Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong, after victory in the West Country...... Our hearty heroes are back home on Wednesday evening for a tussle with the Terriers following another derby day delight on Saturday that now sees us on a 3 match unbeaten run and having enjoyed back to back wins for the first time since October, which, oddly enough, saw us beat Bristol City at home by a 2-0 scoreline after a 4-0 hammering of Huddersfield away (incidentally, also our biggest win of the season), surely these are all good omens right? However, not to put a dampener on things but Huddersfield have shown some improvement in form themselves in recent weeks and whilst we were playing out our 1-0 double clinching victory in North Somerset, our visitors were grinding out a steely 1-1 with their own near neighbours Leeds Utd, despite the loss of Jonathan Hogg right at the end of 1st half stoppage time to a red card (he is now suspended for their visit to the CCS). That draw was pretty darned close to being a 1-0 home win against the form team of the division, so rest assured we are in for a tough night again despite their lowly position in the table and credit must go to new gaffer André Breitenreiter, who was appointed last month following the departure of previous boss Darren Moore (he is their 3rd gaffer of the season of course following Moore replacing 'our' Colin). Breitenreiter spent his playing career in Germany, representing the likes of Hannover 96, Hamburger SV and VFL Wolfsburg before switching to management in 2011, where he managed TSV Havelse before moving to SC Paderborn in 2013 (Paderborn of course being where we signed Jamilu Collins from). His first season at the Benteler-Arena was a remarkable one, guiding the club to their first ever promotion to the Bundesliga. After spells at Schalke 04 and Hannover 96, Breitenreiter managed outside of Germany for the first time in his career, joining Zürich and leading them to the Swiss Super League title in 2022, so the guy definitely has some pedigree. With just 3 defeats in our last 20 games versus Huddersfield, and our recent new found resilience again though, we have to be favourites to sneak this one right???? Last Time Out Bulut's Bulletin Well, I don;t know what Erol has put in the boys' water but whatever it is, it's working... for this one. Karlan Grant is expected to be available again against one of his former clubs having overcome a calf issue, though with recent results a place on the bench may be in store for him. Similarly, Kion Etete who hobbled off on Saturday is also expected to be available again following a bit of stiffness (steady Masky!!) in his abductor (I said STEADY MASKY (P.S. if Grant disappears we know who has him!!)). The lesser spotted Callum Robinson also made a comeback for the U21's today but tomorrow night will likely be a game too soon for his return to the squad and how good was it to see the 'other' Callum get some minutes under his belt on Saturday? I'd again expect him to retain his place on the bench whilst he gets back up to full match fitness. No news on Mark McGuinness yet so Nat Phillips, who is improving game by game should continue to deputise. What Are The Odds On That? Bumped into this guy who was just casually strolling out of Ashton Gate on Saturday - apparently he was dressing up to go visit some chap up in Gloucestershire who'd mentioned something about predicting his future and it clearly involved lots more goals this season.... bit worried that he is confident enough to make us odds on though!! Sharing The Love Not enough time to do a full run down, so back to a game of Guess Who again this week. Can you identify these 'lesser known' Bluebirds who have also played for our opponents? This winger was a regular in the year we has Osman, Hibbitt & Burrows in the hot seat at various times. He made 42 appearances and scored once in the Blue shirt. is now Aston Villa's player development officer (or something like that) This wee fella was once at Arsenal and played in our promotion season in 1988 including scoring direct from a corner against Crewe in the promotion clincher. Has gone into management since and was, at one point, a hot tip to take over at the Bluebirds. This shot stopper was only with us for a short while, making 39 appearances in total during 1996-97. Weirdly my sister is god mother to his daughter (not that that helps you identify him). By all accounts his nickname is 'Axe' due to his appearance being like that of an axe murderer - nice. This former Toon star certainly had some moves, though sadly his 'Disco' skills were only on show for a short while in the blue (or Yellow) of Cardiff as injuries and age caught up with him, restricting him to just 35 appearances. So, can we make it three and easy and get the last few points that will almost guarantee safety? Will Ng and the boys dog it out with the Terriers and go fully XL Bully on them as they tear their way to victory?? Or can sink them just like we did when when we downed them at the John Smith's and left them feeling bitter??? All I know is, we've resisted the Rovers, we've broken the Potters and we mashed the Carrots... taming the Terriers has to be next!!! Blooooooooooooooooooobirds!!!!!!!! \0/<0>\0/<0>\0/<0>\0/<0>\0/<0>\0/<0>\0/
Hope you’ve got copyright on these masterpieces Brizzle. Another belter but I haven’t got a clue on the sharing the love. Memory is not what it used to be. By the way I had a lovely trip last Saturday to watch Mrs Brizzle’s team get shot down by the mighty Bluebirds. Nice stadium but the away end was a bit cramped. Anyway I learnt four new songs and six new swear words!
Mmm can’t recall the first but is the 2nd Brian McDermott before he lost his hair? Tony Elliott & Disco Des Hamilton make up the rest? Did we really score 4 goals in one game this season? Seems an age since that game which witnessed the one and only City goal by Meite. Quick edit. Tony Carss comes to mind but TBH it’s just a punt?
Well if we win this one, we're up to 10th. Huddersfield will definitely be at it with Sheffield Wugboday making progress
Super job again Brizzo. We've only won 4 games so far this season by more than a single goal margin - Rotherham, Bristol and the Jacks all 2-0 at home and the best scorewise as Brizzo says was the 4-0 win in the reverse of this fixture. To be honest, most others have either been streaky wins, some fortunate draws and also some embarrassing losses/performances like at Hull, Norwich and Southampton. So what's changed? It's hard to put your finger on it but I sense more positive vibes recently. Maybe that's just the psychological effect of two wins on the bounce, or it could it be a turning point with O'Dowda now back and Tanner having had a mental shake up - Nat Phillips' defensive influence is another factor. So where do we go for this next one? We can't keep relying on the back 4 to get us on the scoresheet. Upfront there exists an obvious problem, so the midfield has got to get a grip and push on - there are goals in Turnbull and Colwill. Jonathan Hogg being banned is a bonus - he always puts himself about and causes us problems. Time to push our playing zone forward rather than just trying to contain. I'm looking for another 2 goal minimum winning margin - at least.
I reckon Phillips settling a bit more is a big help for sure. His first few appearances were a little mixed. Turnbull is a funny one. I've no doubts he could prove to be an excellent signing but it must be one hell of a change coming into a pretty average midfield set up after playing in a side that is used to dominating games massively. He, rather than Colwill is probably the most likely successor to the role we wanted Rambo for in the longer term IMO. We could actually end up being blessed with two very good young players in that area. Tonight will be a very stern test again though. Udders recent results show they are actually a very capable side... Plus they are scoring quite regularly too. Hopefully we can try take advantage of what must be a slightly suspect backline (though TBF even their goals against column isn't terrible at 56). I think it's likely to be another tight game again.
I just hope it’s a win and an entertaining game rather than that dreadful last one under the lights v Blackburn. From kick off get it into their half quicker and keep a higher line at the back.
First of all we have to win because it's my birthday. Secondly, a win will almost certainly secure our Championship status. Thirdly, I'm hoping to see us play with a bit more belief. Lost countly, blooooooobirds!!
'Udders are going to keep it tight, it's up to us to break them down. Bulut needs to get it right from the start and not rely on substitutions to win the game.
