Wednesday 31st March
1999
All ticket.
City's remaining three league games have been made all ticket. Please
check with the ticket office for opening times and availability. (01222) 222857 /
222858). The Grange End will be used for away fans for the game v Hull on Easter
Monday and the game v Swansea on April 18th. I'm not sure about the visit of Scunthorpe on
May 1st. Because of this availability of tickets for home fans is decreased.
Swalec Cup final
This year rugby's Swalec Cup final will be held at Ninian Park.
Tuesday 30th March 1999
Scunthorpe fall at Plymouth.
I mentioned earlier that a Plymouth win tonight against Scunthorpe would
be the ideal result for City, well the Pilgrims rattled 5 (five) past Scunny without
reply. The Iron stay 10 points behind us and Plymouth edged closer to the top but are
still 15 points behind City.
FAW Premier Cup semi final details.
The 1st leg of the FAW Premier Cup semi final will be at the Racecourse /
Wrexham on Tuesday April 27th, kick off 7:15pm. No date yet for the 2nd leg but it is
expected to be early May. The final is scheduled for Sunday May 23rd.
Cambridge countdown.
Most of the tickets for Saturday's showdown have now been sold. Contact
the ticket office for details (tel no's on the front page of the website). Cambridge will
be without striker Trevor Benjamin for the game, he is out through suspension. The U's
will also be without heir regular goalkeeper, he has broken his hand, their reserve team
keeper steps in. City at this stage have a full strength squad to choose from. Promotion
challengers Scunthorpe play at Plymouth tonight, a home win for the Pilgrims will suit us,
that would leave The Iron 10 points behind with only one game in hand (just over a week
ago they were 8 points behind with 3 games in hand - just goes to show how unpredictable
this league is). Plymouth are no threat, they are 18 points behind at the moment.
Saturday 27th March 1999
CARDIFF CITY 2 - 1 CARLISLE UTD. Match report.
A far from convincing performance but
hey we are top of the league. I had a row with a bloke behind the directors box this
afternoon when I jumped up at the end and started to celebrate being top of the league
again and he told me it was bloody rubbish and to pipe down. I then reminded him that 1.
we won, 2. we took all three points, 3, we are now top of the table again. No one wins
this division on quality football alone. Sometimes you have to grind out results. A
shocking error by Hallworth gifted Carlisle the lead in the first half, within 5 minutes a
moment of Jason Fowler genius set up Kevin Nugent to head home the equaliser. Jason Bown
capitalised on a drefensive error to clinically finish on 54 minutes to give City the
victory.
One last point. Eiffion Williams scored
a hat trick on his debut for Torquay today. One that got away methinks. But talking to
City directors today it was Frank Burrows descision not to sign him, he had the option to
but thought he was no better than anything we have already (how many hat tricks have we
seen this season). My support of Frank Burrows is second to none. We are top of the league
and looking damn good for promotion. I support him fully but in the back of my mind I
think a few bob on Eiffion would have been money well spent.
Friday 26th March 1999
Friday night.
Cambridge only managed to draw at Shrewsbury tonight. The U's led with a
61st minute goal from Wanless but Seabury equalised for Shrewsbury in injury time. City
can now go 2 points clear at the top if they win tomorrow. Orient won tonight at Halifax.
Relegation threatened Hull and Scarborough both won as well. This leaves City's opponents
tomorrow, Carlisle in a very precarious position. They are only two points clear of the
dreaded last place.
Carlisle preview.
Well, not a lot to say regarding team matters. No new players in or out of
Ninian Park yesterday so its as you were. The squad are at full strength with Jason Fowler
returning after his one match ban at Exeter. With only nine games left it goes without
saying that a win is vital. Promotion rivals Cambridge and Orient are both playing away
from home tonight, best wishes go to Shrewsbury who would do us a favour by beating
Cambridge and I suppose a draw between Halifax / Orient would be the best outcome for us.
If Cambridge fail to win tonight we will go back to the top of the table if we win
tomorrow. That would set up next weeks clash at Cambridge very nicely indeed.
Thursday 25th March 1999
TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY.
There's no news on any City signings yet. Eiffion Williams from Barry has
joined Torquay Utd in a 3 year deal. I understand the fee to have been around £60,000.
Williams has been linked to a possible move to Cardiff for a long time but Frank Burrows
would never commit himself. It will be interesting to see now whether Eiffion can do the
business in the Nationwide League. Yesterdays Echo say that City were hoping to sign
striker Guy Whittingham on loan until the end of the season but he elected to move to
Watford instead.
BRISTOL ROVERS res 3 - 3 CITY res
City came from behind three times to draw with Rovers last night. Mike
Ford played for 90 minutes and capped a commanding performance with a goal. Rob Earshaw
scored twice in what by all accounts was a very competitive and very entertaining game.
Tuesday 23rd March 1999
Scunthorpe fail against Swansea.
The Iron had 3 games in hand on City before tonights match with Swansea, 3
wins would have put them above us but thanks to a 2 - 1 victory for Swansea Scunthorpe are
still 8 points behind but with only 2 games in hand.
Loan players.
Christian Roberts will stay at Edgar St, Hereford on loan for another
month. Nathan Cadette has joined Merthyr on loan for a month.
SOUTHERN JUNIOR FLOODLIT CUP
CITY yth 1 - 1 PORTSMOUTH yth
Portsmouth won 5 - 4 on penalties.
After 90 minutes the game was 0 - 0. City scored
10 minutes into extra time and when it looked like that was going to be the winner Pompey
scored in the 120th minute to send the game into penalties. It was 4 - 4, then both teams
missed one, City then missed again with Pompey scoring the winner from the next sudden
death kick. A good effort but unlucky.
Monday 22nd March 1999
SOUTH WEST COUNTIES YOUTH LEAGUE CUP
SEMI FINAL
CITY YTH 3 - 0 EXETER YTH
Rob Earnshaw scored twice for the youth on
Saturday morning. That win sets them up nicely for the replay against Portsmouth tonight
at Ninian Park in the Junior Floodlit Cup. Result to follow tomorrow.
City reserve news.
City have a reserve team match on Wednesday at Bristol Rovers. The match
will take place at the Memorial Ground and kick off is 7:30pm.
Ninian park planned upgrades.
Below is the schedule for the work planned to be carried out at Ninian
Park. This is a continuation of the story I mentioned on Saturday.
Phase One. To start close season.
Grange End. Work will begin to bring the terracing up to new safety standards. The
barriers will be moved into parallel lines to conform to safety directives. Cost £80,000.
Grange End capacity is now 2,234. It could raise to 3,350 after the work is completed.
Bob Bank. New weather proofing to the sides of the existing stands. Improvements to
be made to the toilets and catering.
Phase Two.
15 hospitality boxes to be built at the back of the Canton Stand. A new millenium
club and restaurant above them. The ground floor of the Canton stand will have a
supporters bar.
Bob Bank. 3,000 new seats to be added to the terracing at the front of the Bob Bank
taking the total numbers of seats to over 8,500. An extended roof over the new seats with
new floodlights along the roof (the existing fllodlights on that side of the ground would
be taken down). Further upgrade of the toilets and catering.
The current capacity of Ninian Park is 14,881
(reduced to 13,400 under safety group guidelines).
The capacity after improvements will just just
under 19,000 with over 15,000 seats.
Saturday 20th March 1999
EXETER CITY 0 - 2 CARDIFF CITY. Match report.
A goal in each half from Kevin Nugent
has put City back on top of Division 3 (Cambridge will go top if they win this afternoon).
A poor first half ended on a high note with Nugent turning the ball home from 4 yards on
39 minutes. The second half was much livelier and Nugent secured the points with a diving
header from 6 yards out on 60 minutes. Exeter pressed to get back into the game but some
good and sometimes ragged goalkeeping kept them out. John Williams came on for the last 15
minutes and missed two one on one chances. Dai Thomas came on for the last 5 minutes and
nearly set up Nugent for his hat trick.
Ninian park upgrades.
Todays Echo carries a back page story on the planned revamp of Ninian
Park. Planned to start at the end of this season is work on the Grange End to bring it in
line with safety directives. The crush barriers (currently staggered) will be repositioned
to allow gaps from top to bottom. Major work will be carried out on the Bob Bank, wind
protectors will be placed on the sides, an extention will be added to the roof with
floodlights placed along it. The front terrace area will be seated. Executive boxes and a
fans bar area will be built into the Canton Stand. When the work is completed capacity at
the ground will be up to around 19,000. Most of the work will be funded from grants but
some of the money raised in the forthcoming share issue may have to be used.
Updating problems.
This morning my hard disk on my computer at home died. I have lost a lot of work
but fortunately I keep my football stuff here at the the office. I have come in this
afternoon to update as much as possible after our great win today. I will though not be
able to do any further updating until I get back here on Monday. I am only missing the up
to date league table and Nigels match report. I cannot do the goals or teletext until the
computer at home is sorted. Hopefully soon. I will though have the goals on video tape so
as soon as the computer is fixed I will put them on the site. Usually I do all the after
match work from home so please I ask you to be patient and I will fully update on Monday.
At the time of writing we are top of the
table, maybe in two hours time we won't be but for now I sign off a happy table topping
man.
Friday 19th March 1999
Gunning for the Grecians.
Please lets win tomorrow. The current dip in form is killing me. While we
are not losing many games we are not winning either, One victory in the last 8 matches
with 5 draws, ironically the same stats as this 6 week period last season. Then we went on
to lose a lot of matches, this year we must advance on a winning streak. Again over the
last week the other challenging teams failed to take full advantage. Brentford only
managed two draws, Cambridge were hammered at Barnet, Orient lost at home to Hull. Most
teams still envy our position, we have a 7 point gap over the play off zone but we have to
kill these pretenders to our promotion crown off. We have 10 games to go. My prediction is
that 80 - 82 points will comfortably see us into Div 2. That means we need 17 - 19 points
from 10 games. 5 wins minimum required plus a couple of draws. Lets start win 3 points
tomorrow.
Jason Fowler misses out tomorrow after picking
up 5 yellow cards. Mike Ford is back in contention after his lay off. He played for the
reserves in midweek and came through with no problems. He may well come straight back into
the team and take back his captains armband. With Fowler out Danny Hill and Richard
Carpenter will be joined in midfield by Mark Bonner or Craig Middleton, the one missing
out will be on the bench. There will be no new faces in the squad for tomorrows game but
with our next match in 8 days time being after the transfer deadline I would hope to see
two new faces in the squad before we play Carlisle. Today's Echo says that Frankie has
lost interest in the European striker he watched last weekend (forgive me for being
cynical but was the European striker a myth and was Frankie really missing last week
because he had the hump?) far be it for me to critisise our leader though.
Youth news.
The youth team have two cup matches in a 60 hour period. Thay play against
Exeter youth tomorrow in the semi final of the South West League Cup and on Monday
entertain Portsmouth in the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup replay at Ninian Park.
Wednesday 17th March 1999
Happy St Patricks Day to all Irish
Bluebirds.
Plymouth res 1 - 3 City res
Mike Ford made a succesful return to playing action today in a reserve
team victory at Plymouth. City won 3 - 1 with 2 from Rob Earnshaw (1 pen) and a goal from
Craig Middleton. Ford played for over 60 mins and came off just after the hour in a pre
planned substitution.
Mike Ford plays for the reserves today.
City reserves play at Plymough today. Mike Ford makes his return to action
in a side which includes Rob Earnshaw. The starting XI is S. Kelly, Cadette, P Kelly,
Phillips, Jarman, Ford, Bonner, Thomas, Williams, Earnshaw, Middleton.
Jarman, Bonner and Williams all came on as
second half substitues last night at Rotherham.
Result to follow later.
The morning after.
Last nights defeat has highlighted the poor recent form. Ony one win in
the last 8 league games. Hardly championship form. In those 8 games we have failed to
score 3 times and have drawn 5 of the games. At the end of January we were flying, we had
just stuffed Brentford 4 - 1 and we were clear at the top. Now 8 games on we are second,
all the teams around us have games in hand, the championship is now a dream not a reality,
Cambridge have 2 games in hand on us and lead us on goals scored at the moment. I know it
can all turnaround again in a match or two but time is running out we only have 10 games
left. If we lose at Exeter on Saturday morning then Cambridge will have three games in
hand and still be above us. Maybe a couple of the news items below will offer some hope, a
couple of new faces are need to take the team up a gear. Its not the end of the world yet,
we are still second and will stay there even if all the other teams win their games in
hand (except Scunthorpe who have 3 games in hand but are 8 points back). Come on Frankie,
kick some ass and get us back on track. We have been spoiled up until the end of January
with quality winning football. We miss it. We need it.
Burrows says no more players to leave
Ninian this season.
Frankie said yesterday that he will not release any more players this
season, this comes after the Delaney sale which infuriated so many people. The board have
apparantly agreed to only add to the squad not sell.
Two new faces expected soon
We can expect two new loan signings in the next week or so. One of them, I
beleive to be a striker currently playing in Europe (if all we read can be beleived). Both
should be loan signings until the end of the season with future options after that. Frank
will not buy players before the transfer deadline on March 27th due to the over inflated
prices that are being charged. He will use the money he has available to pick up quality
players in the summer that are available under the bosman ruling. In these circumstances
the money is used as signing on fees and wages rather than as a transfer price.
George Wood joins coaching staff
Ex City keeper and former international and current Inter CableTel boss
George Wood has joined City as a full time coach. He will be no.3 after Frank, Billy Ayre.
Wood will continue to manage Inter but will work with City all week. He will not be at
Cardiff matches as Inter also play on a Saturday afternoon.
Wales squad details
Bobby Gould has named the Welsh squads for the Euro 2000 qualifier in
Switzerland in 2 weeks time. Ex City player Mark Delaney is on stand by for the full squad
and Lee Jarman and Rob Earnshaw are on stand by for the U21 squad.
FAW - City play Wrexham in the semi's
Cardiff have been drawn away to Wrexham in the first leg of the FAW
Premier Cup semi final. The second leg to be at Ninian park. No dates have been confirmed
yet. The other semi final is Barry v Inter CableTel.
Board meeting today
Today there is a boardmeeting at Ninian Park. I'm sure we will hear what
they want to hear later in the week.
Tuesday 16th March 1999
ROTHERHAM 1 - 0 CARDIFF CITY. Match report.
Disaster at Millmoor. City have gone
down to a 66th minute goal from Sedgewick, a crisp strike from the edge of the box.
Lets concentrate 100% on the football.
City get the chance today to go back to the top of the table. A point will
do it but we must be looking for 3 points to keep the pressure on Cambridge and the
chasing pack. Defeat would leave us in second place and Cambridge would have two games in
hand on us. The wranglings of the last 7 days must be forgotten and everybody, the fans,
the management, the board and most importantly the players mus all give 100% effort to win
this match. It will not be easy Rotherham are the highest scorers in the division, they
put 4 past Scarborough last Saturday and they beat us at Ninian Park at the start of the
season. City take a 16 man squad to Millmoor. The one notable absentee is Dai Thomas. What
has happened to Dai? He's not on the bench or in the squad. The full 16 is Hallworth,
Kelly, O'Sullivan, Eckhardt, Young, Mitchell, Legg, Fowler, Carpenter, Hill, Bonner,
Middleton, Bowen, Nugent, Jarman, Williams. The final 14 on Saturday excluded Seamus Kelly
and Craig Middleton.
The chat room
will be active this evening with City fans from around the world logging in to get up to
date news. Kick off is 7:45pm. The only other match in Div 3 tonight involves promotion
rivals Brentford at home to play off hopefuls Halifax. A nice away win for the Shaymen
added to a City victory at Rotherham could see City with a 3 point lead at the top and a 9
point cushion over 3rd placed Brentford. All well in theory I know but as a City fan I'm
ever optomistic.
Monday 15th March 1999
Burrows praises his directors
Frank Burrows has defended the directors decision to sell Mark Delaney.
Frank himself admits it was good business for Cardiff City Football Club. He says he was
dissapointed to lose the player but the club had to think of its future and he praised the
directors for keeping the club on a sound financial footing while other teams in the lower
divisions are struggling. Frank would only say that he was on a pre arranged scouting
mission last Saturday. His whereabouts are still a mystery but todays Echo does state that
Frank was out of the country looking for players in Europe. (Ronaldo - we know where you
live).
Fans to meet board members
20 or so fans managed to gain entry into Ninian Park after Saturday's
match. They were able to confront City Vice Chairman Paul Guy and Director David Temme
outside the boardroom, the discussions were peaceful but highly charged. The fans demanded
answers to questions regarding the Delaney sale. Paul Guy has arranged to meet 6 of the
supporters after Wednesday's board meeting at Ninian Park. Fans want to be told the truth
about the moneies received from the sale of Mark Delaney. The lack of convincing answers
from Ninian Park promted the protest and Guy said that he would answer all questions put
to him truthfully with as much information as possible.
Earnshaw returns from Middlesbrough
Rob Earnshaw has returned to Ninian Park from Middlesbrough. Boro have
made no approach to keep Rob but have said they will monitor his progress. Earnshaw is now
available for first team selection.
Cambridge ticket details
The away game at Cambridge on Saturday April 3rd is all ticket for City
fans. Cambrigde have sent 2122 tickets to Ninian Park for the match. 1800 terrace tickets
are available at £8.00 and £5.00 and 322 seats are available at £8.00 each (no
consessions). Tickets for this match are on sale now.
Youth team in 5 star display
City's youth team won 5 - 0 away at Yeovil on Saturday. They play again
today. News of that result to follow tomorrow.
Early team news for Rotherham
City go into the crucial away match at Rotherham tomorrow with the same
squad that was on duty on Saturday. Mike Ford is still injured but apart from that the
squad is unchanged. A point from this match would put City back on top of the table.
Saturday 13th March 1999
CARDIFF CITY 2 - 2 TORQUAY. Match report.
City threw away vital promotion points
today with an uncharacteristic lapse in defence. While the boys at the back have been our
rock this season today saw two bizzare defending errors which cost us two goals. City fell
behind on 34 mins. Tony Bedeau stole in between Eckhardt and Hallworth when Jeff failed to
make contact with a header back to Jon. Bedeau calmly lobbed the ball over Hallworth into
the empty net. City hit back immediately when Danny Hill fired in a shot from outside the
box after a poorly cleared centre. City were the team playing quality football but only in
fits and starts. Man of the match Jason Fowler who seemed to glide around the park today
produced a moment of excellence to put City ahead, a long cleance from Hallworth was
flicked onto Fowler and he weaved his way towards goals beating two players and sliding
the ball past the on coming Neville Southall, a very classy goal. Just when things started
to look up the City defence shot themselves in the foot again. McGorry was allowed too
much time on the right, his cross was aimed at Bedeau who was allowed to run unmarked into
the box and head home from 12 yards. The back 5 were static and Jon Hallworth was looking
at the linesman for offside when Bedeau headed the ball. Hallworth then ran 35 yards to
the referee to be greeted with a yellow card for dissent.
Torquay were a well organised side and
we have seen much worse here this season. They resorted to breakaways most of the time but
City will rue giving them too much of the ball. At times the game got physical with Kevin
Nugent sure to be nursing several bruises after taking a pounding from the Torquay centre
back (who was booked and lucky not be sent off).
Apart from the game the other major
talking point was the absence of Frank Burrows. Word from the Directors I spoke to was
that Frank was away scouting. But they did say that Frank was not a happy man at the
moment. There was also no sign of Samesh Kumar. From what I understand of the situation
Frank Burrows was happy with the sale of Mark Delaney, like the rest of the board he
thought it an offer too good to miss. What disturbed Frank was the Kumar immediately
offered him £25,000 for team strengthening and nothing else. Frank like most others
expected more money to be made available for players. The rumour mill started straight
away with whispers that Frank had resigned because the board has shown him no ambition. At
the time of writing the only definate news I can give is that Frank was not at the match.
Where he was or what he is doing remains a mystery.
Fortunately Cambridge were soundly
beaten 3 - 0 at Barnet so we go level on points with them but they have a game in hand.
3rd placed Brentford were held to a goaless draw at home and Orient were beaten at home.
From that we can take it as a point gained but with only 7 points won out of the last 21
we need the back room squabble like a hole in the head.
Friday 12th March 1999
Get behind the team, 3 points is vital v
Torquay.
Well what a week. Tuesday saw the departure of Mark Delaney to Aston Villa
for £1/2m. Followed by a convincing and much needed 2 - 0 win at Brighton. The reactions
that followed have caused deep splits and much argument right through Cardiff City
Football Club, from the fans to the boardroom. Some say we were right to cash in on Mark
Delaney, considering he was a free aquisition from non league football less than 12 months
ago, some say the chairman has sold the fans and the club down the river by letting go one
of our star players when all help is needed to get out of the 3rd division dungeon. The
arguments are many, could we have kept him until the end of the season with a pre signed
contract to let Villa have him in the summer? Did we sell him too cheaply? Will the money
be used for team strengthening? Whatever the right's and wrong's the most important issue
is gaining promotion. The players reacted in the best way possible by winning against
Brighton, that result will hopefully be the starting block to a run of form that will take
us to Div 2. There have been calls to boycott tomorrow's game, to have a protest against
the board and to show our disgust at the sale. I do not agree though, we need more than
ever to get behind the team, one player does not make a team, Wayne O'Sullivan stepped
into Delaney's place against Brighton and was an important factor in the victory, think of
the players that are left, they want to do well and they want us to support them. If the
chairman elects to use the money to keep himself afloat financially then it is a major
injustice and I'm sure will force a reaction from other board members. Frank Burrow's is
not a happy man. He has told the BBC that he will seriously consider his position in the
summer after losing one of his starlets. Other directors have tried to calm the situation
by giving the line that it was the best move all round for the club, the board are towing
the party line for the sake of keeping a steady ship. We must do the same for the players
sake. Middlesbrough will make a descision shortly regarding Rob Earnshaw. Rob has been on
loan at the Riverside for the last month, if the board elect to sell him to the North East
for a low fee then what ambition does the club have? A balance has to be struck. While
nearly all lower division clubs are selling clubs I would like to think that Cardiff City
are serious about the future. We do not want to be a lower division yo yo team. The City,
South Wales and most importantly the fans deserve more. We are without doubt the biggest
City in the UK without a top football team. I hope the Delaney sale will be the last
cashing in exercise. The aim now has to be to build a team for div 2 followed by a team
for div 1.
My message to the board is please consider very
carefully any request to buy City players, do not just look at the initial financial
reward you may gain. Look at the future aims of the Club. I would like to think that the
board members are there for Cardiff City Football Club, not for a quick profit. Directors
like Steve Borley, Mike Price, Phil Jardine, Kim Walker are City fans. They want long term
success. I cannot speak for the commitment of the other directors, to the average City fan
they are outsiders, sales like that of Delaney follow the line of sales purely for a cash
fix like Nathan Blake and the most controversial of all John Toshack.
My message to the fans is to get behind the
team, show your support for the players and to Frank and Billy.
My message to everyone is that we are sat on the
verge of a successful period in Cardiff City football history. We have a team better than
all in this division, we have a manager better than all in this division we potentially
have everything going for us, common sense will see us shine.
Remember the future is bright, the
future is BLUE.
Team news.
Mike Ford is the only injury worry. He will definately miss tomorrows
game. Obviously Delaney has gone but apart from that we have a full strength squad. Jason
Bowen may make his full home debut and partner Kevin Nugent in attack.
Thursday 11th March 1999
CARDIFF CITY res 2 - 0 SWANSEA res
Dai Thomas and Mark Bonner scored for the
reserves yesterday at Ninian Park.
Transfer speculation.
With the ink hardly dry on Mark Delaney's new contract at Aston Villa the
speculation has started as to who City will or won't buy before transfer deadline day on
March 27th.
There are press reports today suggesting that City are looking closely at Eiffion
Williams and former loan player Matt Brazier. Theres no confirmation from the club but
they do say that many players are being looked at. There's no secret that Frank has been
to Barry recently amongst other places. Brazier is not a regular in the Fulham team and
may want to return to Ninian Park if approached. I have heard form a very unofficial
source that Forest Green Rovers striker Marc McGregor has been looked at. Its all up in
the air at the moment. I will keep you posted with any definate news and or more
speculation.
Tuesday 9th March 1999
All the information I have on the
Delaney transfer is below. Right now tonights match is more important.
BRIGHTON 0 - 2 CARDIFF CITY. Match report.
Cardiff cruised to victory at the
Priestfield Stadium tonight. City dominated the first half and should have scored more.
Brighton rallied in the second half but never really troubled. 3 points was the aim before
the game and they were achieved, it was City's first win in 6 league matches and while we
were not neccessarily losing matches we were not winning them either. On the day that Mark
Delaney became City's record transfer and left the club the remaining players put the
promotion bandwagon back on track again. Kevin Nugent scored his 17th of the season on 16
minutes and Scott Young got a final touch to score his first of the season on 31 mins.
Cambridge scored twice in the last 10 minutes of their home match against Hull to hold
onto top spot.
After last Fridays draw and then on Saturday
Cambridge winning to go top, City must start producing some winning performances. The
comfort zone that held us in front of the chasing pack has now evaporated and we have
teams like Orient and Brentford breathing down our necks for the promotion places. I'm not
trying to be alarmist but we must get back on track. Cambridge play Hull tonight at the
Abbey so look assured of 3 points, City go to play off hopefuls Brighton for a much more
difficult game. Come on City lets get it sorted.
Preview from Football 365.
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION v CARDIFF CITY
Striker Stuart Storer returns from suspension for the
Seagulls, whilst Jeff Minton is not fit enough to return to
first-team action but could come back into contention for
Saturday's clash with Darlington. Teenage striker Darragh
Ryan, who scored in the 3-1 defeat by Scunthorpe after
coming off the bench, will land a place in the starting line-up.
Rod Thomas is still ruled out and is still to return to full
training.
Cardiff have a doubt over Richard Carpenter as they eye a
return to top spot in Division Three. The ball-winning
midfielder will have a late fitness test after limping out of
Friday's 0-0 draw with Chester with a slight calf problem but
should be fit. Club captain Mike Ford (groin) will again be
missing as City attempt to bounce back. Frank Frank
Burrows' side will be keen to make the most of Brighton's
poor 'home' form by inflicting their ninth home defeat of the
season.
DELANEY SIGNS FOR ASTON VILLA IN A DEAL
WORTH 1/2 MILLION.
Mark Delaney has spoken of his dream
move to Aston Villa. Delaney has signed a 4 year deal with Villa. The deal will be worth
around £500,000 with its though about £350,000 payable up front. The rest will be paid
after appearances for both Villa and Wales. City are thought to have included a sign on
clause in the deal.
The following article is courtesy of Aston Villa's Official Website.
NEW BOY MARK OVER THE MOON
IN HIS FIRST interview as an Aston Villa player, new signing Mark Delaney has expressed
his delight and surprise at moving to Villa Park from Cardiff City.
The 22-year-old Welsh B defender sealed his "dream move" to the Premiership this
afternoon by signing a four year contract with Villa and admitted that the whole move was
a "bolt out of the blue."
Delaney had been tracked by a number of top sides this season, including Chelsea, Arsenal
and Celtic, following impressive performances for the Second Division promotion hopefuls.
However, Villa were the first to move for his signature and the player had no hesitation
in making the massive leap to the Premiership.
Only a year ago Delaney was playing for League Of Wales side Caernarvon before being
snapped up by Frank Burrows at Ninian Park. Previously, the Welshman had spent three years
at the Bobby Charlton Soccer School at Manchester United.
Speaking exclusively to the Official Website Delaney admitted that he had just
made the biggest decision of his career.
"It is a massive step for me. I handled the move from non-league to the league so I
am hoping to bridge this gap just as well. I know it will be tough but with the facilities
here and with World-class players around me I am confident."
The following article is courtesy of Aston Villa's official website.
CARDIFF CITY defender Mark Delaney is having talks with
Aston Villa over a £500,000 switch to Villa Park.
The news was revealed this morning by
Ninian Park chairman Samesh Kumar who
confirmed that the player would be in
Birmingham today to discuss personal terms
with John Gregory after the two clubs had
agreed a fee.
The 22-year-old Welsh B squad member has
been tracked by a number of top sides this season, including
Chelsea, Arsenal and Celtic, following impressive performances
for the Second Division promotion hopefuls.
Delaney, who last year was playing in
the League of Wales, can operate as
both a right back or a wing back and
possesses explosive pace and if
signed in time could find himself in
contention for tomorrow's trip to Derby
County because of Villa's crippling
injury list.
Villa boss John Gregory has been
scouring both at home and abroad for
new players and has already missed
out on Juninho and Alan Stubbs.
However, with the departure of Gary
Charles and the recent injury to Steve Watson, Gregory doesn't
have a recognised right-back at the club, and will be hoping that
the young Welshman, once a Manchester United youngster, can
make an immediate impact.
It is thought that Villa will pay an initial £350,000 with the rest in
installments based on appearances and international caps.
Cardiff are also thought to be insisting on a sell-on clause.
Friday 5th March 1999
CARDIFF CITY 0 - 0 CHESTER CITY. Match report.
Thursday 4th March 1999
Chester / Brighton previews.
I will be away from tonight until Tuesday afternoon. I will not be able to
do a full website update until Tuesday. I will then add in all the match reports etc from
the Chester game and I will be able to update immediately after the Brighton game ( the
news reel on the front page will though show the Chester result for those away from home
who need to know).
As far as team news for Chester goes, Mike Ford
and Lee Phillips are both ruled out but Jason Bowen may well be in contention. Jon
Hallworth, Mark Delaney, Scott Young, Kevin Nugent, Jason Fowler and Richard Carpenter
will all return to the first team after being rested for the victory against Swansea. A
win is vital to keep us top of the table.
Tuesday 2nd March 1999
FAW PREMIER CUP 1/4 FINAL
CARDIFF CITY 3 - 2 SWANSEA CITY. Match
report.
 John Williams scoring the 89th minute winner for the Bluebirds in
thrilling encounter at Ninian Park tonight. City go into the semi finals thanks to goals
from Dai Thomas, Jeff Eckhardt and Williams. Swansea twice came from behind with goals
from Alsop and Casey.
Swansea preview.
Predicting tonights line up is like City's version of the mid week
lottery. We know for sure that Mike Ford, Jason Bowen and Lee Phillips are injured. Rob
Earnshaw, Gareth Stoker and Chris Roberts are out on loan. Andy Saville has been released
so we have the following first team squad members left.
Hallworth and Kelly in goal, Eckhardt, Young, Delaney, Mitchell, Jarman in defence,
Fowler, Legg, Middleton, Bonner, O'Sullivan, Cadette, Hill, Carpenter in midfield
and Nugent, Williams and Dai Thomas up front. Frank must select a team strong enough to
win tonight but also keep his mind on the very important league game v Chester on Friday.
Personally speaking I like this competition and as always want to City do well. Tonights
match has added spice because its Swansea. Both teams have promotion plans but both are
suffering a little dip in form. The match is live on BBC2 Wales tonight.
Monday 1st March 1999
Roberts goes to Hereford on loan.
Chris Roberts returned from two reserve team appearances with Scarborough
last week only to be snapped up by Hereford on a months loan. He made his debut for the
Bulls away at Doncaster in a 3 - 1 defeat. David Penney scored Donny's third goal from the
penalty spot.
Youth team Cup date switch.
The youth team cup replay against Portsmouth has been rearranged from
today until Monday 22nd March 1999 at Ninian Park. |
