A shorter than normal piece from me today because there is not a great deal I can say about Cardiff City’s 2-0 defeat at Wolves as I decided to go along to Blaenrhondda’s match with Cardiff Airport and so only got to watch the dying embers of the City game when I got home.
The Blaenrhondda match kicked off at 2.30, so when I switched my radio as the half time whistle went, City had been playing for about a quarter of an hour. The game being covered was Bournemouth against Manchester City, but I had only been listening for a few seconds when the commentator said there’d been a goal in the Wolves/Cardiff match, so let’s go over to Molineux to hear about it.
Of course, I did not think for a minute that the reporter was going to tell us about a shock lead for the visitors and this proved to be the case. Still, there were seventy five minutes left to turn things around and hadn’t Wolves taken the lead at about this time in the first match between the clubs in Cardiff, only to end up on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.
The reporting of the Wolves goal completed, coverage continued of the game at Bournemouth, but only for what seemed no more than a minute because it was then back to Wolves again where there had been a second goal. With the way things have gone for us in the past eight days, I again feared the worst and I didn’t have to wait long for confirmation of my deepening gloom – apparently, Sol Bamba did one of those Beckanbauer impersonations that our manager doesn’t like and Wolves’ classy Mexican Jimenez now had a goal to go with his assist for Jota’s opener.
Sometimes I find myself wondering if it’s my fault when things go wrong for the sporting team or person I’m supporting -I should add that I do so with a smile because I know it’s not really true.
However, every now and again, things do happen which get you thinking and they are not so easy to laugh off – could it really all be down to me after all?
Today has been one of those such occasions – City had, by all accounts, made a decent start, yet I begin listening and they concede twice in ninety seconds, so, too all intents and purposes, it’s game over!
I’ll return to this theme later because there have been other reasons for me to wonder what I have done to offend someone very important today, but I’d like to offer a few thoughts on where City find themselves now with nine matches and twenty seven points to play for.
After the Everton debacle (I don’t believe that’s too strong a word to describe a performance that I believe was worse than the one we gave in conceding five against Watford), Neil Warnock resorted to what I think of as a very tired old cliche often used by managers of struggling teams – the one about players he would want in the trenches with him.
Bearing that in mind and that he also said straight after Tuesday’s game that he already knew the side he would pick at Wolves, I must admit to being surprised when I learned of our team for today’s game.
I expected a line up full of individuals that would be there in the trenches alongside our manager, but, if anything, there were less of what I would call warriors and scrappers included than you’d expect in a typical Warnock team.
That old battler Lee Peltier was there as our manager kept faith with under fire captain Sean Morrison as Bruno Manga missed his first minutes of our league season because of his relegation to the bench. However, in midfield I expected a return for Harry Arter, but it was Joe Ralls who came in for Leandro Bacuna and there was a return for the fit again Victor Camarasa who had been cleared by his Spanish doctors to play for since the Southampton game. Oumar Niasse returned after missing out against his parent club on Tuesday, but not at the expense of Kenneth Zohore or Bobby Decordova Reid, so I think it would be fair to say that this was not a selection designed to scrap its way to a goalless draw.
Perhaps the most striking thing about it all though became clearer when you saw the names on the bench because Junior Hoilett, Nathaniel Mendez Laing and Josh Murphy were all nowhere to be seen in our eighteen. Now, I suppose the idea that all three of them could have been injured cannot be completely discounted, but I think it’s highly possible that our manager has finally lost faith in his wingers.
I could never have imagined that we would go into any Premier League match this season with Kadeem Harris as the one and only winger in our squad, but if this is a signal that wingers are going to play much less of a part in our team, then I must say it’s not before time given their patchy and uninspiring contribution thus far.
It was not a good day for Bamba as, besides his error for the second goal, he suffered what threatens to be a season ending injury just before half time while committing a foul which earned him a yellow card and so it looks like any debate as to who of our three centrebacks should be left out can be put to one side now.
Indeed, if Neil Warnock has really run out of patience with his wingers, then why not try Peltier in a back three alongside Manga and Morrison with Callum Paterson and Joe Bennett as wing backs?
Mind you, I fear that whatever selection and system we go with over the next couple of months, it’s not going to be enough to save us. I suppose Chelsea could have one of their “walkabout” days when they come here, Liverpool may be struck by title nerves or Manchester United’s Champions League fate could be decided one way or another by the time we play them, but the nature of our first eight games against the big six this season strongly suggests that we can expect nothing at all from four of our remaining matches. Therefore, even, say, an optimistic ten points from the other five would probably not be enough to ensure safety – especially with our very poor goal difference.
Anyway, back to my Jonah complex! I’ve mentioned before that the only two league defeats in a period of around eighteen months Blaenrhondda suffered just so happened to be in the first two games I saw them play, well now their record in matches I’ve been present at reads won one and lost three after today’s 3-2 beating.
To be fair, Blaenrhondda have now lost matches when I wasn’t present. In fact, this second home defeat on successive Saturdays was their sixth of the season – curiously, five of them have come at home, so they have a very poor record on their own ground for a team sitting third in their league.
Today’s game was the most entertaining I’ve seen Blaenrhondda play. They were a goal down when I arrived with about five minutes played, but levelled virtually straight away with a wonderful lone range effort and within ten minutes they were in front when Hugh Bowtell netted with a neat chip after the visiting keeper had kicked the ball straight to him.
The keeper would make up for this lapse with some fine saves however which ensured that Blaenrhondda didn’t go to the break with the two or three goal lead their dominance deserved. It was a different story after the interval though, as the home side never really got going again and Cardiff Airport’s enterprising approach was rewarded with the two goals that would win them the game. The only good news for Blaenrhondda was that second placed FC Cwmaman were beaten at home by the same score and so the situation at the top of the table didn’t change too much.
The rain that had held off for the duration of the game appeared with a vengeance just in time for my walk home and then my day ran true to form again as Jos Buttler, England’s last hope of reaching a competitive total, was out to the first ball I watched of their very embarrassing one day defeat by the West Indies when I got in.
Just to say that I don’t accept any responsibility for Ton Pentre’s 4-1 home defeat by Pontypridd which keeps them at the bottom of their league with most of the teams around them showing signs of improvement or for City’s Under 18s’ loss by 2-1 at Ipswich mind!
That was a big defeat for the Academy team against the side which is second in the table. An early penalty save by George Ratcliffe followed up by a Sam Bowen goal had City in a good position after forty five minutes, but they were undone by two goals in three minutes by the home team, so a lead for them at the top of the table which was nine points has been reduced to four in the space of a week – all things considered, it really has been a crap day!
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Recently I had to park in the old railway-yard car park close to the bus station in Pontypridd. In the modern way you have to key-in your car’s registration number before putting coins in the payment machine.
I had four pound coins in my pocket and keyed-in my registration number before pushing a pound coin into the payment machine. The coin was returned and I had to try again — and again and again, trying each of the four pound coins in turn and becoming more and more embarrassed as a crowd grew up behind me.
I even asked the young lady directly behind me to key in the reg number for me, which she did. Yet again, however, the coin was rejected. She then suggested that perhaps I was using the wrong pound-coins. Eurika! I had been using the old-style coins except they were the only coins I had on me. In the kindness of her heart she gave me one of the new-style pound coins, and finally I came to the result I wanted.
As I got up this morning I suddenly remembered my embarrassment and sense of futility from continuing to do the same unsuccessful procedure with the same coins and the same failure each time at the car park. This struck me as a metaphor for Cardiff City at the moment. For coins and procedure read players and tactics, and the same embarrassing lack of success.
In my debacle at the car park the intervention of the young lady was like a miracle. Sadly, it hardly seems likely that Cardiff City, with the unavoidably inadequate squad and the reliance on ineffective tactics, are likely to experience their own miracle. To continue the “Jonah complex” mentioned by our revered blogmeister, we really do need a miracle, and a miracle of biblical proportions. All we can do in the meantime is keep the faith and hope for survival, even when experiencing “the dark night of the soul”.
I very much get Anthony’s scenario too.
We often keep saying or doing the same things as before, even when they haven’t given us the outcomes we want previously.
We have a tendency to keep doing them however, because we have an inner belief that they should work!
I’m sure Neil Warnock is no exception in this, although I also believe that ‘keeping the faith’ is what is needed at this stage to have any hope of Premier League survival.
Apparently it could have been 4 or 5 goals against us. Also the question should their guy have received a red card for his second foul. Not sure if this would have made any difference at all. Our defence is shocking . Where is Cunningham can he play centre back with Bamba out.
Niasse a big disappointment only received a score of 3 from Dominic Booth. I was talking to an Everton fan on Tuesday about Niasse. He said he was okay, but if you are losing eg 2-0, his head will drop and that is it.
Our only hope is trying to get another 10/11points. I had pencilled wins against Brighton, Fulham and Crystal Palace, but I think we can now forget Crystal Palace and perhaps Brighton.
I am also relying on other clubs to drop points eg Southampton, but they were unlucky yesterday against Manchester United to lose, they have more guts than us.
Alas we are on the downward trail, hoping for a better performance against West Ham, maybe a point, probably another loss, after their win over Newcastle yesterday
Thanks Paul for your input.
Amidst all the grimness, lovely and poetic thoughts from the MAYAn Brotherhood.
Hard to locate the Faith and Hope, but locate we must – and for this particular Jonah-in-Exile (repeating himself), hard to avoid the sense of there having been a half-hearted approach, from the moment we secured promotion.
Interesting about Niasse – these insights are priceless.
As ever – muchas gracias, Paul.
Paul et al – Anthony’s recollections and admissions causes me to confess to some recent and strange superstition like actions on my part in the hope of securing victorys. Following our Watford debacle, I was getting ready to go to the Everton game last Tuesday when I noticed a small hole in my sock. Believing it to be bad luck to change socks upon such discovery, I kept them on and we lost in inglorious fashion. The socks were consigned to the bin. Come Saturday and readying myself to go out at lunchtime guess what, another pair of socks worn with another hole. Now knowing that it was bad luck to continue wearing socks with holes in them, I changed for a pair without such damage. Further disaster. Should I stop wearing any socks???? Sorry everyone, current results are all my fault.
Over the week-end, I have watched a fair amount of football on TV. Common amongst all teams viewed was the energy shown by winners and losers. A quality seemingly lost by our lot in the last fortnight. It needs to be re-discovered quickly starting against the Hammers or it will be Championship football next season.
Bamba’s injury will cause NW selection headaches – I don’t envy him his task.
Anthony’s analogy was a very good one wasn’t it, but maybe our recent problems are down to BJA’s socks? Sadly, i think it’s nothing to do with old pound coins, socks or Jonah complexes – we have a squad which does not have the level of ability and technique that enables them to change their approach to playing the game like most of the other sides in this league do. Nevertheless, we have had a lot of success using our basic and unsophisticated methods in the past eighteen months and up until ten days ago they were giving us a decent chance of survival in the Premier League – we aren’t versatile or skillful enough to have a Plan B, but Plan A wasn’t working too badly for us.
However, something changed with our squad in the fortnight between the Southampton and Watford matches – I don’t know what it it was, but we aren’t the same as we were. Don’t just take my word for it, Danny Gabbidon, a pundit with the club’s best interests at heart who doesn’t follow the Chris “anything to be controversial” Sutton approach is saying that our opponents have not had to work hard to score against us in our last three matches;-
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/cardiff-city-legend-danny-gabbidon-15913761
For the first time this season, I think we have a definite “must win” match coming up – apart from a 4-1 win back in 2004 our home record against West Ham has been truly dismal in the time I’ve been watching us play, that needs to change on Saturday.
Hi Paul, I think one of main problems are the man to man marking system that NW seems to be using at the moment, the better players seem to be pulling our players all over the place at the moment, it’s creating huge gaps all over the place, our players then are absolutely lost! He needs to go back to basics and block off the spaces that man to man marking causes. RANT over
Hello Keith and welcome to the Feedback section. I can’t argue with you there, I think in particular of Newcastle’s first goal at St. James Park in January where Schar got past Niasse just inside the City half and was then allowed to run thirty yards with the ball before scoring because all of the City players between him and the goal were more concerned with who they were supposed to be marking than dealing with the dangerous situation that was developing in front of them. This is a consequence of giving your players so many defensive responsibilities – it only takes one of them to lose an individual battle and everything is then in danger of falling apart.