Quite a good write up from a Cardiff perspective... In 2008 Cardiff City played Hull at home having just reached the FA Cup final. Fans were told that anyone who bought a ticket and kept hold of their âHull stubâ would be able to purchase a ticket for the showpiece final at Wembley. The only reason you would keep hold of a stub from this game would be to scare children into going to bed early, warning them that if they werenât asleep in ten minutes you would tell them the story of Cardiff City 0 â Hull City 3. Trembling, the children would dive straight into bed, pausing only to check under the bed for bogeymen and demonic linesmen. There are good days and bad days in the life of a football supporter. And then, there are days when you get battered at home by Hull City. Our victory over Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Saturday felt like a turning point for our season, instead it was merely a roundabout as we fell straight back into the bad ways that has seen our league position plummet. Criticising Kevin McNaughton in Cardiff is generally worse than suggesting someone is related to the milkman, but for several months now his poor play and woeful distribution has deeply frustrated me. In the opening five minutes of the game came a perfect example of why Kev has currently lost the right to be called super, as from a corner he headed the ball through the legs of David Marshall for no apparent reason. It was an utterly ridiculous decision to make, the ball was barely off the ground and he near enough had to lie down to head the ball from that position. We rode our luck with own goals on Saturday, but this was simply stupidity rather than bad fortune. 1 â 0 down very early in the game then, but fresh off four points from two difficult away games and the added option of Robert Earnshaw on the bench, surely the team would find a way to recover from this early mishap? I have the utmost respect and admiration for Malky and this side, but the reaction to going behind was simply not good enough. After Hull almost scored an own goal of their own, the only clear cut chance we created fell to Kenny Miller, who blasted the ball so far over the bar that a dog walker in Canton is currently looking up the phone number for Claims Direct. Hull are one of the best sides defensively I have seen this season, but that is no excuse to be so completely toothless at home in a game we needed to win. If Hull were better going forward they could have increased the lead in the first half, Aaron Mclean with a couple of good opportunities that went to waste, while Robert Koren, Corry Evans and Joshua King all had efforts that they will feel that should have done better with. We did manage to win a couple of corners for ourselves despite the lack of creativity upfront, and just before half time it looked as if we had found a barely deserved equaliser. Ben Turner headed home from a corner, only for the linesman to briefly let slip of his guide dogs lead to insist the goal be disallowed, apparently for offside. Our performance was unacceptable and I am not blaming the officials for defeat, but had this goal rightly been awarded we may have gone on to get something from the game. The referee showed a yellow card to Liam Lawrence for his part in the protests, the linesman very lucky that Filip Kiss wasnât on the pitch as he would probably have slide tackled him into Row Z of the Grandstand. The goal was not going to be given no matter how much arm waving or accusations of what the referee did in his private time and we needed to move on to try and score again, but this didnât happen. The score at the break remained 1 â 0 as people all round the stadium discussed what needed to change for the result to improve. Kenny Miller puts in a lot of hard work, but he hasnât scored for so long that rumour has it the squad have given him a blonde wig and taken to calling him Fernando. The second half began with no sign of Robert Earnshaw or anybody else from the bench to change things. Within a minute of the restart a bad situation became a crisis as Hull doubled their lead in a manner that was all too easy. The Tigers broke away through the impressive Koren, before Joshua King found James Chester who had so much time and space in the box he could hardly miss. Our defence is capable of superb displays as they showed against Liverpool and the first half of Brighton, but they must take responsibility for leaving David Marshall exposed here. Falling 2 â 0 behind seemed to finally wake the Bluebirds up and we enjoyed a good spell of pressure at this stage where it seemed certain we would score. Three corners in quick succession due to work from Whittingham, Cowie and Miller looked as if they were going to break Hullâs resolute defence down, instead we would somehow find ourselves 3 â 0 behind. The ball was lost on the right hand side during a promising attack, and despite Aaron McLean appearing to be so offside he was almost standing in Bristol (having watched a replay he does appear to be just about level) the linesman could not be tempted into a late attempt to get back into our good books and the flag stayed down. McLean hammered home at the second time of asking and that was that. The first substitution was made by Malky, as Don Cowie gave way for Craig Conway. It was not the substitution that many fans wanted to see at this stage. The pressure had been growing from the stands for Malky to throw on Robert Earnshaw, and with little over 15 minutes remaining and with the game as good as dead they got their wish. Kenny Miller had cracked the post and seen the ball roll across the line and out about ten minutes before, but didnât threaten again and was replaced by Earnshaw. Robert Earnshaw is a Cardiff City legend and for many of us a big reason why we fell in love with the club. Sadly, he is not the same Robert Earnshaw from his first spell, his pace seems to have deserted him and instead he shoots wildly every time he gets the ball. There is nothing I would like more than Earnie to be a success, sadly I just canât see it. He did come fairly close to a goal more through luck than judgement, but the sharpness and intelligence that was a big part of his play was nowhere to be seen. Thousands of people streamed out the exits early, while many more stayed to try and roar the team on to at least one goal. It was not to be and the Tigers small band of supporters will have certainly had a very enjoyable trip home. Through a mixture of bad luck, poor decision making and plain and simple sloppiness, this was perhaps the worst day of the season so far. Several players that I am a big fan of such as Gunnarsson, Taylor, Cowie, Miller and Mason all had poor games and they will be disappointed with themselves. They and we know that they are capable of so much more. Whittingham was also sat too deep in the midfield for my liking, the guy is a genius with a football, let him get close to goal and make something happen. Several players need a rest for the fixture on Sunday against Burnley due to exhaustion, however the squad is not really big enough to accommodate everybody that needs a breather. Iâm not sure what the answer is. but something has to change if we are to avoid more nights like this one. Donât let questionable officials fool you, we were poor and deserved to lose this game. My belief in Malky has not wavered for a single second, it should not be forgotten that he has done an excellent job. However, he will have to work harder than ever before if we are to keep up with the rest of the playoff pack now. It is a sign of how respected this team is that they can play so badly and be clapped off the field, now is the time for them to repay the support and bounce back with a couple of victories and get the promotion push back on track. By the way, I worked it out and we still need 7 points to avoid relegationâ¦.(joking!)
Very good read, and certainly gives City rightful credit for the performance, unlike Malkys view of the game.
There are good days and bad days in the life of a football supporter. And then, there are days when you get battered at home by Hull City. Did he really think Hull city would be a walkover? Why do people underestimate our side? One word, idiot!
A few comments from their fans have been like that. As if we're a team everyone should be beating or something.
A lot of the bigger clubs assume that because we had a **** team a decade ago, we must have one now. Then there's Cardiff, who were in Division 3 themselves as recently as 2001.
You'd think we'd at least made some sort of mark after being in the Premier League more recently than Leeds, Leicester, Southampton, Cardiff, Middlesbrough, Reading.. yet we're treated like a Doncaster/Bristol/Coventry type of side. Even if they thought we were **** in the Premier League and didn't deserve to be there, you'd think people would at least acknowledge that we managed to get there in the first place and avoided relegation first time around. Oh, and for highlights: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17268073
Ben Turner headed home from a corner, only for the linesman to briefly let slip of his guide dogs lead to insist the goal be disallowed, apparently for offside. Not offside shirt pulling on Vito Mannone. and he was flagging before the ball went in apart from that not a bad report.
Yes that just about sums it up very nicely John. Cardiff on tuesday could have the same effect on the team as WBA away 2-1 win did in 2008.!!!!
That's a really good, fans eye view of the game. I doubt very much if Cardiff had beaten us 3-0, you'd see a write up like that from one of ours. In fact I bet you can find more negative ones about The Tigers, by Tigers fans even though we DID win 0-3.
I think some people here are taking the Cardiff quote the wrong way - perhaps a little bit too much of "backs against the wall, everyone hates us" attitude. If Liverpool lost 3-0 at home to Man Utd, their fans would say "there are days when you lose to 3-0 at home to Man Utd". That is not because they think that Man Utd are a bad team, but that it hurts to get spanked by one of your rivals. The comment could just as easily, and probably more likely, have meant that it hurt to be beaten by a rival, than meant that it hurt to be beaten by lowly Hull.
Don't know why some City fans get so uptight about being viewed as underdogs. Some of those same people then say on another thread that we don't want media attention and would rather be the underdog!
