Cardiff City’s gradual decline under Vincent Tan can be measured by our recent record against teams like Hull (we may have beaten them recently, but they’d done the double over us in each of the past three seasons), Luton, QPR, Preston and Blackburn.
Time was, we’d beat these teams fairly often (and we still do in the case of Preston, but barely ever at home). Now though, they’ve all overtaken us in recent years and, surely, go into games with City expecting to win.
Back in December 2012, the City team that won the Championship title went to Ewood Park and won in front of the Sky cameras, Now, history has judged our 12/13 team to be effective, but not great to watch – that’s probably a fair assessment, it was generally a team which got the job done, but, certainly from around November onwards, I wouldn’t say entertainment was a high priority.
However, that night in Blackburn, City sent out a statement to the rest of the division in the second half in particular as they scored three times to secure a 4-1 win which was as impressive as it sounds.
Since then it’s as if that night we used up all of the Cardiff feelgood factor for when they visit Blackburn for the next decade and more. There’s been the occasional draw, but, generally, it’s been miserable and deserved defeats in which City showed little to excite travelling fans. In the main, defeats have been by 1-0, but we’ve now let in five in two of our last four visits to Ewood Park, so, even though Rovers aren’t in the best of form, the potential is there for another defensive collapse from Cardiff.
In his somewhat bizarre press conference yesterday, Omer Riza singled out Blackburn at home as one of three very disappointing defeats during his time in charge (the others were Leeds and Oxford – has he forgotten Tuesday already?). However, whereas Leeds and Oxford saw miserable City performances, Blackburn was a little different in that I’d say, there’s been quite a few games we’ve played worse in, but that day we were outplayed by a side with a record which doesn’t really merit the quality of performance they came up with that day.
In fact, I’d say Blackburn are probably the best team to have visited Cardiff City Stadium this season – certainly, they cut us to ribbons that day. Given how low we sank on Tuesday, Blackburn will only have to play a fraction as well as they did in Cardiff to beat us with a bit to spare tomorrow.
The only thing i can cling on to is that the last time I felt this downbeat about our survival chances (after the Oxford loss on Boxing Day), we went to Watford, with their unbeaten home record, and won 2-1. So, there’s still hope, but the truth is that anything other than a fifth straight defeat would come as a very pleasant surprise.
On to the quiz then, I’ll post the answers on here on Sunday.
60s. I’m not sure this Scottish winger’s surname was greeted with the same hilarity as it would be twenty years later, but, looking at his career now, the only time he ventured away from a club in the north of England, he won the one promotion in what was a thirteen year career. For the rest of the time, there were a couple of relegations, but, generally, he seemed to specialise in mid table mediocrity, often for sides that had seen better days. Starting off at Blackburn, he moved to another club with a unique kit (they do these days anyway) to experience that promotion, before a return to Lancashire to wear blue in the third tier. There was then a short move to play for nomads with a ground that no longer exists for a season before a longer stay in a place with an unusual spire. His last four clubs all saw him staying with them for just a season, the first were a county set from the Manchester suburbs, the second played at a ground that is traditionally viewed as one of the coldest in the country, then it was back to Lancashire to play in white, before he finished off in Yorkshire with a club which, historically, would probably be the biggest he played for, but they were arguably at their lowest ebb when he spent his last season in the game with them, can you name the player being described?
70s. Strangely, this striker shares his surname with a place associated with a foodstuff that was once banned by Oliver Cromwell for it’s association with raucous celebrations! The place in question was, for someone born in Yorkshire, on the other side of the tracks so to speak and he started his career off with the red rose at Blackburn where he was something of.a back up for the four years he was with them. A move to the east Midlands to play in yellow boosted his career though as his goals over a three years spell attracted the attention of one time treble winners from his home county. However, he was hardly prolific with them and, after an equally arid time of it in Greece, he turned up at a Crescent where he found goals easier to come by, before finishing his career at what became known as the Theatre of Chips, who is he?
80s. Did he have a keen voice and, perhaps, an iron will? (5,6)
90s. Sounds like a dull Boz.
00s. Possible name for the person to sing an amalgam of I’m in the mood for Dancing and something else?
10s. Number 10 stabbing?
20s. Definitely the oldest man by the sound of it.
Answers
60s. Malcolm Darling (Captain Darling was a character in the fourth series of Blackadder whose name prompted an obvious, but funny, running joke through all six episodes) played on the wing for Blackburn from 1965 to 1970 before a move to Norwich as that club were promoted in 71/72. Darling next signed for Rochdale before spending the 73/74 season at Bolton, next there were three seasons at Chesterfield before shortish stays at Stockport, Hartlepool, Bury and Sheffield Wednesday.
70s. I’d rate Eccles cakes as a take ‘em or leave ‘em food, but Oliver Cromwell clearly wasn’t a fan. Moving on, Terry Eccles played just under fifty league games for Blackburn, before prospering at Mansfield, then struggling at Huddersfield (the first club to win the First Division title in three consecutive seasons). The goals didn’t come for him at Ethnikos Piraeus either, but he did better at Bootham Crescent, York, before finishing up at what became the McCain Stadium, home of Scarborough.
80s. Vince O’Keefe.
90s. Matt Dickins.
00s. Eddie Cochran sang the original version of Something Else and I’m in the mood for Dancing was the Nolan Sisters’ biggest hit – Eddie Nolan played three times for the Republic of Ireland and made 350 league appearances in a seventeen year career, but the only first team football be played for Blackburn in his time there between 2006 and 2009 came in the UEFA Cup.
10s. Jay (the tenth letter of the alphabet) Spearing.
20s. Adam Forshaw.
