Game #17 sees the Bluebirds back on home turf for the visit of Rotherham United after a chastening away defeat at the hands of local small town neighbours Swansea. Having suffered 3 defeats on the bounce (albeit in rather controversial circumstances in some respects) the home fans will undoubtedly be looking for a serious response against our visitors who come to us 4 points and a massive 9 places better off than us. In saying that, the form guide for both teams over the last 6 games is not too dissimilar, with the merry Millers amassing just a single point more than the Bluebirds over that period, having succumbed to a late penalty v the other CCFC in midweek and taking a heavy home defeat against Hull last weekend. Our inside mole midweek report stated that Rotherham are a "physical" side that know how to apply the dark arts well (a.k.a dirty, time wasting fuggers) so following our recent heavy card count, it will be interesting to see how this one will pan out. Will we finally get a break from dubious officiating?? Only time will tell whether Bonny Oli Langford is up to the task. Whilst I don't think it would be ungracious to say that the Millers are lacking "star" names, they would appear to have some decent experience in their ranks and do contain one or two dangerous players. Current star striker Chiedozie Ogbene is not a name I am familiar with but with 5 goals to his name in 12 starts this term he clearly has found his finishing boots. A quick check suggests he is a former Everton youth player who has previously spent time in Ireland (predominantly with Limerick) before a move to Brentford transpired, with him joining the Millers following a loan stint at Exeter. Before this season his stats were remarkably unremarkable so hopefully his purple patch has now passed! Even if we do keep Ogbene quiet, ex-Newport man Conor Washington also continues to weigh in with goals, having netted 3 times this term. Supplier in chief would appear to be Daniel Barlaser who has featured in every game so far. With 6 assists and 2 goals, the Bluebirds midfield will have to work hard to close down his space and try cut off the supply into him it would seem. Defensively, ex-Bluebird stalwart Lee Peltier would appear to be a relatively regular starter (10 starts + 2 sub appearances) along with Wes Harding and Grant Hall amongst others. Richard Wood has also chipped in with 4 goals this season, presumably from set pieces, so one to watch out for there, especially given our fallible nature from such moments this season. The last time this fixture was played out at the CCS, we saw a 1-1 draw ensue in a closed doors game due to the Covid pandemic (given recent result, the crowd may not be too dissimilar this time around!). Lewis Wing had put the visitors ahead but an 88th minute Marlon Pack goal triggered relegation for the Yorkshiremen. Overall this fixture sees the visitors come out on top more often, with 22 wins to the Bluebirds paltry 14. 14 games have been tied. Never really thought of it much before but it would seem the Millers are a bit of a bogey team for us. Early Bluebird Team News The Bluebirds physios assess the available playing staff "Bring out yer dead"...... it's almost easier to list who is left fit/available rather than who's injured at present. Callum Robinson will of course be missing after his heinous assault on Ben Cabango that resulted in a broken eyelash for the Swansea man (hope he's made a speedy recovery), meaning that it is highly likely that Mark Harris will be asked to be the main striker for this game. I have a sneaky suspicion that gaffer Mark Hudson may well decide to pair him up top with someone (possibly Etete) but that could be wishful thinking on my part. Defensively too we see a conundrum, with both our Ng Midget & Alpha Romeo likely to again be missing. If this is the case then it's likely that Tom Sang will continue to deputise, but who will partner Kipre in the middle, Nelson or Simpson?? Could we also see a return for Joel Bagan ahead of the shaky Nkounkou? Having played 90 mins for the U-21s it could be a bit of stretch but if he has come through his mid-week test ok, then his more defensive reliability may just get him the nod with the Bluebirds looking to shore up and get back to basics. The midfield need to buck up a little and be prepared for the battle on Saturday, so I'd expect Ralls, Wintle and Rinomhota all to start. O'Dowda as Mr Reliable should retain his place too but if we do go 2 up top then how those 4 would line up is beyond me. If we retain our 4-3-3 then whoever takes the opposite flank to O'Dowda will need to be "on it" as this has been a weak link for several games now. Time to earn your corn Mr Hudson!! Prutton Predicts The Sky guy really does now have a downer on the Bluebirds, predicting a 1-2 scoreline in this one (C'mon Dave, whatever happened to that early season optimism eh??). The bookies however seem to beg to differ, with South Wales's finest odds on for a home win (didn't expect that!!) Home Win 10/11 Draw 5/2 Away Win 3/1 Gaffer Quotes Mark Hudson “We’ve got to get the right result at the weekend with another home game on Wednesday." They’ll come thick and fast, we’re focussed on Rotherham and we want to get the result at home." “We know what they’re about; it’s going to be a physical game and we’re going to have to be right at it. We’re going to have to stamp our authority on it and show our intensity, which is something that we’re looking forward to. “We have to show a reaction from the week that we’ve had, and get a positive result from Saturday. “The lads have been training at a high level all week. They all want to be on the pitch this weekend, and that’s all that we can ask for. “They know what’s to come in the coming weeks, that it’s going to take everyone. The players will have to be available and ready when they’re called upon. “We’ve been working on the areas that we can improve upon, and now we’re looking forward to returning home and playing Rotherham in front of our fans." Matt Taylor “They are traditionally a really big club and have a lot of pace and power within their team. “It has been difficult to really assess them because in the two games I’ve been to watch recently, they’ve gone down to 10 men really early. “There’s no saying that won’t happen again this weekend, but that is a difference in a game that makes it harder to identify certain aspects of their play. “They look strong in certain areas of the pitch, as always when we go away home, we have to be strong in certain moments and pack a punch ourselves. “We could’ve been more than 1-0 up going into half time at Coventry, so I’m pleased we’re creating chances. “We have to then keep the back door shut and find a way to control moments on that football pitch. The pleasing aspect about Tuesday’s game is that we looked like doing that for large parts but we are going into the Lion’s Den so to speak and we know that it will be a good atmosphere if they opposition are allowed to play well. Sharing The Love It seems we have somewhat of a tie in with the Millers when it comes to strikers. The likes of Alan Lee, Alex Revell, Danny Ward, big Leo Fortune-West and more recently Kieffer Moore all featuring for both sides. However, one name that crops up that is a shining example of how our club, throughout history. seem to be able to take a payer with a good goal scoring record and turn them into something of a low scoring enigma, Kieffer apart, is Kieffer's uncle Ronnie Moore (ok, not really but there must be family ties there somewhere surely??). Ronnie of course is best known in Miller country for his exploits not only as a player, but also as a manager, having taken charge of a club just relegated to the basement division of the Football League, Moore led them to successive promotions to the Championship, a level at which they would punch above their weight for four years. For the Bluebirds however, his name will always bring back memories for me as a (very young) Bluebird, seeing a pin badge on my elder brothers jacket that exclaimed "I've seen Ronnie Moore score!". A quick scan of Wiki would reveal that the Millers hero. who netted 52 times in 125 appearances for the reds, managed just 6 goals in 56 appearances for our boys in blue. Still, despite this it would seem that Moore retains a level of fondness amongst Bluebirds fans. A player who surpassed even the goal scoring exploits of Steve "Lethal" Lynex in the blue of Cardiff City So, can the Bluebirds avoid a feeble four? Will we extinghuish the Millers light?? Will Sparky Harris reignite our season and get us cooking on gas again??? All I know is that our board has been a well of depression since the weekend, so fingers crossed we'll have something to smile about come 5pm on Saturday!! Bloooooooobirds!!!
Surely our Brizzle has to be in line for a Pulitzer Prize. Pure artistry blending fact and humour seamlessly. Seriously, you have a great talent. .As for the game, I don't know if it's best to predict the score or how many players each team will have on the pitch at the final whistle. It's going to be interesting.
Think I'm more "pull the other one" than Pulitzer but cheers Clingo Seriously worried by this one. On paper we should win but morale must be fragile in the squad and the crowd will likely be sparse and impatient. It won't take much to get things heading in the wrong direction again..... On the flip side, I genuinely believe that the last 3 games have all had circumstances that meant we were hard done by or up against it. It was only 3 games ago that we were all thinking that Hudson had masterminded some tweaks that allowed us to be a little more "unshackled" following a creditable draw v Burnley (that we almost snatched a win from) and victories v Blackburn and Wigan, who were both above us in the table. It feels a long time ago now but it WAS only 2 weeks or so ago in reality. Fingers crossed we've just had one of those spells where nothing goes your way and we are now due some good luck/the rub of the green instead.
Ahh, finally!!! Heads up, Spartacus is my mate that I go to games with. Been trying to get him to start posting on here... Think he's just dipping his toe into the water on this one by the looks of it though.
Match facts Cardiff City are unbeaten in their last five league matches against Rotherham United (W3 D2) since a 2-1 defeat in September 2015. Rotherham haven’t won any of their last six league visits to Cardiff (D3 L3) since a 1-0 win at Ninian Park in August 1998. Cardiff City have lost their last three league matches, all without scoring. The Bluebirds last suffered four defeats in a row without scoring was in September and October 2021 (five in a row). Rotherham have taken four points from their last two away league games (W1 D1), the Millers last had a longer unbeaten run on the road in the Championship within a season in February 2021 (3 games). Cardiff have won just three of their last 21 league games in October (D8 L10), with only one of those coming at home, a 1-0 win over Blackburn earlier this month.
Can't get enthusiastic about Etete from what I've seen of him so far. With Robbo blotting his copy book last weekend, could this be the making of Watters?
Agreed Etete has looked unconvincing in his cameos so far, however, (from memory) when he came on in the Coventry game he did look slightly more interested and managed to put himself about a little more. He's obviously still very young and raw having never played at this level previously. Reckon he has the makings of a decent player but is likely to take time to develop. Today could be Watters redemption day. For the good of him and the club we can only hope.
Watters couldn’t net v Colchester U 21’s despite several chances. Is he just destined to be goal shy for City?
