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!

Great Dane!

Watched the game on SKY. A good first half performance when we probably edged it but definitely under pressure in the second half and it was a good hard earned point by the end of the game. One or two of the lucky bounces went our way which is overdue.

RAVE: Kaspar Schmeicel's first half save - absolutely stunning and virtually earned him the man of the match accolade with one moment of inspiration! He definitely kept them in the game after halftime.

NEITHER RANT NOR RAVE: Mr Ridsdale says that he has been exonerated over his support for Dave Jones and that the last 2 performances have shown that the players are firmly behind their manager. I'm not so sure that another loss or two wouldn't put the pressure back on again but there can be no complaints about the commitment of the players.

Better!

RAVE: A one-nil win. The win is particularly welcome and a clean sheet as well! A good hard working performance and they never really looked like losing the game during the last quarter of an hour. Impressive the way they defended in the Ipswich half as well as our own.

RAVE: A cracking goal from Parry.

Lets hope for another good performance at Leicester tomorrow night - a second win now could really kick-start the season.