City Cock It Up at Home Yet Again, now held by Palace

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6th
CHAMPIONSHIP - Game 14/46 - at NINIAN PARK

CARDIFF CITY (1) 1
Purse 9

CRYSTAL PALACE (1) 1
Watson (pen) 44



Bluebirds fans walked into Ninian Park after being leafleted to buy bricks for the new stadium (I knew we couldn't afford it!) with your names engraved on them for between £40 and £80. It was just as well there wasn't an instant sale as they would have no doubt found their way pitchside. .

City and Crystal Palace collectively cannot buy a win between them so it was (dis)honours even at 1-1, a result that leaves Cardiff in 19th and only 2 points above the drop zone and Palace in 23rd. The game was every bit as bad as league standings would suggest, looking every inch the proverbial 6 pointer. Entertainment shocking, quality non-existent. Standards so low at times and I was starting to wonder if I'd walked in a time machine and been transported back to City's darkest days in the 80's and 90's, it really was that awful.

Darren Purse lead by example giving City an early lead but, yet again, instead of building on it, City sat back and lost it and their way. Palace's equaliser was an unjust penalty and the refereeing was shocking but don't allow them as excuses, it won't wash with those who endured this encounter. Once again, what we watched was nowhere near good enough from the boys in blue and , in many phases, simply unacceptable.

Cardiff's problems remain so obvious that David Blunkett and Stevie Wonder could see through them and it startles that still nothing is being done to address any of them. The same players get picked no matter what and the words of defence for Dave Jones and from Dave Jones resound increasingly hollow. Little wonder crowds evaporate every match (just 11,781 tonight including 250 from Sarf London), many of the near minority who waited to final whistle again booed Dave Jones and the team off the pitch. They were boos of complete frustration and despair more than abuse but with a solitary home league victory in 8 months and 11 attempts,

It's really not helped by the barrage of cheap talk coming out of Ninian Park. Darren Purse has spent the past few days talking of automatic promotion, Peter Ridsdale trying to give his assurance of a Top 6 minimum finish and back his beleaguered manager and Dave Jones backs his perpetual misfiring, even inadequate, personnel and believes that by giving Fowler and Hasslebaink better service, everything will be alright. Each will only ever be judged by results and performances and I'm afraid it's time for all of them to wake up and stop acting so ignorant and bloody deluded about our problems.

Dave Jones again pedaled the now tiresome line about how brilliant his squad is, one of our best ever, but when it boils down to it, he only ever uses 13 players. Tonight, other than the return of Schmeicel for Oakes, he used the same starters as at Anfield, when he got more carried away about that one-off performance in context of the league than anyone I know.

So Cardiff started with Schmeicel, McPhail-Purse-Johnson-Capaldi, Parry-Rae-McPhail-Ledley, Fowler-Hasslebaink. Subs were Oakes-Loovens-Sinclair-Thompson-Whittingham.

At a time when some have debated about giving youth more of a say in the Cardiff 16 with Gunter, Blake and Ramsey mentioned in dispatches, Neil Warnock threw a 15 year old into the fray with his full league debut in John Bostock and what a good player he looked too even if he needed a note off his mum for the afternoon off school!

If City's start to the season has been awful and getting worse, Palace's has been a nightmare. In 23rd. ex-boss Peter Taylor sacked for his failings and Neil Warnock yet to taste victory in 5 attempts. Scoring goals has been their key problem bests exemplified by Clinton Morrison waiting for his 100th league goal with a 100 not out t-shirt worn under his Palace shirt. It must be stinking as coming on for the 2nd half, it was his 11th blank since hitting goal 99. Warnock's side = Speroni, Lawrence-Hudson-Fonte-Hill, Watson-Bostock-Songo'o-Soares-Kennedy, Scowcroft

Palace’s game plan was very obvious, just as most teams who visit Ninian Park, but we have no answers, the die is long set. Five across midfield, a lone striker in Jamie Scowcroft. It allows City territory and possession but Palace to absorb what little we have to offer since Fowler and JFH play narrow and statuesque leaving our ponderous central midfield with so few options when they are too similar and unable to hurt defences like a Steve Gerrard can. . Very simple but that’s all it takes to stifle City these days. The opening phase was quiet, maybe the tone was set was a Palace player getting injured within 2 seconds - surely a record? - and needing treatment after challenging Rae. Schmeicel was tested early but when City showed rare energy, they showed rarer quality, Palace cracked but how Cardiff must regret not killing the game early.

Joe Ledley advanced left, sent over the first of several stunning deliveries which The Seagulls defence put over the bar, almost scoring an own goal. Paul Parry’s corner was whipped in, DARREN PURSE stormed through the static crowd on both sides and powered a header past the pony-tailed Speroni. One up after 9 minutes and in general control. On our way at last?
No chance but we should have been when a guilt-edged chance was spurned almost straight from the restart with sparkling play as Fowler’s only worthwhile touch of the night sent Rae charging, he played Ledley clear, albeit wide, but instead of going for the angled drive, he opted (or was he instructed?) to roll the ball across the box for Robbie or Jimmy, Palace was grateful to scramble away.

Apart from a later shot by Gavin Rae, which hit the side netting, that was the sum extent of City’s first half efforts despite general domination. The reasons why were the usual factors. Sitting back on their lead, devoid of imagination and creativity in the final third, a series of high hopeful balls which Jimmy, and Robbie especially, will not chase or get and when there was quality delivery, a couple of beautiful Ledley crosses and a Parry ball across the face of goal, we are too ordinary and slow to capitalise. One of them floated inches above JFH and was perfect but he neither moved or jumped for it, so annoying.

The ever enthusiastic Schmeicel caught crosses and quickly advanced to the box or kicked upfield to find absolutely zilch movement or running for his kicks, what a waste of what he can provide. The much maligned McPhail had one of his better games but a valid criticism is that, not once, did he get near Palace’s penalty box to add attacking presence. It’s barely good enough to call one dimensional.

While leading, Dave Jones ayatollahed to the Grange End who called for it. Apart from his management by numbers all too predictable substitutions, that was possibly his only work during the 90 minutes of the game. I know he’ll never shout and bawl at the touchline but if all he’s going to do for matches is pick the same team, do the same subs and stand or lean with arms folded, the least he could do is pay himself and endure it in the stands or terraces with the rest of us as he contributes next to nothing during matches.

The kid Bostok tested Schmeicel with a smart shot on 15 minutes – what a tidy, quality player he looks - and there were ironic cheers when McPhail snapped into a couple of challenges against him. Trust him to pick on a 15 yr old. Bully!

You can hack this blandness if you're winning so the target instead was the eccentric performance of ref Lee Mason who, you can safely argue, gave the critical decision that cost City the win but should never be allowed as an excuse for the crock of sh*te that was anything but Championship football. His first ineptness came when Joe Ledley brilliantly won a corner kick, pacing past a Palace defender and back-heeling the ball off him. Goal kick was the decision, the howls of derision would instantly have made Mason know he had it wrong. Then we saw a free-kick against Rae for a high challenge less, it was knee high! A Palace player handles, free-kick to them. The decisions he gave for pushing in both halves were laughable.

You hoped he wouldn’t influence the result but he did when Soares charged at Capaldi at pace and crashed, quite deliberately and “professionally” a yard or two outside the box. I’m not even convinced it was a foul but, incredulously, Mason awarded a penalty instantly, blowing almost before the boy hit the deck. TV has proved it to be a diabolical call but why didn’t he call on the linesman who was level with a perfect view or why doesn’t the lino help out?

Schmeicel placed the ball in front of him and danced about long before the kick was taken to put off WATSON, Fowler tried to put him off with words but it was perfectly taken, he went one way while Schmeicel, Alexander-like, went the other. By now of course, NP was ringing out with boos, whistles and chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” and “you’re not fit to referee”. However, in the cold light of day, City have to look at themselves for once again sitting back and allowing a poor team to come at them instead of keeping going when they had perfect momentum. The last 8 times we have taken a lead, we’ve given it away.

Half-time: CITY 0 PALACE 0

It’s been driving many of us to drink but I couldn’t even be bothered doing that and going to the bar to give the club more money. I sat numb through half-time while people kicked balls at a garden shed and two fans won a competition to have haircut on the pitch while the pillock from Kiss FM cackled mic on and mic off all in the name of entertainment. The standard and quality very comparable with the football (I use that word loosely) on display.

If the first half was poor, the second half was only astonishing in its awfulness. Palace, realising we really weren't much to worry about, made 2 changes at the restart and went 4-4-2 with two strikers as Morrison and Ifill replaced Song'o and Scowcroft. However Palace were worse but City have to be grateful to Schmeicel for one superb 2nd half save from Ifill meeting a rising drive top corner bound with a dive and two handed catch. It looked a bit showbiz but his old man would have been proud of that one. Another attack saw Capaldi hopelessly out of position but Rae went to the rescue with a brave block. Other than that, City's defence enjoyed domination with Purse, Johnson and McNaughton all looking strong and Capaldi looking like, well, Capaldi - enough said.

Robbie Fowler was now a passenger but it's either in his contract or Dave Jones' mentality that we cannot make any change until the hour. Sure enough, 59 minutes, Thommo strips and warms up and is on a minute later. He was nearly off just as quick too and he woke up City and the crowd when an energetic burst down the channel to win a deep throw and, clearly hyped up, got into "handbags" with a Palace defender. I thought Thommo was going to get sent off but as he appeared to throw an arm out but it was yellow as was the visitor.

The final half-hour made you just despair at how awful Palace were, how awful the ref was and how awful City were. Cardiff should have won it as they had total domination and all the ball but wasted the chances when they came. Parry was clear on the angle, just like Ledley, as same as before elected to roll the ball across goal but nobody was there and a Palace defender somehow scooped ball over bar standing on line, if only he'd put pace on it. Hasslebaink was even worse, two edge of area free-kicks, both hit directly at Speroni but I screamed as I watched him fail to go for a free header in front of goal from a perfect Ledley ball when he tried to kick instead 5 foot in the air then a similar chance saw him head right at Speroni. It's not good enough for a player of his calibre. "Give them service and they'll score", counters Dave Jones, Hasselbaink and Fowler were given perfect crosses and failed to do a single thing with any.

Over the tannoy came a message for two car owners to leave the ground for their vehicles immediately. Apart from wishful thinking that one would have been Dave Jones' taxi, those guys should be grateful they weren't there to the bitter end. So bad was this that even Warnock never bothered shouting, arguing and stood there passive, is he on sedatives?

The final 10 minutes saw Sinclair replace Parry, City have moments with everyone in Palace's half and Schmeicel looking like he wanted to join them but it was just never going to happen. All desperate, high balls, panic, kick and rush. We weren't good enough to even make our luck. The effort was there, the quality and desire where needed just wasn;'t.

The last whistle saw a chorus of boos and so many targets to aim them at - Dave Jones, the ref, City's performance, certain players, the (non) standard of football.

It is now reaching a stage of farce and where action just has to be taken by Dave Jones. Fowler has to make way, maybe Jimmy too, central midfield has to be broken up as well and there remains a case for Capaldi being left out. The spine and the balance of City is badly wrong and just is never going to change with existing personnel picked every time no matter what. Time to act Jonesy and make big managerial decisions. Be it on your head if you don't because Cardiff fans have now had and seen enough. . I couldn't protest at the game and I'd never boo but I still felt angry next morning, never mind all night afterwards. It is completely unacceptable to persist with his.

Costs:
Tickets:
£37 (2 in the Grandstand)
Programme:
£3
Food/Drink:
£8 - all before the game, not at NP
Travel:
£5

Total Cost for Game:
While JFH and Robbie pocket £30k for that and Dave Jones gets whatever he does, I shell out £53 for that pile of pants. No wonder fans hurt and feel it more.