Game # 15 this weekend, meaning we are now pretty much a third of the way through the season already and who'd have figured that we'd be pushing for a play-off spot eh? Saturday sees our back on track Bluebirds head to the potteries and a visit to the Bet365 Stadium. the home of Stoke City FC. I don't know about you but the stadium name always reminds me of the early 80's hit by the Belle Stars (some of you more senior folks may even remember the original from further back again)... maybe it's time to re-write the lyrics for this one? At the 365, the Bluebirds look fine, Bulut's got us playing football that's divine, when Ralls broke, and scored against Stoke, we were in seventh heaven and are happy Welsh folk, slap slap, slap slap, slap your head..... ok, maybe not , I won't give up the day job of thread writing .... This game sees us in relatively good form again now but we are coming up against an even more in-form Stoke side who have started to make light of their slightly rocky start to the season and who have climbed the table after recording 4 wins in their last 6, including 3 on the bounce heading into this one, so they too will be in very confident mood. If my memory is correct, Stoke have spend some relatively serious money in recent years and now have a squad that contains plenty of experience with players like Dwight Gayle up top, whist having the likes of Josh Laurent, Ben Pearson and Lyndon Gooch just behind..new signing Andre Vidigal from Maritimo is proving to be a big hit with 5 goals in 9 games so far this season. Manager Alex Neil has also earned a decent reputation at this level, so a tough game awaits for sure. The one thing that may go in our favour is they do seem to be having a little bit of an injury crisis at the moment, but that doesn't seem to have prevented them from picking up their recent good results. Bulut's Bulletin The Bluebirds head into this clash with a relatively clean bill of health at long last with only Rambo and O'Dowda marked out as definite absentees. Kion Etete is back in contention following his hamstring, but with Meite showing up well as our '9' in recent games then it would be no surprise to see Erol stick with the same starting line up for the 3rd game running, especially with the fact that we have kept back to back clean sheets too (long may that continue). Past Meetings I find it hard to believe that we've only played 53 games against Stoke, it sure as heck feels like a lot more! We have however had some very entertaining games against them, including several very recent ones.... Last season’s entertaining 2-2, with goals from Wintle & Robbo in a come-back draw. An even more entertaining clash from the season before that saw the Bluebirds overcome and even bigger deficit! And just retaining the theme of comebacks, our skipper being very involved in the Bluebirds sealing a win despite going behind. What Are The Odds On That? It looks like Vince has already made his way up to go sample the delights that Stoke has to offer.... and he's come to the conclusion that another entertaining draw could be on the cards it seems. Well I Never In all honesty, outside of a few famous faces, pottery and the fact that Stoke are one of the 'elder' clubs, there's not much else of interest, but here goes anyhow... Did you know that Stoke-on-Trent is often known as "the city of five towns", because of the name given to it by local novelist Arnold Bennett and is the only polycentric city in the UK and was formed by the federation of six towns in 1910 (bloody authors and their poetic licence!). It took its name from Stoke-upon-Trent where the main centre of government and the principal railway station in the district were located. Hanley is the primary commercial centre; the other four towns which form the city are Burslem (also known as the mother town of the city), Tunstall, Longton and Fenton. They may be the city of 5 (or 6) towns but maybe the football team should be known as the city few trophies (and no, I don’t mean Port Vale)? Did you know that the tiles on the floor of the Houses of Parliament were made in Stoke-on-Trent, by Minton? Reminds me of a dog I owned once that had the same name (Minton). He used to go crazy whenever he saw a shuttlecock, running off with it in his mouth….. it ruined many a person’s game and no matter how often I used to shout “Bad Minton… Bad Minton” at him, it made no difference. (Just grabbing my Parker off the peg). Sharing The Love Having previously covered Captain Marvel Graeme Kavanagh it only seems right we pick up on the player who followed him from our hosts. We also have another "golden' goal machine and a Welsh midfield legend lost too soon... Peter Thorne Urmston-born striker Peter Thorne began his career with Blackburn Rovers before moving to play for Swindon Town in the 1994-95 season, helping the club to a return to the First Division following their relegation at the end of his first campaign with the club. Moving to play for the Potters following three years with the Robins, Thorne became a regular player for the side as they competed in the First and Second Divisions, recording 30 goals in all competitions for the side in the 1999/2000 season. Beginning the 2001/02 season with the Potters, he subsequently made the move to Ninian Park in September 2001, where he would score eight goals in 26 appearances in his debut season for the Club. Joining his former Stoke City teammate Graham Kavanagh in South Wales for a then club record fee of £1.7million, the striker paired up at the top of the field with Robert Earnshaw at the newly-promoted Club. Ever-present in his second campaign with the Club for the 2002/03 season, Thorne rose to prominence alongside Earnshaw and was a vital part of City’s attacking lineup as they reached the First Division via the Play-Off Final against Queens Park Rangers in May 2003. The partnership between the two attacking players proved prolific, with the pair scoring a collective 45 league goals between them in their now-legendary promotion campaign. Earnshaw's 35 goals in all competitions broke the Club record, previously set at 32 goals by FA Cup-winning striker Hughie Ferguson. Once promoted, Thorne's goalscoring capabilities continued despite the step up to the First Division, scoring 13 in 23 appearances for the Bluebirds as the Club established themselves as a formidable outfit in the league. The striker won the Nationwide League's Goalscorer of the Month Award for December 2003, having scored seven goals in six matches as the Bluebirds finished off the year. Included in the slew of goals scored to win the award was a hat-trick earned against his former club, Stoke City. In a hotly contested 3-2 victory against the Potters at the Britannia Stadium, Thorne stepped up to the occasion to net three times, securing an important three points and win the Club their first win in four matches. With the City loyal having long-since chanted his name from the terraces, Peter commented on the interesting nature of one particular song in an interview in January 2004: "I'd like the fans to know that I really appreciate it when they sing that song about me. "I get a massive buzz whenever I hear that song. I love it to bits. Who else has got a song like that? "I can hear it during games - you can't help but hear it - and when I do it gives me a big lift. "But I would like to know where me wearing a magic hat has come from!" With a total of 46 league goals scored for the Bluebirds in 126 appearances across four season, Peter Thorne left the Club for Norwich City in 2005, later playing for Bradford City before retiring in 2010, with a total of 197 career goals scored. Robbie James Despite being a legendary JB, Robbie James signed for the Bluebirds from Bradford in time for the 1992-93 season. He’d go on to make 42 league appearances in the blue shirt under Eddie May’s guidance, scoring 2 league goals and playing a key role as South Wales’s premier club claimed the Third Division title and Welsh Cup in the same season (James’s 5th Welsh cup Winners medal). Cardiff would prove to be his last professional/league club as James went on to non-League Merthyr Tydfil and Barry Town. Whilst he was player-manager of Llanelli he tragically collapsed and died, at the age of 40, during a match against Porthcawl in February 1998. His life is recalled in a book by Gary Wharton called Robbie James ‘A Life in Football’. Kenwyne Jones After 4 seasons with our hosts Stoke City, Kenwyne Jones joined the Bluebirds in January 2014 in a player-exchange for Peter Odemwingie. Jones scored a debut goal for the Bluebirds on 1 February 2014, netting the winner in a 2–1 triumph against Norwich City, just one minute after Craig Bellamy had equalised for the Bluebirds. He went on to play 11 times for Cardiff in the 2013–14 as we suffered relegation back to the Championship. Jones started the 2014–15 season strongly, scoring 9 times in the first half of the season. However, that form wasn’t sustained, seeing Jones only managing to find the net twice more in the league during the latter half of the season. As part of the cost cutting under Russell Slade Jones was then loaned to league leaders AFC Bournemouth for the remainder of the season, despite being Cardiff's top goal scorer. He’d go on to score once in 6 games for the Cherries as they won the Championship title, gaining promotion to the Premier League. Upon returning to Cardiff, Jones found himself on the bench following an injury picked up on international duty over the summer, but his return to the first XI resulted in him finding himself on the score sheet a further 5 times for the Bluebirds before joining UAE-based club Al Jazira on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season before going on to join newly formed Atlanta Utd. Liam Lawrence Lawrence joined Cardiff City on loan till the end of the 2011-2012 season from Portsmouth due to their dire financial situation which meant they needed to take cost-cutting measures. He went on to make his debut on 7 March against Brighton & Hove Albion, where he set up the second goal for Cardiff during that match. He scored his first and only goal for the club on 14 April in a 1–0 win over Barnsley. He’d go on to make 15 appearances in total that season, departing in May after the Bluebirds bowed out of the play-offs following a defeat over 2 legs by West Ham. Lawrence was interested in making the move permanent but manager Malky Mackay reportedly stated that whilst he was interested but signing him, this wasn't a priority. On 8 August 2012, Cardiff had opened talks with Lawrence over a possible permanent transfer as Portsmouth needed to clear the wage bill by 10 August or be liquidated. However the move never transpired and after leaving Portsmouth on 13 August Lawrence agreed to join Greek side PAOK on a two-year contract. So, can we make our opponents look like they are running through clay as we blitz them with our counterattacking game and free kick mastery from Ng? Will we approach the game like a Bul(ut) in a china shop and smash all before us, making off the 3 more priceless points?? Or will my lyrics at the outset prove prophetic as we see Ralls break and score??? All I know is the Bluebirds are flying high and whatever the result it's turning into one heck of a season!! Bloooooooooooooobirds!!!!!!! <0>\0/<0>\0/<0>\0/
I had a dog once called Ball who used to sit on my foot. Get off my foot Ball I kept saying to him. Haven’t got a Parker so I’ll just get my anorak. By the way, superb post yet again Brizzle.
Ah! ceramics...my favourite thing after football, music and reading Brizzle's match threads. I can remember boring you on the subject of ceramics before so I doulton intend to do it again here. I fear if I did, a wedge would be driven between us. Tough game this one but if we go at them a favourable result is always possible. Bloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobirds Fantastic read as always Brizzle.
Very unlike me to say this - in fact unheard of - go there to keep a clean sheet and hope to sneak one to win it. Don't generally like a defensive approach even away from home, but Stoke have only scored 16 goals this season - by far the fewest in the top half of the table. One set piece goal could win this and we've got the ability to convert from there as shown recently.
Like a lot of teams, I think it will get stronger as players have more game time together. A lot of those players haven't spent a lot of time on the field together. The back 5 have been settled. Siopis and Ralls getting some time together. Grant has played a lot of minutes, but not with Bowler, Meite and Robinson. Work for Erol to do with blending the bench in as things do seem to drop off as changes are introduced. Like for like changes look good, but it changes the dynamics of the group. And to think, there's Ramsey and O'Dowda to come back yet.
At the risk of upsetting a certain contributor, although he has said he is leaving us, with Etete fit and on the bench why tf is Ugbo still in the 20?
Let's get in the driving seat from the off. Play without fear. Bloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobirds!
Given how big a bench you can carry, I suppose it doesn't matter. Who would we put there in his place?Might be different with Ramsey or O'Dowda fit. The changes are likely to be Etete, Tanner, Wintle and Colwill. Leaves the option of Adams for Siopis, or holding one as a spare in case of injury to one of the 4 you wouldn't have changed anyway.
