Last season we were often described as one of the best footballing teams in the Championship - I have not heard that said often about us this year though and, to be honest, I have not seen too much from us which would justify that description. On the other hand, the jacks have spent all season gaining plaudits for the way that they play and it has to be admitted that they are easy on the eye - however, I think one of the lessons of this seasons Championship, up to now at least, is that pure "footballing" sides win nothing.
When they get it right, the jacks look a million dollars (for example, I thought their performance in winning at Burnley was better than anything we have produced this season), but yesterday's game offered another example of why they will, almost certainly, fall short of the top six. While they looked good at times as Gomez, Dyer and Scotland moved the ball around sweetly, they spent much of the game being second best to City's more pragmatic brand of football - I don't think you will hear a commentator calling Swansea "gritty" this season!
Perhaps because of their run to the Cup Final, last year's "footballing" City team were never able to string together a sequence of results that really convinced anyone that they would be right in the mix when it came to the promotion places whereas this year's side have done that with a style that has won a lot less plaudits. With over 80% of the season gone, the fact is that, while you need footballing ability of course, things like power and resilience are essential in this season's Championship - out of the five teams currently above us, I would say that Burnley are the only ones who are a true "footballing" side.
Therefore, I am not really knocking City when I say I don't get the same enjoyment out of watching this team play as I did when last year's side got it right because, up to as point at least, the current team has got the better balance between footballing ability and being "gritty".
However, the use of "up to a point" there was not accidental. Another thing Ian Darke said yesterday was that we are the hardest team to beat in the Championship - that's great of course, but I am afraid that this only tells half the story about our side.
Yesterday was just the latest example of us not being able to win the matches that really count. If we accept that promotion is now down to the current top nine then our record against these sides this season is very revealing;-
P 14 W 1 D 10 L 3 f 17 a 20 Pts 13
Apart from our 2-0 win against Preston back in December, we just do not win against the teams around us in the table and, with just a visit to Deepdale to come, our away record against the top nine is amazing
P 7 W 0 D 7 L 0 f 9 a 9 Pts 7
In it's way, it's a fantastic achievement to go unbeaten on the grounds of so many top sides, but doesn't our overall record against the top nine say that we still haven't got the balance between being a "footballing" outfit and a "gritty" team quite right - maybe we could do with a bit more flair in the team? Whatever, if we do make the Play offs, it seems to me that we should prepare ourselves for the agony of penalty shoot outs!
In saying that, it should also be stated that, for the second time this season, the South Wales derby provided a great game of football and, just like at the Liberty, City played a full part in proceedings. Once we got to grips with Swansea around the twenty minute mark, we dominated most of the remainder of the game and I thought we did just enough to win the game - the circumstances behind us getting the draw made it feel like a point gained, but on the balance of play I would say it was two points lost.
Unfortunately though, we aren't defending quite as well as we have done for much of the campaign - although the jacks goals were well constructed, they were both soft ones from a defensive point of view with Dyer's run through the middle of our back four reminding me of how Henderson got away from Johnson and Gyepes in the build up to Sheffield United's penalty.
Therefore, I wouldn't quite go along with those who felt that Darren Purse was our best player yesterday - he did well, but, for me, Ross McCormack was the best out of quite a few City players who performed well on the day (including the recalled McPhail).
Unfortunately though, the media headlines aren't about the great entertainment the teams provided or the performance of a referee who, unlike in the previous league match between the sides, did not let the occasion get to him. I bet you the idiot concerned feels really proud that he has made it on to the pages of the Lakehouse Daily News in Sri Lanka!
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/04/06/spo06.asp
There is a serious point to this though as, not for the first time I am sure, the outside world gets to associate Cardiff City with the misbehaviour of some of it's supporters.
I had my say about the pond life that attach themselves to my club yesterday, so this time I will contrast what happened last time we had a full house at Ninian Park with what we saw yesterday. On that day in 2006 the crowd of 20,000 plus cheered the City to a great victory over Birmingham and defeated manager Steve Bruce was moved to comment on how the atmosphere the home fans created had got to his team - the home supporters behaved impeccably that day and it was left to the visiting fans to provide the bad behaviour, but I am afraid that it was a case of normal service resuming yesterday.