Wednesday sees the first City of Wales visit the second City of England as our beleaguered Bluebirds make the relatively short trip north to visit Birmingham City to play them for the third time this season. Whilst our own blue shirted heroes may be feeling a little under pressure, that must surely pale into insignificance for the blues from Brum as they face the same scenario that we did at the same time last season, that of a relegation battle following just 1 win in their last 6, but with Gary Rowett back at the helm as their 3rd gaffer of the season you can guarantee they’ll start to show a bit more grit and determination from here on. Last time out saw an insipid home performance against the then Wayne Rooney’s Blues with the midlanders running out 1-0 victors. Welsh midfielder Jordan James was pulling the strings that day with the goal coming in bizarre fashion as Juninho Bacuna was left to easily round the on loan goalkeeper Runarsson. You have to go back 10 league games for a previous league defeat (1-0 defeat at St Andrews in 2017) so let’s hope that the game earlier in the season is another outlier in the stats and ‘normal’ service can be resumed. The blues do have several ex-Bluebirds in the shapes of Dion Sanderson, Cody Drameh and of course Neil Etheridge (though he apears to have been ousted from the starting 11 by Jon Ruddy), so I'm sure there'll be no lack of fight or determination to get one over us once again. Bulut's Bulletin So, just where does Erol go from here? Just 1 win in the last 4 and all the signs of the season petering out in a whimper. Injuries are once again taking their toll on the squad with an injury list that includes Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Kion Etete and midfielder Ryan Wintle, with the latter both missing the Hull defeat, as did Republic of Ireland international Callum O'Dowda. Indeed it's rumoured that Esbrand's season could well be over, so Jamilu Collins is a certainty to retain the left back position again. Despite being in probably the worst form of his time with us, Perry Ng is likely to keep his place ahead of Mahlon Romeo and with Mark McGuinness still some way off fitness, the centre back pairing will remain unchallenged. Midfield could be an interesting area however with none of the starters really able to claim much credit from the weekend defeat and despite his lack of goals, Meite will most likely retain his place up top, though many I'm sure would like to see Callum Robinson given a run out instead. By his own admission, with the play-offs now certainly beyond us we may now see a couple of the highly rated youngsters given a long overdue chance by Bulut - one can only hope. What Are The Odds On That? It says an awful lot about our recent form when even a relegation threatened side are favoured more than we are for the win! With the hierarchy in hiding and the players all keeping their heads down or being injured I've now had to turn to 'celebrity' fans to help me out with the odds, but from looking at them I'm already thinking 'don't give up the day job mate'..... Sharing The Love This being our 3rd game against this opposition it gave rise for a chance to pick out a few less obvious players who have donned the shirt for both sides. One loan man who was at one stage fancied to join the Bluebirds as part of a management duo, an ex-Jack who made a minimal impression and a state-side 'star' all feature as well as yet another striker who just didn't really fit in with us. Omar Bogle point out the direction the Bluebirds are headed in during 2017! Omar Bogle Bogle signed for Cardiff City in August of 2017 on a three-year deal for an officially undisclosed fee although Cardiff manager Neil Warnock supposedly later stated that the transfer fee was £700,000 (really???). His debut came five days later in a 2–1 loss to Burton Albion in the EFL Cup but he made his first league start for the Bluebirds, scoring in a 3–1 win over Ipswich Town in the October, shortly followed by his second 5 days later against Bristol City, before being sent off in the Severnside Derby. Upon his return he scored the third goal in a 3–1 win over Norwich City but he later fell out of favour and was subsequently loaned to Peterborough United until the end of the 2017–18 season. He scored his first goal for Peterborough in a 2–1 win over Walsall on 27 February 2018. In August 2018, Bogle joined Birmingham City on a season-long loan. He made his debut as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 defeat away to Middlesbrough, and made three league starts during August. However, as Che Adams began to develop a productive partnership with Lukas Jutkiewicz – both had ten goals by mid-December – Bogle became increasingly peripheral, losing his place on the bench to youngster Beryly Lubala. Bogle's loan at Birmingham was cancelled by mutual agreement on 28 January 2019, and later that day he joined Portsmouth of League One on loan until the end of the season. He scored on his debut the next day in a defeat away to Luton Town, and produced an equaliser against Doncaster Rovers on his Fratton Park home debut in his next match, going on to score 4 times in 12 games for Pompey. In January 2020, Bogle joined Eredivisie club ADO Den Haag on loan until the end of the season and was subsequently released by Cardiff at the end of the 2019–20 season. On 9 October 2020, Bogle joined Charlton Athletic. He is now at Newport County where he’s scored 27 times in 81 appearances. John Cornforth NOT in a Jack's shirt! John Cornforth Having signed for Swansea under Frank Burrows, who’d been assistant manager at Sunderland, he made around 200 appearances, captained the side on a Wembley appearance – the Autoglass Trophy win in 1995 and was inducted into Swansea’s hall of fame. It was also while at Swansea that he was called into the Welsh national squad, the selectors having been doing a bit of digging around the family tree. He was quoted as saying: “Me and Vinnie Jones at the same time,” John recalls. “They wrote down the national anthem in English for us and told us to learn it pretty quick.” After only two Welsh appearances though he suffered both cruciate and medial ligament damage. Though a £350,000 move to Birmingham City followed, he was never quite the same. He moved on to Wycombe Wanderers, Cardiff, Scunthorpe and Exeter City – later to become manager of Exeter City, Torquay and Newport County when all three were bottom of their respective leagues. All escaped relegation. Joining after City’s promotion in 1989 to what is now League One, Frank Burrows was given a decent sized budget by new Chairman Steve Borley in comparison to previous years. In the summer of the centenary year of 1999, in came previous loanee Matt Brazier, centre back Russell Perrett, Dutch right back Winston Faerber, former Coventry midfield man Willie Boland and Welsh International midfielder Cornforth who all were soon being seen in first team action. However, the former Swan would go on to make very few appearances and would net just 1 goal in his time with the Bluebirds. The season itself would end in relegation While the team’s away record that season wasn’t great, it was on a par with a few of the sides that finished above them, but it was the dire home form, despite the “intimidating” Ninian Park factor, with a woeful total of just five wins from the twenty three home league matches that did serious damage – only two of the three sides that finished below us won fewer home matches. Another factor was perhaps the fact that we only managed to score forty five goals from our forty six games – echoes of more recent times eh? William ‘Billy’ Ronson The midfielder was a Bluebirds fans favourite in the late 1970s and early 1980s. in part due to his diminutive size, he stood just 5ft 4ins tall, but also due to his all-action performances and commitment to the cause. Ronson began his career at Blackpool making his professional debut in 1975. He then had a season on loan in America playing for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and later in his career was to spend a lot of time in the States but after his first spell abroad, in 1979, Ronson signed for Cardiff City for what was then a club record fee of £130,000. During two seasons in the Welsh capital he proved a reliable presence, but despite 90 appearances he managed just four goals although one of those is etched in Cardiff folklore when Ronson popped up to score the winner in a South Wales Derby against the Bluebirds’ bitter-rivals Swansea City at Ninian Park on April 7, 1980. In the end Ronson became disillusioned with Cardiff and moved to Wrexham in 1981. He went on to feature for Barnsley, Birmingham and Blackpool again before heading to the States to finish his career. He played much of his football in Baltimore and when he went into management, after managing a women’s college soccer side, he was assistant boss at Baltimore Bays and also when the club was renamed Baltimore Spirit, he also has two seasons as manager with the Bays. Ronson was inducted into the Baltimore Blast Hall of Fame and Blast president and general manager Kevin Healey said Ronson had sadly battled health issues with Ronson dying of natural causes in April 2015 aged just 58 at his home in Perry Hall, a community in Baltimore County. Eddie Newton Newton took his first steps in the Football League with Cardiff City in 1992. He was a little-known reserve without a first-team appearance to his name when City manager Eddie May signed Newton on a three-month loan. His debut came in a 4-0 home win against Chesterfield and that was the start of a six-match winning sequence culminating in a 1-0 Welsh Cup win against Swansea City at the Vetch Field. Newton was a class act at that level, attendances climbed and City built a challenge for promotion. He stated: “I was 19 years old when I played for Cardiff City and I have fantastic memories from that time,”. “It was a great education for me. I was living away from home, playing in a different environment, and loved it. “Nathan Blake was at Cardiff and I knew him from Chelsea. He was always a big support to me and so was the manager. That time help me grow up in football terms. “When my loan period came to an end I know Eddie May had it in mind to keep me longer, but Chelsea wanted me back. I will never forget my time in Cardiff and I still enjoying going back.” Newton’s friendship with Blake, which started at Chelsea when both were trainees and continued with Cardiff City. “We are extremely close friends, most people know that,” he says. “Basically, we grew up together at Chelsea and then our lives collided again at Cardiff. “Nathan and I talk or text a lot. That will never change.” Newton’s playing career was ended by knee problems in 2001 when he was still in his 20s. On 2 July 2008 Newton was appointed assistant manager to Roberto Di Matteo at Milton Keynes Dons. A year later, on 30 June 2009, Di Matteo was appointed head coach of West Bromwich Albion and it was reported that Newton would be joining him at the club as assistant head coach. When Di Matteo was relieved of his duties in January 2011, Newton also left the club. On 5 March 2012 it was announced that Newton would be joining the back room staff at Chelsea, supporting Roberto Di Matteo. Di Matteo had just taken over as interim Head Coach at Chelsea following the departure of André Villas-Boas. In his time as assistant manager at Chelsea he won the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup. He was appointed assistant manager at Trabzonspor in February 2020 and then in August 2020, appointed manager on a permanent basis, after a successful period as caretaker winning the Turkish Cup. He was however sacked as the club's manager after winning just one of his seven games in charge in October 2020. He does though remain one of the most fondly remembered loans of all times at the City! So, will the dangling carrot (no, not Jasper) of 3 points be enough to entice the Bluebirds to another away win? Will Erol turn to our (assumed non-musical) youth so they can pass the footie on the left hand side and into the net?? Or might we end up with another performance where the side melt like Cadbury's chocolate when the heat is on??? All I know is the end of season can't come quickly enough now. I think fatigue is starting to set in amongst us fans let alone the players!!! But hey, we'll keep cheering (or shearing in Remote's case) until the bitter end. Bloooooooooooooooooooooooobirds!!!!
Another masterpiece BB. Fatigue may be setting in with our players and fans but thankfully not with the BB keyboard.
Fantastic work Brizzle and a truly joyous read. As always, it brought a smile to my face which is quite an accolade considering that normally I've got a face like a ripped dap. I particularly liked the piece about Eddie Newton who really did achieve hero status in such a short time at our club. Hope this game will be the start of a good run in so that for the first time for a few seasons, we'll finish above both our local rivals. Thanks again Brizzle. Bloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobirds
Just looking at the league table after tonight's results..... Our little cousins are getting perilously close to the bottom sides again, a couple of which we play in our next two games. There could just be a silver lining if we suffer more heartache to teams below us .
Stunning thread again Brizzo and a real credit to this board - unfortunately I'm losing interest in the games themselves. Safety from the drop this season has conversely had the opposite effect to the nail biting games of last year insofar as results are less meaningful. Performances on and off the pitch now seems to be the benchmark for the rest of the season. Don't know who's going to turn up tonight apart from our diehard travelling fans. Big question at the moment seems to be will Bulut stand the test as well as the players? The main thing that we've got going for us is that Brum are desperate for points and we're not - that could be the key if City can put on a credible team performance. It's become a bit of a joke that I always back City to win in prediction league and with hard cash , but @ 16/5 against, I'm taking the Capital to nick this one.
Brum will be up for this game given they’re staring down the barrel so it’ll be annoying if City put in a poor performance. They owe it to the travelling fans, and those watching at home plus the other basement clubs.
Like I said - a credible team performance from us and Brum could overplay it due to their deserate need for the 3 points. They won't be playing for a point - that's the point I'm making.
Let's play high tempo fro the off and get some goals. Then get the young subs on so that they have a positive experience.
