This weekend sees our beloved Bluebirds head north for a Mission to Burnley……. Turf Moor is one of those grounds that remind me a bit of Ninian Park, similar size and capable of generating a good old fashioned atmosphere. It has changed a fair bit in its time but has kept it’s basic shape. Probably a good job it’s improved a little from looking at some of the older pictures and from my own memories of going there in the late 80’s!! Who Are You? I think it’s fair to say that a pretty daunting task awaits our boys in blue. Burnley are (at least according to Bet365) 2nd favourites for the Championship title this season, bettered only by perennial chokers Leeds Utd, a club for whom pundits and bookies alike seem to have a blind spot for, choosing to ignore reality in favour of history. The Clarets of course did suffer the blow of losing their key management duo, with Vinny Kompany strangely deciding to ditch Burnley for Munich to manage some little known club in the Bundesliga after overseeing relegation from the Premier League last season. Meanwhile, his 2IC, a certain Craig Bellamy has taken on the daunting task of overseeing Wales’s rebuild in the hopes of emulating those golden days of qualifying for the finals of major tournaments (good luck Bellaz, you have our wholehearted backing). In place of this departed management duo comes Scott Parker, formerly manager of Fulham (relegated twice and promoted once under him), Bournemouth (ended rather acrimoniously) and errrr Club Brugge (sacked after 2 wins in 12 games and taking the team from 12 points off top when he joined to 21 points away), a record which kind of begs the question, why did Burnley go for him? One can only surmise they like his dress sense! The Lancashire side have been active in the transfer window, losing error prone keeper Muric to Ipswich, and ex-Leeds stopper Peacock-Farrell but taking on ex-Tractor Boys ‘keeper Vaclav Hladky with a second ‘keeper also arriving at Turf Moor in the form of Etienne Green from Saint-Etienne (talk about destined to play for a club!!). They have also brought in Benin international striker Andreas Hountondji who joins Brazilian left-back Lucas Pires and Dutch full-back Shurandy Sambo in signing with the Clarets while Johann Berg Gudmundsson also re-signed on a one-year deal having initially been released at the end of last season. Last Time Out & Form Burnley were crowned Championship title winners on the day the Bluebirds last came up against them at a jubilant Turf Moor, with our wavering side experiencing a heavy 3-0 defeat as Burnley racked up 101 points, taking the title by a 10 point margin ahead of the now also relegated Blades of Sheffield. In contrast, that defeat for the Bluebirds left them just a meagre 5 points clear of 22nd placed Reading who had also suffered the devastating blow of a 6 point deduction. Many opposing fans have since claimed that we only survived thanks to that deduction, however, that is an over simplistic statement which ignores the fact that as soon as we were mathematically safe from the drop, our then gaffer Sabri Lamouchi began to experiment with the side, bringing in some of the younger players for some valuable minutes – would he have done that if more points were still needed? One suspects not. Form guide wise (based on the end of last season and a single league game thus far this season), our hosts have only picked up 2 wins in their last 6 games, however, it has to be kept in mind that 5 of these were in the Premier League. They did however pick up a notable 0-0 against Man Utd in that period, a result which briefly have them some hope of retaining their top flight status, but 3 defeats in a row to finish the season soon dashed any faint lingering optimism. In, Out Or No Sign Of Them About Just how unfortunate can we be? No sooner do we pick up knocks galore in pre-season than Dave Turnbull picks up a groin injury in the warm up of our cup game against Bristol Rovers, putting yet more pressure on the squad. Thankfully Turnbull is still at best a bench warmer for the moment but his absence is likely to mean more reliance on the youngsters and the hard working but limited Andy Rinomhota. Callum Robinson is also a doubt for this one with an Achilles issue after the opening day defeat to Sunderland. Hopefully it is only minor and doesn’t set him back psychologically with the player by his own admission feeling good after a wasted season last year. One plus from midweek was the return of Mark McGuinness, a player who contributes plenty at both ends of the pitch, but with transfer speculation continuing to swirl, will the club risk a saleable asset? I think if Erol has his way, he may well come in for this one (if he doesn't and isn't in the squad then I think we'll be waving bye bye to him). With the squad already straining a little, I can’t see there being too many changes from the opening day apart from covering the injuries now sustained. Predicted Starting 11 Horvath Ng Goutas McGuinness O’Dowda Siopis Ramsey Willock Ralls Meite Kanga The Odds Bods For this one we go back to a little pocket dynamo of a player who graced the turf for both teams and has also been a loyal servant at international level too. As well as playing for both us and Burnley, this guy has also had the pleasure of representing two other Welsh clubs in Wrexham and Swansea. Top Boy Top Trumps Given our opponents reputation for playing the game the 'right' way (if there really such a thing??), it only seems right and proper that we take a look at the engine room and our 'middle men'.... Match Day Melody They say it's grim Ooop North, and as if to echo that...... So, can we take our magnificent midweek win as a sign that we're up and running? Given that we made 11 changes I guess not, but hey, wins breed confidence and we're certainly going to need that coming up against a side that trounced a fellow newly relegated side away in order to get themselves up and running whilst we laboured at home against a side that finished below us - but stranger things have happened and you'd never count us out against anyone completely... Onwards and upwards I say!! Blooooooooooooooooooooooooobirds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bloody marvellous as always Brizzle Perhaps we can indulge in a glass of Red, Red Wine after an unforeseen win against the Clarets. Stranger things have been known to happen. Bloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobirds
Magnificent Mr Brizzle. I fear there will be two losers tomorrow. The Bluebirds and Sparkey who won’t be able to resist those odds.
One of Burnley's scorers at Luton, Wilson Odobert, won't be bothering us. Spurs have just signed him for £25m. No one saw that one coming. No rumours, inside knowledge, nothing.
I do find it very confusing when they put a game on at the historically normal time. It really throws me. Next thing we'll be playing home one week, away the next. How can I plan my week around that?
Cardiff City: Horvath, Ng, Goutas, Chambers, O'Dowda, Siopis, Ralls (C), Ramsey, Méïté, Willock, Kanga. Substitutes: Alnwick, ***an-Walcott, Bagan, Rinomhota, Robertson, R. Colwill, Tanner, Ashford, Robinson.
An ultra defensive midfield - no Robertson No McGuinness in squad Straight swaps for Tanner and Robinson
A couple changes that don't look revolutionary. The bench looks to have fewer options than last week.
Did that really happen And I don’t mean that Meite miss (he’s so poor on one on ones) but that howler by Hovarth.
Making all the running trying to equalise but now undone by a break but poor defending to allow Rodrigues to break and the scorer unmarked.
more possession again, more touches in the opposition box. lack of goals. Burnley, 1 shot on target, 2 goals.
Nowhere near the rout many were predicting. In fact according to a text from a friend at the game (Burnley fan), we're the better side and a bit unlucky.
It’s a game we’re expected to lose yet playing better than than the scoreline suggests. What’s worrying is again non league defending and a lack of finishing quality are costing us.
