcastle Go Top
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Cardiff City dropped a place last night, from second to third, following Newcastle United's 1-0 home win over Leicester City at St. James' Park. Danny Guthrie got the goal early on in the second stanza to put the Magpies all alone at the top with 13 points from five games.
The win sets up Newcastle's visit to Cardiff City Stadium on September 13th as a mighty big match. Not only will this one feel like a six-pointer (even if the season's only a month old), but as Nigel Harris has noted, "the public are responding with less than 2,000 tickets now available for that game, half of them in the Premier Club seating balcony." This will be huge, the first really big tilt at the new stadium.
For a look at the division table after five games, check this page from Mr. Harris's Bluesy's Blues blog. Note that City's +7 in the goal-difference column is as good as anybody's.
Same Old City or Just a Bad Day at the Office?
Monday, August 31, 2009
I manage the Predictions League for the Cardiff City Mailing List at Yahoo! Groups. There are 32 members and they're not known for their boundless optimism. It's unusual for an overwhelming majority to predict a City win, especially when it's an away game. Nonetheless, 26 of our 32 predicted a City win yesterday and no less than 17 of them had the Bluebirds winning by at least two goals. That's optimism.
So, what happens? City barely show up for the first 20 minutes, find themselves two goals down, and never manage to get things right in a 2-0 loss. As this result wasn't exactly expected, it raises the question as to whether the Bluebirds really are a lot better this season (but had a bad day at the office) or whether we're just now seeing what we've seen too much of before. In a post to Mauve and Yellow Army, his new City weblog, Paul Evans puts the question a bit differently. He asks, "A 'wake up call' or proof that old weaknesses are still there?" For Mr. Evans,
we’ve played seven matches so far this season and, by my reckoning, we have played well in five of them and poorly in two of them. We have won each time we have played well and managed to draw one of the couple of matches we played poorly in.
If we continue to play well in 70/80% of our games and keep on winning them and then also pick up something from half the matches we play poorly in, we will probably win this division.
I like Mr. Evans's way of looking at things. Even though City came close to the playoffs last season, I don't remember them playing well in 70-80% of their games. So, if they can maintain that pace things should be better and that should mean at least a spot in the playoffs. Needless to say, Mr. Evans has a good bit more to say so check out his blog entry.
Speaking of blogs, Nigel Harris has put together quite a page for his Bluesy's Blues blog. This "how the press saw it" page features no less than a dozen links to a range of reports and stories on yesterday's 2-0 loss at Doncaster. BBC Sport, Sportbox, Sporting Life, Vital Football and Wales Online - all are included. Having so many links in one spot makes life a good bit easier, doesn't it?!
O.K., So How Bad Was It?
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Cardiff City weren't expected to lose at Doncaster yesterday. So, there was some surprise that the hosts made off with a 2-0 win, especially given that they hadn't won yet while scoring all of two goals in their first four games. Were City that bad or were Doncaster Rovers just too torrid on the day? Let's check in with some City supporters for their views.
Mailing List supremo Michael Morris wrote, "Outdone by a team prepared to work harder than us. Bothroyd going off meant we lost an outlet up front so we couldn't hold the ball up so were always under pressure and then chopra's miss in 2nd half cost us a great chance to get back into game.
Assessment. Poor, very poor.
Scott Thomas took a bit different view. He wrote, "It appears we lost Bothroyd in the opening ten minutes and Doncaster were deserved winners according to Radio Five. I think those two points may be linked." Phil Stead concurred, noting that "Radio Wales said Doncaster were very good. It's not always about us." Scott Thomas added, "No doubt Doncaster were good (Sean O'Driscoll has always been an excellent coach who has his sides play very neat, effective football) but it's not belittling them to point out that losing the fulcrum of our play so early would have an effect on the game."
Aidan MacGinley weighed in with an extended comment:
We were not unlucky. Easily beaten by the better team on the day who showed what's needed to beat us. Doncaster harried us relentlessly when we were in possession and our passing game collasped. They played particularly well in that their own passing game worked very well and they never ran out of steam despite working so hard. Personally I don't think Bothroyd going off made much difference, he would not have seen much of the ball as our midfield collasped in a way familar to anyone who saw the last four games of last season.
I would suggest on this evidence we are not as good as the first few games has suggested, top half of the table certainly, playoffs, might just scrape in with good luck with injuries. Not good enough for auttomatic promotion though. We can play some pretty and effective football but when the going gets tough there is never a plan b and we tend to just subside into flacidity like we are in need of some footballing viagra. Yesterday and the end of last season proved that.
Somehow, though, Rob Hughes didn't seem as concerned. "Bad day at the office. . . . highlights, Adam Matthews, Masons' Arms, Doncaster Fish Market & 4 for 3 on the cider pic'n'mix in Sainsbury's.
Bleary-Eyed Navigation
You can get to the top of Bleary-Eyed Statto's front page by clicking here.
To get to the previous week's entries (August 23 to August 29), go here. For the next week's (September 6 to September 12), go here.
|
15 Top UK Footy Sites
Sights & Sounds
More UK Footy Web Sites
UK Media Sports Pages
Football Blogs & Fan Sites
|