It's time for the talk to stop and the action to begin as the new season finally starts, it started two days ago in Norwich actually, but for Cardiff City the journey begins today, with a visit from Sheffield United. A Sunday start feels strange, I can't recall us ever playing our opening game on a Sunday before, but that could well be because of my poor memory, strange for a young person I know, but I do have problems remembering matches even as recent as last season. I'll never forget the Maidstone game though (http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=232132), that match will live with me forever.
Although the season finished mid May it doesn't feel as if football has left our consciousness at all this summer as 2010 saw the first football world cup to be held in Africa This was to be a momentous occasion, to be celebrated not just by the hosts South Africa, but by the continent on the whole, it was their chance to prove they could stage the most viewed sporting competition on the planet. I didn't go to the world cup so I can't possibly comment on the atmosphere over there, but from an armchair spectators point of view the football never seemed to get going. I don't know if it was because of the ball, the altitude, the negative tactics, Mark Lawrenson, player fatigue from a long domestic season or because defences were too well organised, but apart from the odd moment it never seemed to excite. Sorry, I've just remembered, it was the Vuvuzela's fault, that B flat (FACT) drone ruined everything, sorry Lawro if you're reading.
As great as a world cup is (in theory anyway), for most football fans club football is what really matters, the bread and butter if you like, this may seem obvious coming from a Welsh point of view considering our lack of any sort of success over the last 50 years, but I do get the same impression from English football fans too.
No-one really knows what to expect from Cardiff this season, the bookies included. Odds currently vary from 14-1 to 22-1 for us to win the league. 22-1 seems long for a club who finished 4th last season in a league which was a lot stronger than it is this time around, but the general consensus from pundits and 'experts' outside the club is that we will struggle due to us losing our 'star player' Joe Ledley. I don't want to appear bitter at losing Ledley (for next to nothing) because I'm not, but I genuinely feel he is over-rated by the wider football watching public, a good player? yes, but a world beater he certainly isn't,other players at the club such as Jay Bothroyd, Stephen McPhail, Michael Chopra, Peter Whittingam and others are blessed with much better football ability.
So, back to today's game against Sheffield United. It won't be the most important game of the season but it would be nice to get off to a winning start with a solid performance, a clean sheet oh and 4 goals, basically what I'm saying is that I want a repeat of the opening game last season. I'm pretty sure we won't win 4-0 today but I have woken up in a reasonably confident mood. Defeats for the Jacks, Bristol City and the lovely Leeds yesterday has already made me feel good about the new season and whatever happens today, we can't do much worse than them, can we?
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