It’s unfair that, as seems very likely now, Manoilis Siopis’ last contribution as a Cardiff City players will be to be taken to the cleaners by the precocious talent of Millwall’s Ra’ees Bangura-Williams seconds before he was substituted in the game we came back from two down in to draw ten days ago.
This applies even more so as Siopis was beaten three times by the same player on the bye line as he provided the assist for the goal which put the Londoners two up inside twenty minutes.
I think it’s fair to say that Siopis has divided City fans over the past eighteen months with some believing that our strongest team should always include him, while others have been quick to use the demeaning “headless chicken” term about him.
For myself, I was somewhere in the middle, believing that he performed some midfield duties better than the other options we had in that area of the pitch, but. generally speaking, he contributed little in terms of creativity and poise. Overall though, my main impression of Siopis was that he was an unnecessary signing as he did not bring anything that was new or really needed to our midfield, the money the club spent getting him here would have been better spent elsewhere or on someone better at the aspects of midfield play we were lacking in.
Finally on Siopis, I can’t remember anyone beating him. as comprehensively as Bangura-Williams was able to do on two occasions in that Millwall game – the Greek international was, generally good in man to man situations and his covering work will take some replacing. I wish him well with his proposed move to Panathinaikos (apparently, he’s had a medical with the Greek club and so it seems very likely he’s played his last game for City).
One reason City felt they could let Siopis leave was the loan signing until the end of the season from Ajax of Norwegian under 21 international Sivert Mannsverk who’s described as a defensive midfielder. Omer Riza think we have brought off something of a coup in getting Mannsverk whose progress at Ajax this season has been interrupted by an injury sustained back in the early autumn, but he’s fit again now and has played some games for the Dutch giants’ second string in recent weeks.
Rather like Yousef Salech, our other January window signing, it’s very much a case of seeing how things go with Mannsverk for the vast majority of City fans – I’d never heard of him until the news broke linking us with him, but it looks like he’ll be going straight into the squad for tomorrow’s game at top of the table Leeds.
After two feeble surrenders to Leeds in our last two encounters with them, both played at Cardiff City Stadium, the overwhelming superiority we used to enjoy in this fixture has definitely gone now. However, last season’s 2-2 draw and the dramatic 3-3 back in 19/20 when we came back from three down indicate that we’re still capable of upsetting the odds when we go to Elland Road.
I don’t see that happening this time though, I reckon our eight game unbeaten streak will come to an end, but would hope that we can show the sort of fight and character that was so lacking when we played Leeds at home under Erol Bulut.
Anyway, on to the quiz, I’ll post the answers on here on Sunday.
60s. This one time England schoolboys captain and England Young World Cup winner looked set for a glittering career when he made his first Leeds senior appearance playing alongside John Charles in defence at the age of sixteen in a pre season friendly. He’d played a few competitive games for the first team, with generally positive remarks as to his performance, by the time he faced City while still a teenager, but, this time, things didn’t go so well, e.g;
‘I was most disappointed with young ……… at left-back. He grew progressively worse, probably through increasing nervousness.’
Although he played in some cup games after that, it was to be his last league game for Leeds as he rather fell by the wayside as they rose ro become a power in the land.
Eventually, he followed a former manager of his across the Atlantic and then home again when his “mentor” returned for a job in the domestic game. So it was that he ended up playing for the same manager at a third club. In fact, he played for two sides from opposite ends of England who have favoured blue and white striped shirts down the years as he was loaned from one to the other without conspicuous success at either team. He left the game at just twenty five years old, disillusioned by the lack of progress in a career which had promised so much. Who am I describing?
70s. This midfielder left Leeds at a time when there was no disgrace at all in not being quite good enough for them. He did make his debut for them them as a teenager, but never made it into double figures for league appearances before moving to another Yorkshire city that has just seen the funeral of one of their more famous natives (even if he was actually born in Wales) this week. There were plenty of the first team appearances he’d lacked at Leeds for him at this club as they became established mid table performers at a decent level – there was a loan stay with a team from the same county which is currently hoping to restore a name that was unique at that time to the EFL. His next move took him to a different county for the first time, in fact, he went to two of them in a way while still remaining well to the north of Watford. He finished up playing and managing in Hong Kong where he would have been able to watch the career of his younger and more successful brother developing in England. Can you name the player being described and, for a bonus point worth absolutely nothing, who was his brother?
80s. American law official initially backs winner as one game Leeds loanee from Glasgow club emerges (3,7)
90s. Daring heist pulled on armed man?
00s.Fitting and correct by the sound of it.
10s. A loser in both of his encounters with City while a Leeds player during this decade, he is now 37, playing in Turkey and two years ago he captained his country to victory in a major tournament? Who is he?
20s. Who or what is the Cardiff City/Leeds United related link between John Coleman, Simon Weaver and Andy Whing in 2025?
Answers
60s. Great things were predicted for locally born full back Barrie Wright as he progressed serenely through youth football for club and country. However, just as he was beginning to establish himself at first team level, a poor display for a First Division bound Leeds side in a 1-1 draw with City at Elland Road on 1 February 1964 saw his progress stall completely and he never played another league game for the club. Clearly, new manager Don Revie was not convinced, but the man he replaced, Freddie Goodwin, still had faith in Wright. Therefore, when he was released by Leeds in 1966, Goodwin took Wright to America to play for the now defunct New Yprk Generals and then to Brighton when the club disbanded in 1968. Wright was loaned to Hartlepool by Brighton for a short while, but he was not a regular at either club and he left the game in 1971.
70s. Chris Galvin made his Leeds debut in 1968 at the age of seventeen, but, after just six more games for them in the five years that followed, he signed for Hull (the funeral was held this week for Prestatyn born John Prescott who represented Hull constituencies in Parliament for forty years). Galvin was loaned to York City (the only Football League club to begin with the letter Y at the time) about halfway through his six year spell on Humberside and then moved counties to Cheshire to play`for Stockport County – his career ended with time spent playing and managing Hong Kong team Tsuen Wan. Galvin’s younger brother, Tony, won two FA Cup winners medals for Spurs in 1981 and 82 and the UEFA Cup in 1984- he also played for the Republic of Ireland twenty nine times.
80s. Celtic goalkeeper Ian Andrews played just one game fo Leeds when he was loaned to them during 88/89.
90s. Rob Bowman.
00s. Jermaine Wright.
10s. Max Gradel was a sub for Leeds in the 4-0 home loss they suffered at our hands in 10/11 and then started in the return game which we won 2-1. In 2023, Gradel captained the Ivory Coast to victory in the African Cup of Nations.
20s. The three gentlemen named are the managers of Gillingham, Harrogate and Barrow respectively, who have all been beaten by a Doncaster Rovers side which has included former City Academy player Charlie Crew who is on loan there from Leeds – Doncaster have won three games out of three since Crew arrived on January 15.
