Well, this is it then, lose this one and we may as well pack up, give in and await relegation as a foregone conclusion eh? Or, maybe not?? Whilst Erol Bulut’s recent press conference may have come across as ‘spiky’ and or dismissive of anyone who dares criticise, there is something in his words that should maybe sit and resonate within each and every fan of the club because ultimately, whether you succeed or fight and fail, we should be doing it as a “team” through thick and thin. Hopefully this weekend of all weekends the fans will back the team regardless, if only in honour of a player who, whatever the setbacks never gave up and even came back as a coach during extremely difficult times knowing success was probably less likely than failure, yet there he was, front and centre giving it everything for the cause, the one and only Souleymane "Sol" Bamba. Who Are You? This weekend’s opponents are of course very apt as they too had the pleasure of witnessing Big Sol wear their club shirt with pride and passion too. Leeds come to the CCS in fairly decent form but having slipped up at home to Burnley, losing a game they dominated 1-0. Despite that setback being Leeds’ 1st league defeat of the season manager Daniel Farke continues to remain under pressure from the Elland Road outfits fanbase who it seems expect more from their (apparently) underperforming team – but then don’t they always? In terms of transfers, since last season’s failure to achieve promotion back to the big time, Leeds have lost several big names, including Crysencio Summerville, home grown favourite Archie Gray & Georginio Rutter, not to mention the departure of long serving talismanic Liam Cooper. They did however hang on to many others and clearly have a squad capable of living up to their ‘favourites’ tag to win the league. Welsh Internationals Joe Rodon, Dan James, Ethan Ampadu & ex-Bluebird Charlie Crew all remain at the club, whilst the talents of Junior Firpo and Manor Solomon can not be dismissed. Farke has however confirmed that the Yorkshire side will be without Dan James for sure whilst winger Manor Solomon is a major injury doubt with a back problem. Defender Rodon has missed two training sessions due to a glute issue and Junior Firpo has been struggling with a ligament problem while Joe Rothwell has rolled his ankle. However they and striker Patrick Bamford are expected to be available for the clash at the CCS. On Cardiff the Leeds gaffer stated he feels the Bluebirds squad is equipped to turn their situation around: "Cardiff has a really good group. I look at their team-sheet: Callum Robinson, Yakou Meite, so many experienced players in the centre of the park... I think they have a team to finish in the top half. They have all the ingredients. " Last Time Out & Form Our last game against the White’s was something of a glum experience for us Bluebirds, suffering a 3-0 home defeat and, unusually for us, not taking maximum points off our visitors which has, in recent times almost become a bit of banker for us. That game meant that it was 4 in a row (including our 2 FA cup games) without a Bluebirds win, a bit of shock given that we have only lost on 6 occasions out of 30 since 1983 to the Yorkshiremen. That 3-0 home reverse last season was noting short of a stroll for the visitors despite our own play-off ambitions at that time, with Leeds even passing up scoring from the penalty spot with a miss from the now departed Summerville. Form wise, as mentioned, last weekend saw Leeds slip to defeat for the 1st time in the league. With 2 wins, 2 draws and that 1 defeat from their 5 so far it’s been a steady start, but with much, much more expected from them as the season wears on. In, Out Or No Sign Of Them About It never rains but it pours eh? We can’t buy a goal or a win, yet our beleaguered squad is hit by yet more bad news. It has now been confirmed that Rambo is likely to be out for a couple of months following his injury picked up in his cameo for Wales against Montenegro. Jamilu Collins and David Turnbull are nearing full fitness and coule be available for the squad, however Callum Robinson, Kion Etete, Isaak Davies, and Jesper Daland remain unavailable. This means Rubin Colwill is likely to retain his place in the starting 11 potentially together with Joel Bagan who acquitted himself pretty well in the weekend defeat to Derby before being replaced by the more attack minded Tanner. Will we see a break up of the much maligned Ralls/Siopis partnership? If this is genuinely ‘last chance saloon’ for Erol Bulut then maybe just maybe he might go with something a little more adventurous. Predicted Starting 11 Alnwick Ng Chambers Goutas Bagan O’Dowda Colwill Ralls Robertson Kanga El Ghazi The Odds Bods This Young man needs no introduction – What an evening that was! Top Boy Top Trumps No ‘Trumps’ this week – just total respects being paid to a ‘Top’ bloke in Big Sol. The club will be holding a tribute to the big man before the game and it just seems fitting to look back on his time with us. It’s kind of apt that Leeds are our opponents, as during our history we shared a love for a previous ‘gentle giant’ of the game in John Charles and for me, that moniker fits Sol perfectly. Joining in 2016 from our opponents this weekend, Sol became an instant hero, starring in an unfamiliar defensive midfield role on his Bluebirds debut against Bristol City at the CCS and scoring the crucial 2nd goal in a 2-1 win, the other goals in the game coming from another club legend gone too soon and a player that would become a cult figure at the club too. He went on to score a further 9 goals across 118 appearances helping guide us to promotion to the Premier League. If memory serves me correct it should have been 10 as a fantastic overhead effort was disallowed v Millwall with the ref having blown too early for a City free kick on the edge of the box just as Sol was in mid-air and about to score a stunner that even Ronaldo or Messi would be proud of. He departed from the club in June 2021 but was reunited with Manager Neil Warnock at Middlesbrough for a season bringing the end to his playing career after being released at the end of the 2021-2022 season. He then returned to Cardiff as coach under Sabri Lamouchi with the daunting task of helping the Bluebirds to avoid relegation to the third tier, a fate not faced by the club since the 2002-2003 season when we gained promotion via the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium. The SAS team (Sabri & Sol) achieved their mission, with the Bluebirds narrowly avoiding the drop but not being kept on after their rescue act. Sol went on to become head coach at Adanaspor in Turkey where, sadly, on 31st August it was announced that he’d lost his battle with cancer and passed away. RIP Sol – you never gave up the fight and were a true Bluebird, the world is worse off for your departure. Match Day Melody With what this game means in more ways than one, we need to stand up, stay strong and keep fighting…… Do it for the shirt, do it for the fans, do it for Sol! C'mon the City!!! Blooooooooooooooooooooooooobirds!!!
Words fail me BB. I can't find anymore different ways of saying brilliant !!! Let's hope the manager, players and home fans put in a magnificent performance in honour of Sol.
We are seriously unworthy of you Brizzle. The tribute to Sol brought tears to my eyes. Such a sad loss. He wouldn't have allowed any defeatism to creep in. Let's go Erol. Bloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobirds
Fantastic thanks for that totally superb One point I had to laugh at was their gaffers quote - saying that he must have had his tongue firmly in his cheek
Heart rending bud and you threw Whitts at us too, what's wrong with you man? I'm going to sit in a dark room on my own with a glass of JD (honey with 2 cubes of ice) and not come out till the glass is empty. Right then where's the bottle?
My guess is that he's doing his utmost to avoid complacency and overconfidence setting in.... In saying that, he's also not wrong insofar as we DO have good players on paper. I don't think many of us were disappointed when we signed either of the name checked players given their past records. Sadly, especially in Meite's case we've just not managed to get him firing.
To be honest I'd forgotten Whitts was the other scorer in that game until I watched it back. So tragic to have lost them both the way we did. Both were superb people let alone taking their skills and dedication into account. Raise a glass on my behalf too Turk ..
So the three marquee summer signings are all on the bench. Only positive for me is Colwill starts. Pity Daland is still injured but it gives Fish a chance.
Bit of pace with Tanner starting but all too often he struggles when starting games... Was really hoping he'd go for Robertson over Siopis for this one.. Ah well, let's see where it gets us.
Just catching up, shame that we're pretty much done for with that red card for Bagan. Talk about getting kicked whilst you are down
11v11 would have made no difference. The distinction in basic football skills was so patent. Whoever is in charge next game cannot start Siopis Kanga or Chambers.
I don’t normally go on stats but I’ve never seen such a one sided chart Yes I know we were down to ten men but we were home ffs
What the **** is up with you boys? Seriously you need to get your act together, I know it's early doors but bloody hell time to start hitting the onion sack lads.....
