Another international break looms so soon after the pervious one and so you’d like to think thst Cardiff City will make a positive decision on the new manager in the days following Sunday’s visit to Bristol City.
Mind you, if we were to win at Ashton Gate and maintain the improvement seen on Tuesday when we managed to quadruple our points total, you have to feel that Omar Riza could well be told to continue his interim management. My preference would be to bring a new man in, but is that based on the fact that City have tried prolonging the caretaker manager’s tenure twice before and it definitely didn’t work with Mark Hudson and, while the sacking of Steve Morison may have come as more of a shock, he certainly wasn’t doing well enough to be offered up as an example which proved that the promote from within policy worked.
So, I accept that just because Hudson and Morison didn’t succeed, it doesn’t mean Riza will definitely flop. However, although it’s somewhat unfair, my attitude is that a win on Sunday should extend Riza’s “trial” for a game or two maybe, but it shouldn’t lead to a public statement from the club of the type we saw with Hudson and Morison.
Will we win on Sunday though? Our recent record against the wurzels is good and we will head there with more of a spring in our step, but, we were so bad in our first seven games that I believe we’d still really struggle if we conceded the first goal.
I’d take a point if it were offered now and feel we may get one, but that’s my heart talking, my head says we’ll lose and this will usher in the appointment of a new manager who will be given the chance of starting with home matches against Plymouth and Portsmouth.
Here’s seven Bristol City questions going back to the 60s with the answers to be posted on here on Monday.
60s. This defender was from the same place as a forward who went on to enjoy a far more illustrious career and they were team mates and friends at a club some way to the south when they began their careers. So, any confusion between the two was most likely down to the similarity of their surnames. While the forward went on to play the rest of his career in the top tier, his mate moved to Bristol City where he was a regular pick for most of the next seven years. When he moved on, it was to play for a couple of lower league strugglers from the same county, one of which is now, relatively speaking, prospering after years in the doldrums and the other is now back in familiar territory after having the time of its life in the noughties. I’ve just looked at a thread about our man’s death last year on a Bristol City forum and there appears to be confusion as to whether he was a “no nonsense” defender or a “cultured” one, but who is he?
70s. I only learned this morning that this midfielder, who was a skilful performer who never struck me as looking like your archetypal footballer. was christened with the same name as a member of England’s 1966 World Cup winning team and only became known by the name he used throughout most of his career to avoid confusion between the two. He began in the west country with his hometown club, originally signing as amateur to retain his job with British Rail, but soon became a professional and went on to play most of his career in the First Division before ending his days in league football at Ashton Gate for a short while – one of his twelve appearances for the wurzels came in a win over City, but can you name him?
80s. This defender played in at least one winning Bristol City side at Ninian Park during this decade, but probably doesn’t look upon our former ground with any great affection because of what happened when he returned there with another club in the nineties. He was quite a bit more than a journeyman as a player, but is the epitome of a lower league journeyman as a manager – he’s now at his eighth club, but has never managed at a level above League One. Do you know who he is?
90s. Pest trots on California land, but also has a spell at Cardiff! (5,8)
00s. Which Bristol City player of this decade made three visits to Cardiff City Stadium within four months early in the next decade with another club and lost them all – although he may dispute one of them!
10s. Which former Cardiff City Academy member was released by Bristol City without playing a game for them – he was playing for a Welsh team when he made his EFL debut and is currently a Bluebird?
20s. Sainted old coin perhaps?
Answers
60s. Gordon Low (his team mate, friend and fellow Aberdonian Denis Law played with him at Huddersfield). Low also played for Stockport and Crewe.
70. “Ernie” Hunt was, in fact christened Roger Hunt – he started off at Swindon and played for, among others, Wolves, Coventry and Everton.
80s.Keith Curle was the Manchester City captain who had a penalty saved by Mark Grew in the Nathan Blake inspired FA Cup shock at Ninian Park in 1994, Curle is currently manager of Hartlepool.
90s.Scott Paterson.
00s. Chris Weale was in goals for Leicester in a 4-2 FA Cup defeat at Cardiff City Stadium in January 2010, he was back for a 2-1 league defeat two months later and in early May, Leicester won 3-2 in a Play Off Semi Final Second Leg, only to lose the tie in a penalty shoot out.
10s. Aaron Amadi-Holloway who now plays for Chippenham Town who are nicknamed the Bluebirds.
20s. George Tanner.
