Migration-happy Bluebirds held by ewesless Rams.

By: Martyn | September 21st, 2008

Never has a game of football been open to so much spin. On the coach home from a place Nottingham Forest supporters don’t much like, I reflected on what was a mighty impressive performance against a recently dethroned Premier League side. But then – shock shock horror horror shock shock horror – the realisation that yet again we had failed to believe in ourselves early enough to win a game that we so easily could and really should have. The Derby County team were woeful (one player aside: Arsenal loanee Nazar Barazite tormented Comminges and provided the CK assist for their goal), the Derby County fans were woeful (how can a near-capacity home support fail to muster one single song until an hour in?! Pathetic), the away stand amenities were woeful (one bar and watered-down ‘pints’ – It’s just no way to treat Marston’s Smooth y’know). But some credit to the place where it’s due: The Police and stewards were in no way overzealous or reactionary, which is always pleasing – there was some sort of fracas going on down at the front after the Rams goal, but it was hard to determine what exactly happened or whom exactly was at fault – and Pride Park was all the things a new stadium should be. Good acoustics, a design that differed from those gifted to most identikit stadiums that spring up these days, enough turnstiles to go round, shared home/away fan stands, a decent turf and most importantly of all, character. Very impressive.

So the game itself. A 1-1 draw with a team that Manchester United scraped a 1-0 victory over in The World’s Best League™ just several months previously. Although the vociferous songs pre-match were mainly in eager anticipation of Tuesday’s clash with Swansea City, kick-off in the Midlands sunshine got everyone focused on the league encounter in progress. And rightly so. We were in control from the off and as the swagger of the “Pride Park’s a library” chants provided the perfect accompaniment to our dominance, the scoreline failed to follow suite. Derby’s midfield treated the ball like their beer-goggle pull on the tiles last night – avoidance not seen since townsfolk and the plague many centuries back. The space our midfield and forwards were at times afforded defied belief, but such was the gaping nature of it McCormack in particular dropped too deep on several occasions in the first half and thus our impotence began. Perhaps it was hard to blame him: County were so bunched that the speedy Scot was wary of there being an imminent pile-on with he the unwitting plate. Derby County took the lead against the run of play and with their only real chance of note in the whole game. Down below the seating area, the goal was replayed on a loop on the screens next to the screen bar. Each and every time I witnessed what was truly the most abysmal marking from a corner that I’ll ever witness. Okay, that’s a shade exaggerated. But what in God’s name was McNaughton watching or thinking about?!! Preparing for the opposition to swing in a corner is not the time to start worrying over whether you left the oven on or trying to recall the answer to that incredibly annoying question in the pub quiz the other night that left you stumped for hours!!! Defending corners is something that will have to be worked on in training this week, as will delivering the ruddy things themselves: McCormack and Whittingham’s delivery today was barely adequate, and when we have Johnson and Purse in the box waiting to do damage wasted deliveries go beyond the normal realms of stupidity and frustration. So going back to the opening line of this post and my point about spin, maybe for now us fans should just remain in the corridor between the one exit with ‘Nostalgia’ hung on it (”Look how far we’ve come”, etc) and the other marked ‘For Those Who Deem Their Club A Sleeping Giant With The Divine Right To Beat Small Clubs Like Derby County’ and just continue to cherish our unbeaten-since-May record and not expect too much! Fat chance though, eh?

Tom Heaton – Hello, and welcome back to Stuck-Record Territory! I’ll be your host, as ever. So then, first contestant… Mr Tom Heaton of Cardiff City! (canned cheers) So Tom, tell us about yourself son? “Well, I’m a goalkeeper. Annnnnnd, every game I make a few tidy saves, annnnnd, erm, well, the rest of the time I just show the world my absymal kicking and distribution and my unhealthy obsession with staying on the line!” Though I do hasten to add, the latter is gradually weakening. As for the kicking, it begs the question, what exactly does this Manchester United loanee do all week? Who knows, maybe he stays at home and thinks of wittier ways of doing player ratings that don’t involve game show formats… 5.5
Kevin McNaughton – Oh dear. This must have been one of his worst showings in a Cardiff City shirt to date. Was at fault with his shoddy and criminal marking at the corner for their goal, and all afternoon his distribution and positioning were off. Things could have been so much worse had Derby not tried to prevail down the Comminges flank so often. 5
Roger Johnson – His passing was less lazy than usual although this was an amazingly quiet afternoon for him other than the threat of multiple corners. On the getting-away-with-it side of things, Johnson was lucky not to have given away a penalty in the first half for a blatant trip in the box. 6
Darren Purse – How odd and refreshing it was to hear the Darren Purse song emanate from the City support! It’s been ages since that last got an airing. Purse deserved it mind. He’s now starting to back up his persistent and fan-loving noise-making with some consistent and colossal performances – poor old Gyepes! Man of the Match once again, Purse will cement himself in Cardiff City history should he continue in this rich vein of form and lead us into the Promised Land. Its very much early days and I don’t want to tempt fate, but player of the season currently looks set to be a two-horse race between Purse 5 and McCormack 44. 7.5
Miguel Comminges – Just plain awful. No positional sense, no confidence, no composure, no creativity, no non-linearity, no defensive ability, no attacking ability, no clue. Should come with a health warning sticker and a comical soundtrack normally only reserved for and purchased by circus clowns.3.5
Joe Ledley – The player Stoke City bid £6m for turned up yesterday. The Joe Ledley that torments defences, the Joe Ledley that believes he can do anything and what the hell he wants on and off the ball, the Joe Ledley that chases every lost cause, the Joe Ledley that defenders hack down in the box, and the Joe Ledley that is the fulcrum of our best attacking moves. Long may it continue. 7
Gavin Rae – Added the appropriate bite and was in no way bowled over, but the cabinet full of superlatives will remain shut. The tango and drunk-dancing/swaying are both technically forms of dancing, but galaxies apart. However, both are still forms of dance so long as they are used in the right context. Therefore, Gav’s drunk-dancing was apt for the occasion. Steady enough to warrant a firm you-did-a-good-job-san slap on the backside. 6.5
Stephen McPhail – Strong, neat and tidy, but the killer ball against he team had managed to get on the back foot never materialised. 6.5
Peter Whittingham – Miss Understood didn’t show enough yesterday and was rightly hauled off instead of Parry who promptly took up his position and did a better job of things. He did come close on one occasion and his ability to stretch the game, pick out a pass and run at defenders does shine through now and again but this isn’t often enough. Needs to work on his set-pieces too. Big time. 6
Paul Parry – By no means his most effective showing, though I thought he looked far brighter after being planted on the wing instead of up top. Scared the Rams defenders occasionally with his forthright style of play, but here and there he seemed to be asleep. Not a performance that will linger long in the memory, but one that teeters a little above the average bar. 6
Ross McCormack – His penalty-taking ability is simply breathtaking. You just know he isn’t going to miss. Elsewhere, he wasn’t his normal self and maybe showed a side of him that reflected his lack of potency – at this still tender moment in his career – from open play, but McCormack is already a City hero and more and more replica shirts are getting the no. 44 on their spine by the week. 7
Jay Bothroyd – Looked sharp after coming on today, maybe bitter at having been shunned to the bench for the second game running. If Jay gets a chip on his shoulder and plays like this more often we could have one helluva impact sub on our hands! Unselfishly squared a perfect ball across the box to fellow substitute and brief strike-partner USA who… 6.5
Eddie Johnson – … missed it. 5