No monomaniacs in our team, but megalomania is in abundance! So unfortunately, is the continued conceding of late equalizers.

By: Martyn | February 22nd, 2009

Football has a myriad of titillating quirks. Did you know that in the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (Tunisia’s Premier Division, dummies) no club is allowed a non-Tunisian goalkeeper? Or, that relegation in Argentina’s top division is based on a side’s performance average over the previous three seasons? While the former is undoubtedly steeped in a bit of logic given that it’s presumably stipulated in order to prevent young Tunisian keepers sweltering in the stands and the national side ending up with a Heurelho Gomes between the sticks, the latter idea is just plain baffling to my meek British brain, especially given the lack of a soccer-loving Argentinian native in my phone book or Facebook friend list to explain it all in layman’s terms! And finally – less of a D.Y.K more of Who?! Where!? When?! What!? How?! Why!? – Gabriel Agbonlahor is not only eminently rated by pundits and punters alike the length and breadth of the British isles, but is genuinely considered worthy of a place in the ENGLAND SQUAD!?? Yes, the latter is a synecdoche in which you should infer that I mean the English football squad, but let’s be fair, you might as well take it that I mean the national sprinting squad such is the lack of finesse or technical ability the Brummie bomber possesses with The Piece of Equipment Formerly Known as a Pig’s Bladder at his feet.

So why is a Cardiff City blogger discussing the quirks of North African shot stoppers and the league system of the world’s finest corned-beef exporters? Because this game aligned with all expectations and finished as a draw (2 each), and reeling off a list of the sport’s idiosyncrasies was the only way I could make the introduction of this post exciting and devoid of myself once again bemoaning us throwing away a winning position against one of our AUTOMATIC PROMOTION RIVALS AWAY FROM HOME. %$%^&^%&%@@!!

Seriously, this late-show lethargy is getting annoying. Like when you wait all evening for summat to come on the television, then three shows come on at once, you end up flicking between the triple choice and watching all and nothing at the same time. Okay, so it’s not like that at all, but things like that also piddle me off. Just imagine how clear at the top we (could/) would be if we didn’t keep tossing 2 points in the metaphorical garbage can every time we’re about to hit the M4 and head back hom??

Despite the Wanderers starting like a hose on sprinkler mode (the crisp finish for their opening goal apt for a team formerly sponsored by Dorito’s), someone back by the sink obviously turned the tap off (presumably needing to fill the kettle up) a quarter of the way through the match. Thus, the early soaking akin to a day at a Disney water theme park in Orlando turned into a Jack Dee matinee – drier than my hands after using a public toilet in the city centre, what with those jet-powered engines they now have stuck on the walls for post-sink comfort! Nevertheless, the tap remained a tad leaky, so trickles continued to eject from the end of the Wolves hose pipe and caused us the odd moment of discomfort.

As for the boys in blue, sure, we had 4 strikers on the pitch, but this was an orthodox 4-4-2 from the off and boy did it show. No one got started, the midfield was flat, McCormack was sulking, and Parry couldn’t beat his marker. Pre-match, I was hoping that at least with McCormack’s thirst for running with the ball and cutting inside we didn’t have to revert to the dull give-to-winger-to-give-to-big-bloke’s-forehead British footballing template. Mind you, whipping them in from the wing has become something of a hobby for Paul Parry this season now that he’s been demoted (?) to the flank/bench after last season’s striking exploits with Flabby Floyd Hasselwank. After the start we made, I pined for long hopeless Rhys Weston crosses into the box – anything that resembled an attack! But then, the leaky tap we started as finally got turned on and reached the end of the hose (probably with the user looking down the eye and scowling at the faltering contraption and ending up with a face full of water slapstick comedy style) and we became the sprinkler of chances! Tellingly, one was converted. Some majestic wide play from Paul Parry resulted in a Michael Chopra finish and equalizer (to an Ebanks-Blake opener).

A tale of two halves in a half, Wolves going from nocuous to innocuous, and we from innocuous to nocuous! A tale of two differing 4-4-2’s too, as after Bothroyd limped off McCormack was placed in a more natural role up top (the fluidity of our system allows others such as Parry to fill in further upfield mind should McCormack need to drift or draw markers out of position) and Burke offered a huge threat from the previously anonymous wing McCormack had been stationed on. As with most teams in the Championship, we lack a Lionel Messi or Andrei Arshavin figure, a spark. Nevertheless, synergy at this level is key, and when we get going, we go more than most. The combination of pace, ball control and good movement may sometimes be let down by sloppy passing and poor technique, but more often than not it’s enough to scare any team in this division into submission or a mistake, be they the league leaders Wolves or basement boys Charlton Athletic.

The second half wasn’t even a reversal of the first. We went with the momentum gained from a buoyant second quarter display, dominated, but didn’t score. They got a fortunate and freak leveller and then didn’t even have the better of the closing stages.

You can read the quite possibly differing P.O.V from Wolverhampton Toby right here

I’ve watched many games from a wide variety of leagues over the course of the weekend. It all started with Aston Villa-Chelsea yesterday lunch time, before QPR and Ipswich did their best to try and kick the ball out of my TV screen. From there I reached the Mediterranean and enjoyed the spectacle that was Barcelona-Espanyol (Iván De la Peña rolling back the years recalled vivid memories of hours wasted on the Sensible World of Soccer game as a youngster. De la Peña, Zidane and Ivanauskas – £2m, £3m and £1m bargain buys from Barcelona, Bordeaux and Hamburg respectively – were always mainstays in my team!). Simultaneously, I used Sky Bet on my laptop to satisfy my Serie A cravings and enjoy Palermo-Juventus, before rounding the evening off with a bit of Sevilla-Atletico Madrid. To conclude this marathon of *The Beautiful Game*, I find myself typing in the aftermath of Fiorentina-Chievo Verona (well, aftermath of the opening half). However, the one game I haven’t seen this weekend is, erm, Wolves-Cardiff.

Therefore, today I have decided to list and describe the performances of the City players from back to front positionally rather than in the rank order I so often use. Listing players in a league table for a game I did not witness with my own two pupils would dilute my coverage of the individual’s performances hitherto. So alas, I’m working on other’s opinions of the game, my own only fathomed from listening to the live coverage on the radio. My reasons for not attending have already been expressed innit)

Dimitrios Konstantopoulos – Some erratic kicking early on made me wonder if our new keeper was merely Tom Heaton in a wig. After dropping the ball in the net for the second Wolves goal, I started to wonder if it was merely Angus Deayton in a wig.

Kevin McNaughton – A swashbuckling, mature performance and was more than a match for all of his opponents in one-on-one duels. Taken off in injury time for Comminges.

Gabor Gyepes – Solid and strong, silenced the Wolves attacked.

Roger Johnson – Scored City’s 2nd to top a magnificent backline performance

Mark Kennedy – Part of the defence that yet again failed to deal with a set-piece, and some more questionable passing and final balls. A few hairy moments after the interval

Ross McCormack – The young Scot was moved to his preferred position up front after Bothroyd went off injured, and although confusion still lingers as to what his best position is, it’s clear that McCormack is not involved in the game half as much from the deeper flank role than he is when allowed to roam higher and not have to stay more in the system. A quiet game by his standards, perhaps he didn’t enjoy being upstaged by Chopra. Replaced in the 84th minute by Peter Whittingham.

Gavin Rae – When I look back on consequential and significant events and moments in my life, I often find myself asking the question why the pissin’ hell did I [insert moment/phrase of stupidity here]? Like, why the hell did I put Jermaine Jenas in my Fantasy Football team this season!!??? You get my drift, I’m sure. Now, when Dave Jones leaves the world of football for good, I’m sure he’ll be asking himself similar questions regarding both his managerial and playing career. Perhaps the most prominent of which will be why the hell did I consider Gavin Rae to have even an ounce of ability?!!!

Joe Ledley – Started way too quietly, but the goal coincided with Ledley entering the game. An imposing and dominant figure in both defence and attack thereafter. When he performs like this, his clever, intelligent and athletic play is plain for all to see.

Paul Parry – A wonderful assist for Chopra’s goal after some highly ambitious and attack-minded wing work. A great afternoon’s work.

Jay Bothroyd – Hobbled off after 32 minutes after doing very little. A collision with Jody Craddock seemed to bother both body and brain.

Michael Chopra – Got lured in for a tackle that led to Wolves getting too much space to work with in the box, and alas, their opening goal came. Got the opportunity to repent after banging in the equalizer. Chased down every lost cause (turning a ton in his favour), and gave the kind of performance fans dream of their attacker giving – Bending the rules of space and time to find room to manoeuvre, a persistent goal threat and both selfish and unselfish whenever the situation required the relevant trait.
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Chris Burke – Replaced Bothroyd in the 32nd minute. Brings more pace and seemingly stamina/overall fitness to the table than Parry does, and thus, this can nullify him as an attacking threat as he acts as more of a middle of the field man angled a bit out wide (as opposed to the winger that Parry is). After coming on mind, Burke continued the momentum we had just gained from the equalizer and was as incisive a threat as one could wish for.

Peter Whittingham – N/A

Miguel Comminges – Only had stoppage time to do his stuff, but one late track of an Ebanks-Blake run was crucial and possibly ensured e held onto a point.

I can now look forward to watching the next two games with my eyes. First up is QPR at home in the week, followed by a trip to the St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton on the Saturday!