Return of the Bluebirds: A Cardiff City AFC Dynasty

[djc7677]

Cardiff City AFC 2013-14 Squad List
Players in italics are out on loan
* Denotes player is loaned in


Goalkeepers

1 David Marshall, 28, 75 ovr (Scotland)
33 Simon Moore, 23, 63 ovr (England)
37 Ruben Blanco, 17, 65 ovr (Spain)

Defenders

3 Andrew Taylor, 26, 66 ovr (England)
4 Steven Caulker, 21, 75 ovr (England)
5 Mark Hudson, 31, 69 ovr (England)
6 Ben Turner, 24, 68 ovr (England)
12 John Brayford, 25, 68 ovr (England)
22 Calum Chambers, 18, 69 ovr (England)
25 Kevin McNaughton, 30, 69 ovr (Scotland)
28 Kevin Theophile-Catherine, 23, 72 ovr (France)
30 Maximiliano Amondarain, 20, 59 ovr (Uruguay)
31 Ben Nugent, 19, 61 ovr (England)
35 Fabio, 22, 72 ovr (Brazil)
38 Joleon Lescott, 30, 79 ovr (England)
42 Declan John, 18, 63 ovr (Wales)
50 Luke Coulson, 19, 54 ovr (England)

Midfielders

7 Peter Wittingham, 28, 72 ovr (England)
8 Gary Medel, 25, 76 ovr (Chile)
13 Bo Kyung Kim, 23, 71 ovr (Korea Republic)
15 Magnus Wolff Eikrem, 22, 71 ovr (Norway)
16 Craig Noone, 25, 72 ovr (England)
17 Aron Gunnarsson, 24, 68 ovr (Iceland)
18 Jordan Mutch, 21, 72 ovr (England)
19 Don Cowie, 30, 68 ovr (Scotland)
21 Joe Ralls, 19, 63 ovr (England)
26 Filip Kiss, 22, 63 ovr (Slovakia)
29 Mats Moller Daehli, 18, 67 ovr (Norway)
34 Jo Inge Berget, 22, 71 ovr (Norway)
*36 Wiflried Zaha, 20, 72 ovr (England)*
39 Craig Bellamy, 33, 73 ovr (Wales)
40 Kadeem Harris, 20, 57 ovr (England)

Forwards

9 Kenwyne Jones, 28, 73 ovr (Trinidad & Tobago)
10 Fraizer Campbell, 25, 72 ovr (England)
20 Joe Mason, 22, 66 ovr (Republic of Ireland)
23 Nicky Maynard, 26, 71 ovr (England)
27 Etien Velikonja, 24, 63 ovr (Slovenia)
46 Rhys Healey, 18, 58 ovr (Wales)

[IchBinDeutsch]

Looks awesome so far! Keep it up

[djc7677]

Quote: Originally Posted by IchBinDeutsch

Looks awesome so far! Keep it up

Thanks! I really appreciate that. Let me know if you have any suggestions or requests for something else you'd like to see.

[djc7677]

Controversial Late Goal Sees Tranmere Past Cardiff in League Cup



Matchwinner Ryan Lowe

A controversial late goal gave the home side an upset victory as Tranmere Rovers advanced in the Capital One Cup at the expense of the heavily-favored Cardiff City.

The match remained deadlocked in the 84th minute, despite Cardiff maintaining 55% of possession throughout the match and taking many more shots than their hosts, though they could do no better than to find the woodwork or force saves from Tranmere 'keeper Owain Fon Williams. The match seemed destined for extra time until Cardiff 'keeper Ruben Blanco went to collect a lobbed through ball. He had the ball in his hands and was bringing it into his chest when Tranmere forward Ryan Lowe crashed into the Spanish teenager, forcing him to drop the ball, which rolled across the goal line. Neither the referee nor his assistant signaled a foul and the goal stood, despite vocal protests from the irate Cardiff manager.

"Absolutely it was a foul," a visibly livid Thomas Shepherd said after the match. "Not a single shiver of a doubt in my mind. Ruben's collecting the ball, bent over to scoop it up, and the other player slams into him like this is ice hockey. That's a foul absolutely anywhere on the pitch, and it should have been a booking when you do it to a 'keeper in a prone position like that. Ruben's lucky it didn't kill him, just ask Petr Cech. I thought there were rules protecting the 'keeper, but I guess these officials never heard of those rules. If they can't get basic, obvious calls like that right, the FA should question their ability to officiate competitive matches on any level. That's my thoughts on the matter, and the FA can fine me if they want, but this result's down to shoddy officiating and nothing more."

No word yet from the Football Association about further actions against Shepherd or the match officials, but sources within the FA make it clear a heavy fine is likely to be handed down to the American manager.

In the remaining minutes, Cardiff threw everything they had at Tranmere but could not find the equalizer. Kenwyne Jones and Jordan Mutch were both unfortunate to rattle the woodwork, while Wilfried Zaha forced Williams into an acrobatic save in stoppage time.

While unfortunate to be eliminated from the League Cup against the run of play, and especially under such controversial circumstances, Shepherd should in some ways be thankful that the Cardiff supporters have match officials to direct their ire against because it deflects attention away from what has been a disastrous start to Cardiff's return to the top flight. Under different circumstances, Shepherd would be under much more scrutiny after losing to such heavy underdogs, particularly after seeming to take the match for granted in selecting a side full of under-21s and over-30s.

The immediate future does not look terribly brighter for the Welsh side as they face Hull City, Everton, and Tottenham in the space of seven days, which should prove a test of the team's depth and fitness, neither of which looks particularly promising this season.

Sep 3, - Tranmere Rovers vs Cardiff City
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Tranmere Rovers ()	0	1	1
Cardiff City ()	0	0	0

Team Stats Comparison
Tranmere Rovers		Cardiff City
1	Goals	0
9	Shots	15
2	Shots on Target	6
19	Tackles	51
3	Fouls	1
1	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
0	Injuries	0
22	Shot Accuracy	40
77	Passing Percentage	78

[djc7677]

Cardiff Battle Back for Draw Against Last-Place Hull



Man of the Match: Jordon Mutch

In an early season six-pointer between two bottom clubs, neither Hull City nor Cardiff City could secure a victory, keeping both firmly in the relegation race.

Hull City shook off two early injuries to go 2-0 up with goals on either side of halftime, but Cardiff were able to rally from behind to level the scores.

[Sorry this is a really short write-up; for some reason I didn't record anything but the box score in my notes, and I played it a few days ago, so I can't remember who scored.]

Sep 15, 2013 - Hull City vs Cardiff City
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Hull City (0-1-3)	1	1	2
Cardiff City (0-2-2)	0	2	2

Team Stats Comparison
Hull City		Cardiff City
2	Goals	2
6	Shots	20
2	Shots on Target	10
47	Possession	53
3	Fouls	1
2	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
2	Injuries	0
33%	Shot Accuracy	50%
	Passing Percentage

[djc7677]

Cardiff Squander Early Lead Against Everton



Man of the Match: Phil Jagielka

Cardiff City got off to an early lead against Everton when Joleon Lescott lost his marker and scored on a free header in the twelfth minute. The Cardiff fans seemed eager to see their side claim the first victory in their inaugural BPL campaign, but their joy, and the lead, would be short lived.

On 33 minutes, Steven Naismith dribbled past Steven Caulker and found the corner of the net. The two sides would carry the level score into the dressing rooms at halftime.

But within minutes of the second half whistle, Gareth Barry put Everton in the lead after dribbling past several defenders with moves that would have seemed more appropriate from Lionel Messi than they were from the former Aston Villa man.

Twenty minutes later, Leon Osman doubled the visitors' lead, and Cardiff manager Thomas Shepherd cut a forlorn figure on the sidelines. Kenwyne Jones was able to pull one back in stoppage time, but the match was long since decided by that point.

"Not good enough," Shepherd said after the match. "We simply aren't doing enough out there. That's on me. Back to the drawing board."

The manager does not have long to make any tactical changes, however, as Cardiff host Tottenham Hotspur in two day's time.

Sep 18, 2013 - Cardiff City vs Everton
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Cardiff City (0-2-2)	1	1	2
Everton (2-0-2)	1	2	3

Team Stats Comparison
Cardiff City		Everton
2	Goals	3
14	Shots	6
7	Shots on Target	5
47	Possession	53
2	Fouls	2
1	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
0	Injuries	2
50%	Shot Accuracy	83%
77%	Passing Percentage	94%

[djc7677]

Cardiff Records First BPL Win



Fraizer Campbell celebrates the match winner

On a soggy day in South Wales, nothing could dampen the mood in the Cardiff City locker room - or in the pubs - following the Bluebirds' first win in the Premier League.

Cardiff looked destined to record another draw as they could not seem to find any purchase against Tottenham Hotspur. Though they maintained a majority of possession and took 10 shots before the winner, they managed just 3 shots on goal. Fraizer Campbell changed all of this on the 83rd minute when he chased down a beautiful through ball from Magnus Wolff Eikrem and beat Hugo Lloris at the near post.

Spurs seemed frustrated by Cardiff's defensive tactics throughout the match, finding space to take only 3 shots in the 90 minutes, though all 3 forced saves from David Marshall, who was up for the challenge.

"It feels great," the Cardiff manager said following the match. "Mostly I feel happy for the guys. They work so hard every day, and I know it's been frustrating to come away with so few points. I'm going to let them enjoy this now, but tomorrow it's back to work. One win won't see us through."

After the match, Cardiff officials announced they have reached a contract extension with club leader Craig Bellamy, which will keep the 34-year-old at the Cardiff City Stadium until the end of the 2014-15 season.

Sep 21, 2013 - Cardiff City vs Tottenham Hotspur
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Cardiff City (1-2-2)	0	1	1
Tottenham Hotspur (2-1-2)	0	0	0

Team Stats Comparison
Cardiff City		Tottenham Hotspur
1	Goals	0
11	Shots	3
4	Shots on Target	3
52	Possession	48
2	Fouls	1
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
0	Injuries	0
36%	Shot Accuracy	100%
80%	Passing Percentage	87%

[UK0wnag3]

"You used to be blue, but know you're red.
You look like ***** when you tap your head."

Good stuff.