We can't get read too much into friendlies, can't get excited if we play well and win them all and we certainly shouldn't despair at losing this one. We need to allow time and show patience. With so many new faces, it will take some time for things to gel and adjust at Ninian Park.
All that said, whilst it was no surprise to see the Premiership side triumph, it must be a slight worry West Brom won at such a canter and with surprising ease. Only the crossbar, a strange disallowed goal and a couple of good saves by Alexander prevented it being a more convincing scoreline.
Looking at City, we let ourselves down by again conceding soft goals (one of the key pre-season downsides has been no clean sheets). Midfield, shorn of Jeff Whitley today, hasn't sparked into life and got it together yet. With two teenagers (Ferretti and Jerome) against an experienced defence, it just emphasised why the club have to pull out all the stops to bring in someone up front. Jerome looks stronger and better but badly needs support and creativity around him.
This week has shown an alarming lack of cutting edge in City's attacks. Two home friendlies produced only four meaningful attempts at goal and just one goal. Today in particular, Cardiff looked a little too one-dimensional and certainly one-paced today. Plenty of work still to be done ahead of the big kick-off next week then but both Dave Jones and ourselves always knew it was a big challenge.
Sunday service brought a decent 8,084 to worship at Parc Nin, a good crowd for a friendly, including a couple of hundred Baggies. It doesn't look right however to see a 100+ yard queue for "pay on the day" fans snaking onto Sloper Road to get tickets from one of two points only. With fewer season tickets holders this term meaning that City will rely more on a 'walk up' crowd, it's something that needs to be looked at - it will turn people off if they have to go through this experience. If we had a full ground, then fair enough, but we need all the support we can muster in a stadium that half fills.
New optimism about City brought the punters out but so did the opportunity to see new faces but old faces too. Whilst England try to bring the Ashes back to England, for one afternoon only, The Earn was back in Cardiff. And, also back for one afternoon watching him in the Lower Grandstand was his mate, Ginge Collins now of West Ham. It was a bit like swap shop as City also had Darren Purse starting and season loanee Jason Koumas - both from Wets Brom - on the bench whilst the Baggies has Junichi Inamoto - one of last season's loans - starting.
City started with Warner, Weston-Cox-Purse-Barker, Koskela-Ardley-Mulryne-Parry, Jerome-Ferretti. West Brom came into the match, maybe looking for confidence, after four successive pre-season defeats. Their starting line up included the likes of Steve Watson, Gaardsoe, Gera, Greening, Kanu as well as Earnie and Ina.
Cardiff came out to strong applause, Earnie came out to standing applause. His fashion tastes are no better than ever - he currently spouts hair that looks as if he's played with electricity and was completed with two blonde streaks running across one side. He had the first chance to show and could have scored inside three minutes but was alert enough at the far post to Kanu's low ball and Barker cleared. When he had the chance to run clear on goal, Neil Cox denied him getting away with a superb tackle.
On 14 minutes, after a quiet opening overall, Baggies took the lead through slightly comical play. Gera broke over halfway, Chris Barker brilliant chased back and got in a superb tackle taking man and ball. He knocked the ball to Koskela in space who turned and hit a 30 yard back pass across the central defenders and in the general direction of Rhys Weston who had switched off and wasn't expecting anything. In nipped KANU clear on goal, Warner charged out and was skipped around and it was too simple slotting home into an empty Grange End net. Kanu kick it, yes he can.
The Grange End who had been in good vocal from and, at their funniest, when they called on the shut Bob Bank to do the ayatollah and had it returned by the solitary ball boy there and also found Dave Jones turn down their first request to ayatollah which turned into a chant of "you Jack b*stard" as a result showed why they also let themselves down sometimes by abusing Tony Warner - one man not responsible for that goal - and calling for Scotland's No 1 who would not have prevented that goal either. Can do without that in pre-season games.
Purse ayatollahed, Jason Koumas ayatollahed form the touchline in front of the Baggies fans bringing chants of Koumas is a Bluebird and, upon being instructed, Dave Jones finally ayatollahed when next asked to do it. That kept many happy.
The rest of the half was pretty quiet. West Brom in the general ascendency without doing much but having a grip on midfield. City feeding on scraps, a couple of shots blocked the moment they were hit, Mulryne missing an opening and only Jerome really standing out in the moments he got involved in the game.
The key player in the game was Inamoto who played beautifully throughout. Now with blonde hair, the game seemed to revolve around him. His playmaking, passing and decsion making were a step ahead of anyone else on the pitch. Can we have him back please? His shooting was as wayward as ever though, his one effort of the opening half cleared the Grange End. Can we have him back please?
Just before the interval, Koskela limped of injured and replaced by Willie Boland. No doubt loved by one middle aged man in the Grandstand wearing an old fashioned shirt with Boland on the back followed by the caption "Tell them Willie Boy is here".
He made his mark quickly as City came to life in a five minute spell just before the interval as they finally, perhaps for the only time all afternoon, found an extra gear. In one attack, Jerome beat all on the left side and sent over a powerful low ball which the keeper could only beat down but nobody was there to follow home, the attack kept going, this time on the right and Ardley's ball was flicked on by Purse and somehow stayed out, drifting inches past the far post when it looked as though it were going in.
Half-time: CITY 0 WBA 1
Perhaps the best entertainment came at the interval when City introduced a new half-time competition when someone from each part of the ground (I'm being dull, I know, but how does that make it 5 fans) had to try and hit the back of the net kicking from the centre spot. The first one hit the post, the rest - including Vince Alm - made you wince as they all scrwed kicks left and barely halfway to goal. Looks decent fun though and it can't be easy.
The second half produced very little, for City, to be excited about. It was so quiet as the game was played out without real intensity that the only noise came from 100 or more seagulls swopping around the empty Bob Bank. Some of them showed good movement on the "wing" - just what we need!
On the pitch, Earnie came closest to doubling their lead when his edge of area free kick beat everyone but glanced the top of the cross bar. From that, just 5 minutes after the restart, Alexander replaced Warner. Alexander was soon in action making two stops, one of them a good effort from Gera and had to watch two other attempts fly wide.
On the hour, City found their only other good attacking spell of the entire game and came so close to equalising on the hour as Jerome did brilliantly to burst down the right before switching inside to Ferretti, the Italian who otherwise had another very quiet game, side stepped a challenge, made space and launched a rising 20 yard left footed drive which was brilliant denied by Baggies keeper. Quality play all round.
Shortly after, West Brom had a goal disallowed. Gera getting the ball home low around the ball, Alexander unable to keep it out. The celebrations has started, nobody complained, but was ruled out with debate over whether it hit a hand on the way in, there was an element of offside (I don't understand that but Alexander was allowed to take a kick over the opposite side of goal) or someone had infringed in the wall. It looked a good goal to everyone around me.
The fact this was a game being little more than a warm up was emphasised as it became disrupted by a flurry of substitutions. Bryan Robson made 5 subs on 65 minutes, Earnie was one of those to depart and went off to another standing ovation. Then City were changing as Darlington, Koumas, Lee and Fleetwood all appeared at regular intervals (for Weston, Ferretti, Parry and Jerome respectively).
On 71 minutes, West Brom made a couple more changes and, just as in midweek, City seemed to lose concentration with it. From the restart, a corner was won, the ball came over, Gera flicked on at the near post and GAARDSOE bundled home unchallenged at the other side of goal. Too easy.
It was game over and generally played out. West Brom had what remaining chances there were, Alexander making a very good stop from Kevin Campbell. For City, Ardley flicked a header wide which never threatened.
I can't say anyone really caught the eye for City today - Jerome was the only one who brought life into them. Not even Koumas, who played wide right, sparked any real life into the game although he showed a good range of passing and Darlington showed up well again in their brief spells. It was a good workout and that's all you can view it as. Purse was awarded man of the match. He's big and strong, a good shouter and organiser and it's easy to see why he's captain but the man of the match award was to make him feel at home, I'm sure.
Next week, the real stuff starts and not before time. Ipswich away and I suspect there will be activity to bring in a striker and quite bit of work to be done on the training ground in all areas of the team. Looking forward to it.
THE COST OF BEING A CITY FAN
Match Tickets x 2: £20 (I took the missus ... again!)
Travel: £3
Food and drink: £9
Today's Programme: Sold Out before I could get one
Paid my share of kit sponsorship for Glen Loovens: £22
Total cost of watching a friendly - £54
Total spent this season: 2 home friendlies = £98.30.
External reports
Western Mail
The Echo