If you bought either The Journey Back, the book I co wrote with Richard Holt in 2013, or my book called Real Madrid and all that which was published last year, and are the sort of person who reads Acknowledgements sections, you may remember me writing about a website I used which proved particularly valuable when researching both books.
For the rest of you who don’t bother with such things, he’s what I had to say about the website in the Acknowledgments Section for the Journey Back;-
“Mention must be made as well of whoever it was who put together the superb Cardiff City website which Michael Morris sent me ten years ago. Sadly, it never went online in the public domain for some reason, but thank you very much to the person behind it for providing a reference tool which was of huge assistance to Richard and I”.
The fact that was written in September 2013 and talks about something which was ten years old then, tells you it is quite old now, but it’s right up there with the best reference works on Cardiff City Football club I’ve seen – in fact, it’s probably the best.
The site has eight sections as follows;-
The first section is called a season by season complete first team record which begins with a “chapter”on Riverside FC covering 1899 to 1910, then it settles down into the season by season records which features a team photo, in nearly every case, a pretty lengthy report on the season and a listing of results, including friendly games, right up until season 02/03.
Next, there is a players section covering the period 1920 to 2003 with a photo of the player, in most cases, then a biography and a breakdown of appearances on a season by season basis.
Then there’s is a self explanatory section on our playing record by competition 1920-2003, before a chapter on managers up until Alan Cork which contains a photo, biographical details and statistical analysis by competition for each of them.
After that there is a season by season playing record summary, following that there is a section on individual playing and scoring club records and the final part is on international appearances by City players.
It really is a site that deserves a much wider audience than it’s had until now and so, as a way of saying thank you to those of you who have supported and read this blog in the near twelve years of its existence, I’ve decided to send a Zip file of the site to any reader who wants one. I should say that when I’ve done this before for friends it hasn’t always worked for the person receiving the file. but in the large majority of cases, there hasn’t been a problem.
So, could anyone who wants a free Zip file of the site either contact me through the Feedback section or e-mail me at paul.evans8153@hotmail.com and I’ll get one off to you.
Once again, I should emphasise that if you are interested in City’s history and that of the men who played for and managed the club up to 2003, this really is something worth having.
Trusting you are recharging the batteries somewhat after the 2020-21 season. Yes, I would be grateful if you’d send me the file of stats re City prior to 2003. It would be greatly appreciated. I did buy your excellent, Real Madrid book.
Interestingly much has been made of City’s long ball game. We averaged 77 per game over the course of last season. The two-leg Swansea v Barnsley p/o games resulted in the Jacks disposing of 104 and 110 long-balls in the two games. Yet on Sky and radio … still the eulogising of the wonderful football they played went on. Could you imagine if we were averaging 107 longies a game what reaction we’d get? It’s bad enough at 30 less a game. Is this more to do with labelling clubs (positively and negatively) and come what may the label sticks?
I thoroughly enjoyed the Forest Green Rovers v Newport Co semi finals, particularly the second leg. The diet of overpaid prima donas we are subjected to in the PL, going down for 20 seconds motionless as if dead after minimal contact, hoping to cheat a free kick, or diving so exaggeratedly for a spot kick whilst refs are incapable of discerning the difference between a foul and a con has fast turned me off the product. On top of this the Establishment media either trot out the staple: ‘Yes there was contact,’ or, ‘It was just a coming together,’ to favour their darlings.
I think we need to start up the CfPF … a Campaign for Proper Football. The FGR v NC was a throw back to how football was and should still be played. Money has prostituted the PL and the morals of many who play it. Yes, the end of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons were difficult for obvious reasons and I suppose credit must be given for making the best of a bad job but this enforced armchair fan thought it was all a bit tame. The canned crowd effects made it sound contrived, which it was, Without fans and games, starting at daft times, it was like watching a run through by a theatre company in an empty theatre.
What football in 2021-22 will be like, who knows? Some will have taken up other pursuits to fill in the spare time we’ve had these last 18 months and may not return. However what is sure is whilst teams strive for the ever increasing financial rewards the PL brings the product is a million miles away from proper football. While I’m not advocating some of the x-certificate stuff we saw in the 70’s, at least in that decade players got up, even if injured, and continued with the game. Today it is normal for many to go down, supposedly injured, when many 10 yr olds I reffed, even when falling heavily on tarmac, got up and continued playing. Football has much to do, for me, at the top end to regain credibility that has disappeared like a cloud under the midday sun.
We can but dream, I guess.
Yes please Paul.
Love to have a copy.
Hi Paul,
Sounds like a great resource and welcome trip down memory lane. Please can you zip over to me as well please.
Many thanks
Huw
I hope the three of you now have access to the site (I know Steve has).
Steve, I’ve thought for a while that Swansea have negative and quite boring to watch – in total contrast to what is still said to be the “Swansea way” by the media. My go to site for things like possession stats have wiped their 20/21 figures already it seems, but I can remember being surprised at how often the jacks had less than fifty per possession this season. What they have got though is a good defence and I think they got a decent chance on Saturday for a couple of reasons, Brentford bottled automatic promotion and didn’t really turn up in the Play Off Final last season and, second, they’ve the worst Play Off record of any club in the league – I think this is their ninth time in them and they’ve still not gone up through them.
I agree about the County game on Sunday – I might have quite enjoyed the final day of the Premier League were it not for a feeling I couldn’t shake off that it was going to finish up exactly as it did with four clubs that many were calling for to have points docked or even be relegated qualifying for the Champions League with their greed and treachery being nothing but a distant memory it seems. Another thing which had me looking forward to the League Two Play Off game was that the modern day method of falling to the ground as soon as an attacker feels any contact in the Premier League would not apply at Forest Green. I can remember Robert Pires being absolutely slaughtered about fifteen years ago for doing what now happens as a matter of course in the greedy league and now referees who do not award penalties in such circumstances are being told to go and have another look at the incident by VAR officials – it seemed to me that there were three or four such incidents where a penalty was awarded for the sort of thing that saw Pires being called a cheat on Sunday.
Hi Paul,
Whoscored.com listed Swansea as having a 50.1% possession figure for the regular season in 2020-21.
https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/259/Show/Wales-Swansea
Incidentally, what an excellent website that City one is.
Yes, there has been a chipping away at the Corinthian spirit at the top of the pyramid these last few decades and now the unacceptable is acceptable. This has turned the game into a, ‘let’s see what can be achieved by cheating,’ competition. Even commentators say, ‘He bought a foul,’ or, ‘He won a foul,’ etc. I’m long enough in the tooth to be proud to say that even this I feel is distasteful. Football is not about winning fouls but winning games. Sadly too many are concerned about the former if it brings with it the latter. It is so endemic that they can’t see the hollowness of such an approach. I can remember an incident this last week where a PL footballer, stamped on a player’s calf who then flung out an arm. Player #1 went down clutching his face as if hit by George Foreman. Player #2 was duly sent off but no word of Player#1’s stamp. Admittedly I was hoping against hope as Player #1 was an England international.