Seven decades of Cardiff City v Millwall matches.

With yesterday’s claims that City tried to get Emiliano Sala insured the day after his fatal plane crash (I should say that the club have put out a statement on their website denying the allegation), things have reached a stage which I thought they never would – I get more enjoyment out of doing these quizzes than the match reports these days!

We’ve got yet another of those home games which are being called “must win” tomorrow. The same label was applied to the previous three league matches at Cardiff City Stadium and we didn’t win any of them. With what seems to be a week of aimless drift since our latest managerial sacking behind us, I see no likelihood of us beating Millwall and, you know what, I couldn’t care less what happens – after all, judging by the response on and off the pitch over these last few days, no one at Cardiff City does either.

None of that is a reason to not do the quiz though, so here’s seven questions on Millwall – as usual for Saturday games, I’ll post the answers on here on Sunday morning.

60s. With the middle name Skidmore, this defender was a fixture in Millwall teams for much of this decade after signing for them from a club with a relationship with a card suit for whom he played just three times. He only tasted defeat on one, pretty memorable, occasion with City in the six times he played against us for Millwall. When he left the Den, it was for nicer sounding surroundings not too far away to the west and then, after a season, he was on the move again to a team which did not wear their usual stripes at this time when he was part of one of the great FA Cup giant killings of the early seventies – he finished his career after playing non league football with Kentish Angels, but who is he?

70s. Millwall were playing in white when this full back joined them which meant that he didn’t need to change colours following his release by a First Division club where he had not played a game. In fact, the fifty nine games he played for the Lions were the only ones he ever played in the Football League – one of them being in a win over Cardiff in his only encounter with us. As it turned out, it was the arrival of a Cardiffian that helped to signal the end of his full time career and, upon his release, he signed for a close by non league side whose nickname is a “sport” (the inverted commas are me showing my grumpy old man disdain for this game being called a sport!) who, again, played in white. He also has a famous namesake from another sport who was in the news this week, can you name him?

80s. My heading the Doctors leads to participant in long running Cardiff City encounter! (5,10)

90s. Can’t see many takers for this six legger with curry starter!

00s. Scoring three Premier League goals as a teenager while playing for a long established top flight club suggested a better career for this striker than it turned out to be. After a sheepish loan spell, he next turned up at Millwall in a temporary move and did okay for them in a fifteen game spell which included a home draw with City. A year later, he was made available for transfer and moved for a six figure sum for the first of three spells with a south western club where I suppose he played his best football. He became a lower league journeyman for a few years and, eventually dropped into non league football, but his form for the other Bluebirds and then when he was wearing a hat were the cause of another two spells down west back in the Football League where he probably made most headlines for a six game suspension he received for a couple of incidents in a game against Port Vale. His final club were non league lambs – name him.

10s. Cardiff and Millwall were two of nine clubs this player was loaned to during this decade, can you name this recent opponent of City’s?

20s. Forthright approach towards ball stopping?

Answers

60s. John Gilchrist started his career in his native Scotland with Airdrieonians (the Diamonds) and moved to Millwall as a twenty year old in 1959. Gilchrist went on to play 279 league games for Millwall over the next decade and was in their team that was beaten 2-0 at a frozen Ninian Park when one of the goals came from Brian Clark heading a Millwll goal kick straight back into the net. Gilchrist spent the 69/70 season with Fulham and was in the Colchester team that shocked Leeds United by beating them 3-2 in a Fifth Round FA Cup tie at Layer Road in February 1971. Gilchrist retired from the game after a short spell at Tonbridge Angels.

70s. Eddie Jones signed for Millwall upon his release by Spurs in 1973 and in November of that year was in their team when they beat City 2-0 at the Den. The arrival of Jon Moore, a left back who had been in the same year at Cantonian school as me, saw Jones losing his first team place and he was released in 1977 when he signed for Dartford (the Darts).

80s. Teddy Sheringham – he played in all three matches for Millwall in a long running Third Round FA Cup tie which saw us winning through in a second replay at Ninian Park after a 0-0 stalemate at the Den and a 2-2 draw in Cardiff.

90s.  Anton Rogan (Josh). Maybe an apology’s needed for that one!

00s. After exploding on to the scene with Premier League goals for Everton before he reached twenty, Nick Chadwick’s career rather fizzled out. He was loaned out to Derby and Millwall, then sold to Plymouth before moving on to Hereford, then Shrewsbury.. Chadwick dropped into non league football after that as he played, very briefly, for Chester, then Barrow and Stockport before Plymouth offered him a way back into the Football League, first on loan and then permanently – upon his release by Plymouth, he signed for Tamworth (the Lambs) before retiring in 2015.

10s. Ben Amos, who was in goal for for Wigan against us last weekend.

20s. Frank Fielding.

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You’d have thought it was impossible, but feeble Cardiff hit a new low.

Well, Mauve and Yellow Army has been going for nearly thirteen and a half years now and I think I’m going to set a blog record tonight for the shortest piece ever for a first team game. I’m reaching the stage now where I’m running out of things to say.My football  club is a complete shambles on and off the pitch and I think we’re now in a situation where a hierarchy with a woeful record in all facets of the off field management side of the game and a worse one when it comes to on field matters have to come up with an inspired choice for our new manager because morale among players, other employees of the club and supporters must be at rock bottom now.

We lost 5-2 tonight at Elland Road in our Third Round FA Cup replay against Leeds, that sounds, and is, bad, but it could have been much, much worse. The term “soft touch” could have been invented with us in mind given our showing in the first half in particular

We were level with Leeds for just twenty five seconds or so of the game. Nineteen year old Wilfried Gnonto is a real talent and his volleyed finish was reminiscent of his fellow countryman Paulo DiCanio’s famous goal for West Ham against Wimbledon in the nineties. It was a great goal, but it was also the start of a tortuous night for Tom Sang who let the ball drift over his head as he, not for the last time, lost his man -Jac Alnwick was beaten on his near post as well, but I’m not sure too much blame should be attached to him, it was a superb finish which must have caught him by surprise.

City did work a nice free kick where everyone expected a cross into the box, but it was pulled back to Mark Harris who had room to get away a shot, but, typifying this team which has no confidence in front of goal, he didn’t catch the ball cleanly and it dribbled through to the keeper.

That apart, City were overrun and a second goal arrived on thirty four minutes when Jack Simpson criminally allowed a pass inside him to reach Rodrigo who was never going to miss.

Two minutes later it was 3-0 and this time Alnwick was to blame I thought as he was again beaten on his near post by a Gnonto shot.

Curtis Nelson headed a goal back just before half time or at least we thought he had, but VAR intervened because Andy Rinomhota, clearly stood offside, was deemed to be interfering with play – I thought it was a harsh call, but City were on the right end of a VAR decision when they were awarded a late penalty for a handball that had been missed by the officials and just about everyone else in he ground.

Dean Whitehead, City’s interim manager opted for a damage limitation policy by withdrawing Rubin Colwill and Harris at half time and replacing them with a defender in Cedric Kipre and a sitting midfielder in Ryan Wintle – I say damage limitation, because I can’t think of any other explanation for it (Whitehead’s post match comments appeared to confirm this)..

Whitehead could say his substitutions worked to the extent that we drew the second half 2-2 I suppose, but City weren’t much better after the break. They gave away a farcical fourth goal as, despite a five man defence, an offside looking Patrick Bamford was able to wander through in glorious isolation and easily beat Alnwick – replays showed Simpson had not pushed up with the other defenders..

Five minutes later, sub Callum Robinson lost possession cheaply just inside his own half and one pass later, Bamford was making it five.

It was Robinson who benefited when Luke Ayling made a right mess of a cross from Sheyi Ojo (our best player on the night I thought, although that’s not saying much) and the Irish international headed in from six yards. Then, in added time, Robinson drove his penalty down the middle to reduce the deficit further.

Clutching at straws, we did manage to score a couple of goals and at least this season’s squad have proved they can score a penalty, but our two goals in the first game didn’t lead to any improvement in our attacking play against Wigan last weekend, so why should they this time around when we face Millwall on Saturday?

We stank the place out tonight, just like we have been doing for the last month or so when, for me, performances and confidence have taken a real dip – an awful lot of people at Cardiff City Stadium need to pull their finger out and quick.

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