Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Back to Business..

Updates have a hit a snag for me, sorting out moving house, organising uni work, re-sitting courses and general work. But now it's back to business in the football league (as you now know it is the football league, rather than the Premier League but no matter) and the changes that have been made are phenomenal. 14 players and a manager down the summer made for uncomfortable viewing for us as Cardiff fans and left us wondering what the situation would be come the start of the season. However, gradually as time went on the rebuilding process began. New manager at the helm in the form of Malky Mackay gave me confidence that stability would be there for us and we build the squad form the top. New players started to come in with the help of the backing of the much publicised and much talked about Malaysian owners and the rebuilding process was well under way.

One thing that started to develop in my mind was the fact that for a long time now, we would have a squad with no superstar names and no big ego's in the team and that there would be no one name that would think themselves bigger than the club they play for. This was not yet to be proven successful but the idea was that of more team-work in general and a vocal manager organising a squad capable of making the mammoth rebuilding structure a success.

Looking at players we have had play for us in past seasons shows the type of thing I am talking about and the type of situation which allows so much expectation to be put on a team that needs support rather than pressure. Craig Bellamy, Jay Bothroyd, Aaron Ramsey, Jason Koumas, Robbie Fowler, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink... just a few names that draw unnecassary  media attention and expectation from outside influence. The name of Craig Bellamy has been floating around our club for a long time now ever since he joined us in a spectacular loan deal last season. The rumours of another loan deal or possible contract termination were put to bed more recently when he rejoined Liverpool and finds himself a contender for a regular starting 11 position.

The situation with Bellamy angered me in a way but not for a selfish reason. What he did for Cardiff is undeniably a fantastic thing for a professional to do for his home town club. However, on leaving Cardiff at the end of the season, he was adamant that the only clubs he will be pulling on a shirt for in the 2011/12 season would be Cardiff or his current club Manchester City. This statement gave so much hope for us as Cardiff fans because the situation with him, Mancini and Man city as a club was well documented and looked as though there was never going to be a future for him there. So weeks went on when his quotes, interviews and statements gave more and more indication that a return to Cardiff would be on the cards, however he then made the decision to join Liverpool on deadline day when the opportunity came knocking. Now, I would never say that Bellamy shouldn't have joined Liverpool as when a team like that comes calling for you, only a fool would turn that down. But the fact that he had built up our hopes all summer of a return with the statements he was making was the one thing that angered me. I would have preferred for him to say as soon as he left that, yes I would like to come back to Cardiff but if a situation arises where the circumstances are right for me then i might not be returning to Cardiff. This would have then given me a more realistic  look on Bellamy returning and not built up hopes of many fans with the promises he was making. However, he is now with Liverpool and am sure he will be as big a name this season as he has every other.

But now we have our new squad, along with the return of a cult hero of our ours, Robert Earnshaw and we now look at another long, tough season with a more positive outlook and one with less expectation on a team which is still under the rebuilding process. I personally only have one expectation and that is to perform at our best every game and show tat we are building up another great Cardiff City squad. the start we have made has impressed me no end and were currently in and out of the play-off places which again is an achievement for a brand new squad of players. Southampton are up next for us, a tough game for sure but let's see what we can do!

Monday, 9 May 2011

Burnley 1 - 1 Cardiff...The Play-Offs Await

The regular Championship season came to an end this weekend and brought about one of the most controversial  and highly anticipated last days of football in recent years.

The focus on the QPR hearing and the headlines were dominated by the news of possible outcomes such as points deduction, heavy fines and even a small chance of relegation for the champions. The FA had given the initial date of the final decision on the matter as the Friday before the last lot of games were played, however this was then delayed until further notice. Not long to wait though as they made decision around the 12 o'clock mark on Saturday that they would face no points deduction that would affect the league this season. It wasn't a dissapointment for me as I was looking forward to the Play-Offs going into the last game at Burnley and was hoping for a solid performance from the players after the shambles that I witnessed last Monday against Boro. A strong away support yet again to get the atmosphere going and I awaited for a good game of football.

The defeat that ended our automatic promotion hopes brought about a few changes with the likes of McPhail, Jay Lloyd-Samuel and Tom Heaton dropping to the bench to make way for Koumas, Bywater and Mark Hudson in the Line-up. The game got underway at Turf Moor and the away fans were once again creating the atmosphere inside the ground that should get the players up for this match and finish on a high this season. With nothing to play for I believed Burnley would just go through the motions, so to speak, in this match and face a Cardiff side pumped up for the Play-Offs and ready to forget a turbulent week that has gone by. My theory was then, once again, quickly extinguished as on the 13 minute mark, Jay Rodriguez managed to cut through the Cardiff defence too easily and pick up a through ball to slide the ball into the bottom corner. 1-0 Burnley. Here we go again, typical city bottling it in another big game. This feeling I have come a custom to by now so my mood was still upbeat as I knew  there was still 75 minutes of football to be played, however, that was the feeling I had last Monday and look what happened there..
The Burnley team, looking more up for this game than a Cardiff side pushing for Premier League football, started knocking the ball around and getting another one or two chances before the break. The half time whistle came and the disgruntled away support rightly made it known to the players that they better come out in the 2nd half and show us there up for it.

The 2nd half got underway and hopefully a strong half by City was in store. I was constantly checking the other scores around us throughout the match checking to see what different scenarios we would find ourselves in depending on this result. Reading, Forest and the Jacks were all winning so a result was a must form this game just to prove we deserve our place among the Play-Off contenders. The 2nd half was beginning to look like a slight improvement from the 1st but I couldn't help thinking that some of our players out there were just going through the motions with a lack of effort creeping in. I looked at players like Whittingham and Bothroyd and saw no real desire to win this game and put in 100% for the team. I hope it's because there minds were on the Play-Offs and that their form would pick up in the games to come.

However I saw a change in that in the last 20 minutes where I saw the flowing creative football that I've seen us play before start to come back. We started to pass the ball with confidence and the quick touches back and for started to open up the Burnley defence and create some chances for the equaliser. Craig Bellamy was leading by example and putting the work in as usual to get that goal we needed. Being his usual self winding up the opposition and running ring round them at times I got the feeling the goal was coming. And the pressure finally paid off as on the 90 minute mark, our captain and leader Craig Bellamy, broke through the Burnley back lie to lob the approaching Brian Jensen and send the Cardiff faithful into ecstasy. That goal proved to be vital as the final whistle blew and we had salvaged a point from a game we were probably second best in for the majority. The last 20 minutes of football really instilled me with a lot of confidence going into the play-offs and showing that we are still capable of playing good football and have no-one to fear in the coming games.


'Bellamy with the all important equaliser!'

As we got a point at Burnley we now face Reading in the play-offs. This for me worked out better than any other scenario we could have found ourselves in as i know we have good results and good performances against Reading in the past. I also personally relish Reading away trips as they have always been entertaining away games for me in recent years and i really believe this was the best possible draw for us to get to Wembley. Swansea will play Nottingham Forest for their chance to get to Wembley, a tough game for both teams. The fans now really need to forget about any media speculation about players socialising when they shouldn't and disappointment of not getting automatic because that is in the past. The richest game in football awaits and i can't wait for the next two games and to hear the fans singing once again...
"Wembeeeely...Wembeeely...We're the famous Cardiff City and we're going to Wembley!!!
Keep the faith!

Wednesday, 4 May 2011

Cardiff 0-3 Boro...But Positivity Is Key....

As the dust settles on another extraordinary weekend of football in the championship we, as Cardiff fans, are left wondering once again..what if?

The weekend had seen the teams below Cardiff battling it out for those all important Play-Off spots with the likes of Nottingham Forest and Leeds scrapping for sixth spot and Swansea and Reading trading places for third and fourth. That left the Bank Holiday Monday fixtures of Cardiff v Middlesbrough and Portsmouth v Norwich to be played out in the most crucial penultimate game of the Championship season. Cardiff sitting a point behind Norwich in third with a marginally better goal difference and on form and with all still to play for in the race for automatic promotion. I personally had been looking forward to this game for a while as I felt that we could hammer Boro in front of a sold out stadium in the last home game of the season waiting for Norwich to slip up in the later game and take us one step closer to the Premier League. However, I have learnt from experience to expect the unexpected as Cardiff fan and how true that statement proved to be in the 90 minutes of football I was about to watch.

The build-up to the two games had been well documented everywhere with everyone debating who would make it to that golden second spot and clinch automatic promotion with QPR. I love the excitement that builds around Cardiff at times like these with pundits everywhere mentioning our names as being the favorites to go up and how we had such a strong squad to take us to Premier League and pip Norwich to the post. The anticipation for this game was also swelling as extra tickets were being made available for city fans to really build up the atmosphere for the most important game of the season for our promotion hopes. Getting their nice and early and the sun shining on the pitch I felt that we were in for a good victory and another confident performance from the boys in blue. Sitting in the Ninian Stand seeing the players warm up and hearing Ali on the tannoy giving us some cringe-worthy pre-match entertainment is when you feel the atmosphere building and the game about to start. As the players come out of the tunnel, me and everyone sitting around me starting shouting out our usual predictions..3-0, 4-0, 5-0 even  a 6-0 victory was being anticipated.. but how wrong we were. The next 90 minutes, or should I say 20 minutes, left me speechless and that old sick-to-the-stomach feeling returning once again with hopes of automatic promotion extinguished in front of our eyes.


- Hoping for another magic moment from Bellamy against Middlesbrough -

A strong line-up gave me even more confidence in the build up to kick off and the atmosphere was buzzing. The game kicked off and the early balls were being played as a benchmark for the rest of the game. I had hoped for an early amount of pressure on Boro and to get the early goal to get us on our way to a comfortable victory, but how shocked i was that it went the way of the boys in red! three minutes gone and Leroy Lita put the visitors in front with a looping header that looked like it went in in slow motion the way it trickled past Tom Heaton in the Cardiff goal. Never mind, an early slip up that was unexpected but at least it was this early and we could now get into gear and push on. Oh no, thirteen minutes on the clock and Boro go 2-0 up with a goal again created down the right hand side, with Lita driving a low cross in the box for the sliding Barry Robson to slot past Heaton. At this point the stadium fell into shock and I could not believe the terrible start to such an important like this we had made. My ever present optimism at the Cardiff City Stadium stuck with me and the belief that we would pull it back and get a result against a side with nothing to play for. A mix of emotions in the crowd but still the atmosphere was there with the ever faithful getting behind the boys to get the rhythm back in our play. Twenty one minutes showed up on the clock and next to that read the score Bluebirds 0-3 Boro. Another goal made down the right hand side for Richard Smallwood to smash in the back of the net sent everyone into shock and left the Cardiff faithful speechless. A goal that destroyed our automatic promotion chances and one that left us as fans with a feeling that we have become more and more familiar with over recent years. The half time whistle couldn't come quick enough.

The second half was upon us and I found that optimism I always carry with me and honestly believed that we would pull off a miracle and get a result from this game. As the game got underway I sat in my seat anticipating a magical half of football that would put us right back in the mix. The hour mark came and still nothing, slight chances, but nothing in the way of goal mouth action. Seventy-five minutes read on the clock and my optimism started to rapidly fade away along with any chance of a Cardiff comeback. The Boro defence were solid and nothing that we were trying could break it down and it seemed we could play until xmas and not get a goal. I have always stayed until the final whistle at home games no matter how dire a game has been or how a result is going against us but i felt my legs twitching as i struggled for motivation to stay and watch the embarassement i was seeing out on that pitch. Seventy eight minutes on the clock and my time was up. I stood up and left my seat in so much frustration i couldn't bear to look back, and headed straight to the car park. Head down walking out of the Ninian stand the question resounding in my head .. what if? what if we had scored one of them chances? what if we hadn't conceded that early? but that was over now and the play-offs were now calling.

Which brings me on to the point of being positive now for the games that we have coming up. The last game of the championship against Burnley to look forward to and the play off semi finals that will probably turn out to be just as stressful and exciting as last seasons. But you never know, with the QPR hearing coming up, we could be celebrating promotion to the Premier League with a victory against Burnley on saturday! It's all still to play for......

Saturday, 30 April 2011

The Championship.. The Hardest League in the World?

Getting to the promised land of the Premier League is every football league clubs target.. and possibly one of the hardest challenges in football today!

Twenty four teams make up the Championship with all teams in the division, no matter how small or underestimated, aiming for promotion to the Premier League. As a Cardiff City Supporter through and through, it was possibly one of the worst days in my life as a supporter seeing us lose a hard fought Play-Off Final against Blackpool on 22nd May 2010, but what a story to tell..Blackpool in the Premier League. A small club with faint hope of achieving anything spectacular that season in the Championship, goes on to gain promotion to the Premier League and brush shoulders with the like of Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. Tipped for relegation by some bookies, discarded as mid-table team by some and never looked at as play off hopefuls, this club goes a long way in proving how the Championship can be the most unpredictable, fascinating and most tightly fought league in football.

The thing about the Championship that separates it from the likes of the SPL, La Liga and Serie A is that anybody can beat anybody. Bookies have a field day every Saturday simply because of the unpredictable nature of the games that day in this league, any team on their day can beat any one of their challengers. In my own personal experience as a Cardiff supporter I've seen us lose leads against opposition that we've dominated throughout a game and lose against teams I thought would be unimaginable to face defeat against (which is not uncommon in the years of being a loyal fan).

One example I can use is a game against Peterborough on the 28th of December 2009. Cardiff going into the game the clear favorites for the victory against a side who looked destined for relegation and were clearly off form. And that became a near certainty at half time with the bluebirds going in at the break 4-0 up and dominating. A comfortable listen on the radio for me driving through Cardiff at the time and a rare moment to relax as a Cardiff fan. The next 45 minutes proved to me how wrong I was. Final whistle blows on this match and the final score..Peterborough 4-4 Cardiff! After this game I have never expected a runaway victory in any match in the championship no matter how big or small which really demonstrates my point of how anybody can beat or at least get a point against anyone else in this league and how It can go a long way in proving my point of the Championship being the hardest league in football.


'Chris Burke can't  believe the Peterborough comeback'

Over recent years I've seen the champions of this division develop quite early in the season. The likes of West Brom, Newcastle and more recently QPR have almost runaway with the league in the early stages of the season and gone on to win the title and automatic promotion. However, the other way to get promoted to the promised land is through the Play-Offs. The richest game in football it has been called and possibly the hardest way to go up but also the best. It gives four teams the chance to have one last crack at the Premier League and show worth on the big stage in football, a Play Off Final at Wembley. As a Cardiff fan I have experienced the play-offs and gone through the drama, the joy and the heartache of this special occasion. If automatic promotion is off the cards for your club then everything relies on the play-offs and nothing is spared in the two or three games to follow. Position is key to your route to the final, getting the away leg first gives you that special atmosphere to look forward to for you home leg in the second leg and give you the biggest push towards the final. Then once the drama of the semi-finals are out of the way the next path is down Wembley way.

Beating Leicester in the Play-Off semi finals last year was one of the most stressful two games of my life as a supporter. It came down to a penalty shoot-out, which is a rare occasion down at the Cardiff City stadium/Ninian Park and one that after an exhilarating second leg was one of the most tense experiences I have witnessed. The players stepped up one after another firing their shots into the back of the net building up the tension in the ground with each spot kick. Then it came down to one Leicester player, Yann Kermogant, to step up and keep Leicester in the shoot-out. He stepped up and attempted a deaf little chip to fool Marshall in the Cardiff goal but his effort was one of the poorest penalty kicks you will see to date. Marshall getting his glove to th effort and sending the Bluebirds to Wembley!

The Play-off Final as I have mentioned before was an experience that I would rather forget as a Cardiff fan so the details of the game are now a distant memory for me. The roller coaster experience of the play-offs testing every fans steel and providing a set of mixed emotions for all. But my experience gives me the impression that this league that I watch week in week out really is the hardest league in football. The hardest league to get out of and the hardest league to stay in and definitely the most exciting!

Friday, 29 April 2011

El-Clasico

Like waiting for a bus.. wait for one to come for an age and in the case of Real Madrid v Barcelona, 4 come at once!

The Champions League semi-finals continuously throw up enthralling ties every year but none come much better than 'El Clasico'. The viewing public are lucky enough to get to see this fierce encounter twice a year with both sides hotly contesting the La Liga title but this year the numbers have doubled and 'El Clasico' will be played out 4 times over one season. A treat to fans who appreciate football at its best with the likes of Lionel Messi showing how football should be played when there are no barriers to someones ability and Cristiano Ronaldo showing how to dominate wing play and thrive on public attention.  However, over recent meetings between the two, the beautiful game has not been played...well.. beautifully! The darker side of the game has started to rear its ugly head in El Clasico and as a passionate supporter I hope that it quickly dies out.

The Champions League, a competition to show who dominates European football and who can call themselves the best team in the world. Real Madrid, 9 times champions of Europe, makes them feared opposition in the competition and always the glamorous cup tie. However, Madrid have not won the competition since 2002 and since that last victory (2-1 v Bayer Leverkusen) the future for the clubs reputation looked bleak as the previous era of 'Galacticos' slowly died out.
Barcelona, always the Spanish giants great rivals and the team that stopped Madrid dominating Spain and ruling the Spanish leagues. Three times winners of the Champions league and three times Runners-up is an impressive record no matter how big the clubs reputation, however, when your biggest rivals have a better record theres always that target to beat.

And with players like Lionel Messi, David Villa, Xavi, Iniesta and Puyol in the Barcelona squad it looked as though we would have a new era where Barcelona replaced Madrid as the new 'Galacticos' of European football. However a major perk of being one of the richest clubs in the world and something that has become more and more common in modern day football is.. big money equals big success and this has been the major factor in the rehabilitation of Real Madrid and the Galactico era once again.

June 2009 and another record is broken. This time it was financial and involved £80 Million and possibly the best player in the world at that time, Cristiano Ronaldo. After another successful season with Manchester United, Ronaldo was looking to Spain as his next move. Whether his ego made him think he was bigger than Manchester United or the attraction of the money and glamour at a newly reformed Real Madrid led him to the decision to leave the club that propelled him to greatness, it will never be really clear. However, the move was finalized and £80 million changed hands in the process completing what looked like a formidable Madrid squad. The 'Galacticos' reformed, a genius in charge and a reputation to boot, the stage was set for Real Madrid to take on the world.



'The two best players on the planet come face to face once again'

Which leads us up to the Champions League Semi-Final. El clasico take three this season and a fascinating tie that football fans around the world would surely be glued to for 90 minutes. The build-up to the game was everything you'd suspect. Managers winding each other up in front of the media, Ronaldo and Messi constantly being compared with each other to decide who really is the complete player and Jose Mourhinio doing what he does best, being Jose Mourhinio. Schalke and Manchester United had played the first leg of their semi-final a day before this match and United flew home form Germany with a comfortable two away goals advantage over their opponents with one foot in the final, waiting to face either of the Spanish Giants. The Bernabeau was the stage for the third meeting this season and the first leg of the tie was under way.

A hostile first half saw little in the way of shots on target but some fantastic passing football on display. However, as I mentioned before, the ugly side of the game started to creep in to the this legendary derby game and will probably go on to be talked about more than the football on show. Every decision made by the referee was fiercely contested at every opportunity by the team penalized as though each decision was a dig at certain individuals. Diving, or cheating as it is generally known, was evident throughout and the amount of pressure put on the referee throughout this game was enormous. Childlike behavior I would call it, some would call it clever play.  As the half-time whistle blew on a temptuous first half, tempers were raised and hot headed individuals seemed to lose control. Unnecessary behavior that results in a red card for a reserve goalkeeper that would not have featured  in the game this match but maybe been of some use for the next leg. A sour note to end first half of the ironically named 'El Clasico', Hopefully a bit more 'class' would be put on show in the next 45.

A second half to look forward to then as the referee, who's position I personally would not want to be in, gets the game underway. More lovely football on show as the Barcelona pass masters get to work passing the ball around the pitch as if warming up for a training session. Messi dazzling at times with deaf touches and controlled play. The down side was that more of the other half of the game continued as players were falling as though being struck by a skilled snipers bullet. Then came possibly the decisive moment of the entire tie as another red card was drawn. Pepe, controlling the Madrid midfield throughout the game goes in for a challenge on Dani Alves with what looked from an experienced eye a 50/50 challenge. However, Alves fell as though the studs form Pepe's boots had made clear contact with his foot, of which TV evidence clearly shows he has better agility in dodging studs in the air than on the pitch. 10 players from the Barcelona team surround the referee to protest that their player was tackled so unfairly a red card was to be shown to the Madrid culprit. After a short period of constant bombardment, the referee brandishes the red card and Pepe's on his way down the tunnel. A decision which did not go down well inside the Bernabeau especially with one man, the special one. Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, however when words cannot describe the way you feel, what else do you turn to. A wink and a clap from Mourinhio prompts the referee to issue yet another Madrid red card to the boss and sends him to the stands. A key decision this turned out to be as the time came for a boy called Messi to shine.

Minutes after the drama of the sending off, Barcelona take full advantage with the help of the magician, Messi,  and fire themselves ahead. A nice ball out to Affelay on the wing who takes on Marcelo and beats him to the by-line before whipping the ball across the box to be met by the touch of Lionel Messi who clips it between the legs of the stranded Iker Casillas in the Madrid goal. 1-0 Barcelona.

Another few minutes pass and the tie is put to bed once again by Messi. Except this time, he scores one of those goals that only normal people dream of scoring. Picking up the ball in midfield he looks through the defenders as though nothing will stand in his way. Skipping past the first defender, skipping past the second defender, skipping past the third defender, brushing off the fourth defender and then casually slotting the ball past one of the best goalkeepers in the world. A classic in the clasico, a wonder goal, a genius finish, the superlatives could go on and on. The genius trods back to the touchline to take his place in history once again.



'Messi.......that is all'

The final whistle blows on El Clasico once again as everyone draws breath from what had been one of the most fiercely contested clasico in recent games. Tempers flaring and football flowing, another game down, one  more to go. The ugly side of the beautiful game showing itself this time around but with so much on stake in the second leg, surely El Clasico will live up to its name.