Good finish!

According to the BBC Sport website, Dave Jones believes that Cardiff are heading for a top 6 place. Well, as I said in my previous post, this is quite possible as there are so many teams of equal ability in the Champonship this season. The team are reaching the end of 2007 in the top half of the table (just), and are in good form at present.

However, before we get too carried away lets remember that Saturday's win was against Preston, who IMHO are one of the 2 worst teams to come to Ninian Park this year. Also, the form of Joe Ledley is starting to attract Premiership scouts. I fear we may lose him in the transfer window as there are any number of Premiership teams willing to offer stupid money to try to protect their status. Peter Ridsdale has quite openly said that every player is for sale at the right price. My guess is the right price for Joe Ledley is around £5m, and someone in the Premiership could be desperate enough to offer it.

However, on the positive side, it was another succesful trip to the Northwest. After a first win in many years in Blackpool before Christmas, we follow it up with the first win since 1986 at Preston. Roger Johnson, who looks a better buy every day, scored another of his powerful headers and Joe Ledley put away a good finish after a storming run.

Next game Plymouth - the team in 6th place in the table, five points above us at present. A win would put us 2 points behind them. Why not dream a litle of the playoffs in May?

Best of the Rest?

Nearly got revenge for the defeat earlier in the season - except the Watford equaliser came in the 5th minute of stoppage time when only 3 minutes had been called! Jobi McAnuff scored the equaliser - how often do former players do that? The Wales on Sunday and South Wales Echo were both very positive over the performance - the team seems to have lost some of the anxiety of recent weeks.

There is no reason not to believe at this point that Cardiff cannot be a top 6 team. This is not so much about the ability of Cardiff, but the fact that there is so little difference between top and bottom in this division. There are no outstanding teams showing themselves at present, and Cardiff are as good as most of the rest.

A win against Preston would really give them a boost, although their form at Deepdale over recent years has not been good.

Don't the games come thick and fast at this time of year!

Keeping it clean.

RAVE: A 1-0 win, but who cares? Young Kaspar kept another clean sheet, apparently the fourth since he came to play for us. Its a shame that Manchester City want him back in January but he will be fondly remembered at Ninian Park. I find it hard to believe that Sven considers Joe Hart to be a better keeper but I suppose we have to bow to his experience!

It was also the first game without Steve Thompson, as he is beginning a 3 match ban following the decision of Premiership referee Uriah Rennie in Bristol. However, the team played well and managed without him. One good thing to come out of this year's injury problems is a number of striker combinations who are used to playing with each other. For this game it was Parry and JFH - the pace of Parry continues to bother defences. It would be nice if we could find a big mobile striker such as Rowan Vine in the transfer window but I suspect finances will be too tight.

The half way point in the season - 14th in the table. A little disappointing following the pre-season enthusiasm but a lot better than was expected after the home game against Charlton!

Premiership - you're having a laugh!

RANT: Why do they have to send Premiership referees down to the lower levels? Do they think they are doing us a favour? Don't make me laugh. They are no better than their championship counterparts and can spoil games by their interpretation of the rules. This game was destroyed as a contest by Uriah Rennie (see pic) sending off Steve Thompson in the 15th minute, for what should have been a yellow card at most.

The goalkeeper was being deliberately provocative by shielding the ball out of play. Is it my imagination or is shielding the ball out of play like that a comparatively new phenomena. I can't help feeling that if this had been tried back in the sixties or seventies then someone like Stan bowles or Francis Lee (amongst others) would have kicked the goalkeeper's a__e half way up the stand?

A good effort by the team by all accounts despite being a player short for 75 minutes. Thompson has subsequently lost his appeal (why do these things have to be decided by the Welsh FA?) and is now missing for 3 games from Saturday. He has improved considerably over the last few games so lets hope his replacement can take up where he left off.

'Ere we go! 'Ere we go! Two in a row!

RAVE: Cracking goal from Steve Thompson - 3 goals in 4 games, and his fourth goal of the season. We brought in 3 new strikers in the summer and it turns out we had what we needed all along! Perhaps a bit early to get carried away, but he has been getting some goals to reward his hard work and looks a good player at present. His partnership with JFH is looking good, with JFH increasing in confidence all the time. Long may it continue!

NEITHER RANT NOR RAVE: Dave Jones says we won ugly. Good. I think. On balance I would rather win ugly than lose in a beautiful manner!

It was the first time we had won at Blackpool for over 30 years. Lets hope we can do a similar job against Bristol City on Saturday - another venue that we haven't had much success at over the years.

4-some!

Will the real Cardiff City please stand up? Could this really be the same team which had caused such deep depression just 4 days previously?

RAVE: Well, who knows which is the real Cardiff City, but this wasn't the same team as played Charlton. Dave Jones really put his job on the line by listening to the press (and the fans) by bringing in McNaughton for Capaldi and moving Ledley in to central midfield with McPhail (although some felt it should have been Rae). This meant that Whittingham was to start on the wide left for the first time this season. Less controversial was JFH back for McClean. But Jones also had the cojones to drop Purse and bring in Johnson. A defeat in this game after these changes and he would have had to go.

RAVE: The game. Although the opposition was weak, the performance was convincing and you could see the confidence coming back to the team. Didn't panc when they went behind to a sloppy goal against the run of play and totally outplayed them in the second half. The Colchester defence was very poor and I would be concerned if I was a Colchester supporter. Great save from Kaspar at 1-1 and it was one way traffic from then.

RAVE: Peter Whittingham - a great game back and my man of match.

LET BATTLE COMMENCE !

The relegation battle, that is. A season that started with high hopes of possibly a top six spot has already dissolved into a relegation battle by December. Last night they were just bad bad bad. I have rarely left a game feeling so depressed. Most of the crowd were too miserable to boo. We were awful and just not in the same class as Charlton. Not that Charlton were that good but we were terrible.Dave Jones will have to work miracles to pick this team up for Saturday. And after the good performances of the last week. Gloom. :-(

Just to make things more worrying, there is the threat of administration hanging over the club. If the court case is not heard next week then the club could run out of money. This seems rather farcical and shows the worst excesses of the legal system if this is allowed to happen. £20,000 a day in legal fees? For what is an open and shut case (if Mr Ridsdale is to be believed). I'm in the wrong game.

Even Terry Phillips in the South Wales Echo couldn't rate any body at more than 5 out of 10 for last night. Two games now against teams on the same number of points as us. Crucial relgation 6 pointers already! I hope they pick up their form but I have a nasty feeling its going to get worse before it gets better. Jones' days are numbered, again. 2 defeats and he's out. Gloom.gloom.

First goal on radio!

RAVE: I was actually listening to Radio Wales when Roger Johnson scored the equaliser. This is the first goal I have heard "live" this season. I even listened to the Sheffield United match and missed all 3 Cardiff goals but heard all 3 of the opposition! Lets hope I've started a new trend for the rest of the season.

NEITHER RANT NOR RAVE: (but probably a rave): Well - the score on Saturday. There's something about a late equaliser that gives you confidence for the next match. The Radio Wales commentators said that this was one of city's best performances of the season so to have come away with nothing would have been an injustice. Well, a late equaliser after some of the games this season was very welcome - perhaps we are starting to make our own luck and some of the good performances will be rewarded and the bad ones not punished!

NEITHER RANT NOR RAVE: Kaspar Schmeicel -penalty save then missed cross for second goal. Lets hope he learns from it - he owes us nothing, that's for sure!

Charlton tonight - lets keep up the pressure on a team out of form and do ourselves some good at the same time!