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.
I’ve received the following from regular contributor BJA – not much to add to it really, there was a lack of fight and heart in the team which was inexcusable given their were a sprinkling of fringe players involved who must have known that there were first team places up for grabs.
I’ve just read that Vincent Tan wants to give Dean Whitehead a “bit more time” in his post before making a decision on a new manager. That is the last thing we need – there’s a fortnight without a fixture after today, that should be time used to get a new man settled in at Cardiff and to let him try to bring in players he wants to the club, not ones that were discussed with Mark Hudson earlier this month.
“Good evening Paul – What a humiliation. 30 seconds in and we’re one down and quite frankly, as the night progressed, the limitations of our “stand ins” were exposed. Leeds were able to score at will and In seventy years of watching the City there have not been many worse performances. I recall matches at home against Wolves and Bolton in the fifties but those were a lifetime ago, and then, of course, there was our recent capitulation against Swansea. But last night –ugh.
I understand our temporary supremo seemed pleased to state that we competed in the second half which we were able to draw and also that we scored two late goals. If that performance had taken place at home, I doubt that there would have been many remaining in the ground to witness the final minutes.
It would be invidious to identify those whose performances brought about this result, but the more I think about it, should not the overall blame be directed at the Club’s hierarchy whose current policy of hiring and firing Managers clearly has had the effect of unsettling all players? Those who wore the blue shirt last night must be wondering about their own futures and concerned as to whether it will be at the Cardiff City Stadium. Whoever comes in to oversee proceedings for the next four months has a gigantic task on his hands to correct matters on the pitch to prevent what appears to be an inevitable slide to League 1.
And much as I hate myself for this next statement, there is a strong possibility that I will not be renewing my season ticket. I think like many, I’ve had enough.”