Pre-season: City 0-1 Celtic

The Bluebirds got their home pre-season off to a start against Scottish giants Celtic at the CCS last night.

In Malky Mackay's first home match in charge a crowd of over 10,000 saw City new boys Joe Mason, Arron Gunnarsson, Don Cowie and Andre Taylor start. It was good also to see Anthony Gerrard back in blue. It was also great to see City old boys, Joe Ledlely, Glenn Loovens and Adam Matthews playing back on City turf, albeit for the opposition!

City started very brightly. Big Jon Parkin had a great opportunity but blasted wide, before Gunnarsson glanced the bar with a header and Mason's spectacular volley went just over.

Celtic though took the lead just over the half hour as City gave away possession and Stokes, who's not the tallest beat everyone to the ball to head home past Marshall.

After that it became increasingly difficult for City to fashion many clear cut chances.

After the break, both sides made a raft of changes that inevitably disrupted the flow of the game. A 1-0 defeat isn't a bad result. Mason and Gunnarsson impressed me, Whittingham looked City's classiest player by far. Cowie didn't get enough of the ball, Gerrard & Hudson looked generally solid, Naughts worked his socks off (as usual). Parkin still fails to convince as anything but a lumbering target man (and not a great one at that). The jury is still out on Naylor at left back.

Time will tell, but the players looked keen and happy. No egos out there last night. We need a few more in though, and talk is Kenny Miller is on the verge and having a medical today. Be a good signing I think.

Lion comes to Mac

The latest iteration of the Apple Mac operating system, "Lion" allegedly comes to UK users at 1am tomorrow morning according to Mactrast.

This is an exciting and major release for Mac users, with a raft of updates, enhancements and general UI developments.

I'm going to be downloading it as soon as I can (though won't be waiting up until 1am to do so), and am looking forward to using it on my Macbook Pro.

Not long now - City v Celtic

It doesn't seem like that long since that dismal evening when Reading visited the CCS, but this time next week, me and @ministats will be sat in CCS watching the Bluebirds taking on Celtic in a pre season friendly.

Our challenge for the evening will be trying to identify all the new faces that have arrived at the club, replacing Bothroyd, Burke, Chopra, Bellamy, JET, Olifanjana, Samuel etc. One face though that won't need any careful checking of the programme of course is dear old Earnie, back at the club for a second spell.

Its a new look City, with a new manager, and a new season of hope.

I can't wait!

Jay's a Ranger

As expected Jay Bothroyd has moved on and been snapped up by Neil Warnock at QPR.

Despite my occasional lambasting of JB (mostly for the amount of time he spent lying down), there's no doubt that he did a decent job at City. It's a shame (but has been inevitable for a long time) that he's gone, but I honestly wish him well.

I believe that on occasions he has the ability to wind fans up by comments (OK tweets) that aren't entirely thought through, but he's young (ish) and a footballer, so he's not alone in that by a long chalk. It's also fair to say that he's probably put up with a fair amount of unwarranted abuse (as opposed to banter), including one recently horrific racist remark in a tweet. No one needs or deserves that.

I hope he does a job at QPR. I think it's a better move for him than Everton. Neil Warnock doesn't suffer fools gladly, and I'm sure will manage him in the same way that Dave Jones did here.

STS-135: Shuttle history

I've always been a fan of space. Sci Fi as well as reality. I remember as a kid watching and following the Apollo missions, the moon landing, the lunar rover, the trials of Apollo 13 (the real life one not the film). I also recall having a magazine called "Speed" I think in which the first ever issue mentioned a re-usable space vehicle, and thinking it would never happen. Well it did, and after 30 years in service (yes, it was that long ago), the final ever shuttle mission blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre as Atlantis set off for the International Space Station (ISS), another wonder in it's own right.

Whatever your views on space flight and exploration, and I'm all for it, it's amazing to see a spacecraft like this launch. One can only speculate at what it's actually like to be on board at launch time. I sneaked a view at the streamed launch on Nasa TV at work today, and my hands were sweaty and my guts tight as the launch loomed. Imagine what those sitting atop all that power were feeling!

This was history in the making. the 135th and final flight of the shuttle program. I rang the kids at home and got them to watch it on the 'net. Maybe it'll be something they remember in years to come. Maybe not. I don't think they were in quite as much awe as me.

Watch the video - it's 9 minutes but the pictures are amazing, right to the end when the main external fuel tank separates. Who'd have thought when watching jerkky B&W footage from the moon way back when, I'd be able to sit at my desk and watch a live stream of this quality..... awesome!

Malky's squad taking shape

So, things are taking shape at CCS, as Malky Mackay adds another two names to his increasing squad, and although he hasn't gone back directly raid the Watford cupboard this time, the Hornets link remains!

Andy Taylor, as speculated has joined the Bluebirds from Middlesborough, and the link is that the left back spent some time at Vicarage Road last season on loan, playing under Mackay, so Malky will know all about him and what he's capable of. Assuming he wants to start with Taylor, that's lokking like a back four of McNaughton, Hudson, one of Gerrard or Keinan and Taylor. Not too shabby, in my opinion, although we'll hold court on Taylor until we've seen him settle in I think.

The second arrival this week sees the return of the prodigal son. Robert Earnshaw left Cardiff seven years ago (can you believe it's that long ago?) for the heady heights of the Premiership with West Brom, and subsequently Norwich, Derby and most recently Nottingham Forest. Personally, and I don't think I'm alone in this, I don't think he ever set the Premiership alight. Leaving on free from Forest though, he looks like a good capture. When I saw the Echo reporting that he was saying Malky Mackay would be good for Cardiff, it sort of suggested that he might be interested in a return, and, here he is.

I have to say at the time, I wasn't wholly convinced that Earnie back at Cardiff would be a good thing. He was so prolific in his time at Cardiff as a youngster, and now he's 30, had several injuries, and often been warming the bench for much of his time away from City, you have to wonder whether this is the right thing for him, and for the club.

But I've warmed to the idea. He is unquestionably a City legend. He clearly wants to be here, he'll pull the crowds, sell shirts, and lets face it, can still do a job (sounds a bit like Bellamy last year...). I'd back him to score as many goals as Bellamy gave us last season.

Welcome back little Earn...

Remember the chant? "Earnie's gonna get ya...."

Watford-Cardiff, Cardiff-Watford

New Bluebirds boss Malky Mackay has started the business of putting together his squad and support team for the new season, and much to his former employers chagrin, he's largely raiding the hornets nest in order to do so.

Scottish midfielder Don Cowie (pictured) becomes the fifth member of Watford's personnel to join the Bluebirds, joining backroom staff David Kerslake, Richard Collinge and Joe McBride plus the manager himself.

With wide-man Craig Conway being the first of Malky's signings last week, it appears that you either have to be Scottish, or in the Watford set up, or preferably both, if you have aspirations of playing for Cardiff City.

Seriously though, as fellow Twitterer and blogger @Wingnut1927 puts it "I'm liking the fact we are signing 'no names' at Cardiff. Maybe we will get players playing for the badge rather than their next bonus pay." I think he makes a very decent point here.

The other interesting point made by Graham Taylor in his understandably disgruntled moan about the exodus from Watford, is that Mackay clearly knows every detail of player contracts, and therefore what is likely to tempt those he wants away from Vicarage Road. I'd never really given much thought about why so many players leave clubs following their manager before, other than through some perhaps misguided loyalty to the man, but it's pretty obvious with these comments in mind it's in a large part due to the knowledge of contracts - you've still got to convince the player to come , and he's still got to want to come, but as they say, the devil is in the detail.

Jay Bothroyd

So, Jay Bothroyd has been very cagey about his future over the last month or so, although as he's now effectively a free agent everyone has been expecting him to leave Cardiff City.

His tweets have generally been implying, "chill, I'm cool, nothing decided, just enjoying a rest, not thinking about my future right now..." Yeah, right.

Today, he's tweeted in response to the news that three of Cardiff City's backroom staff have been put on "gardening leave" until the end of their contracts. Specifically, his tweets today were:

"Can't believe ccfc has put Terry burton on gardening leave he is one of the best coaches in the league if not the best. !!!"

"Are people stupid how can the assistant manager be blamed for not getting promotion ?"

"Haha Cardiff fans have short memory ... Our team wasn't good enough as a whole thats honest and that's why we didn't gain promotion "

The second of those particularly doesn't look like the sort of response that suggests his immediate future lays at the Cardiff City Stadium, but then that's hardly surprising I'd say.

On the specifics of his tweet, I have a couple of observations.

Firstly, I see no factual evidence that Terry Burton is being blamed for the Bluebirds not getting promotion. I'd lay the blame, if blame is even the right word, at the door of Dave Jones and the players, although clearly as a key part of the coaching team TB has some accountability for the performances and results. At least in mitigation, Jay's second tweet acknowledges that the team as a whole wasn't good enough to gain promotion, although with hindsight, and an almost certainty that he won't be around to put that right next term that's an easy thing for him to say.

Secondly, if anyone has a short memory, it's not Cardiff City fans. We have long and painful memories of many disappointments over the years, long before JB turned up, fell over a lot and then disappeared into the sunset.

Don't get me wrong. I think Jay performed (at times) excellently, and the side generally looked a lot better for him being in it than when he was absent. But for me, his last season was in three part. Before the England cap when he was excellent, between the cap and the last three or four games of the season when he looked like he couldn't be arsed, and the last few games when he looked like he was trying but the rest of the team (by and large, with a few exceptions) just weren't up to the task.

I'd keep Jay at City if we could, but it's not going to happen. I don't think he wants to stay - I don't think he ever did after he got his one (and probably only) England cap.

Hurrah for the weekend.

Lawks, how I love weekends!

Who invented them? The bloke (for it surely was a bloke) should be given a medal. However, why he had to stop at two days is a mystery. Three would have been nice. Four greedy, but hey why not? Whatever, they're great, and there should be more of them.

Just started off with a Chinese takeaway. Should be off the the Glamorgan/Hampshire Twenty20 now with @ministats, but the weather is horrible, and I don't fancy sitting in the rain for a few hours with the hope of a 10/10 or worse 5/5 bash. Sooner watch it on the telly in Welsh (S4C) with a beer in the dry and warm of my own home.

Tomorrow a few chores (the one downside of any weekend), and because the forecast is so atrocious, unlikely that I'll get out into my garden which is one of the way I like to chill a bit. Still, tomorrow evening we're over to see some good friends for tea, and no doubt make final arrangements for a holiday we're going on together to Turkey in the not too distant future.

Then on Sunday it's Father's Day. We've got my Dad and my Out-Laws over for Sunday dinner, so that'll be nice. A lazy afternoon, and then before you can blink that'll be it. Weekend over and back to the grindstone.

But it's only early Friday yet!!.......

Malky it is! Up the City

So, after a long, drawn out process that included final delays to a 3pm press conference that eventually took place at about 4.40pm, Malky Mackay has been installed as Cardiff City's new manager.

Apparently he's on a three year contract, and both he and Chief Exec Gethin Jenkins stated that the objective was to be competing at the top of the Championship, and Jenkins confirmed that there was money to spend, although stopped short - with a smile - of stating exactly how big the pot was.

At last, Cardiff City can move forward, and given the view that competing at the top = pushing for promotion, not doing a "season of rebuilding" (although obviously some element of rebuilding is imperative) and accepting mid-table mediocrity, expectations will no doubt start to build.

I'm pleased. As I've stated on several occasions, Mackay wouldn't have been my first choice, but perhaps I didn't know enough about him. I've warmed to the prospect over the last few days, and genuinely wish him all the best in his challenges - of which there are bound to be a few.

On another note, City's new season kit was unveiled today, and what do you know? We're not being sponsored by a company. We're being sponsored by a whole country! How amazing is that?

Blimey. All of a sudden, things are looking up.

Bluebirds!!!!!!!

Now it's Malky...probably

After the shenanigans around Alan Shearer the other night...will he, won't he, he's definitely coming, no he's not....it now looks like it's odds on that the man in pole position before Shearer came out of left field, Malky Mackay, the current incumbent at Watford is the man most likely.

He certainly wasn't my preferred choice. That was Chris Hughton. But, he's not a bad go to option. He seems to have done a fair job at Watford with not too much in the way of resources, and is reckoned in game to be someone with a bit of managerial promise. Certainly, he got one over Dave Jones when the Hornets thumped us at Vicarage Road at Christmas, and they were one of the few teams to get the better of QPR last season, in a match where they performed brilliantly.

So he has got something. Rumour has it that he's keen on the City job, but it's just a rumour - no way I'd know of course. And after Shearer was almost shoe-horned in (by the frenzied media if no-one else), how does he feel about not being first choice?

We'll see of course, it could be all off tomorrow and we'll be back to square one - again. I don't think so though. I think this is it.

If he does come, he's going to have his work cut out. The clock is ticking, and the cupboard is bare. How much money he (or anyone else) is going to have to spend is anyone's guess. Not millions I'd wager, especially as it's likely we'll have to pay at least some compensation to Watford if Mackay does come.

Whoever it is, and I'm warning to the idea of Malky, I wish him all the best.

In other news, tonight's Echo speculates on potential incoming players. Old City favourites Gabbidon and Earnshaw are mentioned. They'd surely be a crowd pleaser, though personally I think their best years are way behind them - even at the Championship level, although as many have pointed out, Earnie coming off the bench would be a decent shout.

Either way, the 11 that take the field in August aren't going to look anything like the 11 that finished the season just gone.

Shearley not?

Well talk and rumours are now rife that Shearer is in line for the City job.

I'm still not convinced - let's wait until a decision is made, but the media is now near certain old Al is going to be the new City manager.

I can't think what the logic is here. Sure, he's a legend, a known face, but his managerial experience is very limited, almost non-existent in fact apart for a short spell at Newcastle, when, certain he could save them from the drop, they were relegated.

Especially if he's going to have to rebuild a near derelict squad from scratch. I don't know, I just don't know.

Stop dithering

Cardiff City have yet to make an announcement on their new manager.
Rumours are rife, and this morning various comments had Alan Shearer installed as hot favourite ahead of Malky Mackay who has been the bookies favourite for the last week or so.

I can't see it being Shearer personally, and I'm pretty sure i wouldn't want him over Mackay or Hughton - he just hasn't got the managerial experience.

We'll see in due course obviously, but the time this is taking is now becoming unsettling.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The cupboard was bare....

Whoever the next Cardiff City manager is, and according to the latest rumours we should know this weekend, he's going to feel a bit like Old Mother Hubbard when he looks in the playing cupboard, because it's pretty bare.

Tonight's Echo showed the Bluebirds current squad as its stands for next season, and certainly isn't going to put fear into any of the other teams in the Championship. It reads like this:



'Keepers
Tom Heaton
David Marshall
Jordan Santiago

Defenders
Darcy Blake
Anthony Gerrard
Gabor Gyepess
Mark Hudson
Dekel Kienan
Lee Naylor
Kevin McNaughton
Paul Quinn
Alex Evans

Midfield
Stephen McPhail
Peter Whittingham
Aaron Wildig
Solomon Taiwo
Jon Meades
Ibrahim Farah

Strikers
Nat Jarvis
Jon Parkin

That's 20 players. Three are first year pros. Three were out on loan last year. Of the strikers, one's a first year pro and the other only came in at Christmas and barely got a look in (and whilst a fan favourite hardly strikes fear into the opposition (apart from their snack bar).

We've got 9 defenders, but our defending was pretty ordinary last season (I'm trying to be generous, OK!).

Only about half of the players played anything like regularly for City last term.

OK, so it's only June. We haven't got a manger, so it's unlikely anything will happen until we do, but looking at that lot, he's going to have his work cut out and he's certainly going to have to earn his corn to make City competitive next season.

Oh, and Chopra has gone......

Chop chop

So Burke's gone, and now it looks quite possible that Chops may be on his way too. At this rate, I'm not sure we'll be able to field 11 players come August.

Seriously, it would be sad to see Chops go. I don't think he had the best of times last season. A combination of injury and Dave Jones intransigence in picking him at times meant he didn't get on the field as much as he, or indeed the fans wanted.

I always thought he brought something to the team. Even if he wasn't scoring, his runs and general awareness made us a better side when he was in it in my opinion.

However, there's no doubting that there were some off field shenanigans that Jones had to deal with too, but that aside, I believe he's been an asset to the club in his spells with us.

Is a move to the Tractor Boys a positive move for him? I suppose he'll get more games than he did last year, but with a new manager (as yet unknown), might he be better off just hanging on a bit? Incidentally I saw a tweet tonight that Alan Shearer was being quoted at 4-1 for the manager's job. Sounds a bit ludicrous to me, but a fellow Geordie were it to happen.

We'll see, but I suspect we may have seen the last of Chops, and for me, that would be a bigger loss than Bothroyd.

Apple goodness....Lion, iOS5 and iCloud

For users of Apple products (and that's me with an iPhone 4 and a Macbook Pro), the keynote delivered by Steve Jobs and his crew at this week's WWDC has shown us some wondrous goodies that we can expect over the next few months.

I'm no techie, so I'm not going into any massive detail here, but essentially there are three strands to what's coming.

1. Lion - the new incarnation of Mac OSX - the core Mac operating system. Already a super slick user interface, Lion brings a whole host of UI enhancements, better and clevere multi-touch gestures, improved apps and a whole lot more. And all for $29.99 (though here in the UK that'll probably translate to a more expensive £29.99. And that's for a 5 license OS - yes, you can install it legally on 5 Macs!
2. iOS5 - the latest operating system version for iOS devices - the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Again a whole ream of developments and enhancements - too many to go into here, but some notable ones include improved notifications, better handling of previously purchased apps, improved mail app, and great use of the lock screen. It's coming in the Autumn.
   
3. iCloud. The new way to sync your data across all Apple devices. At the moment I use MobileMe (and pay for the privilege). That's now effectively dead in the water. When iCloud arrives it basically means if you change data on one device (my iPhone for example), that data is automatically updated on my Macbook Pro. In the words of Steve Jobs...."It just works" No set up, no fiddling, it just works. And.....it's FREE! Awesome.

If you want more detail about all this lovely Apple goodness, then trot across to any of the tech blogs/sites which are awash with the detail of these three core elements. Me, I just can't wait to get hold of them.

Au Revoir Burkey

So Chris Burke has gone to Birmingham, where most of our good players go. Well Roger Johnson anyway. Was never convinced by Jerome myself.

Anyway, Burkey goes with my blessings. He did a good job for us for a couple years, though I felt he was a bit undercooked this last season. I'm sure the Blues fans will welcome him. Just hope he has an of game when we play then next year!

In other City news, there's still no sign of a manager, although rumour has it that Chris Hughton is in pole position. He's my preferred choice as I've said a few times, but as is the way with these things we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully not too long....

New Cardiff City Blog

There's a new Cardiff City blog around town, and it's called "You are my Cardiff". The author is City fan and twitterer @wingnut1927. (What is it with this 1927 lark????)

I'm sure this will be a fascinating read, so whether you follow another dedicated Bluebird on twitter, or via his blog, make sure you drop in regularly!

So where next for Cardiff City?

Inevitably the rumours have started flying on who will be the next Cardiff City manager. Consensus amongst the fans seems to be the need to move quickly in order to build over the summer, but will the Directors be in a rush to fill such a critical post.

The message boards are awash with possible contenders, and not being in the mood to disappoint, here's my thoughts on those names being bandied around.

Craig Bellamy
I just can't see it. He has no managerial experience, though undoubted passion for the club. Passion doesn't win titles, and I'd rather he was playing for us, though frankly I see even that as a major doubt.

Chris Hughton
This is the man I want. Performed heroically under extremely trying times at Newcastle. A real "football" man (whatever that is), and clearly has the ability to manage at the highest level - just look what he did with Newcastle - if you think expectations are big here at Cardiff, they are nothing compared to the Toon!

Alan Curbishley
I've always thought Curbishley a good manager. He did wonders for Charlton, but he's been out a while, and not sure the fans would take to him.

Roy Keane
He'd undoubtedly get the "up and at 'em" brigade on side. I'm not convinced he's achieved enough to make me think he's be able to do a job here.

Roberto Di Matteo
A marvellous player, but I'm sorry, I just don't rate him as a manger.

Iain Dowie
Seems to be one of those "go to" people, but never done much as a manager. I don't think he's the sort of person City are looking for.

Ian Holloway
Been there, done, it, got the T-Shirt. Clearly bonkers, and likely to have a favourable amount of support. I think he's be OK, but he's said (I think) that he's staying at Blackpool.

Peter Reid
Who? Oh him. How long has he been out of management? No thanks.

Gary Megson
Oh no, please.

Gareth Southgate
I'd rather Megson than Southgate

Martin O'Neill
Are we likely to be able to attract someone of the calibre of O'Neill to Cardiff? Possibly. Could he do a job here? Possibly.

Malky Mackay
Another of those managers hewn from a long line of decent Scotsmen who turn out to be half decent managers. Wouldn't be the worst appointment.


Gus Poyet
Has done an outstanding job at Brighton. Would he want to swap the Withdean for the CCS? No brainer if he's asked.

Billy Davies
Scottish - see Malky Mackay above. However, another manager that has so nearly made it and failed on a couple of attempts. Wouldn't this be a case of frying pan and fire?

Sam Allardyce
Thought the pressure got to him at Newcastle. If things didn't start well, he'd be on his way soon.

Ryan Giggs
Please....It's not going to happen.

Swansea City in the Promised Land

Though it galls me to say it, congratulations to Swansea City, who this afternoon grabbed the final Premiership place up for grabs in the 2011/12 season when they beat Reading 4-2 at Wembley, and in so doing achieved what Cardiff City so disappointingly failed to do last year against Blackpool, and this year in the regular season.

As a Bluebirds fan, it's a fact of life that I want Cardiff to be better than Swansea. But this season, in footballing terms we weren't. Whichever way some narrow minded Bluebirds fans want to carve it up, the fact is Swansea finished higher than us in the league, and with a side with less "stars" in it than ours, and have managed to achieve the holy grail of Premiership football and will be playing next season at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, Anfield, whilst next year we'll be plying our trade at London Rd (Peterborough), the Withdean Stadium (Brighton) and St Mary's (Southampton) which were all hosting League One football this season.

To be fair, Swansea have played good football under first Roberto Martinez, then Paulo Sousa and currently Brendan Rodgers. They play to their strengths, and play attractive football - in comparison, the Bluebirds who on their day can be sublime were too often inconsistent, lacking a cutting edge, and awful defensively. We looked like a team full of individual players rather than the team that Swansea seem to be.

Maybe next season things will change. The Bluebirds will be the underdogs in South Wales next season, and maybe , just maybe that, and a new manager will mean the pressure is off a little bit, and we can concentrate on rebuilding - as we'll surely have to, and fighting another season in the Championship.

In the meantime, the Jacks are in the Premiership - we're not. And we need to get over it. Yes it'll be galling watching them every Saturday on MoTD, but no more galling than it was watching Blackpool this year. And look what happened to them......