Seven decades of Cardiff City v Luton Town matches.

Posted on August 21, 2025 by The other Bob Wilson

When you consider that Luton Town were most people’s favourites to win the League One title this season, the trip to Kenilworth Road this Saturday lunchtime has to be regarded as our toughest game of the season doesn’t it?

On paper it probably is, but, although they have nine points from twelve, I think it’s fair to say that the Hatters have not been too convincing so far as they’ve completed 1-0 home wins over AFC Wimbledon, thanks to a freakish late own goal, and Wigan, plus a 2-0 victory at Peterborough along with Saturday’s surprising 2-1 loss at Bradford.

As for us, we’re unbeaten against four teams that are generally felt to be more concerned with a possible relegation than a surprise promotion this season and have, deservedly, beaten three of them while being lucky to escape with a draw in the fourth match.

I think an unbiased observer would look at the two squads facing each other on the weekend and deduce that Luton will improve on their rather unspectacular start to the campaign. After all, they have still garnered enough points to keep them up there near the top while being some way short of their best.

As for us, my guess is that the neutral watcher would be impressed by some of the football we’ve played plus how many promising young players we seem to have, but will have noted the seemingly serious injury to Ollie Tanner and concluded that our small, largely inexperienced, squad is not big or strong enough to cope with the demands of a long and busy season.

Although supporters are being constantly assured that signings will be coming, it’s reached the stage now where I’m beginning to wonder if they will. Unless ot until we get something happen to prove me wrong, I’ll keep on believing that we need to sell, or at least get someone giving us a loan fee and paying a portion of the player involved’s wages , before we can bring further recruits in. Furthermore, I still find it hard to believe that there are clubs out there who are prepared to risk their money on players who, generally speaking, did little to justify their high wages last season.

I heard someone on a podcast yesterday saying that they had been assured by someone at the club that Salech and Rubin Colwill witl not be leaving the club during this window. A few weeks ago, I would have expected Alex Robertson’s name to be included as well – now, I’m not saying this means we’re definitely going to sell Robertson, but I do wonder how strong our resolve would be if someone came in for him or, say, David Turnbull?

As for Saturday, Luton have had the better of us recently after a spell where we were dominant in the fixture and I’m afraid I can see that trend continuing on Saturday. I think it could be a pretty comfortable home win, although, in saying that, this young City team continue to surprise me and I may be guilty of underestimating both them and the ability of BBM to quickly improve players under his charge.

On to the quiz then – the answers will be posted on here on Sunday.

60s. As a youngster he wore amber and maroon for a short while before being picked up by Luton and he became a familiar face in their defence for close to a decade before a loan spell at a team which represents two places became a preface for a brief spell with a club that, like Luton, have links with things that people wear. His post playing career was slightly unusual in that after being a coach for a few years, he was offered the manager’s job and took the club to what was, and probably still is, a highest ever league position in his first season in charge, only then to resign because he didn’t think he was cut out to be a manager. He returned to oaching a few years later, it was always to the same club, and stayed for a further twelve years, but who is he?

70s. I suppose the word “unlucky” would best describe this midfielder’s playing and managerial career. Although born in Bedford, his form when he first broke into the Luton team prompted speculation that another World Cup winning country, not England, were monitoring him. However a broken leg set him back and then in his comeback game, he broke the same leg again. Although he recovered to play a part in a promotion, he left for America for a short while not long afterwards. Returning to England to play in blue by the seaside, he then moved to play in the same colour for a team which would be a contender for the one furthest away from the coast I suspect. Next, he played on an island that was once awarded a medal and he then finished his full time career playing for amber or yellow intellectuals. When it came to management, his first job, like his second one, was at a club he had played for. He got the chance to manage when the man who had brought him to the club to be his assistant, became club Chairman and promptly offered our man his old job. His second spell in charge ended when the man brought in as Director of Football, sacked him and promptly appointed himself in his place! Can you name who I’m describing?

80s. Linear day for local boy, transferred to Portsmouth. (3,6)

90s. Soap opera family meets hesitant adherent and comes to Luton for a second time during this decade.

00s. They both share the same name and played in the dame position. One of them played one game, a Football League Trophy encounter with Brentford, for Luton during this decade and the other one scored in the Olympics, scored a hat trick in a Play Off Final and scored his club’s first Premier League goal – he also had a trial for a side City have played this season during the summer. What is the name in question?

10s. Which current manager of a Championship club played for fourteen different teams in a twenty year playing career, including two spells with Luton during this decade?

20s. Which member of the current Luton squad was called up to train with the full England squad in 2010?

Answers

60s.John Moore played briefly in his native Scotland, for Motherwell, before signing for Luton in 1965 and stayed for eight years. Following a loan spell with Brighton and Hove Albion, Moore joined Northampton for a short while before retiring. Returning to Luton to work under David Pleat’s management, Moore became manager when Pleat left and steered the Hatters to a seventh place finish in the old First Division in  85/86 before resigning, only to return as a coach again in 1991 for a further dozen years.

70s. Italy were seemingly interested in recruiting Lil Fucillo on the back of his impressive performances for Luton in the late seventies, but injury held him back and, eventually he signed for Southend before moving on to Peterborough. Fucillo then played for Valetta of Malta before returning home to play for Cambridge United. When Peterborough manager Chris Turner became the club Chairman, he appointed his assistant Fucillo to replace him, whereas  when Joe Kinnear became Luton’s Director of Football, one of the first things her did was sack manager Fuccillo and replace him with himself!

80s. Luton born Ray Daniel played for both Luton and Cardiff – we sold him to Portsmouth in 1990.

90s. Mitchell (doubting) Thomas.

00s. Scott Sinclair played a single game for Luton in 2008 and his namesake scored for Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics, he also scored a hat trick for Swansea in their Championship Play Off Final win over Reading and scored the jacks’ first ever Premier League goal against West Brom.

10s. Alan Sheehan (Swansea).

20s. Reserve goalkeeper James Shea.

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Cardiff finally break down stubborn AFC Wimbledon (plus homer ref) to get first away win.

Posted on August 20, 2025 by The other Bob Wilson

Cardiff City kept up their good start to their season by making it ten points from four games to remain in second place with coming up to ten percent of the season played – if we keep this up, we’re on for a hundred points plus!

I’m not holding my breath on getting a century of points though because tonight’s 1-0 win at an AFC Wimbledon team widely tipped to finish bottom of the league by many before a ball was kicked presented a challenge which it looked like City would be unable to answer until a goal in added time swung the game our way.

I think the result was a fair one because we were the better side over the ninety minutes, but a Wimbledon team that owed their promotion through the Play Offs mostly to their excellent defensive record, clearly know how to stay in games when having to absorb pressure. 

Evidence of this was provided in the first half as City, playing far better than they did in their only previous away game at Port Vale, enjoyed a domination of the ball and territory as complete as it was against Rotherham on Saturday. However, it produced very little in terms of chances to show for that domination. Some of this was down to us lacking a cutting edge or a good enough quality final ball, but Wimbledon’s defending was very good for much of the time and, on this showing, there are definitely worse teams than them in League One.

City were never as dominant or impressive in the second half and gradually Wimbledon, confident after two wins in three in the league and a League Cup win, came out from their defensive trenches to look the more likely to break the deadlock through the game’s last quarter as their more direct attacking play resulted in more near things than our more intricate approach could come up with.

It had reached the stage where, after thinking a goal had to come for City through the first half, I was happy to accept a second successive away goalless draw through the last ten minutes. However, as the match went into added time, the pendulum swung back somewhat and it was us who looked like we could win – as we duly did in the ninety second minute.

City made two changes, one of them very predictable as Joel Bagan came in for Dak Mafico at left back and the other less so as David Turnbull, many people’s man of the match on Saturday, made way for Joel Colwill.

The younger Colwill was in the action straight away as City made a forceful start by stamping the BBM approach on the game from the off. In the third minute, Joel drove deep into the Wimbledon penalty area in the inside right channel only to be felled by an impetuous challenge by Steve Seddon. It was as obvious a penalty as you could wish to see, but, referee David Rock began as he would go on by awarding a goal kick!

Mr Rock constantly gave fifty/fifties in the home team’s favour, he stopped a dangerous City attack because of a clash of heads, which was fair enough, but then he restarted play with a free kick to the home side. He spotted a handball that was hard to see on replays of the incident when Cian Ashford hit the post in the second half. He then ended the night with another howler of a decision when City cleared a corner deep into added time and when Isaak Davies played it forward, we had a two on one with the home goalkeeper Nathan Bishop, who had come up for the corner with his team trailing well into added time, out of position, but Mr Rock stopped play to award City a free kick for a foul on Davies.

There was also a penalty claim against a Wimbledon defender for handball which didn’t go our way (I must say mind it was nowhere near as obvious a penalty as the earlier one was).

Mr Rock was a homer, simple as that, and, if he had done his job properly and awarded us a penalty in the opening minutes, we could have maybe ended up with a much more comfortable night.

As it was though, despite all of our attractive and enjoyable approach play, there was only a Yousef Salech header from a Ronan Kpakio cross that flew just wide, a viciously struck Ollie Tanner shot that did not bend back round enough to be on target and a Tanner cross just out of Joel Colwell’s reach to really worry Wimbledon in the first half.

For their part, home captain Jake Reeves flashed a shot not too far over, but there was little else of note in attack from the Wombles until they got a few crosses in during added time when City were coming to terms with the loss of Ollie Tanner after he injured himself falling into an advertising hoarding which necessitated him being carried off on a stretcher.

Tanner was replaced by the less dynamic Chris Willock, but after his no show at Port Vale, Willock’s more deliberate style became more of a factor as the game moved into its final stages and, unlike some of our substitutes, he could be said to have made a positive impression.

For a spell after half time, City were still fluent and forceful, but the introduction of Turnbull, Davies and Callum Robinson for Joel Colwill, Ashford and Salech didn’t work for me – I know that sounds daft when you consider two of them combined for the goal, but the ball kept on coming back at us in the final quarter on a night when, more and more, you had to look at defenders when trying to find our best players.

I say that, but Rubin Colwill was bright and confident if a little careless at times with his passing, yet, rather like the team in the first half, it looked like there was a big threat there, but nothing really came of it.

All of the back four did some valuable defensive work when called upon on a night where a game that was always watchable produced just three on target efforts. The first came from Alistair Smith when his long range effort was easily held by Nathan Trott while the other two provided the late drama at either end of the pitch.

The home side came closest to breaking the deadlock when Smith I think it was shot just wide from the edge of the penalty area, but Willock’s cross caused problems and when the ball dropped to Robinson eight yards out it seemed we were finally going to get a goal, but his well struck shot was blocked with City players claiming a penalty for handball.

 Home sub Omar Bugiel looked to be in on goal, but was robbed of possession just as he tried to shoot and then when Calum Chambers, on for Bagan, swung in a lovely cross from the right, Robinson headed over when he really should have scored.

That seemed to City’s last chance gone, but when Willock’s cross was half cleared to Turnbull, his shot looked to be going just wide until it was nudged in by Davies from six yards out.

Still there was drama as, just about for the first time on the night, some weak defending left another sub, Antwoine Hackford free to get in a cross shot which was going in until Trott produced his first great save for City as he turned the low shot around a post.

Finally, a quick note to record that the under 21’s won impressively by 3-0 at Crewe yesterday afternoon thanks a goal by Troy Perrett and two by young Rob Tankiewicz who I believe is still sixteen..

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