Let's talk about the Cardiff City game

[selby]

  The first time I think I have posted that heading since starting these threads not having played them for quite a while and hardly the fixture I would have picked to follow our abject display last night against a side sitting four points clear at the top of the table.
   A team with lots more resources than ourselves and players probably on wages that would pay half our weekly wage bill and at home in  front of a big  crowd that will expect nothing else but an easy day at the office and banking another three points at our expense.
   I hope they do have that impression and our lads can stand up get last nights performance out of their system and play well and give it a go.
  The frustrating thing is we are so much better than what we showed last night, want to reset and show our true ability as a team and not a lot of strangers thrown together the way we looked last night.
   One mystery to me is Pearson, if nothing else our best defender centrally, lacking pace, but a proper defender around our own box.  The same with Middleton is he as well not good enough to at least be in our match day squad?
  Six months after signing both seem marginalised and out of the picture and if so along with others our preseason player acquisitions should very much be questioned.
  Can we pull off that illusive shock result at Cardiff? while confidence can only be low in the squad. At our best of course we can, its getting the best out of the players that is proving problematical as well as playing our best players  they need to show their best form  and compete for every ball as our mobility and cohesion took a big hit last evening with little team play because of poor distribution often one touch and given away and players looking like strangers to each other.
  So to me a big effort and reset of attitude is needed, the first thing is covering more ground Bailey again showing great effort again last night with others looking lethargic, the same up front with Sharp taking the game to them while others sit back.
  So what do you think, me it is more about ourselves and our game than an obviously good Cardiff side. I want to see some controlled aggression and some team play, not just the odd flash, a better work ethic and some enthusiasm, all things I thought missing last night. We have showed those things in games earlier this season and need to get back on it.
  What do you think, lots to mull over, lots to discuss, please have your say.

[Fal]

This game wouldn't surprise me if we won, reminds me of Sunderland away a couple of years ago....home banker nailed on but we somehow won.

Important to note that they also play Chelsea on Tuesday in the League Cup Quarter Finals so lets hope some of their players have half an eye on that!

[Thorney]

Cardiff will expect us to sit back and they will be expecting to roll us over easily.

Need to shock them with quick attacks. Just like we did to bradford, get forward quickly and in numbers.

[Alan Southstand]

Another routine defeat.

[In the box]

This game wouldn't surprise me if we won, reminds me of Sunderland away a couple of years ago....home banker nailed on but we somehow won.

Important to note that they also play Chelsea on Tuesday in the League Cup Quarter Finals so lets hope some of their players have half an eye on that!

  Bring it on !!!

[selby]

 Nobody has won until the game is lost Alan.

[Thorney]

Another routine defeat.

Thats it Alan, keep the optimism up.

Hope the players and managment dont have the same positive outlook.

[Spud]

This game wouldn't surprise me if we won, reminds me of Sunderland away a couple of years ago....home banker nailed on but we somehow won.

Important to note that they also play Chelsea on Tuesday in the League Cup Quarter Finals so lets hope some of their players have half an eye on that!

I think the last game our lass came to was that Sunderland game, she's coming to Cardiff on Saturday!

Said on Tuesday Hanlan should be the opener, with Billy coming on fresh later, surely this will be the case on Saturday. Personally I'd rather see Middleton in the squad than Ajayi atm, if it's a case of one or the other. Same back four, I'm not convinced by Pearson yet tbh, Close or Crew in for the suspended George with Clifton starting again.
Let's go again!

[RoseTInteD]

Another routine defeat.

Thats it Alan, keep the optimism up.

Hope the players and managment dont have the same positive outlook.

Optimism and positivity did us no good against Stockport (I went for a win myself), but no harm in being being realistic like Alan.
This match will be painful to watch. Feel free to tell me I am wrong AFTER the event, or accept that we are going to struggle until the next window. Then we will need far better signings than we had in the summer.

[graingrover]

It is wrong to equate realism with pessimism .Pessimism is more related to the person expressing an opinion than to the unknown future outcome .

[steve@dcfd]

Here's the fact over the last 10 games in
league 1
Cardiff have 21 pts with a GD of +7. Top
Doncaster have 6pts and a GD of -9. Bottom

We all hope we can get a result BUT

[GazLaz]

Another routine defeat.

Thats it Alan, keep the optimism up.

Hope the players and managment dont have the same positive outlook.

Optimism and positivity did us no good against Stockport (I went for a win myself), but no harm in being being realistic like Alan.
This match will be painful to watch. Feel free to tell me I am wrong AFTER the event, or accept that we are going to struggle until the next window. Then we will need far better signings than we had in the summer.

The absolute best judges and objective decision makers I’ve ever met in life (and in football and gambling) are never optimists, I can tell you that.

[ForsolongaRover]

Another routine defeat.

Thats it Alan, keep the optimism up.

Hope the players and managment dont have the same positive outlook.

Optimism and positivity did us no good against Stockport (I went for a win myself), but no harm in being being realistic like Alan.
This match will be painful to watch. Feel free to tell me I am wrong AFTER the event, or accept that we are going to struggle until the next window. Then we will need far better signings than we had in the summer.

The absolute best judges and objective decision makers I’ve ever met in life (and in football and gambling) are never optimists, I can tell you that.

Somehow I doubt whether adverse comments on here about our chances of winning have any real effect on the players. Decrying pessimism may seem honourable to some, but surely from the player perspective it amounts to a challenge to prove such people wrong.

[Chris Black come back]

No side has won more home games or scored more home goals in League One than Cardiff City. They have won their last four home league games in a row, scoring 12 goals in doing so.

[LincsRover]

I’m generally an optimist and always think we’ll have a good game until we don’t. I think we’ll be ok and comfortably stay up this season, I have full trust in GM to drag us up the table. But, realistically, Cardiff are probably the best team in this league, will almost certainly be a championship side next season and we will do well to avoid a battering on Saturday. Christmas miracles aside, I’d take a crappy, dour 0-0 at this moment in time! 

[ncRover]

Salech scored 8 in 20 in the second half of the last Championship season and looks on course to be League One’s top scorer this season.

He cost them about £3 million. He’s 6 foot 5 and deadly in the box. Watch out for crosses!

[Scooter]

Does anyone have any parking tips? Although  I went to the JPT final, this is my first trip to Cardiff City. Looking forward to the 4 hours each way drive 

[Barmby Rover]

I would put my money on 10 minutes being their first goal against us, and it is just a matter of damage limitation from then on. Hopefully only 2-0.

[Reg of the Rovers]

I think we need to accept we're playing against the odds and set up a much more pragmatic formation. They'll have the ball so I'd put us in a low block, play McGrath or Grehan with Pearson and Riordan as a centre three with wing backs from Maxwell, Sterry, Nixon and Senior who've all had strong seasons. Centre midfield three to hold the middle - Clifton has to start, with Crew no where near the pitch tomorrow. And play a proper 9 and 10 - Sharp or Hanlan, with Moly or Gibson tucked in behind. Keep it tight and make them work for space through the middle rather than roll through us as if we're not there. 

[Devils1927]

Cardiff fan in peace.

Best free place to park is Brindley Road - It is a 20 minute walk to the away end.
-Brindley Road
- Turn Left onto Hadfield Road
-Turn Right onto Bessemer Road
-At the end of Bessemer Road turn left onto sloper road
- Walk down past the Bus Depot and the burger vans and turn left into Clos Parc Morganwwg and into the away end

Coming home then you will be able to left onto Hadfield road and all way to the roundabout onto the A4232 which will take you to the M4

[Spud]

Cardiff fan in peace.

Best free place to park is Brindley Road - It is a 20 minute walk to the away end.
-Brindley Road
- Turn Left onto Hadfield Road
-Turn Right onto Bessemer Road
-At the end of Bessemer Road turn left onto sloper road
- Walk down past the Bus Depot and the burger vans and turn left into Clos Parc Morganwwg and into the away end

Coming home then you will be able to left onto Hadfield road and all way to the roundabout onto the A4232 which will take you to the M4

Which pubs would you recommend for after? Me & the Mrs staying over, love a bit of live music, a quick look shows live lounge or Brewhouse?

[ncRover]

Cardiff fan in peace.

Best free place to park is Brindley Road - It is a 20 minute walk to the away end.
-Brindley Road
- Turn Left onto Hadfield Road
-Turn Right onto Bessemer Road
-At the end of Bessemer Road turn left onto sloper road
- Walk down past the Bus Depot and the burger vans and turn left into Clos Parc Morganwwg and into the away end

Coming home then you will be able to left onto Hadfield road and all way to the roundabout onto the A4232 which will take you to the M4

Which pubs would you recommend for after? Me & the Mrs staying over, love a bit of live music, a quick look shows live lounge or Brewhouse?

I went to uni in Cardiff.

Head to Live Lounge. Usually a live band on until late then the DJ just plays indie / rock anthems until the early hours of the morning. Class.

[NickDRFC]

Henry Africas the night before the JPT final. Absolutely class.

[5minstogo]

Henry Africas the night before the JPT final. Absolutely class.

Wow thats a blast from the past

[adamtherover]

Does anyone have any parking tips? Although  I went to the JPT final, this is my first trip to Cardiff City. Looking forward to the 4 hours each way drive 

just park app, 7 quid for 4 hrs, 12 mins walk

[selby]

  Play like we can with control, play the game and not the occasion and keep focussed and we can give the best in this division a game. We have weakness's and strengths like every team and we need to play to our strengths and minimise our weakness's, and find the oppositions weak points, which they have as well.
  All good and bad runs of results come to an end and we are capable of ending their good run, some of our best performances last season were away to top teams in the division.
 

[Bills view]

If we can play and compete like we did at Stevenage we will give them a good game.

[Spud]

Cardiff fan in peace.

Best free place to park is Brindley Road - It is a 20 minute walk to the away end.
-Brindley Road
- Turn Left onto Hadfield Road
-Turn Right onto Bessemer Road
-At the end of Bessemer Road turn left onto sloper road
- Walk down past the Bus Depot and the burger vans and turn left into Clos Parc Morganwwg and into the away end

Coming home then you will be able to left onto Hadfield road and all way to the roundabout onto the A4232 which will take you to the M4

Which pubs would you recommend for after? Me & the Mrs staying over, love a bit of live music, a quick look shows live lounge or Brewhouse?

I went to uni in Cardiff.

Head to Live Lounge. Usually a live band on until late then the DJ just plays indie / rock anthems until the early hours of the morning. Class.

Late is possible, not done early hours for a food few years lol.
Cheers.

[Devils1927]

Temple Bar - Castle end of st mary street - Irish bar style singers
Live Lounge - Bands but will be pretty busy
Brewhouse - Bands but will be pretty busy

There are some pretty cool bars in Cardiff

Head of Steam is pretty good, botanist. Mill lane and St Mary Street are the streets to go to , you will find something you like.

I would avoid the wetherspoons unless you feel taking on a valley commando coked out of their brain.

[Spud]

Cheers for that Devils.