Sabri Lamouchi becomes the latest Cardiff City manager to attempt to get the team to turn up for derby games on Saturday when Bristol City visit seeking a fourth consecutive victory at Cardiff City Stadium.
It might not seem like it on here at times, but I’m fairly philosophical about what has been happening at Cardiff City in recent seasons – we’re a shambles off the pitch, so this is bound to catch up with what’s happening on the field eventually. We may survive this season, but we’re heading for League One in the next year or two if the current ownership stays in place and they don’t finally learn their lessons regarding the lack of footballing know how in the Boardroom soon (as they haven’t done so yet, I’ve no great hopes of this happening in the future I’m afraid).
However, you cannot blame Messrs Tan, Dalman and Choo for our shocking performances against Bristol City and Swansea City in recent seasons – that’s entirely down to the management and players. We face Bristol and Swansea in the next month having been beaten 2-0 in the away games against these teams earlier in the season.
At least we had an excuse this time for our loss at Swansea in that we had a player sent off inside the first ten minutes, but we were feeble at Ashton Gate as a Bristol side that weren’t in great form strolled to a comfortable victory. Unfortunately, the wurzels are a better side than that now, whereas we’ve probably gone backwards since then. They were on a long unbeaten run before Manchester City’s comfortable win at Ashton Gate in the FA Cup on Tuesday, but we gained nothing last weekend from having a free week while Norwich played in the midweek, so I’ve no great hopes of it being a factor this time either – I’d gladly take a draw from a performance which shows that our players actually get what a derby means to supporters if it was offered to me now.
Here’s the usual quiz.
60s. This Cumberland born defender’s introduction into professional football was delayed for a couple of years because of National Service and the most famous game he played in his career is probably the one where his first club scored the highest number of goals while ending up losing in the Football League’s history. After playing close to one hundred league games for his first club, a player exchange deal saw him move to Bristol City where he saw out the rest of his full time career. After nineteen years as a professional, he dropped into non league football to play for Merseyside squirrels until the age of forty one, who is he?
70s. He scored in his final game for City a month or so later, but in his penultimate league game for us he became the founder, and only, member of a 1970’s Bristol City related club? Who was he and what was his unique achievement?
80s. As this man with a famous sporting surname never played a first team game for the north eastern club which represented his birthplace and was his first employer, all of his football had been played for three United’s before he signed for Bristol City. Two of the United’s were close enough to each other for games between them to be classed as derbys, while he came up one short of a hundred league games for the third one in a stripy city. He spent four years at Ashton Gate and made just over a hundred league starts for them during that time and, as was the norm in those days, his record against City was a good one – three wins and a draw from four encounters with us. He was mainly a back up after leaving Ashton Gate while representing one time Bantams and a team that’s relationship with a pop icon had just ended – who am I describing?
90s. Decline of a Costello classic perhaps?
00s. Linkman features in bland video it seems (5,5).
10s. Kowtow to Irish location maybe.
20s. Listen to Plank creator?
Answers
60s. Dave Connor was Huddersfield’s centre half in the amazing game at the Valley in 1957 when the visitors led 5-1 after an hour, only to end up losing 7-6. Connor signed for Bristol City in 1960 and stayed with them for eleven years while making over three hundred and fifty league appearances – he ended his playing days with Formby FC (the Squirrels).
70s. By playing in the 1-0 win over Bristol City in April 1971 at Ninian Park, Ronnie Bird became the only City player to have a one hundred per cent winning record over the wurzels in the seventies – it was the only time we beat them in that decade.
80s. Sunderland born goalkeeper Keith Waugh signed for Peterborough after his release by the Wearsiders and then joined Sheffield United, who loaned him to Cambridge for a spell. Waugh signed for Bristol City permanently after an initial loan move and was at Ashton Gate between 1985 and 1989 before having short spells at Coventry and Watford.
90S. Wayne Allison.
00s. David Noble.
10s. Neil Kilkenny.
20s. Mark Sykes (Comedian Eric Sykes’ most famous work, arguably, is The Plank).