A Tale of 3 Leagues within 1.

Some positives at home and some negatives away during the last month. At the time of composing this post, we find ourselves out of the bottom 3 in the table. 

However, the table is beginning to split into 3 distinct  'mini-leagues':-

• A top 5 of Man City, Liverpool , Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea (with a "sub group" of Man City and Liverpool at the top).
• A middle 8, of Bournemouth, Everton, ManUtd, Leicester, Brighton, Watford , West Ham and Wolves
• A bottom 7 of Fulham, Huddersfield, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Newcastle, Southampton and of course Cardiff.

I can't see these 3 'mini' leagues changing much before the end of the season. It is possible that Wolves may end up down in the bottom group, and that maybe Newcastle will make it into the middle group, particularly as there is the possibility of a new owner soon who may have the resources to move them up the table. But apart from that, I think the tables have been set.

This makes our results against the other teams in our mini league particularly important, continuing this weekend with a vital home game against Southampton. Including this Saturday, we only have 2 more home games against our rivals in the bottom 7, so a win is essential. So far we have taken 5 points off our closest rivals so an improvement is needed. On our last trip to the Premier League we finished bottom and were relegated with 30 points. With the current form being shown by the teams at the bottom, it is quite possible  that a team could stay up with 30 points this year! One of the main reasons behind this is the dominance of Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the table - if their current form continues they are both on course to achieve over 100 points this season, thus reducing the number of points available for everyone else!

RESULTS SINCE MY LAST POST:

CARDIFF 0 LEICESTER 1

CARDIFF 2 BRIGHTON 1

EVERTON 1 CARDIFF 0

CARDIFF 2 WOLVES 1

WEST HAM 3 CARDIFF 1

This run of matches began with a home game against Leicester City. The occasion was made extra emotional as it was Leicester's first game following the sudden death of their owner in a helicopter crash near the Kingpower Stadium a week previously. 

The teams pay their respects before the game.

Cardiff gave a good account of themselves during this game, but continued to lack the creativity to put the Leicester defence under any sustained pressure. A second half Demarai Gray goal decided the game.

A week later it was a Saturday lunchtime kick off against mid table Brighton. As usual, we gave away the first goal after only 8 minutes. But perhaps the main turning point in the game came after 37 minutes when Dale Stephens got sent off for a reckless challenge. Cardiff had already equalised Lewis Dunk's early goal when Calum Paterson finished off an excellent Cardiff move. In the second half, Brighton made the mistake of trying to defend deeply, and their luck finally ran out in the 90th minute when Sol Bamba crashed the ball into the roof of the net for a late winner. He even managed to avoid a yellow card for excessive celebration as the referee didn't notice him taking his shirt off!

Sol Bamba celebrates the late winner against Brighton - he doesn't take his shirt off!

A week later came the trip to Goodison Park to play Everton. Cardiff haven't beaten Everton for more than 60 years  - and the run continues. A second half Gylfi Siggurdsonn goal ensured that another creditable performance went unrewarded.

Former Swansea hero Gylfi Siggurdssonn scores the Everton winner.

Once again our game was chosen by SKY TV for coverage, and so the game against Wolves was moved to a Friday evening. This brought back some nightmares, following 2 missed stoppage time penalties against our promotion rivals last April! But this time the game went our way! Once again, we gave away the first goal following some poor marking at a corner (we have only scored first in 1 of our 14 games!). But the endeavour shown by the players brought rewards in the second half, where persistent Cardiff pressure and a determination to win the 'second ball' finally paid off with an equaliser from Aron Gunnarsson !

Aron Gunnarsson gets the equaliser !

Continued Cardiff pressure brought an extravagant and instinctive shot from Junior Hoillet - his first goal of the season (subsequently awarded the "Goal of the Month" title on BBC Match of the Day). A very encouraging performance against a team thought to be 'better' than us - a victory for endeavour over skill!

I had to put this picture in - Calum Paterson celebrates Junior  Hoillet's goblin his own way!!!

Then came a rather unusual thing for the Premier League - a midweek game! This was away at the London Stadium to West Ham. This match turned after a missed penalty by Joe Ralls after 35 minutes when the scores were still level at 0-0. Cardiff started poorly in the second half and gave away 3 goals in the first 15 minutes, therefore ending the game as a contest. It wasn't one of our better games and probably best forgotten with the vital game against Southampton coming up this Saturday.

As we enter December, with 5 games to come (3 away), lets hope we can do better than last season when we had our worst run of the season losing 4 consecutive games! Then the January transfer window opens! Lets hope we can get ourselves into a fairly strong position before that happens!

12 noon. 6th December 2018.

Reports of our relegation are a little premature.

Finally we have a little positivity to report! Also, some of the pundits are starting to acknowledge that we might not be quite as much of a hopeless case as was first thought! I'm not getting carried away here, and the odds are still probably in favour of us being relegated this season, but its amazing what a win can do for a team and supporters.

Its been a tough start to the season, especially as 5 of our last 7 matches have been against teams in the "Top 6". These games are always going to be difficult against world class players, many of whom cost more individually than our whole team put together. As we approach November and December, we now have almost 2 months until we play a top 6 team. If we're going to avoid relegation this season, then results in the next couple of months need to start going our way.

Results since the last blog:-

CARDIFF 1 BURNLEY 2

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 CARDIFF 0

CARDIFF 4 FULHAM 2

LIVERPOOL 4 CARDIFF 1.

Josh Murphy is thwarted for a second goal against Burnley by former England number 1 Joe Hart.

After the comprehensive defeat by Man City a week previously (the only game so far where we have been completely out of our depth), the game against Burnley was looked upon as a much easier alternative. Burnley had had a difficult start to the season, juggling around the demands of the Europa League with the Premier League. At times they have looked poor, and it was this that made the match so much more frustrating! After being out played by many of our opponents this season, this time it was our turn to outplay them! But we then managed to lose, despite dominating possession, chances and just about any other statistic in the game. Burnley had 2 attempts on goal and scored from them both. A slightly disheartening defeat 2-1.

A  week later was a trip to Wembley, which remains the temporary home of Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs had had a European tie earlier in the week, albeit at home, which it was hoped might have affected their performance. Unfortunately an early Eric Dier goal proved to be enough on another encouraging afternoon for the Bluebirds. This was the first time that any of the TV pundits actually gave us any credit, suggesting that we could have easily got at least a point from the match. But it wasn't to be. Unfortunately, Joe Ralls managed to pick up a red  card in this match for a rather reckless tackle on Lucas Mora. The club decided to try to appeal this red card but were unsuccessful  - the right decision in my opinion.

Joe Ralls brings down Lucas Moura.

The home game to Fulham was now considered to be a "must win" game, even though less than a quarter of the season had passed! The team were certainly up for the game and completely dominated the first 10 minutes, only for Fulham to score completely against the run of play with an outstanding goal after only 10 minutes. but within a further 10 minutes we were back in front 2-1 thanks to goals from Josh Murphy and Bobby Decordova-Reid. 

Bobby Decordova-Reid celebrates his first Premier League goal against Fulham.

Then followed the customary goal by Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon, who has played against us 5 times and scored in every game! 2-2 at half time, but in the second half the Bluebirds continued to apply the pressured were rewarded with goals from makeshift (?) striker Callum Paterson and a late clincher from Kadeem Harris.

Before we get too carried away, we must remember that Fulham were very poor in this game and defensively were very inept. but this was a positive performance by the Bluebirds and achieved a much deserved win. We were even the second game on Match of the Day, where yet again the pundits were encouraging.

Callum Paterson scores at Anfield.

So, after our first win of the season, there followed a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool, joint favourites to win the Premier League this season. Liverpool haven't lost a Premier League game there for a long time, and hadn't conceded a home goal for 10 matches. I'm told that a 4-1 Liverpool win flattered the home side a little, and we caused them a little consternation when Callum Paterson scored for the second game running to reduce the deficit to 2-1. But another honourable loss.

THE LEICESTER GAME

Last Saturday evening the owner of Leicester City Football club was killed in a helicopter crash outside the King Power Stadium. After much consideration and after consulting the Leicester players, their next game will be against the Bluebirds at the Cardiff City Stadium tomorrow (3rd November 2018). It is bound to be an emotional occasion, and I'm sure that the Cardiff fans will support their football family from Leicester.

Floral tributes outside the Kingpower stadium this week.

I've always felt that we have a lot in common with Leicester - a similar sized city with a team playing in blue and white. Their Premier League win 2 years ago gives hope to us  smaller teams that big money will not always win out, and there is always a slim chance that a club like Cardiff could also win the Premier League one day. Its nearly 5 years since we played them last, as they got promoted to the Premier League in the season we got relegated. when we first moved into the Cardiff City Stadium we seemed to be playing them regularly, as there were playoff games and at least 3 cup ties all within a couple of seasons! It will undoubtedly be an emotional occasion.

Now is the time to Step Up.

As we approach the end of September, we find ourselves without a win and only 3 goals scored, with 2 points and only one team below us in the Premier League table. Are we downhearted? Well, a bit. But, as regular readers of this blog know, I am a "glass half full" kind of supporter. In the words of the immortal Corporal Jones from 'Dad's Army', "Don't Panic!". 

Our last 3 matches have been against 3 of the 'big 6' teams of the Premier League, including Manchester City who are probably one of the 5 best teams in the world at present. Despite 3 losses, we have acquitted ourselves with pride and resilience, even though we have been outscored in those matches by a total of 3 goals for and 12 against. Our season, and any chance we have of avoiding relegation, will not be defined by our results against the top 6, but by our results against the rest of the league, starting with the game at home to Burnley next Sunday.

The gulf in class between ourselves and the top 6 is considerable. (The gap between Manchester City and Arsenal, both teams in the top 6, is also considerable!). But the difference between the teams between 7th and 20th is nowhere near as great, and if we are to stand any chance of avoiding relegation then it is against those teams that we have to do well. Our next 6 home games are against teams from that category, and these are the games where we need to pick up points. Its not going to be easy, and the odds are clearly against our low budget team, but now is the time to really 'give it a go'!


Results since my last blog.

HUDDERSFIELD 0 CARDIFF 0

CARDIFF 1 NORWICH 3 (Caraboa Cup)

CARDIFF 2 ARSENAL 3

CHELSEA 4 CARDIFF 1

CARDIFF 0 MANCHESTER CITY 5

The games.

I made the trip to Huddersfield with my son to watch my first away game for 35 years! This was a game we should really have won, as for the second week running our opponents were reduced to 10 players for the last half hour of the game. Unlike the previous game against Newcastle, we seemed to improve once our opponents were reduced. We put on lots of pressure for the last half hour, and unfortunately Sean Morrison missed a clear cut chance from a corner. But unfortunately we had to settle for an away point at the end of the day. I suspect that Huddersfield are going to be struggling in a similar manner to ourselves this season.

 John Smiths Stadium , Huddersfield.

Following this game was a very low key defeat at home to Norwich in the Caraboa Cup. To put it simply, their reserves were better than our reserves in a game where neither side was particularly enthusiastic.

Then came our first home game against one of the big Premier League clubs - Arsenal. Arsenal are probably the weakest of the top 6 teams, getting used to a new manager and still rebuilding a side. However, they still have a number of individual players of exceptional talent. A number of their players cost more individually than our entire team! it was a game where we played well at times, were not over-awed by the occasion and twice pulled back to equalise after Arsenal took the lead. A late Lacazette goal (a £60m player!) sealed the points for Arsenal.

Danny Ward celebrates the second equaliser against Arsenal.

At Chelsea in our next game we even held the lead for 15 minutes after Sol Bamba put us into a shock lead. But the class of Eden Hazzard, one of the top players in world football, finally undid us in this game, where he scored a hat trick. I have seen little of this game, but reports suggest that the final score of 4-1 to Chelsea was not quite a true reflection of how well we had played for much of the game.

Sol Bamba gives us the lead for the first (and only) time this season!

And finally, last Saturday, our home game to Manchester City. Most true fans are appreciative of how good our opponents were. We kept them at bay for more than half an hour, but their first shot on target resulted in their first goal, and more followed at steady intervals. Its never nice watching your team lose 5-0, but I've seen far more disappointing and frustrating defeats than this over my years of supporting Cardiff. The match was made extra difficult for us following Man City's surprise home defeat in the Champions League earlier  in the week. They clearly weren't going to make the same mistake again. Quite simply, Manchester City are a fantastic side and I wouldn't want to bet against them winning the Premier League again this season.

Now the real season begins! 

As mentioned above, we now have six home games coming up which could well define our season. Especially as our next 2 away games are at Tottenham and Liverpool! Unfortunately, our next opponents Burnley seem to have returned to form recently following a 4-0 home win over Bournemouth. Hopefully, our home support will spur the team on this week and increase their confidence. Despite our poor run of results, the supporters have remained firmly behind the team and their voices will be crucial if we are to get out of this! Lets hope we get the result we need.

Encouraging!

We are Premier League again! This post is composed after the second match of the Premier League season, and at least we have gained our first point!

RESULTS:

BOURNEMOUTH 2 CARDIFF 0

CARDIFF 0 NEWCASTLE 0

New Signings.

In the week leading up to the start of the season, Neil Warnock and the club managed to make 2 important additions to the squad ready for the Premier League season. It was quite obvious to most City fans and commentators that we needed some more quality in midfield to support Joe Ralls. It was also hoped that we might be able to add a striker with Premier League experience to challenge and support Kenneth Zohore. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to get a striker. However, we were able to get the 2 midfield players that we needed.

 Victor Camarasa (in Real Betis colours)

The first of theses came from a team who we played in pre-season. Victor Camarasa from Real Betis in Spain on a season long loan. This in some ways is a 'typical' Neil Warnock signing - a player that basically that no one had ever heard of! However, he did start 26 games in La Liga for Betis last season and has played for one or two other Spanish teams over the last 3 seasons.

Harry Arter.

The second player was a little more familiar  - Harry Arter from fellow Premier League team Bournemouth. The Republic of Ireland international was a regular for Bournemouth in their rise to the Premier League but had not played a first team game since last January. Reports suggest that he had fallen out with Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe. He also joins on a season long loan.

Due to the late signing of these two players, neither was available for the first match of the season at Bournemouth.

BOURNEMOUTH 2 CARDIFF 0

Unfortunately I saw little of this match as I was still on a family holiday and have had to rely third hand for information. Reports suggest that we were a bit nervous early on, allowing Bournemouth to take charge and get a deserved lead at half time. We had a chance to equalise from a corner but couldn't get the ball over the line. Bournemouth scored their second late on when Cardiff were trying hard for an equaliser. The score could have been worse but for a Neil Etheridge penalty save.

CARDIFF 0 NEWCASTLE 0

The first home game of the Premier League season against Newcastle United, and over 30,000 in the Cardiff City Stadium! There were a few changes from the team which started against Bournemouth a week earlier - most notably in midfield where new boys Harry Arter and Victor Camarasa started alongside Joe Ralls. This allowed Sol Bamba to return to his better position of central defence with Bruno Ecuele Manga moving out to right back to replace Lee Peltier. Kenneth Zohore returned from a minor injury to start at striker.

As I suggested at the beginning of this blog, this was an encouraging performance by the team. Its a bit difficult to judge in some ways, as we can't be sure yet how good (or bad) Newcastle are going to be. But the midfield 3 in particular were very good, and Josh Murphy also made a good first home competitive appearance out wide (in fact, he was awarded Man of the Match by the Skysports team). However, we lacked the cutting edge to score a goal, a fact which almost cost us all 3 points at the end of the game. 

Neil Etheridge saves from Newcastle's Brazilian forward Kenedy

In the 6th minute of stoppage time, a cross from the Newcastle left struck the arm of Sean Morrison and gifted Newcastle a penalty and the chance to win the game. Thankfully, Kenedy took a very weak penalty, which Neil Etheridge was able to save easily and thus gain the team their first Premier League point. Two penalty saves in two matches is making Etheridge something of a hero, both for Bluebirds fans and fans in his native Phillipines, as he has become the first Philippines player to make it to the Premier League.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

My first impression of seeing the team first hand is that we are not quite as bad as a lot of the pundits seem to make out. Some people are criticising the ability of Kenneth Zohore up front, but I thought he had a decent game on Saturday despite being badly off target with his only clear cut chance. He fought well for the ball and was difficult to get off it when in possession, an ability which will stand him in good stead as the season progresses. 

The midfield 3 were very good, with Harry Arter's hard work and effort particularly impressive. He definitely look like a "Warnock" type player who may yet achieve cult status at the Cardiff City Stadium (even if he was lucky not to get a red card for one nasty tackle!). The team kept a clean sheet, which was also encouraging. Also, we had 51% of the possession during the game - I can't remember the last time we had more possession than our opponents!

In general, my feelings are that if we play up to the standards shown on Saturday then we have a good chance of maintaining our Premier League status this season. We have to hope for a good result away from home at Huddersfield this week, as our next 3 games are against Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea! But this is what the Premier League is all about and why it is so fantastic that we are a part of it.

6pm. 20th August 2018.

We're back! WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE!

When I last posted to this blog, I had no idea when I would need to add to it again. In fact , I had no idea if I would ever have to add to it again, as there had been 51 years between our last 2 visits to the top level of football!

But here we are, just 4 years after our relegation, back in the big time! Proudly back in blue, unlike our last promotion when we were still playing in red. There's a different feel about it this time. The fans and the board are more united. Our owner, Mr Tan, has learned from his previous mistakes and admitted to them. More crucially, the club has made a conscious decision not to "throw money " at the Premier League this time. Neil Warnock is searching for solid players with Premier League experience or potential, rather than marquee foreign signings for huge amounts of money. This time, if relegated, we will be in a much stronger position to get promoted again quickly, although there are no guarantees, of course!

Despite the continuing distractions of the World Cup in Russia, Neil Warnock has quietly gone about strengthening the squad and has so far added 4 new signings to the squad. The one thing that these players have in common is that they are proven top class Championship level players who now deserve chance at the Premier League. I suspect that Warnock is going to be loyal to most of last season's defensive players, and that tactically we will be very similar to last season. 

Last season Warnock and the team were often criticised for the pragmatic nature of their tactics. The idea of a well organised defence, defending efficiently whilst the other team are in possession, then counter attacking at speed or scoring goals from well organised set pieces. This system undoubtedly worked, and it is interesting to see the same tactics being used widely at the World Cup. Even Brazil, who are usually associated with flamboyance on the pitch, are actually a very organised defensive unit relying on the individual brilliance of Neymar up front to steal them a goal. Warnock is setting, not bucking, the trends! Indeed, it is this style of football which has seen England do do well!

NEW SIGNINGS

At the time of composing this blog, there have been 4 major signings for the first team squad. First on board was Josh Murphy from Norwich. An attacking mainly left sided wide player/attacker. At Cardiff last season he was probably the best player on the field in a team which Cardiff beat easily. Only 23 - lets hope he kept improving like his twin brother Jacob who moved to play for Newcastle last season and made a good number of Premier League appearances.

 Neil Warnock welcomes Josh Murphy.

Next player to be signed was left back Greg Cunningham from Preston North End. Appears to be a "typical Warnock player" and someone NW has been following for some time. Greg had a handful of first team appearances for Manchester City a few years ago but left for Championship football to get more playing time.

Greg Cunningham (in yellow) playing against Cardiff last season for Preston.

Despite the unexpected success and progress of Neil Etheridge in goal last season, NW was keen to get in some meaningful competition for him as keeper this season. Alex Smithies at QPR is another player who looks ready to step up. I've been impressed with Smithies for a number of years and remember him playing for Huddersfield when they were first promoted into the Championship. He deserves a chance at the Premier League and although I suspect that Etheridge will be given the number 1 shirt for the start of the season, NW will have no worries about putting Smithies in.

Alex Smithies

Perhaps the biggest surprise signing so far is Bobby Reid from our near neighbours Bristol City. Reid had quite a breakthrough season last year, scoring nearly 20 goals at Championship level for the first time. He had primarily been seen as a wide player before last season, but played behind the main striker for much of the season and scored many goals than previously. It will be interesting to see if NW plays him with our other former Bristol City player Lee Tomlin, as I understand they previously had quite a rapport together. Bristol City fans were pretty upset about this signing to their rivals!

Bobby Reid is a Bluebird!

NEW CONTRACTS

Although the main headlines have been for the new players, there have also been widespread negotiations off the field for many of our existing squad players. 8 players so far have signed improved contracts which reflect their new Premier League status. also, following his return form the World Cup with Iceland, Aron Gunnarsson has signed back with the club for another season. This brings an added stability to the club, and puts the club on a stable financial footing should other teams come looking for our players, and also if the worst should happen and we get immediately relegated back down to the Championship.

QUIET OPTIMISM

That is the best way I can think of to describe where the club is at the moment, just 31 days away from our first Premier League fixture of the new season away at Bournemouth. The club seem to have learned from the mistakes made during our last trip to the Premier League , and the supporters, owners, managers and players seem very united and ready to go.

This blog is being published on the morning of the England v Croatia World Cup semi final. Even though I am proudly Welsh I will still be cheering England on tonight. Mainly because the longer their players stay in the competition the more likely they are to be tired in the early stages of the Premier League season! In last night's semi-final between France and Belgium, 14 of the starting players play in the Premier League, and all of the England squad also play there, as well as a few of the Croatian players too. I'm sure that will help our squad in the early stages of the season as only Aron Gunnarsson went to the World Cup from the Bluebirds and his team were knocked out weeks ago!

So lets get the World Cup out of the way so that we can really concentrate on the important business of the Premier League!