Joe Ledley in signing talks with Celtic

As Cardiff City fans dream of the (still remote) possibility of Craig Bellamy donning a Bluebirds shirt next season, they may now have to face the nightmare of losing star and icon Joe Ledley to Celtic for nothing!


Ledley has been in VIP talks with the Scottish SPL side today and is already believed to be heading north to Celtic Park for a tour and further discussion.

Cardiff City would dearly like to keep Joe but he is out of contract and attracting the interest of several Premiership sides but it would cost them compensation which does not apply if Joe moves to Scottland. Celtic believe this gives them the edge as they can offer higher wages gambling that they can cash in by selling Joe to the Premiership in 12 months time. For Joe, Celtic offer Champions League football.

Scottish sources are very positive that a deal is very close.

Hells Bells - Bellamy contemplates playing for Cardiff City

It may be a story with more talk than reality but Cardiff City's aim to somehow bring Craig Bellamy to the club had a touch more realism about it as the player himself told BBC that if Manchester City do not wish to keep him, he does not wish to consider another club in England or Europe and becuase his family live in Cardiff, it would limit his next move to only one place.

It seems incredulous Bellamy, after a stunning Premiership season, would want to drop to the Championship with Cardiff but he has fallen out with the manager (Mancini) and with a couple of the Board members too so there is repair work to be done.

Cardiff could not afford a transfer fee or Bellamy's wages so any move despends solely on it somehow being a loan or Bellamy managing to sever his contract.

I still think he will resolve his problems at Manchester City and probably last longer than Mancini anyway but jhis quotes today will spark another round of gossip and, in South Wales, mild excitement.

Championship 2010/2011 - a throwback to yesteryear?

The Sarf Lan-danners of Millwall won today's League One play-off final at Wembley beating Swindon 1-0, recovering for their play-off final defeat 12 months ago, to become the 24th team in next season's Championship.

It has a distinctly nostalgic feel about it - not necessarily in a good way -with Cardiff City, Leeds United, Millwall, Portsmouth, Swansea City and Bristol City all in the same division.

The 'look' last time all these clubs were on equal terms

A real throwback to the 1970's and, no doubt, media will be quick to pick on on the potential for problems. In fact. I've already heard 1 national radio station discussing exactly that.

6 out at City but no surprises

Dave Jones told 8 players that they were not being offered and new contracts and they imeediately left the club.

Warren Feeney, Peter Enckleman, Aaron Morris, Josh Magennis and Tony Capaldi while Riccy Scimeca formally retired.

Tony Capaldi always seemed to be out of favour but was the only player to get a decent amount of firt team football this season and will surely get another Championship club quickly. Feeney's contribution was mostly laughable, he was a nice guy but a terrible signing and looks set to drop to League One football which is more at his level.

Joe Ledley is out of contract with a few Premiership clubs showing interest (they would have to pay compensation) and the Scottish "giants?" of Rangers and Celtic offering European football and they could take him for nothing. However City are making a concerted effort to keep the local lad and are reportedly willing to make him a supreme offer.

Miguel Comminges is recovering from major surgery but was allowed a 6 month contract to get fit and then enable him to find a new club and young keeper Santiago was given a 65 month pro contract to prove his case for being City's third keeper.

One final thing - Kelvin Etuhu's loan is over and he has been sent packing to Manchester City. An awful loan who promised much but delivered nothing.

Is This The Dawning of a New Era?

For as long as I’ve been alive, Cardiff City have talked about a new start, a dream, transparency, keeping the faith and the end of its problems … and then of course, we get the reality and crisis until a rescue or takeover is mounted and we’re promised the very same things.

However, Cardiff City Football Club, despite having to resolve its jumbo-sized debts courtesy of the regimes of Sam Hammam and Peter Ridsdale who both spent unwisely with other people’s money, do finally seem to be on the verge of something exciting and which could have the necessary stability behind it.

Time will tell if this is another phoney chapter or the greatest era yet in modern times with the club as today’s EGM needed just 15 minutes to formally approve the investment of T.G. and Vincent Tan while formally saying goodbye (and informally saying good riddance!) to Peter Ridsdale, Keith Harris and Alan Flitcroft.

THE SPECIALS sing Dawning of a New Era in homage to T.G. and Cardiff City of course!

In came a new Board with T.G. as Chairman, Vincent Tan is onside too along with Steve Borley, Alan Whitely and Paul Guy. Gerthin Jenkins was confirmed at new Chief Executive and we have a new Finance Director too.

In what will be seen as a marker and statement of intent, T.G. said how proud he was to head the club and that it will be 2 nations united (Malaysia and Wales) but that he is aiming for a Top Two place as he couldn't put himself through the play-offs again. He promised an exciting future but emphasised how the club must control its finances.

Time will tell if these fine words are backed up by investment for a major promotion assault but for now, let's just be thankful Ridsdale has gone and the club can look forward. That'll do for me!

The Damned and U.K. Subs return Cardiff to 1978

A punk-tastic night with The Damned and U.K. Subs in Cardiff tonight playing at the Millennium Music Hall. Here's a few vids.

THE DAMNED
SMASH IT UP
(eVERYBODY'S SMASHING THINGS NOW)


THE DAMNED
NEW ROSE
(Punk's first ever hit record)



THE DAMNED
LOVE SONG

CAPTAIN SENSIBLE
I SAID CAPTAIN, HE SAID WHAT?
(Classic, messy punk with Charlie Harper, now 66 yrs old!)

CAPTAIN SENSIBLE
I SAID CAPTAIN, HE SAID WHAT?
(A compromise as he wanted to play Happy Talk)

Swansea City mourn as striker passes away

Very sad to hear that Swansea's young Austrian striker Besian Idrizaj, aged 22, died of a suspected heart attack in his sleep at his parent's house last night, which is shocking.

The player arrived ijn this country as a Liverpool signing and scored a hat-trick for them at Wrexham but his stay was brief and it was at other clubs too until Swansea took him on a 2 year deal which still had a year to run.

Idrizaj, who made just 3 appearences this term, is believed to have collapsed on the pitch on a couple of previous occasions.

Thoughts and condolences go to his family, friends and Swans fans who knew him.

A hilarious tribute song to an equally hilarious penalty miss

A Leicester fan signs his "tribute"(?) to Yann Kermogant's fantasticaly stupid penalty last night at CCS that cost his side the two legged tie and sent Cardiff City laughing, singing, crying and dancing all the way home knowing just 90 minutes at Wembley stands between them and the Premier League.

Fight - it's a Danish goal celebration

Play-Offs: Leicester 0 CARDIFF CITY 1 the newspaper reports

The Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/

The Guardian

http://tinyurl.com/2vhqmom

The Independent

http://tinyurl.com/38wsd6m

The Telegraph

http://tinyurl.com/2drxw6x

Daily Mail

http://tinyurl.com/2uvofax

Daily Express

http://tinyurl.com/3yheqlu

The Sun

http://tinyurl.com/34dahlc

The Western Mail

http://tinyurl.com/37l88u3

Championship Play-Off semi 1st leg: Leicester City 0 Cardiff City 1

A superb performance by Cardiff, controlling the first half, fighting a rearguard action in the 2nd, applying a spell of pressure which led to a wonderful goal and holding out against a late onslaught takes them one step closer to Wembley and 2 games away from a historic date with the Premier League.

3,000 Bluebirds, myself included, sang their hearts out in a Walker Stadium crowd of almost 30,000 making most of the noise and atmosphere as Cardiff recorded a hard fought but deserved win as City created more and better chances with Chops hitting the post, Jay hitting the bar, other close shaves but Dave Marshall had to produce two stunnignlate saves to preserve the lead.

The winner, on 78 minutes, came from a Peter Whittingham, wide angled, 25 yarder which comprehensively beat Foxes keeper Chris Weale at his near post. A stunning strike which was Beckham-esque and would still be talked about had it been netted by a Brazilian or a Premier League star ... which Whitts might be with City next season! That was his 24th of the campaign, truly incredible.

The 2nd leg will be at a seething passionate Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday night.

Here's the goal, you got to love it.

Goodbye Saltergate from a Bluebird

As the old cliché goes, it’s a sign of progress that Cardiff City never go there, or think about going there anymore, but it’s only 7 years ago we last visited the place and new were there 4 times in as many years.

I always found it, in keeping with that crooked spire, one of the weirdest away towns to visit as the pubs were quaint, the townsfolk contained some of the ugliest folk I’ve ever seen (many resembled a scientific chemical test gone wrong), a fair portion of the home fans were the nastiest around hanging about on street corners looking out for Cardiff fans to pick off (a classic small town mentality amongst them) and one bizarre experience where my brother completely lost the plot in a way I’ve never seen before or since (thankfully). He went AWOL after the game, somehow ran the 7 miles from the town to the M1 and was picked up on the M1 hard shoulder. Only in Chesterfield!

However there were highlights as the ground, including;

A big open away end

Chesterfield fans running a full length terrace towards us at half-time until City ran over and banged on a corrugated iron fence separating them and us (the deafening thudding from City fans was enough to send them scarpering 100 yards quicker than they ran towards us and into another terrace behind the opposite goal).

Danny Gabbidon scoring a back-heeled flick at a corner as we headed to promotion

Gareth Ainsworth doing cart-wheels, back flicks and bowing as he was felled for free-kicks

A game where it peed down non-stop and monsoon like on us and every City fan was soaked through from head to toe. I’ve only ever been wetter at a football match once in my life (Chelsea in the early 80’s) made worse as we were 2 up early on (Kevin Evans scoring a 30 yard cracker in front of us) but we ended up drawing.

Video of the Week - FEEDER, Call Out

Well not so much a vid as the song but Feeder have today preiered their new single out in mid-June and it's classic Feeder.

Something for Everyone - coming to you!

It's been announced that DEVO#s new album, the first in more than a decade, will be released on June 15th.

DEVO fans were allowed to vote for their favourite 12 tracks from a list of 16 so the final order is awaited. However the simple but effective album cover has been shown - Eat My Helmet indeed!