Well, here we are then, last game before Santa visits and the halfway point in the season. Are we where we thought we'd be at this stage? Suppose that depends on whether you are a glass half full or glass half empty kind of fan, but with our recent ups and down once thing I think we can all agree upon is we should be thankful for not being in yet another relegation dogfight at this stage of the season! This pre-Christmas weekend sees us trek up north to go to Hillsborough, the home of Sheffield Wednesday for a game that sees our first real chance of doing a league 'double', though we'll need to see a real improvement on recent performances if we are to achieve that feat, with the Owls actually starting to show some decent form and improving week by week whilst our own team seem to have become exceptionally goal shy over the last 6 games. Ex-Bluebirds Vaulks and Paterson are frequent team members and will no doubt both be keen to get one over on us should they make an appearance. As alluded to earlier, last time out saw the Bluebirds run out 2-1 winners at the CCS back in August, courtesy of a controversial 98th minute penalty, gifted to the City by none other than Will Vaulks - so even more ammunition for him to take to heart if/when he steps out against us. Maybe he'll be so fired up he can be tempted into a reckless challenge or 2 and get his marching orders?? (Think that's known as wishful thinking). https://www.skysports.com/watch/vid...1-sheffield-wednesday-championship-highlights Bulut's Bulletin The only injury doubt for this one would appear to be Perry Ng again, though not with his eye/vision issue but an ankle knock/pain instead. Erol has confirmed he will be checked over ahead of the game Saturday. No news on Ralls as yet so one can only presume he is fit and available again. Our experimental line up last Saturday appeared to do us no favours whatsoever, and even our subs made little impact against a rampant Tigers team so I can see Erol ringing the changes yet again as we try to get ourselves out of this slump and crawl towards the halfway stage, hopefully with enough points to both feel comfortably safe with regards to the relegation scrap but also with enough to just about keep us in touch with the top 6 and a slim, outside shot at the play-offs should we be able to upgrade the squad in January. Such is our plight right now that I wouldn't be surprised to see Romaine Sawyers given a run out from the off! What Are The Odds On That? In keeping with our desperation at this time of year, Erol has turned to his Buddy for some help with the odds this week. Reckon the away win is looking quite Elfy, and we could be in Pole position for the points if all goes well. Well I Never Did you know that the first ever Steel City derby took place in 1891 (our beloved Bluebirds probably weren't even an idea in Bartley Wilson's head at that point in time) in front of just 3,250 fans. The game ended in a 2-1 win for Wednesday. Sheffield also has its own Walk of Fame Located outside the Town Hall. There are a number plaques in the shape of stars engraved with the names of famous sons and daughters of Sheffield and why they are well known. Athletes Jessica Ennis and Sebastian Coe and actor Sean Bean are among the names that make up this ‘Walk of Fame’. I want to know where Colin's name is on that list???? Sharing The Love Having listed a fair few ex-Bluebirds in the home game, it was rather more slim pickings this time around for players that have played a 'decent' number of games for us.... Will Vaulks On 27 June 2019, Vaulks signed for Cardiff City for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal in a reported record sale for Rotherham. He made his debut on 10 August in a 2–1 victory over Luton Town as a second-half substitute in place of Gavin Whyte, and scored his first goal on New Year's Day at the end of a 6–1 loss at Queens Park Rangers. On 10 June 2022 Cardiff announced Vaulks would leave the club when his contract expires on 30 June whereupon he signed for Sheffield Wednesday on the expiration of his Cardiff City contract. Vaulks later revealed his disappointment over the way he was treated in the latter stages of his Cardiff City career with him claiming his lack of game time at Cardiff City Stadium during certain periods was due to the Bluebirds' eagerness to ensure an extension clause in his contract was not triggered ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. "To be told I would only play a certain amount of matches because they didn't want my contract to trigger was really a disappointing thing to go through," he told BBC Radio Wales Sport. "I gave my all for the shirt and I want to play every week. "And that was taken away from me. So I am disappointed and that's why you have to be careful in interviews not to say too much because I don't want to put a downer on everything that happened. "The last three or four months were really tough mentally. I think the fans probably got that from me in a couple of the goal celebrations because there was a lot of frustration from myself because I'm a person that wants to play. "I wish the club all the best because you always do because the fans deserve that, but yeah, I still am slightly disappointed at the way it ended. It's a cliché that a lot of footballers use at a club is 'a rollercoaster', but I would say that pretty much sums up my time at Cardiff. "I had some good times, some bad; overall probably disappointed - three years when I reflect, it wasn't the way I planned the three years to go when I signed for the football club. "I don't want to lie, I'm honesty disappointed with the outcome after three years. I am disappointed at the way I was treated at the football club, I have to be honest. But that's football." Vaulks netted twice during his final season in south Wales, the first of which was a late winner at Reading in April while he also scored an equaliser against Birmingham City from the penalty spot on his final outing for the club. The seven-cap Wales international signed a two-year deal with Sheffield Wednesday and left Cardiff having made 117 appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals Personally I think he could have been a half decent player for the Bluebirds and didn't quite get the breaks he may have deserved, but as he says, that's football! Jimmy Gill Jimmy Gill was an inside-forward for Cardiff City during their greatest era. Gill spent five years at Ninian Park before moving on to Blackpool – and played a key role as Cardiff City earned promotion from Division Two and then missed out on becoming First Division champions by the narrowest margin before or since 1925. Sheffield-born Gill had moved on to play for the Tangerines of Blackpool by the time Cardiff City won the FA Cup in 1927, but he played at a time when the Bluebirds slugged it out with the best in Britain. Top scorer Gill, described as a ‘marvellous signing’ by manager Fred Stewart, steered Cardiff City to FA Cup success – the semi-finals in 1921, quarter-finals in 1922 and 1924 plus the final in 1925, when they were edged out by Sheffield United. Cardiff also missed out on becoming Football League champions in heartbreak fashion, missing out behind Huddersfield Town on goal difference – by 0.024 of a goal. Gill and his team-mates had started the final day of that season leading the table by a point. A win would have Cardiff City champions, while even a draw was likely to be enough. Cardiff drew 0-0 at Birmingham City and even missed a penalty. Huddersfield had to win 3-0 against Nottingham Forest to take the title and did. The legendary Herbert Chapman was Huddersfield’s manager. Gill started his playing career with home-city club Sheffield Wednesday and transferred to Cardiff City for £750 (circa £28,000 today – obviously inflation in football transfers has outstripped general inflation, just how much would a player like this be worth nowadays, especially with our goalscoring troubles!?). He scored Cardiff City’s first goal in the Football League, during the opening game of the 1920-21 season in their 5-2 win at Stockport County and was top scorer that season on 19 goals. He is among an exclusive group of Bluebirds’ players who have netted more than 100 goals for the club, scoring 103 in 22 league and cup matches and consistently challenged strike partner Len Davies as top scorer whilst at the club. Pat Heard After coming through the ranks at Everton and having played for the likes of Aston Villa, Newcastle and our hosts Sheffield Wednesday, following two seasons at Hull, Heard left to play for Rotherham United, winning the Fourth Division title. This was followed by Cardiff City during which time he reportedly turned down an offer from Norwegian club Randaberg IL to become their player-manager. Heard appeared 46 times in the Fourth Division across two seasons with the club. His four goals contributed to 13th and 9th positions respectively. In 1992 Heard returned briefly to Hull switching before continuing his career with the Brunei M-League Team under Mick Lyons in the Malaysian League. A clash of heads fractured his skull ending his playing career at the age of 34. After football, Heard was landlord of the Three Tuns, Boothferry Road. After several years, he embarked on a variety of careers including as a publican in both Hull and Chesterfield, a summariser for Free Radio Birmingham, a stage hypnotist and as an Approved Driving Instructor, even teaching former Villa youth players such as Barry Bannan, Benji Siegrist, and Andreas Weimann to drive. Kadeem Harris Harris signed for Cardiff on a three-and-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee from Wycombe in January 2012 but didn’t make a first team appearance until the 2014-2015 season. Loans spells at Brentford & Barnsley followed in which Harris made 11 appearances for Brentford scoring two goals, but he still started to become a regular under new manager, Russell Slade, who was appointed in the October. He played his first league game for Cardiff in a 5–3 loss to Bournemouth, on 20 December, scoring his first goal for The Bluebirds in a FA Cup win against Colchester United, following this with his first league goal against Norwich City. In August 2015, Harris joined League One side Barnsley on loan until the November. He made his debut in a goalless draw against Bradford City and went onto make 14 appearances for Barnsley without scoring before returning to Cardiff. The 2016-2017 season was undoubtedly Harris’s best for the Bluebirds. Making 38 appearances, scoring in the Severnside derby against Bristol City in a 3–2 win and scoring two goals to help Cardiff come back from 2 goals down to beat Derby County, 4–3, before scoring his third in two games against Rotherham United. His performance throughout the season saw Harris gifted the number 11 shirt for the 2017–18 season, however, an ankle injury suffered during pre-season ruled him out for 3 months. Following several games for the under-23 side, Harris eventually made his return to the first team in a 0–0 draw at Sheffield Wednesday, replacing Junior Hoilett. Harris scored his first goal since returning from injury in the 2018–19 season, in a 4–2 win over Fulham in the Premier League, Cardiff's first win of the campaign. On 13 July 2019, it was announced that Harris had signed for Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer The winger has since reminisced of his moved to the Welsh capital, "First of all, what an amazing club. Amazing fans," Harris says of Cardiff. "It was eight years and it was a rollercoaster. I had many downs, injuries, not being selected and so on. But it was a great experience, I learned so much. "That transition from a boy into a man was all done at Cardiff. It was a place where I grew mentally and physically and as a player. "I played with a lot of great professionals as well. I have a lot of good things to say about my time at Cardiff. "My best memories in football have happened at that club. It's a place I can definitely call home forever." He admits there were times he was left frustrated. His time at the club was punctuated by loans to Brentford and Barnsley, as well as frustrating injuries whenever he seemed to break into the team. But there were undoubtedly times of sheer, boundless joy. In fact, by his own admission, his greatest moment in football came in that Cardiff win over Fulham in the Premier League. He went on to sign for Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv, but due to the Russian invasion has since moved to Turkey. So, will the festive season bring some long overdue cheer to us Bluebirds with an early gift of 3 points? Will Erol be seen as a good king if we score more and Wednesday less?? Will we get back on solid ground,for a game or two, so no one feels forlorn, watching attacking passes when a child is born (under a Grange End Star)??? All I know is, Christmas is a time for miracles, so we just need to keep believing in Bulut and pray that our slump doesn't become a crisis, and that VT get's all festive with the purse strings in a few weeks time!! Will take this opportunity to wish all Bluebirds, near or far a very Merry Christmas, a fabulously happy New Year and will raise a glass to you and yours' health and happiness. On that note, still missing you Clingo mate, we need you back!! Bloooooooooooooooooooobirds!!!!
Fabulous yet again Brizzle. Expect Sparkey to put a wad on Cardiff at 5/2. Thank you for all your superb pre match epistles and I for one am looking forward to the second half. Plymouth at home next on Boxing Day. I remember we got drawn against them, at home on Boxing Day quite a lot when they last graced the Championship. Happy Christmas to you and your family and all not606ers. My ideal Christmas present would be if Clingo let us know where he is and how he’s doing. Come on pal, give us a sign.
Too good for his own boots this Brizzle fellah!!! Yet another epic. Keep it up in 2024 young man. I hope all Bluebirds and friends from other boards, that's mainly you Robbie, have a great Christmas and brilliant New Year. As mentioned above, come back Clingo. We miss you.
TEAM NEWS Cardiff City XI: Alnwick; Ng, McGuinness, Goutas, Collins; Siopis, Ralls; Bowler, Robinson, Grant; Meite. Subs: Runarsson, Panzo, Romeo, Adams, Wintle, Sawyers, Tanner, R.Colwill, Etete.
