City finish home campaign on a high (kind of), but it’s still a thank God that’s over from me.

8 Responses to City finish home campaign on a high (kind of), but it’s still a thank God that’s over from me.

1. Dai Woosnam says:

   April 26, 2015 at 10:02 am

   Splendid report Paul, as always.
   You help me restore my faith in football after the usual Fred Karno’s Army of the two soccer highlights programmes on BBC1 last night.
   Usual nonsense of stupid unnecessary pass backs, short goal kicks and kamikaze goalkeeper howlers like that of Guzon trying to pass the ball across his penalty are instead of putting his boot behind it.
   And last night we had that absurd goal conceded by Spurs with Ben Davies unwilling to thump it out for a corner.
   The frustrating thing is that all these error are not down to the players, but their millionaire managers!
   Tim Sherwood MUST be encouraging his defenders to play this negative suicidal game in their own area: likewise Pochettino MUST be telling his defenders NOT to knock the ball out of play.
   And these are supposed to be our top coaches.
   Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad …

   But your report is blessedly free from such nonsense…and I thank you for that.

   Your other contributors will doubtless add their wisdom to the mix re the State of the (Bluebirds)Union at the end of the last home game of the season.

   I just want to make two comments… one related to your piece: one not.

   First, the banners.

   I am not surprised that being the passionate lover of free speech that you are, you defend the right of the fans with the Blackpool banner. I think I would too…with one proviso. And that is that it can only be displayed at half time.

   If I have paid good money for my seat, I do not expect my view to be blocked by people raising a banner …even if it is only for the 20 seconds that the ball may be out of play at say, a goal kick.

   I want to see the players on the pitch thankyou very much, DURING those 20 seconds. I want to see if they are moving to try to find some space to meet the pending goal kick, etc.

   And as we are on to restricted views: can we ban stovepipe felt hats? And don’t get me started on people who get to their feet at the merest sign of a home attack!

   Okay, so I am jaundiced. My knees are bug**red, and it is a job for me to raise my colossal bulk these days.

   Make me dictator of the football world and I would ensure that all seats had seat belts fitted, and once a fan released them for more than five seconds, a sharp electric shock would await him when he sat back down!

   [D’oh! I am such a duffer, I know! That would just mean they stood for all of the 90 minutes!

   Oh…and BTW, I am in favour of “all standing” areas, lest anyone misconstrue my thinking.]

   And the second point, unrelated to your piece, is to ask you to pick a Championship team (4-4-2)of the season.

   Here is mine:

   Dimitrious Konstantopoulos;

   Stephen Whittaker; Luke Chambers; James Tarkowski; Ryan Shotton;

   Michail Antonio; Ben Marshall; Lee Tomlin; Nathan Redmond;

   Callum Wilson; Troy Deeney*.

   Manager – Eddie Howe.

   * just shades it from Patrick Bamford and Rudy Gestede.

   Kindest,
   Dai.
2. The other Bob Wilson says:

   April 26, 2015 at 1:35 pm

   Thanks for a thought provoking reply Dai – lots to comment on so I’ll try to be brief with my answers to you.
   What I’d say about banners is that in this instance, they were in the line of sight of very few of the people in the ground and I would assume that the few who were behind the banner pictured were Blackpool fans who agreed with the sentiments of those who were displaying it.
   I’m in complete agreement with you about people who stand up once the ball crosses the halfway line – it drives me mad! Although I’m beginning to feel my age when it comes to standing on my feet for long periods, it’s not that bad and I would still prefer to stand at games if I had the choice, but I don’t. So sitting is the only option and if I have to do so, I want to remain seated for all but moments of high drama such as goals, penalty decisions etc. not up and down all of the time because someone in front of me thinks a goal is imminent every time City enter their opponents half!
   A few comments about your selection of a Championship team of the season. Firstly, I’m sorry but, due to his atrocious loan spell with us six years ago, there is no way on earth Dimi can be in goals – thinking about it though, goalkeeper is a tough selection and I readily admit my selection has his mad moments (as Kenwyne Jones would know). It would be arrogant for me to say I’m impressed by your selection of Tarkowski because it implies that if I rate someone, they must be good, but I was very impressed by him when I saw him play for Oldham on Sky early last season. You certainly like your wingers don’t you – I’d have selected Antonio if the team was being picked in November and I’ve always rated Redmond. Callum Wilson was another League One player I saw last year who I would have liked City to go after and although my selection is going to be entirely different from yours for the sake of variety, I reckon you may have got the two best strikers in the division there.
   One last thing – I find it very hard to keep track of all of the foreign players at Watford, so the only side promoted so far are not represented in my team and logic tells me this has to be a mistake.
   My team;
   Silvestre (Leeds) – as I said, he’s a bit erratic, but he’s only young and I think he has a big future.

   Francis (Bournemouth) – was classed as a real promising talent a decade and more ago and is now, finally, fulfilling that potential.
   Batth (Wolves) – never seen him have a poor game either this season or last.
   Gibson (Middlesbrough) – I’m guided a bit by what I’ve heard on the telly here, but Middlesbrough have been formidable in defence for most of the season.
   Friend (Middlesbrough) – I remember him standing out in a poor Doncaster side when they came to Cardiff a few years ago, good at both ends of the pitch.

   Ritchie (Bournemouth) – another player I was saying City should sign when he was playing in League Two for Swindon!
   Pritchard (Brentford) – only on loan, so I’m not sure whether he’s eligible really, but he’s what I call a proper footballer.
   Johnson (Norwich) – not really a favourite of mine, but he’s impressed me whenever I’ve seen him this season.
   Sako (Wolves) – a mix of power and skill, I believe he would cope with the Premier League with few problems.

   Murphy (Ipswich) – always been a very good all rounder, the main reason why what I feel is a pretty limited side are probably going to make the Play Offs.
   Martin (Derby) – the best compliment I can pay him is that Derby appear to have gone to pot since he was injured a few weeks ago.
3. arfurwales says:

   April 26, 2015 at 3:27 pm

   Just wanted to say thanks for the great coverage this season there has been loads to talk about and not much to cheer and I find your even handed commentary refreshing compared to the dross in the mainstream media.

   Keep at it – the way things have been this season I have looked forward to reading your blog more than going to the games at times. Great stuff thanks ;o)

   See you in August for more “fun”
4. The other Bob Wilson says:

   April 26, 2015 at 3:48 pm

   Thanks very much Arfur – next season surely can’t be as bad can it?
   There’s still a few matches I’ll be writing on this season. Wales v Belgium of course and there’ll be a report on Thursday’s Welsh FA Youth Cup Final between us and the jacks on here. The Under 21s play their final game of the season tomorrow night as well, but Bournemouth v Bolton looks more tempting than that at the moment to me, so I may well give that one a miss.
5. Anthony O'Brien says:

   April 26, 2015 at 3:49 pm

   Re fans standing up – When everyone is supposed to be sitting down, the selfishness, possible exhibitionism, and sheer lack of consideration for others among those who remain on their feet throughout the game, even when they are in the very front row with no-one to impede their view, is almost enough to make me despair for the human race. If everyone is standing, that would be a different matter of course!

   Somewhat unwillingly, I’d also like to make a comment on Joe Mason. It grieves me to criticise a player by name, but is it just me, am I the only one failing to see in him the qualities that others find so praiseworthy? I admit he can run all day, and do so with intelligence, but he has no change of pace whatsoever. He cannot make those darting runs which are vital for those who play in his position. And while I accept that he will never win high balls, I am concerned by his habit of ducking under the ball as it goes flying over his head towards a defender. This can easily be a prescription for injury. End of comment.

   On a more positive note,it was interesting to see O’Keefe in action for most of the game yesterday. I thought his display in helping both his defence and the attack was highly commendable, and evidence of what he has to offer. Also encouraging was the re-appearance of Pilkington, who – like Doyle – is full of movement and energy.

   I hope people don’t bite my head off at my next comment, but I see in these and the other signings, reasons for a degree of optimism for next season. So there!
6. The other Bob Wilson says:

   April 26, 2015 at 4:08 pm

   Thanks Anthony. I’ve nothing to add about standing in seated areas – you’ve said it all.
   Regarding Mason, I’m a big fan of his and would say in his defence that we were never going to see the best of him this season given the months he spent out with injury – I take your point about him lacking a change of pace though.
   Agree about O’Keefe who I thought played better than I’ve seen from him before in a City shirt and I thought Gunnarsson had one of his better matches in the last few weeks as well, but it was a shame that Ralls didn’t get the chance to show us what he can do in central midfield. Although Pilkington was not having a huge influence on matches in the autumn (and he was giving the ball away too much back then as well), I think he’ll show he was a good signing if he can play for most of next season.
   I agree there are individuals that give some cause for optimism, but my concern is that there has been no sign of a coherent and united team for nearly of all of the season – maybe a fit Dikgacoi will make a difference, but I think we’ll have to look outside the current squad for the two or three players who will “glue” things together and I’m afraid that, based on his January dealings, I don’t have much confidence in our manager finding them at the moment.
7. Anthony O'Brien says:

   April 27, 2015 at 2:38 pm

   Apologies for taking up space again but I’ve just read that Cardiff had to reduce the wage bill in order to comply with the new “Fair Play” regulations. As I haven’t been following the unfolding saga, I just assumed that the cost-cutting exercise was simply at the behest of the revered “Moneybags” Vincent Tan. But now I learn that, the Cardiff chairman assures Russel Slade there will be money to buy players for next season. I think, Paul, you explained all this some time ago, but I should be grateful for an update in the simplest terms possible. Please bear in mind that I know as much about economics as Ed “Flip My Mortgage Three Times” Balls but that, unlike many MPs, I have the great disadvantage of being relatively moral or even honest. Incidentally, the point I was trying to make in my previous post was that Russel Slade’s signings so far are not as bad as some critics suggest, and I assume that other similar signings are in the pipeline, though it’s impossible to believe that players of proven high-calibre at Championship level will be falling over themselves to clamber aboard at Cardiff City. Let us live in hope, however.

   As May looms, I have one more visit to make to the City of Cardiff Stadium – for the South Wales Classic Car Show on Sunday 17th May – but as I can’t make the international, that’s it until August. Thank you, Paul, for your extremely informative and fair-minded reports and comments, and for a site in which all the contributors reflect the high standards you have set and maintained at all times.
8. The other Bob Wilson says:

   April 28, 2015 at 6:28 am

   It’s a bit out of date, Anthony, but this

   http://www.financialfairplay.co.uk/financial-fair-play-explained.php

   is a pretty good explanation of what FFP entails in the Championship.

   Thank you very much for your contributions over the course of the season.

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