SATURDAY DECEMBER 22nd
CHAMPIONSHIP - Game 23/46
- at NINIAN PARK
CARDIFF CITY (1) 1
Parry 30
SHEFFIELD UNITED (0) 0
THE MIRACLE AT CHRISTMAS -
CITY GET BACK-TO-BACK HOME WINS!
Someone forgot to tell Cardiff City's players the plot or was it that lightning does indeed strike twice?
A(nother) thoroughly awful week of Ninian Park lowlife reintroduced the 2007 Feelbad Factor - another an almighty 3 weeks of relative positivity. The Langston business rumbles on, Sam Hammam sues for not getting paid for his plotting against City, The deluxe new stadium has been cut back for the umpteenth time to a bland 4 stand version only slightly bigger but little better than some lower division new stadia, Warren Feeney's is back and injured with his Jack move in doubt, Robbie Fowler's always injured and is set to extend his lay-off, Thommo's red card appeal was upheld so he's out until New Year with club and player, in public, trying to smooth over the rift heightened by the player's outburst against his manager in Scottish media and Kasper Schmeicel has been told to return to Manchester City after the New Year Day game vs Plymouth which is a massive blow.
Couldn't get much worse? Oh yes it could. Black Friday gets replayed but instead of shipping off Gabbs and Ginge for a relative pittance to West Ham, this time it's Chris Gunter for a fee of upto £4M which quickly reduced to upto £3M and then upto £2M - depending on who you believe - to Spurs. A player with just 20 league starts, who wasn't rated good enough by Dave Jones to play for City until he couldn't be ignored any longer after impressing for Wales and who was on a pittance of a contract despite proving himself one of City's most influential players which the club kindly refused to review, a move that cost them a better fee too.
"It was the player's choice to go" Ridsdale blabbed as if trying to pacify us. Few would turn down a Premiership move anyway, especially to a prestigious club but what player in his right mind would even think of staying at a club where Chairman and Manager both unfairly treated him? Now we're left with Dave Jones claiming nobody else has to be sold and Peter Ridsdale claiming there may be more in a week when you strongly suspect they've been craftily inviting offers from all and sundry. It hurts and summed up so much of what is wrong with this club and why apathy is spreading towards it and its key figures.
And so an improved but still below budget crowd of 12,869. Just like last Black Friday (which was in March 2005) after those sales of Gabbs, Ginge and Kav, expectations were low trudging up Sloper Road feeling bewildered and wondering what's next to hit us. Just as then, our opponents were a strong Sheffield United side but, fantastically just as then, City put in a powerhouse display to dominate the woeful visitors throughout and grab a deserved 1-0 victory.
Last time, local boy Joe Ledley was the goal scoring hero, this time it was local lad Paul Parry, another quality goal too. Bryan Robson's Battered Blades had only the heroics of visiting slimmed down keeper Paddy Kenny making several stunning saves produced a close score line in a game where the combination of Sheffield United's awfulness and City's powerful, dominant defending meant Kasper Schmeicel didn't have a single save to make.
Two changes for City saw Tony Capaldi back in the side (a selection guaranteed not to give anyone Xmas cheer) with Gunter withdrawn from City sides until he officially signs for Spurs on Jan 1 meaning Kevin McNaughton switched back to the right in defence. Up front, Paul Parry was made temporary striker, a kick in the teeth for Steve MacLean, the only fit striker on the books who could have accompanied JFH. To accommodate this, Joe went back to left side midfield from centre, Peter Whittingham was asked to play left footed on the right a la Parry and Gavin Rae was back to reform the axis of evil with Steve McPhail! No wonder that expectations weren't great. So it read Schmeicel, McNaughton-Loovens-Johnson-Capaldi, Whittingham-McPhail-Rae-Ledley, Parry-Hasslebaink. The week's events saw Dave Jones call up Aaron Ramsey and Darcy Blake to the bench, another two kids being given little chance so far, but they were the only two outfield men not to come on in a bench that was Oakes-Blake-MacLean-Purse-Ramsey.
Sheffield United having unluckily but humourously been relegated from the Premiership by losing at home in a head to head shoot out with Wigan on the final day of last season were seen as favourites to return to the Premiership instantly, especially when assisted by the obscene parachute payments giving them a multi-millions start over other Championship clubs. However they scuppered that after getting rid of Neil Warnock by giving the manager's job to Bryan Robson. Great player but as a manager, more than capable of being a Reverse Midas and doing it yet again, his side floundering in mid-table obscurity and now just 1 place and 1 point above us in 14th. There are rumours of The Blades travelling party having an unofficial Xmas drink staying overnight at the Vale hotel. Regardless of whether that is true, the team didn't arrive at Ninian Park until almost 2:15 which is cutting it fine and didn't seem ideal preparation.
Sheffield United's side were Kenny, Bardsley-Kilgallon-Morgan-Naysmith, Carney-Montgomery-Tonge- Gillespie, Sharp-Beattie. A strong bench featured the likes of Chris Lucketti, Rob Hulse, Jon Stead and Lee Hendrie too.
The Blades had the first, and their best chance, in the opening 15 seconds as Capaldi was too easily beaten in the air, the loose ball was played in to James Beattie, the Championship's leading scorer, standing free near the penalty spot but he amazingly hooked his effort to the travelling support. City responded well and played some good football with no clear chances other than Parry firing straight at Kenny when they enjoyed another escape. Capaldi, continuing his nervous start, hooked the ball in the air on the edge of the area forcing McPhail to concede a free-kick. Played in, Billy Sharp had a free header at the far post and put wide but Schmeicel seemed to have it covered anyway. Incredible to note that Sharp, who many City fans would have liked to have seen replace Chopra in the days when we foolishly believed the club would spend some of that brilliant fee has yet to net for the Blades, other than a Carling Cup game vs Morecambe, since his £1M signature from Scunnie. Sharp? He certainly ain't.
After that bright opening, matters soon became turgid as Sheffield United showed themselves to be as poor and unspectacular as any Bryan Robson managed side and Cardiff seemed to be bogged down to that level. There was however more spark in City's side, Peter Whittingham looking the part and enjoying the change (I think the word "inconsistent" was invented just for him), the centre-halves quickly mastering Beattie and Sharp and Kevin McNaughton storming forward when he could. City were giving the Blades problems with their free-flowing front line as Parry, Ledley and Whittingham all roamed and gave us very fluid movement even if little was coming off early on.
The game needed a lift and it duly arrived with a cracker on the half-hour. More tight play in midfield, the ball fell at JFH's feet, he played into ahead where Peter Whittingham had moved into the centre then faced with two defenders and heading left to right towards the area, he played a brilliant reverse pass to set PAUL PARRY free on goal, he drive his finish under Paddy Kenny's body and legs from 12 yards. Just what the players and fans needed, an already good atmosphere lifted even more. It was Parry's 4th of the season, significantly each has proved to be a match winner.
Inspired by that superb piece of play and strike, Cardiff were now rampant and Sheffield had no answers. Straight from the restart, it was almost 2-0 as Hasselbaink broke past two defenders meeting a Rae forward block, his drilled shot sizzled across the face of goal from 18 yards but missed the far post by a foot. That was probably Hasslebaink's best shot, others were token efforts including two edge of area free-kicks which he blasted into the wall, the second one rebounding at fearsome speed into his face giving him a good smack. Deserved too for wasting those opportunities but as Mike Morris said talking to me later, why have free-kicks always got to be touched for him? Defenders have closed him down by the time of his shot, why doesn't he hit the dead ball or, better, why can't we show variation?
Whitts, meantime, was now having a stormer. Twice Kenny denied him by parrying powerful drives on the line, the second one brilliant as he somehow saw the ball come through a crowd and swerve fiercely en route. Paul Parry looped a header which Kenny took under his bar, power would have seen him grab another. The quality of City's football and movement was exciting as we made The Blades look even more ordinary than they were to the extent that even McPhail -who played very well throughout - and Rae - started very well but disappeared once more - were in charge in the middle. The half-time standing ovation was richly deserved.
Half-time: CARDIFF CITY 1 SHEFFIELD UNITED 0
Half-time entertainment, was watching a bloke strip off training kit while balancing a ball on his neck!! I do love how we all let out that ironic "w*nker" cheer when he cocked it up, the same one you do when barmaids drop and smash glasses in pub. How we love incompetency, that must be why we support the City!
The second half may have been more 50/50 in terms of territory and possession but remained 100% in favour of Cardiff for danger and shots on goal. The Blades had nothing to offer, even Capaldi was now settling into one of his best City performances while McNaughton was outstanding on the other side - my man of the match for what it's worth - and Johnson and Loovens when absolutely everything.
By the hour, a now desperate Bryan Robson has played all his cards and had nothing left. Captain Chris Morgan hobbled away to be replaced by Lucketti then, immediately after, Hulse and Hendrie, replaced Craney and Sharp. Hendrie infamously had Steve McPhail sent off when at Stoke last season, City fans reminded him they hadn't forgotten it when he was warming up all game and he came on as a true panto villain to a chorus of boos. The fact that he seemed to make mistakes every time he had the ball made it even better. Hulse and Beattie should be a partnership to be feared but they were completely anonymous, their styles and Blades were perfect for Glenn and Roger.
So we got to enjoy more City efforts at goal but they couldn't find that elusive killer second goal. Hasslebaink was shooting from anywhere and everywhere and that's roughly where his efforts ended up too. His best chance saw a header place him in front of Kenny but he reacted slowly and his shot was blocked over the bar. Whittingham was inches over with another howitzer, Parry was similar after a sizzling run and cutting across goal, Johnson and Parry forced good or great saves by Kenny who was still being taunted mercilessly for being fat by the Grange End even though he isn't anymore.
City's tenacity, flair, determination and guts was way above that of the visitors but it was nervous to enter the closing stages still at 1-0. The ref, Keith Stroud, who I thought has been excellent decided to suddenly make a prize arse off himself making a number of dubious calls and stopping play for chats when he had allowed proceedings to flow perfectly before. His worst moments then came when he booked Roger Johnson for taking a quick free-kick - why??? Then bang on 90 minutes, he gave United a highly contentious free-kick on the edge of the box as one of their men ran into Cardiff players and waited for a challenge to fall. Bardsley hammered it but, thankfully, just wide of the far post when I again suspect Kasper had it covered anyway but a scare it was.
City nearly finished in style as another flashing move down the right with Whittingham looking strong saw the ball tucked inside for Joe Ledley to dig a quality dipping effort which flew just past Kenny and his far post.
Three minutes added time and many of the minutes before saw City cheered home by the highly charged home crowd pleasantly surprised and thoroughly entertained by City's passion and drive.
It's a big win that takes City to 28 points at the season's halfway stage, a tally that looked far beyond us a month ago but 3 wins out of 4 and only 3 defeats in the last 11 has done Dave Jones
and his men the world of good. At the halfway stage, City lie 15th - their best position for a very long while. It's still poor and under-performance overall but at least it's now a 6 points cushion from those relegation berths which were staring us in the face a couple of weeks ago. For those with half-full glasses, it's 7 points off the play-offs but with fears January's transfer window could see us even more decimated,better be entirely realistic. At a time when the club seem to be in a dark tunnel, it's only recent results giving us any Christmas cheer which a few of us made the most of with a few bevvies and curry into the evening. I only hope they can make it continue.
COSTS:
Tickets: (2) £38
Travel: £5
Prog: £3
Xmas Prezzies from shop: £30
Food/drink: £40
Total: £116
