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CIty Win Again at Home, Beat Sheffield United 1-0
Saturday, December 22, 2007
A Paul Parry strike on the half hour turned out to be all Cardiff City needed to beat Sheffield United 1-0 at Ninian Park this afternoon. The win, City's third in their last four games and second in a row at home, moves the Bluebirds up to 15th place, their best position in quite some time. City are now six points clear of the relegation zone and but seven points from the playoff places.
In a match report posted to Cardiff City Online, Nigel Harris observes that "City's tenacity, flair, determination and guts was way above that of the visitors." Paul Davies, in his report for the Urban 75 site, sums things up in his own inimitable way. "The Bluebirds disposed of a supremely impoverished Blades side today with an impressive, clinical and hugely one-sided victory which will go down in living memory as the most convincing 1-0 massacre in footballing history."
A report in the Yorkshire Post described the game's one goal as follows: "The Bluebirds' winner came on the half hour through Paul Parry after a clever reverse pass from the impressive Peter Whittingham and they hung on for all three points." This account claims, though, that "the Blades should have been ahead long before that but former England striker James Beattie missed a couple of glorious chances." Sheffield United had another opportunity late on. "Close to the end the visitors were awarded a free-kick just outside the area after Michael Tonge was upended, but Phil Bardsley's rasping drive flew past the right-hand post."
On the messageboard, The Other Bob Wilson offered the following:
With all the off field crap we've had this week, I went to today's match in a pretty pissed off frame of mind and not expecting too much from the game. Therefore it was all the more pleasant to see the team put on one of their better performances of the campaign against a side that started with a £7 million strikeforce and then brought on a £2 million pound player to replace one of them.
Mind you, apart from a bad miss in the opening minute and a free kick not far wide at the death, Sheffield United's expensively assembled team gave a dominant City team very few moments of concern as Loovens and McNaughton in particular gave strong performances.
I don't know what caused it, but the City team really wanted the win today and showed great desire and no little skill in the way they approached the game - for one of the few times this season they actually looked to have more pace than the opposition as well!
I suppose Paul Parry deserved the man of the match award for his goal and a lively front running performance but I thought Whittingham (particularly in the first half) and the two defenders I mentioned ran him close.
After months of poor performances and crap results at Ninian Park, it's good to see the team putting together a bit of a run of home results. It's now three wins out of four at Ninian Park and three wins out of four overall and whilst we are still slightly closer to the relegation places than the top six, mid table mediocrity definitely beckons!
In reply, BottleInFrontOfMe wrote:
For me Loovens was MOTM, agreed a close run thing, but I thought he was immense today. There seemed to be a sense of "togetherness" displayed on the field which has been sadly lacking lately.
Whittingham could be hero for us if he could be a bit more consistent - today a crap corner followed by a great run and shot :pullhairout: smiley !
With all the off field shenanigans this was a performance, albeit against a very poor Sheff Utd team, that warms the cockles of the heart.
Pauly_Gee observed, "Something that was apparent to me today - think of all the "success" seasons over the last few years, and we always had a pacey option up front -Earnshaw, Jerome, Chopra." He added, "Today we had that outlet in Paul Parry, and long may it continue!!! We look a total different team with pace up front!!"
Is coverage of a City match day quite complete without a messageboarder's posting player ratings? Certainly not. Here are some, from Ninianboy1:
Schmeical 7 - Didn't have much to do but came off his line quickly to help his defenders.
Capaldi 6 - Torrid first 20 minutes but settled down for a good defensive display if a little unadventurous.
McNaughton 8 - Excellent today, tackled well and used his pace to help out fellow defenders and start his own attacks down the flanks.
Loovens 9 - MOTM display, winning virtually everything both in the air and on the ground and didn't give the Sheffield forwards a yard of space.
Johnson 7 - As always played his heart out, forever shouting to his team mates and winning most of his one on one battles. Unfortunately his distribution lets him down at times.
Ledley 8.5 - Pushed Loovens all the way for the MOTM award with his non stop running both in defence and attack. Would be a huge loss to us if we lost him in January.
McPhail 6 - Okay in patches with some lovely touches and passes. However, goes missing too often and I often found myself wishing Blake was on the park instead of him today.
Rae 6.5 - Better display from the Scot today who made some impressive runs forward linking well with the forwards. Defensively though he's not the best and I think he would benefit from a younger side kick - Blake?
Whittingham 8 - Good display today with some dangerous running and excellent link up play. Also looked the most likely to score with some powerful shooting.
JFH 6.5 - Played quite well today producing some good one touch football but his lack of pace limits his game too much. Also needs to improove his set piece play as those free kicks are getting too predictable.
Parry 7 - Some intelligent running from Parry and of course he scored the only goal of the game. Made Sheffield's defenders think a lot. Still probably not the answer for us up front where we still look unlikely to score. Oh for an Earnie or Chopra up there!
Finally, Secureblue started a thread with the title, "3 out of 4," then wrote "Moan about that." To which Johnski replied, "its not 4 out of 4....and its not good enough!" Says it all, really, but I'd have to say I'm chuffed to bits to be six points clear of the drop zone.
City Set to Send Gunter to Spurs
Friday, December 21, 2007
I read the news today oh boy. And it wasn't good. Cardiff City have agreed to sell Chris Gunter to Tottenham Hotspur. According to a BBC Sport story, "Tottenham Confirm Gunter Transfer," City and Spurs "have agreed a fee thought to be worth £3m for the 18-year-old made up of an up-front sum with add-ons for appearances and a sell-on clause." Gunter appeared in 15 league games last season, starting nine of them and became City's youngest Wales international last May when he played against New Zealand as a 17-year-old. He got few starts early on this season, however, but after impressive play for Wales in draws against Ireland and Germany last month he was able to get back into City's starting lineup beginning with the 1-0 win over Ipswich Town on November 24. He had started and gone the distance in every Bluebirds game after that.
So, if Gunter is as promising a youngster as his recent form would suggest, did City really have no choice but to sell him? In the BBC Sport story, quotes from Peter Ridsdale do little to clarify things. "I think with the price itself," the chairman said, "we would have had to consider it no matter what the situation was financially. Clearly given the challenge we've had with Langston, it's made the financial security of the club more acute that we do look at this sort of transfer." Still, he added, "But if Chris had said he wasn't interested in going, we wouldn't have sold him." Go figure.
Mike Morris, in a story for Cardiff City Online entitled "Young Gunt First to Ride into the Sunset," expresses some skepticism about the price tag and the need to sell now. "The rumours are that the deal could be worth upto £4m. Virtually irresistable business but is it really that much?" he asks. "Peter Ridsdale says the lad was interested to hear what Spurs had to say and that the sale is not forced by the financial situation at Ninian Park. I'm not convinced that's right. We've always sold for cash rather than kept players to fulfil ambition."
On the Cardiff City mailing list there wasn't as much weeping and wailing as you might expect. John Marenghi wrote, "They only seem to play a handful of games before we sell them these days. Just as well for Cardiff that Toshack picked Gunter otherwise he'd still be sat on the bench and the club a damn sight poorer." Jonathan Smith opined, "I'd love to say that I'd stop supporting City if we sold Ledley and Gunter, but I couldn't do it. Are there really any people out there who "Stopped going down the City when we sold Toshack?" Ant said,
"Incredible isn't it. Not good enough for a Cardiff starting XI for much of the season according to DJ. Headline fee is meaningless. I dare say it's a
lot less. Wonder whether we'll be allowed to play him now over Christmas?" He added, "We were promised a fire-sale after Black Friday. Looks like Mr Grimsdale and his rugby-loving property developers have finally set it in motion. Ledley and Ramsey to follow?"
Chasetown Get OK to Host FA Cup Match
Thursday, December 20, 2007
It's taken awhile but Chasetown have been granted permission to host their upcoming FA Cup third round match with Cardiff City at their 2,000-capacity home ground. The BBC Sport story, "Chasetown to Host Cardiff Cup Tie," has the details. According to the BBC, "the match will go ahead on Saturday, 5 January with a 1300 GMT kick-off." And why the delay in granting permission? "There had been concerns over the safety of Scholars Park and Staffordshire police were keen to switch the game to a bigger stadium."
The Express & Star has a story as well, entitled "Green Light for Chasetown." Here you'll find some useful information, such as the fact that the match will have a 2,030-capacity with room for 600 fans from Cardiff," and that "ticket prices will be £20 for adults and £14 for concessions including juniors." This story reports, too, that
"officials from both clubs – including safety staff from Cardiff – the Football Association and Staffordshire Police met for three hours at the ground on Thursday to plan safety for the tie."
So, with so few tickets available, just who should get to go? About this there was some lively banter on the Cardiff City messageboard. Eric the Half a Bee said, "I reckon tickets should only go to those who went to the Man City, Leeds and Arsenal (away) FA Cup ties, plus the play off final and Anfield this season." Biggleswade Blue agreed, saying "Eric, I think your judgement is good - only let the proper fans go, those who bother with the important games for the club. Ignore the peasants who trawl round the backside of England going to nowhere games." Dai Hard took things in a bit different direction. He said, "In the interests of fairness tickets should be offered to those who haven't had the chance to see any away games yet. Why should it be always the same one's making the sacrifice." Des Parrot proposed, "6 away games minimum up until now. Everyone who went to Leicester, Hull & Blackpool should be offered automatically." Dom D'Orgeval might have had the most clear-headed thought of all. "Even if I can't got, I'll still buy a ticket. Perish the thought a member gets his hands on my ticket!"
Swansea Won't Meet City in FAW Cup (After Losing to Newport)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Swansea City won't be facing Cardiff City in the FAW Premier Cup this season. That's because the Swans crashed out in the quarter-finals tonight, losing to Newport County 1-0 at Spytty Park. County's goal, supplied by Charlie Griffin, came in second-half injury time and sets up a Cardiff City v Newport County semifinal if the Bluebirds can get past Welshpool at Maesydre next month. Chris O'Brien has details of the match in a report posted to the CCFC Sleeping Giant website.
The Western Mail's Blair Wood has a report on the match as well, entitled "Griffin's Strike Settles It." Wood notes that while Swansea manager Martinez "used the fixture to give teenagers James Burgin, David Knight and Chris Jones the chance to prove themselves," County gaffer Peter Beadle "named his strongest side possible." Wood concludes his account by saying that County "deserved to win what can only described as a poor game of football."
Gareth Griffith's account for the South Wales Echo, "Beadle Beams as Late Winner Sinks Swansea," includes lineups as well as a few quotes from the winning manager.
New Hammam Gibberish
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The South Wales Echo's Terry Phillips has a story today entitled "Hammam: I'll Never Come Back to City." It's not really a story, though. Rather, it's mostly a transcription of a letter Phillips received from Sam Hammam in reply to a heart-felt plea Phillips had sent the former City supremo just last week. On the City mailing list, Matt Gabb describes what Hammam has to say here as the "usual Hammam gibberish. Nothing new there." That sums it up pretty well. For a somewhat more in-depth review of what Hammam has to say, a CCFC Sleeping Giant story by Chris O'Brien offers this:
In a rather desperate attempt to win back Cardiff City's supporters, Sam Hammam has sent an open letter to the South Wales Echo explaining his current situation and insisting that he has no plans to return to Ninian Park. . . .
In a nutshell, Hammam's letter states:
- That he has no intention of getting the football club back.
- That he intends to leave Britain and live the rest of his life in the USA and Lebanon.
- That he is not personally behind the Langston Corporation.
- That he believes the club can never be "big" if it shares the new stadium with the Cardiff Blues.
O'Brien adds that "crucially, Hammam leaves all the questions unanswered. He claims to love Cardiff City and wants the fans to 'love and remember him'. He says that he is not Langston - but gives no indication of who the corporation are; even though he admits to being in regular contact with them."
There's a good bit more to what Hammam is up to than he discloses in his letter. It's possible, though, that there's a good bit less too. The thing is that with Hammam you'll never know.
Thompson Has a Go at Jones
Monday, December 17, 2007
Just a few days ago Steve Thompson was saying that "it's just a matter of fate I am still with Cardiff City" as he'd been put on the transfer list by manager Dave Jones after last season before a freak accident while on holiday kept him at the club. "It's a strange one because if I hadn't been injured then I would not be at the club now." This is what Thompson was saying last week, as reported by Mike Morris in a Cardiff City Online story, "Thommo: Fate Has Kept Me at Cardiff."
Now, though, we get a very different version of Thompson's time at Cardiff, thanks to this story from the Herald, a Scottish paper. In the Darryl Broadfoot account, "Scapegoat Bites Back," we learn that Thompson
"endures a mutually contemptuous relationship" with manager Dave Jones" and has been "unfairly branded a scapegoat and placed on the transfer list at the end of last season after City's Barclays Premier League promotion plans derailed."
It would appear that "matters came to a head this week when Jones credited the medical staff for Thompson's prominence and naughtily sidestepped the player's future at the club by stating he had not asked to be removed from the transfer list." Thompson is upset that he gets no credit for recovering from injuries quickly enough to help out the club in his time of need, and he can't be too please either at Jones's cheeky jibe about the striker's not asking that he come off the transfer list.
On the Cardiff City mailing list, Neil David wrote, "As much as I have sympathy with him, can't see him pulling on the jersey again can you? Aberdeen were the last team linked, I'm sure a Scottish club would 'suit
him'" Actually, I can see Thompson pulling on the jersey again. Jones can be sarcastic and hard to take, but he's not crazy. He'll need Thompson in the weeks to come and if they have a "working relationship" and the striker says they do, I'd expect Jones to keep it "working." At least in the short term.
Uriah Rennie, "Gesturing Pillock"
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Referee Uriah Rennie issued Cardiff City's Steve Thompson a red card yesterday but if Bluebirds fans were to grade the ref's performance he might well be seeing red himself. It wasn't just the Thompson sending off that had the City faithful up in arms. Consider the non-call on Elliott's goal when interference might have been called. Consider, too, the yellow card for timewasting called on Schmeichel in the 90th minute. There was more too. With Rennie, apparently, there's always more.
On the Cardiff City mailing list, Steve Lyell had this to say: "The red card looked a harsh decision on The Championship this morning. Thompson appeared to go for the ball and didn't go in high or two-footed. On the other
hand the fact that the keeper had to go off later does suggest that it was a reckless challenge." Scott Thomas had a bit to say as well:
My worst fears about Rennie were borne out by his performance today. Perhaps the only significant
decision he got right all game was the redcard (and I'd like to see that on TV to be sure as it was the opposite
end of the ground) and he apparently ignored the linesman's flag to allow their goal.
I genuinely hate to say it but if Rennie was not a high profile black referee I don't think he would still be officiating at league level. He has been incompetent now for over a decade and is also terribly unfit and I think his symbolic worth outweighs the fact he is hopeless.
Darren Tandy wasn't anymore charitable. He offered the following:
It's like Jones said after Clattenburg's display v Leeds, if they're not good enough for the Premiership they shouldn't be reffing full-stop. There are the same rules they're supposed to be applying and the same level of eyesight and fitness is required. Sending them down to ref at lower levels with chips on their shoulders (insert fat Rennie joke here) and
'something to prove' is asking for trouble. They should be sent on a three week refresher course in Milton Keynes or taken out and shot.
Rennie's always been a gesturing pillock. Mind you Thompson's tackle was at best ill-advised, at worst stupid and dangerous. Though how Rennie would've been able to judge without a telescope from his position is difficult to see. I thought The Championship was going to go to an ad break in the time it took him to get to the scene of the crime.
Scott Thomas added:
Everything since Rennie's emergence into league refereeing has been about constructing an elaborate public image (the martial arts twaddle, the macho posturing during games, the usual desire from a referee to be the centre of attention but taken to the most absurd degree, the adverts and interviews.
Topping everything had to be the timewasting call on City's goalkeeper in the last minute or two. Steve Lyell observed, " Let's get this straight: Rennie booked Schmeichel for timewasting when his team were losing? One of them is clearly a moron, and my money's on it being the ref."
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