Now I'm breaking one of my own golden rules by writing this blog within an hour of seeing the Bluebirds lose their second consecutive game of the season and risking not being objective here but here goes nothing....
I wrote only a week ago how a new era had dawned at the Cardiff City Stadium when we'd beaten Hull City despite not having such "big name" players Bellamy, Bothroyd and Chopra in the side due to injury. Since beginning this blogging lark i have quickly come to realise that i am wrong concerning many things in life on a frequent basis, almost daily in fact and my predictions concerning Cardiff City FC are no different. In fact i think i may have used the phrase "How wrong could i be?" in every blog since i started this some six weeks (or so) ago.
Now whilst being a fully paid-up member of the sensible gang when it comes to my club and not being one of the ones who predicted a top two finish the instant Craig Bellamy signed, the eagle eyed amongst you reading this will have noticed that last week i was quite confident we'd see the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea at the Cardiff City Stadium next season and after today's defeat to Ipswich....i still am.
Please don't mistake me here for unrealistic optimism, my feelings are based upon the fact that like any football club in the world you tend to win more games with your strongest team on the pitch and most clubs from the middle of the Premier League down would miss the likes of Seyi Olifinjana and Craig Bellamy too. Therefore i am quietly confident that when we do finally have a full-strength squad on the field we will once again regain our consistency and stabilise a ship that's barely rocking let alone sinking.
Now i realise that in some ways this may be in stark contrast to my message last week where i was confident a new era had started where Cardiff could win games despite missing big name players but isn't hypocrisy the prerogative of every football fan in the world?
Now is not the time for pointing fingers and moaning and groaning about losing two games to two teams that beat us last season and are very good sides with very good managers. Now is the time for stark truths to be discussed such as is Gavin Rae good enough any more for Cardiff City and should Heaton be starting in goal but let's temper this with remembering just how far we have come as a club, we're still third at the moment and it's only September.
Take a deep breath, let it out slowly and remember that a win is only 90 minutes away. Let's learn and move on from this Bluebirds and let's enjoy the fact that we're third and we still have the likes of Chopra, Bellamy, Olofinjana and Drinkwater to return.
BB20
Cardiff City Stadium
Home of the Bluebirds
Saturday 18 September 2010
Sunday 12 September 2010
The Bluebirds finally lay ghosts to rest as Tigers are tamed....
Just like the summer changing to cooler autumn there appears to be a fresh change in the air at the City of Cardiff Stadium. Once again Cardiff City Football Club have started brightly, more brightly in fact than even the last four seasons and find themselves joint top with QPR of one of the most competitive leagues in the world the NPower Championship.
This may not suprise the everyday armchair critic who would argue that given the signings the club has made over the summer, Cardiff City should well be pushing the leaders at the top. Whilst there is certainly an element of truth about this, i believe that Cardiff fans everywhere have more reasons than ever to be cheerful especially given yesterdays result against newly relegated Hull City.
In times gone by Cardiff City would have struggled immensely when facing the loss of such star names as Craig Bellamy, Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra possibly the three most feared strikers in the Championship. This year however something seems to be different and i'm not just talking about depth of squad. Dave Jones himself yesterday stated that there is an "immense feel-good factor" surrounding the club at this moment in time and i for one am inclined to agree with him.
Take it from me, the level of expectation in the stands is at its usual exaggerated high yet this is now being backed up by a genuine positive attitude that at last seems to be purging this club of its past ghosts of failure. For the first time in my lifetime probably Cardiff City fans can genuinely believe that the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool will be visiting the City stadium next season and this coming from a fully-paid up member of the 'let's be realistic' crew.
At last the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be growing larger, the game yesterday highlighted that even when missing big name players Cardiff finally now have not just the depth but the belief to push on and grind out tough results.
Yes indeed the fresh air is blowing through the City of Cardiff Stadium and take it from me, it doesnt half feel good.
Bluebird
This may not suprise the everyday armchair critic who would argue that given the signings the club has made over the summer, Cardiff City should well be pushing the leaders at the top. Whilst there is certainly an element of truth about this, i believe that Cardiff fans everywhere have more reasons than ever to be cheerful especially given yesterdays result against newly relegated Hull City.
In times gone by Cardiff City would have struggled immensely when facing the loss of such star names as Craig Bellamy, Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra possibly the three most feared strikers in the Championship. This year however something seems to be different and i'm not just talking about depth of squad. Dave Jones himself yesterday stated that there is an "immense feel-good factor" surrounding the club at this moment in time and i for one am inclined to agree with him.
Take it from me, the level of expectation in the stands is at its usual exaggerated high yet this is now being backed up by a genuine positive attitude that at last seems to be purging this club of its past ghosts of failure. For the first time in my lifetime probably Cardiff City fans can genuinely believe that the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool will be visiting the City stadium next season and this coming from a fully-paid up member of the 'let's be realistic' crew.
At last the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be growing larger, the game yesterday highlighted that even when missing big name players Cardiff finally now have not just the depth but the belief to push on and grind out tough results.
Yes indeed the fresh air is blowing through the City of Cardiff Stadium and take it from me, it doesnt half feel good.
Bluebird
Wednesday 1 September 2010
Transfer window slams shut to relief of Bluebirds everywhere....
How ironic the world of football can prove to be on times. Not more than one month ago Bluebird fans all over the world were hoping and praying that just like Christmas when you're a child the transfer deadline day would crawl along more slowly than Swansea City's goal average last season. Once again, how wrong was i to be?
Like many other football-related bloggers everywhere little did i know just how desperate i would be for the transfer window to shut and stay shut until the post-Christmas blues set in. In the space of a few short weeks we have woken almost daily to the news of not just more signings but dream-team Esq signings such as Jason Koumas, Seyi Olofinjana and Craig Bellamy (all three Marquee signings when you consider that Cardiff City is a Championship club). I cannot remember a time as exciting as this in the last twenty years at Cardiff City (and yes that includes the signings of Robbie Fowler and Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink) and if i was to say that the atmosphere at match days was tangible i wouldn't be exaggerating.
Dave Jones finally has a squad that is more than capable of challenging for a top-two finish in the Championship if not the title and whilst this may seem to many as a challenge new to the longest-serving manager in the Championship to others it is merely a reward for a man who has worked within a tighter budget than George Osborne at the treasury. Rather than a mill-stone i see this as a platform for Mr Jones to finally prove that not only is this the opportunity to prove his pedigree as one of the best managers in British football but a manager capable of taking this South Wales club to the highest division in the land and keep them there.
The window is shut tighter than a Scot's wallet and the board and management have achieved what many of us thought would be impossible, the holding onto of our best players from last season. The likes of Peter Whittingham, David Marshall, Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra are all here at least until January and i for one see that perhaps as a bigger achievement than signing the Bellamy's of this football world.
In years past by Cardiff City would not have been able to keep hold of their prize assets (see Ramsey, Gunter, Jerome, Ledley and Earnshaw) and now, just as the chairman TG promised we have a squad that is settled and ready for a long hard season again, for evidence of a happy squad look no further than Jay Bothroyd sitting pretty at the top of the goalscoring charts already.
This is the year of the Bluebird, this is the year of Dave Jones and this is the year where hearts are healed of Wembley heartbreak and Cardiff fans all over can wear their shirts with pride, wherever they are in this fair country.
Cheers all, BB20
Like many other football-related bloggers everywhere little did i know just how desperate i would be for the transfer window to shut and stay shut until the post-Christmas blues set in. In the space of a few short weeks we have woken almost daily to the news of not just more signings but dream-team Esq signings such as Jason Koumas, Seyi Olofinjana and Craig Bellamy (all three Marquee signings when you consider that Cardiff City is a Championship club). I cannot remember a time as exciting as this in the last twenty years at Cardiff City (and yes that includes the signings of Robbie Fowler and Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink) and if i was to say that the atmosphere at match days was tangible i wouldn't be exaggerating.
Dave Jones finally has a squad that is more than capable of challenging for a top-two finish in the Championship if not the title and whilst this may seem to many as a challenge new to the longest-serving manager in the Championship to others it is merely a reward for a man who has worked within a tighter budget than George Osborne at the treasury. Rather than a mill-stone i see this as a platform for Mr Jones to finally prove that not only is this the opportunity to prove his pedigree as one of the best managers in British football but a manager capable of taking this South Wales club to the highest division in the land and keep them there.
The window is shut tighter than a Scot's wallet and the board and management have achieved what many of us thought would be impossible, the holding onto of our best players from last season. The likes of Peter Whittingham, David Marshall, Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra are all here at least until January and i for one see that perhaps as a bigger achievement than signing the Bellamy's of this football world.
In years past by Cardiff City would not have been able to keep hold of their prize assets (see Ramsey, Gunter, Jerome, Ledley and Earnshaw) and now, just as the chairman TG promised we have a squad that is settled and ready for a long hard season again, for evidence of a happy squad look no further than Jay Bothroyd sitting pretty at the top of the goalscoring charts already.
This is the year of the Bluebird, this is the year of Dave Jones and this is the year where hearts are healed of Wembley heartbreak and Cardiff fans all over can wear their shirts with pride, wherever they are in this fair country.
Cheers all, BB20
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