(Just for Irish - CCS graphic included) What a difference a game makes.... game #33 (32 for our visitors) sees a newly buoyant Bluebirds take on Reading at the CCS in a Friday night, Live Sky clash. Paul Ince's Reading side come to us on a bit of a mini high themselves, having triumphed for the first time in 7 league games following their 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Rotherham, the Biscuitmen last having tasted victory on the 27th December in a 2-1 home win v Welsh Minnows Swansea Town. It's fair to say, Reading are a bit of an odd side. Some very good names in their line up, with no little skill, but their results all season have been unpredictable. Boasting a top scorer in managers boy Tom Ince on 7 goals who is supported by traditional "big man" Andy Carroll (5 goals) the City backline will once again have their work cut out. Sitting in 15th spot and 9 points better off than the Bluebirds, the Royals will be desperate to avoid defeat to save themselves from being dragged back into the relegation mix, however, with them boasting the joint 4th worst defence in the division there may be hope that our low scoring Bluebirds may yet have a chance of seeing back to back wins for the first time since Lord knows when. Earlier this season, in just the 2nd game of the season, our beloved City went down 2-1 at the Select Car Leasing Stadium following a memorable Tom Ince screamer from distance in what was otherwise a relatively evenly fought contest that the Bluebirds should have taken something from (were the warning signs really there that early on!!??). The Bluebirds took the lead through O'Dowda only to see a penalty given away by Curtis Nelson, allowing Reading to equalise before Ince went on to bag his belter. Last season's corresponding fixture at the CCS again saw the Bluebirds lose a narrow game to our visitors by a 0-1 scoreline. That day former Bluebird Junior Hoilett sunk the knife in to condemn our boys to a 5th straight defeat during Mick McCarthy's reign. This was yet another game dominated by the Bluebirds that skipped away from them. Oh Junior, did you really have to???? Lets just hope a little bit of history isn't repeated on Friday night! Early Bluebirds Team News More of the same please Mr Lamouchi.... After switching back to a 3 man central defence and wing back system worked so effectively against an in form Birmingham, one would expect the gaffer to stick with a similar if not same system. This particular scribe would like to see Robbo partnered with Kaba or Etete up top rather than a double "big man" pairing, and following his excellent solo goal after coming on against Birmingham one could be forgiven for almost expecting this to happen. Hopefully Rinomhota's withdrawal with an apparent knock on Tuesday won't prevent him from lining up against his former team after an impressive showing against the Blues. Prutton & Co Predict I'm not sure I like this, but Davey boy and his pal have finally tipped the Bluebirds to...... not lose. He states; "That was a massive, massive win for Cardiff in midweek. It brought to an end such a poor run of form and will give Sabri Lamouchi something to work with going forward. They need to build on that from here. Reading also got a good win at home to Rotherham. It shouldn’t be underestimated what their pre-season expectations were, and the fact they are where they are is a brilliant achievement. I fancy a few goals in this one, and a draw." So, Sky's Mystic Meg is predicting an entertaining 2-2. The draw is also the bookies favourite result (if I've done my maths homework correct), with the following odds; Home win 11/10 Draw 9/4 Away Win 13/5 Fun Fact During 1926-27 un-fancied Reading reached the semi-finals for the first time, bowing out to eventual winners Cardiff at Molineux. Convinced that Reading would reach the final in 1927 local biscuit business, Huntley & Palmers made FA Cup-shaped biscuit tins – but had to send them to India when they lost in the semi! The Biscuitmen's resolve crumbles like a Rich Tea being stepped on by Hughie Ferguson's boot! Sharing The Love Having covered greats such as Robin Friday, Sean Morrison and Junior Hoilett amongst others in the away thready, there are a few "decent" names on this list. The indomitable Phil Stant catches the eye along with the skillful Jordon Mutch, however, the interesting ones for me are 2 players that actually signed for City as part of the same deal. I recall Nigel Vaughan joining us but had forgotten that Karl Elsey also joined at the same time from Newport. A deal that saw Tarki Micallef, John Lewis & Linden Jones all go in the opposite direction. Karl Elsey looks determined to clear whilst Nige pops up with the winner in a 1-0 rout of the Jacks in 1985. So, can the Bluebirds bounce continue and make Ince wince? Will our Ng midget run Reading off the road?? Can we rout the Royals and start to climb the table??? All I know is, it's Friday and it's Crack a Jack.... oh, sorry, wrong game... It's Friday and IT'S LIVE.... C'Mon the City...... Blooooooooooooobirds....
I don't know from where you get the energy or inspiration Brizzle but I'm glad that you do. It's another brilliant effort sir. I can remember that prior to the away game, we were on a high following the win over Norwich. I also remember how much we berated Mr Ince senior. So I'm not going to do that this time (but I still dislike him). Perhaps after the Brum game, confidence will be a lot higher which will hopefully translate into composure in front of goal. No doubt we can beat them just as long as we can score. Bloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobirds
Feck it. I'm out of humongous phrases of praise. Keep it going Brizzle to maintain our morale if not our morals. We're due a good result against Reading so hope tomorrow is it. Batter them!!!
Another masterpiece Brizzle and thank you for the CCS graphic. Very interesting and who knew our pitch was a Desso GrassMaster hybrid? I noticed the outpouring of togetherness among the players, manager and staff after Tuesday’s win; or was it relief? Anyway it showed how much our team want to play for each other, and us the fans, so let’s hope for another win tomorrow and make it a squeaky bum time for the teams below and around us on Saturday.
Updates from last night/today... Sabri pre-Reading | We need to show our confidence Despite the quick turnaround from Tuesday night’s win to Friday night’s fixture, the City manager had positive news to report injury wise. “So far, all looks good after Tuesday. We're all ready,” Sabri said. “It is a third game in just six days. To start building momentum, it begins after the first win. But once that comes, you're immediately looking for the next one. “We want no regrets at the end of tomorrow night. They'll come to disturb us. They'll try and create opportunities. We need to start better than we last did at home. “It's a different opponent and attitude. I hope we can show our confidence and we'll see what is possible on Friday night.” The substitutes at Birmingham City made a huge impact after coming on. City skipper Joe Ralls made a goal saving challenge, while Connor Wickham and Callum Robinson combined for our second goal. First discussing Connor’s immediate impact, Sabri continued: “He's another option for us. He can help offer us a different system. I was impressed with everyone who played and came on. “I said to my captain Joe Ralls - I have so much respect for him. He's a captain that has always played and he didn't start at Birmingham. He finished the game and fought for us. He fought for us, for the team and for the result. “I was impressed with the attitude of Callum Robinson, who came on and scored. We are a group. I love to work with this squad. They have a good mentality. “Probably, we’ve missed a bit of character in the past. But they all showed their character at Birmingham. Because you cannot get that kind of result and clean sheet otherwise. “We controlled the game. We played a perfect game. We didn't give them anything and Ryan [Allsop] didn't have anything to do. “They showed me something. We need to confirm that on Friday.” Sabri concluded with a word on the City fanbase ahead of a big game at CCS. “We need the support from our fans like in Birmingham. It was incredible. We need that. Our players need that. “They will be there. They were with us against Middlesbrough. It felt like 2,000/3,000 people travelled to Birmingham. It was a lot. They will be in the stadium to support us, and I hope, to help us, win the game.” Robinson pre-Reading | We're going to need everyone Callum Robinson spoke to Cardiff City TV ahead of our clash with Reading, discussing our recent form and the midweek win at Birmingham City. "I think we've been close over the last two or three months." Robbo began. "I know it doesn't look great with the results, but in a lot of those games it's been a last minute goal from the opposition, and I feel like we've been very unlucky, so it was nice to get two late goals and get that win. "You could see in my reaction, for myself and for the boys, where we are at, that it was a massive goal. I enjoyed it! "It's been a busy week, but this season it's felt very busy, with the World Cup in between as well. If we can top the week off with another win, and six points in a week, that would be massive for us." Callum spoke about the impact made by three new faces in the Welsh capital - Sabri Lamouchi, Sory Kaba and Connor Wickham. "It's been good. When new faces come in, it always helps the group. Sometimes it's nice when you get lads that come in who are fresh, wanting to prove to the manager that they're good enough to play. "Hopefully they can continue doing well and being positive on the pitch. Sory has done well, he got his first goal here which was good, on his first start, and I thought he did well the other night. "Connor came on with myself and set me up as well. It's been good, and we're going to need everyone to get us over the line. "The manager has come in and tried to give us some positives and a reality check at the same time, and we needed that." Reading visit CCS on Friday night, and Robbo concluded by discussing our upcoming opponents. "If I remember rightly, they started [the season] really well. They've got a lot of experience, a lot of players that have played in this league for a long time, and higher as well in the Premier League. "We know that they're a threat, but we know that we've got a lot of ability. Obviously they got the win on Tuesday night as well, and we got the win, so it should be a good game. "I still back us to get the win. These are still the games that we do need to win, and I think we can do that. "It helps, a win, especially when we went so long without one, just getting that feeling. We've been in all week, and we were in on Wednesday, and it was nice to see smiles back on people's faces. "If we can have a good result on Friday night as well, then we've had a really good week, and hopefully we can continue it on."
Paul Ince has said: “Any game for us at the moment is going to be a tough game. We don’t usually have games where we’re 3-0 up and we can just breathe… they tend to be tense, nervous games! “I don’t expect any different at Cardiff. They’re coming off the back of a 2-0 win at Birmingham, which isn’t an easy place to go. They’ll be in a buoyant mood. And they haven’t had an easy start under Lamouchi, with three away games from his first four. So they’ll want to get three points in front of their fans. “We’re under no illusion – it’ll be a tough game. But we go in off the back of three points against Rotherham, so we’ll go in full of confidence."
Have BBC sport been knocking on your door yet Brizzle? Your pre game analysis is always for superior to a ything they or any other sports broadcaster produces. Must be a second career there for you.
It would be a dream move.... The only issue with such a career change is that I'm not sure I could be impartial enough when covering certain clubs.... Though if Wales Online want to hire me instead to be a dedicated Bluebirds correspondent then I'm game. I would insist that I need to retain my duties here too of course as part of any deal!!
If we can get the first goal, I just hope we don't shut up shop to try to see it out. Reading can be sloppy at the back and have conceded more goals this season than everyone bar Hull, Wigan and Blackpool, but they can also score as well. I'd take a 1-0 win right now, but we've been done before trying to hang on to that sort of scoreline. We've got some grunt up front now with Kaba, Wickham, Etete and the pace of Robinson - get one and go for more must be the shout.
