Carling Cup Round 2 report: Peterbough United 2 CARDIFF CITY 1

Forty Four years after both sides were losing League Cup semi-finalists and 8 months on from THAT 4-4 draw, Cardiff City suffered another second half collapse at London Road to crash out of the Carling Cup.

Two-one was the final score with Cardiff failing to capitalise on a one sided first half having only Jay Bothroyd’s 5^th goal of the season to show for total domination and they regretted that as the tide turned 2^nd half and Cardiff’s defence cracked badly to allow Mackail-Smith (74) and Boyd (87) to take Posh into Round 3.

This season is surely all about the League only but the Carling Cup has taken Cardiff to Anfield and Villa Park in the last couple of years, useful money spinners. However plans were rocked before the game with news that Blake and Chopra could be out injured for a while, McNaughton was injured too whilst Craig Bellamy did not travel. Ross McCormack was apparently at the game but, on the verge of being sold to Leeds United, he was not involved.

However the line-up and front six was still strong enough as Cardiff played 4-5-1 with Heaton; Matthews-Hudson-Gerrard-Naylor; Burke-Koumas-Olifinjana-Drinkwater-Whittingham; Bothroyd. It was a team that should have done the job and seen City through.

Peterborough have started the season well enough in the quest to bounce back into the Championship after May’s relegation with three high scoring win and one high scoring defeat but were under the cosh from the off in front of just 3,800 fans, three hundred from South Wales.

City had chance after chance but, somehow, never really extended Joe Lewis in goals as moves were too elaborate or the finishing wasn’t as smart as the set ups. Koumas (twice), Bothroyd (twice), Drinkwater (twice) and Burke were all guilty of not taking advantage of good openings but after enough warnings, Cardiff grabbed the lead just past the half hour. The impressive Jason Koumas advanced smartly down the right and his far post ball was powerful headed home by JAY BOTHROYD.

Shortly afterwards, Seyi Olifinajana went off – hopefully no more than a precaution – and Steve McPhail came on immediately having two clear chances himself but failing to take them. City should have been out of sight by the interval, their failure to do so cost them.

H/T: POSH 0 CITY 1

If the first half was all about Cardiff, it was almost the reverse story after the break with Tom Heaton having to make two excellent early saves and City on the back foot.

However they seemed to be surviving the storm although rarely threatening to get the killer second goal which always encouraged the hosts and it all went wrong with 16 minutes to go as clever interplay played in McKail-Smith with finished with style.

Game on and Cardiff should still have won it as the ref failed to award a penalty as Jay Bothroyd was pulled back inside the area then Burke wasted a one on one type opportunity.

Extra-time beckoned which was unwelcome but City were saved the extra half hour as BOYD crashed home a wonderful winner.

Both goals conceded came from shambolic defending with City’s centre halves at fault. If it acts as a reminder to Jones how me must bring in strength at the back, maybe it will have done Cardiff some good.

A poor result, a bad defeat and questions to be answered. However Portsmouth away this Saturday is the one that really matters to the club and the fans, let’s hope lessons are learned from this needless loss.

Championship: Cardiff City 2 Peterborough 0 in pictures

Last Night's Cardiff City phone in show

Looks back at that horror show at Newcastle, preview's tonight's home clash with Peterboroigh and, of course, ponders over the precarious finances in a 'taxing' week.

http://www.mediafire.com/?nyhyf2maooz

Hoo-Rae, Gavin’s o.k.

Even at his best, Gavin Rae is still the Cardiff City equivalent of Marmite – loved by many, loathed by as many so when he’s been a shadow of himself in recent weeks, you know that means not very good at all.

His detractors were therefore probably pleased to hear he had broken fingers and would be out for 3 weeks in that horrendous 4-4 collapse at Peterborough 10 days ago but with the current crisis and no new signing in sight, the current midfield options decimated (Scimeca retired, McPhail battling cancer, Taiwo seemingly out of his depth and untrusted and Ledley playing on despite needing hip surgery), City are facing a selection headache for the Blackpool home game on Saturday.

However, Rae has now declared himself available – presumably he will play with his damaged fingers bandaged so he should resume his partnership with Joe Ledley in central midfield in what, for so many reasons, is being seen as a must win encounter.

Ledley, defender Kevin McNaughton, striker Jay Bothroyd as well as Rea have benefitted in recovery time from the recent unscheduled break with last weekend’s game at Bristol City postponed as it’s opponents Blackpool saw both centre halves red carded and manager Ian Holloway sent to the stands in a Cup home defeat to Ipswich.

Wow, rare football talk in a non-football talk week at Cardiff City!

Video Highlights - Peterborough 4 Cardiff City 4

** Peterborough 4-4 Cardiff **

Bottom Championship club Peterborough produce a stunning

fight-back to deny Cardiff City, who led 4-0 at half-time.





The mother of all collpases!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/8434182.stm 

DJ blasts JB on official site

The internal inquest into the Xmas Disaster that was Cardiff City has gone into overdrive today.

Losing a home game to Leicester City as the club had not got around to commissioning the boiler for undersoil heating was embarrassing enough and made The Bluebirds a laughing stock but that pales into insignificance with the post-Christmas results.

Defeat at home to bottom of the table Plymouth who hadn’t scored in 6 games, all in front of Cardiff’s biggest home Boxing Day crowd for 40 years, was unacceptable but could be dismissed as a fluke and ‘one of those games’ after City missed half a dozen golden opportunities but were denied by defensive and goalkeeping heroics too.

However yesterday’s capitulation at Peterborough, who themselves became bottom club, is inexcusable and leaves the club, its manager and players with no hiding place. To lose a 4 goal half-time lead defies belief but as the blog as shown in the past 2 days, City and Dave Jones have a history of collapses and losing late goals that shows no sign of being arrested.

One unbelievable aspect has been Dave Jones’ decision to publicly lambast Jay Bothroyd and it is understood the pair were due to meet up today – 24 hours before Jones sees the rest of his battered squad. Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye because how a striker, who was withdrawn with City still 2 goals to the clear, can be blamed for failings at the back is beyond me but he has been singled.

The official website even runs Jones’ feelings in full under the headline “Dave’s Blast at Jay” (http://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10335~1917407,00.html)

Jay scored a wonderful first half goal band did appear to be one of many players who thought the job was done at the interval and stopped their performance level but many will feel that others were far worse. However Jones was uninterested in how bad Jay’s injury could be, commenting that, “"I haven't spoken to him, don't want to speak to him, don't want to speak to any of them at the moment. I haven't asked him and don't want to ask him because he's one of those players who decided to do it his way and his way isn't good enough.”

As for the rest of the shambles, Jones has hinted he may now wheel and deal with some personnel by saying, “One or two, if we can do it, we'll change them. We need to get players in because the players, in the second half, didn't do what we expected of them. But maybe one or two of them just decided that they think it's a bit easy and one or two, if we can do it, we'll change them."

Cardiff’s cashflow problems appear to be no better than ever with the Malaysians continuing to stall on any investment, some even believing their future involvement in the club is in jeopardy. No wonder City are therefore appealing to fans once again to invest in season tickets with the club pledging to use those funds for new recruitment in January. They are aiming to raise £3M in season ticket sales by Friday with their interest free, price freeze for 5 years and full refund if City are promoted this season deal.

I’ve renewed mine and I truly hope it brings strengthening so the team can have a good crack in the second half of the season but it does sound like desperation, doesn’t it?

Jones says. "Breate the players" after Posh collapse

** Jones fumes at Cardiff horror show **

Cardiff City boss Dave Jones says the video of the second half

of their 4-4 draw at Peterborough will be a horror show.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/8433237.stm

Cardiff City's Late Goal Roll Call in the Past 2 Months

Today's capitulation at Peterborough, having to take a point at the Championship's bottom club after leading 4-0 at half-time, is the biggest kick in the guts yet for Cardiff City fans. It is a theme of Dave Jones' tenure that City cannot hold onto leads and gift late goals.

Remember last season's top three - Wolves, Reading and Birmingham - all grabbing added time equalisers against us?

Have City learned lessons? Of course not!

Just look at how the past 2 months has panned out.

Oct 24th - Sheff United away
City win 4-3 but only after conceding on 90 minutes after then seeing Sheff U have one disallowed in added time

Nov 1st - Nottingham Forest home
City denied victory by Forest equaliser in added time

Nov 21st - Barnsley away
The Tykes win scoring with the last kick of the game

Nov 29th - Ipswich home
Roy Keane's men grab a winner with 5 minutes to go (having levelled with just over 15 minutes left)

Dec 26th - Plymouth home
The Green Army fluke a win with 6 minutes left

Dec 28th - Peterborough away
City draw a game they couldn't fail to win with Posh scoring on 89 and 90 minutes.


Points lost to goals in last 5 minutes = 7 (which would have us 1 point behind West Brom)


Plymouth at home apart, each of those games saw our opponents change tactics and formation which Cardiff and Dave Jones refused to counter or match up. Dinosaur!!

Football is Back

After no game for 2 weeks and with the Christams holiday producing a lack of any noteworthy news, Cardiff City fans will be looking forward to a game later today.

City have a massive chance of progess over the Christmas period playing rock bottom Plymouth at home today (1pm) followed by a visit to last butb one Peterborough United on Monday. City should look to miaximise points but Christmas often has a habit of produicng upsets.

Today, however, does look a relative formality. Argyle have lost their last 5 and failed to score in any of them. They are easily the league's lowest scorers with just 16 goals in 21 games and were well beaten (3-1) by City at Home Park earlier in the season with Michael Chopra grabbing a hat-trick. Their hopes of a result today have been further knocked with a couple of key loan men recalled by their clubs.

Let's hope this one goes to form ... more later.

CARDIFF CITY FRY-ed

Perterborough Director of Football BARRY FRY has poured cold water on his club selling star striker Craig Mackail-Smith to Cardiff City or anyone else in the near future along with his other stars. City have been linked after boss Dave Jones was spoted watching Posh win at Walsall last weekend.

It's a standard football reaction whenever a player is specualted in the press - show me the manager or owner who outright says that they want to sell - but Cardiff are surely planning ahead to new arrivals and possible departures in Janaury and, you'd hope, they're want to strike fast and early.

I MEET BARRY FRY IN 2002

(It Made His Day!)

Back to MacKail-Smith and Fry told Sky Sports last night that, "We are trying to build a team here capable of winning promotion and Craig is part of that, so we won't be looking to sell him any time in the near future. We had a bid of a million pounds offered to us a year ago for him, which we turned down flat, and we are not interested in selling our best players. The board have backed the manager all the way and have proven, by rejecting big offers for both Mackail-Smith and Aaron McLean, that they have the backbone to keep our stars here."

Wonder where he'll go in January then?!?!?

MacKAIL-SMITH IS LATEST PLAYER LINKED TO CARDIFF CITY

As the Chopra move (if there ever was one) goes to bed, Cardiff City find themselves linked to a new striker in the shape of Peterborough United's 24 year old goal getter Craig MacKail-Smith.

This morning's Daily Mirror speculated on City's interest and it has since emerged that Dave Jones watched Posh in action at Walsall last weekend. Peterborough won, MacKail-Smith platyed well but failed to net although he is already on 8 for this season.

A non-league discovery at Dagenham & Redbrode, MacKail-Smith has shone at the London Road club since his move there in January 2007. His goalscoring ratio there is outrageous, 28 league goals in 57 starts + 4 sub appearences and you can add 6 goals in 5 cup matches to that tally too.

Speculation and interest is fine but can City be hopeful? There seems little doubt other clubs will fancy taking a punt on him too, rumoured to be leading the way are Birmingham City and with Posh Director of Football Barry Fry having a long-standing relationship with that club and its hierarchy, it must be Cardiff at a disadvantage before any other factors are taken into account.

MacKail-Smith is also contracted to 2012 which means it may well take a big fee to secure him ... on the face of it, beyond what Cardiff like to pay but who's to say we won't move players out for big money in January too eh? It is the norm after all.