Early Saturday evening, just hours after scoring his 14th and 15th goals of the season helping Cardiff to another 3 points and back to the top of the Championship it was announced Jay Bothroyd was selected for the England squad to face France in Wednesday night’s friendly at Wembley.
Later that evening Bothroyd, a regular ‘tweeter’ on social website Twitter, tweeted (sorry for the tongue twister – totally unintentional) that Saturday had been the best day of his career and rightly so.
Until he came to Cardiff just two seasons ago Bothroyd’s career seemed to be going nowhere. He had played at various clubs in England as well as having a short spell at Perugia in Italy and although he had showed the public glimpses of his talent he possesses his career had so far been a series of false starts and disappointments.
Fast forward 2 and a half years and in getting a call up to the England squad Bothroyd has achieved what had looked impossible when Dave Jones brought him to South Wales from Wolves for £350k. That price seems a snip now but when Jones signed him there were question marks surrounding it, was this too much to pay for petulant 26 year old who had played for 6 clubs in the 8 years that followed his acrimonious split from Arsenal, his boyhood club?
Over the last 2 and a half years Bothroyd has answered that question and with interest. He has improved every season and this season has showed he can be prolific in front of goal, to go with his pace, strength, skill and general build up play. In a team that includes Craig Bellamy he is the most complete player in the Cardiff team.
If Bothroyd does make an appearance on Wednesday night he will become the first player in the Championship since David Nugent in 2007 to play for England and remarkably the first ever current Cardiff City player to be capped by them.
So where does this leave Cardiff? It is well known that Bothroyd’s contract runs out at the end of the season. Even before the call up there - due to his form - there was always a chance that when the transfer window re-opens in January there would be interest from clubs in the Premier League. If he does get an England cap - and impress in doing so - it will only attract interest from other clubs, but an England cap will also mean Cardiff would demand more money for him. However Cardiff will want to do as much as they can to keep their star man, for the price of him helping the club get to the Premier League is more than any club will offer for him in January.
The other option - and the more likely one - is for him to wait until the summer and assess his options. If he was to stay for the remainder of the season and Cardiff were to gain promotion there would be a good chance he would sign a contract with Cardiff. He has often stated in recent months he is happy in his surroundings and has also gone as far to say he feels like a Cardiff boy, okay I know footballers are prone to making such outrageous statements, but he does appear to be happy. As previously mentioned he has also settled at this club like no other.
However if Cardiff fail to reach the Premier League then there will be no doubt he would leave for nothing - and who can blame him? At 28 he is hardly an elder statesman of the game but he's no spring chicken either. Bothroyd is probably capable of playing at the top level of the English League for the next 4 or 5 years and will be keen not to waste any more time.
Of course I would love Bothroyd to stay and although my heart is saying he will, my head is telling me Cardiff will either accept a bid in the summer or he will be offered the kind of contract in the summer from another club that he won't be able to refuse. If he does go I won't begrudge him one bit, he has been a fantastic player to watch over the past few seasons and his all round play will be remembered by Cardiff fans for years to come. Let's hope he does stay though.
Tuesday 16 November 2010
Monday 15 November 2010
Post 18 - Championship match day 17 - Scunthorpe United v Cardiff City
Cardiff returned to the top of the Championship as they convincingly unconvincingly beat Scunthorpe by four goals to two at Glandord park yesterday afternoon.
Cardiff made 2 changes from the team that drew with Reading mid-week, fit again Bellamy came in for McPhail, with Whittingham slotting into the centre and Kevin McNaughton came in for Adam Matthews. Gabor Gypes also made a return to the squad but could only make the bench, with Darcy Blake keeping his place in the team for the second consecutive game.
Pre-match I felt confident Cardiff would put a difficult week behind them and take the 3 points back to South Wales and knew that - with league leaders QPR playing Nottingham Forest away - there was a fair chance it would be enough to take us back to top spot.
The game itself was preceded with an immaculately observed minute silence in memory of those who have lost their life and suffered injury in war, something that always manages to put the game of football into perspective.
Cardiff got off to the start that justified my pre match confidence and by the 10th minute they had taken a 2 goal lead. The first came in the 2nd minute after Scunny keeper Murphy could only manage to parry a right footed Chopra shot to the feet of Bothroyd, who tapped in from 2 yards to put Cardiff ahead after a flowing move.
Cardiff came close to doubling their lead just seconds later when McNaughton shot just wide from 12 yards after a mazy run, but the travelling Cardiff fans only had a wait few more minutes to celebrate again. It was Chopra's turn to tap in this time, finishing from Bothroyds cross after a move to surpass the quality of the build up to the first goal.
It was the perfect start, spoiled only by the sight of Chris Burke hobbling off with the injured winger being replaced by Jason Koumas. As well as Koumas had done the previous Wednesday at Reading he doesn't offer the same natural width as Burke and Cardiff's shape was slightly affected by this forced change.
Cardiff continued to dominate for much of the first half and although Scunthorpe had their chances through some slack Cardiff defending it was they who increased their lead 11 minutes before the break when Bothroyd scored his 2nd of the day and 15th of the season with a glanced header from a Bellamy free kick.
Cardiff were cruising and the game looked as good as over and in all honestly probably would have been had Kevin McDonald not given Scunthorpe a glimmer of hope on the stroke of half time with a well placed volley on the edge of the area. Although conceding that goal was disappointing, Cardiff fans still had a lot to be happy with going into the break, however Scunthorpe thoroughly deserved that goal and in reality should have scored 10 minutes earlier when Sears somehow put wide from 8 yards with just Heaton to beat.
Had Scunthorpe not got one back when they did Cardiff - attacking in front of their fans in the second half - would almost certainly have increased their lead. But that goal gave the home side renewed belief and they started the second half looking to put the Bluebirds on the back foot.
With 10 minutes gone of the second half, most of which Cardiff were under pressure, Bothroyd was denied his first ever hat-trick when Irons keeper Murphy made a fantastic close range double save, firstly from the head and then from the left foot of the Cardiff striker.
Scunthorpe, seeing most of the ball and by now winning the battle in the centre of the park, piled the pressure on and in the 73rd minute were rewarded when N'Guessan headed home a Forte cross. It wasn't as if the goal wasn't coming and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was thinking back to Peterborough last season. Could this happen again? Probably.
It seemed inevitable that Scunthorpe would get an equaliser, however Cardiff seem to be made of sterner stuff this season and proved this with a decisive, albeit lucky,goal with 12 minutes remaining when Olofinjana deflected in a long distance Koumas strike for his 3rd of the season.
This 4th goal seemed to knock the wind out of the home side, they had done brilliantly to get within one of goal of their visitors and to see the deficit go back to 2 in such fashion must've knocked the stuffing out of them. Cardiff held on to take all 3 points and with it re-gained top spot in the league as QPR could, yet again, only manage a draw. It was a long but happy journey home for the 700 plus travelling Cardiff fans, 4 goals, 3 points and what more a call-up to the England squad for their star striker Bothroyd. Worth the trip? definitely.
Result - Scunthorpe United 2 Cardiff City 4
Cardiff made 2 changes from the team that drew with Reading mid-week, fit again Bellamy came in for McPhail, with Whittingham slotting into the centre and Kevin McNaughton came in for Adam Matthews. Gabor Gypes also made a return to the squad but could only make the bench, with Darcy Blake keeping his place in the team for the second consecutive game.
Pre-match I felt confident Cardiff would put a difficult week behind them and take the 3 points back to South Wales and knew that - with league leaders QPR playing Nottingham Forest away - there was a fair chance it would be enough to take us back to top spot.
The game itself was preceded with an immaculately observed minute silence in memory of those who have lost their life and suffered injury in war, something that always manages to put the game of football into perspective.
Cardiff got off to the start that justified my pre match confidence and by the 10th minute they had taken a 2 goal lead. The first came in the 2nd minute after Scunny keeper Murphy could only manage to parry a right footed Chopra shot to the feet of Bothroyd, who tapped in from 2 yards to put Cardiff ahead after a flowing move.
Cardiff came close to doubling their lead just seconds later when McNaughton shot just wide from 12 yards after a mazy run, but the travelling Cardiff fans only had a wait few more minutes to celebrate again. It was Chopra's turn to tap in this time, finishing from Bothroyds cross after a move to surpass the quality of the build up to the first goal.
It was the perfect start, spoiled only by the sight of Chris Burke hobbling off with the injured winger being replaced by Jason Koumas. As well as Koumas had done the previous Wednesday at Reading he doesn't offer the same natural width as Burke and Cardiff's shape was slightly affected by this forced change.
Cardiff continued to dominate for much of the first half and although Scunthorpe had their chances through some slack Cardiff defending it was they who increased their lead 11 minutes before the break when Bothroyd scored his 2nd of the day and 15th of the season with a glanced header from a Bellamy free kick.
Cardiff were cruising and the game looked as good as over and in all honestly probably would have been had Kevin McDonald not given Scunthorpe a glimmer of hope on the stroke of half time with a well placed volley on the edge of the area. Although conceding that goal was disappointing, Cardiff fans still had a lot to be happy with going into the break, however Scunthorpe thoroughly deserved that goal and in reality should have scored 10 minutes earlier when Sears somehow put wide from 8 yards with just Heaton to beat.
Had Scunthorpe not got one back when they did Cardiff - attacking in front of their fans in the second half - would almost certainly have increased their lead. But that goal gave the home side renewed belief and they started the second half looking to put the Bluebirds on the back foot.
With 10 minutes gone of the second half, most of which Cardiff were under pressure, Bothroyd was denied his first ever hat-trick when Irons keeper Murphy made a fantastic close range double save, firstly from the head and then from the left foot of the Cardiff striker.
Scunthorpe, seeing most of the ball and by now winning the battle in the centre of the park, piled the pressure on and in the 73rd minute were rewarded when N'Guessan headed home a Forte cross. It wasn't as if the goal wasn't coming and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was thinking back to Peterborough last season. Could this happen again? Probably.
It seemed inevitable that Scunthorpe would get an equaliser, however Cardiff seem to be made of sterner stuff this season and proved this with a decisive, albeit lucky,goal with 12 minutes remaining when Olofinjana deflected in a long distance Koumas strike for his 3rd of the season.
This 4th goal seemed to knock the wind out of the home side, they had done brilliantly to get within one of goal of their visitors and to see the deficit go back to 2 in such fashion must've knocked the stuffing out of them. Cardiff held on to take all 3 points and with it re-gained top spot in the league as QPR could, yet again, only manage a draw. It was a long but happy journey home for the 700 plus travelling Cardiff fans, 4 goals, 3 points and what more a call-up to the England squad for their star striker Bothroyd. Worth the trip? definitely.
Result - Scunthorpe United 2 Cardiff City 4
Scorers - City: Bothroyd (2,34), Chopra (9), Olofinjana (79), Scunthorpe: McDonald (45) N'Guessan (73)
Attendance - 5,333
My man of the match: Heaton! Had Bothroyd got that hat-trick then I probably would've given it to him, but Heaton was superb for the second consecutive game, had he not been on top form then Cardiff may not have come away with the 3 points.
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Post 17 - Championship match day 15 - Cardiff City v Swansea City
Cardiff City lost their first home game of the season as they were humbled at the hands of their bitter rivals Swansea City in front of a Cardiff City Stadium record crowd.
Jones got it wrong. I know it's easy to say that in hindsight, but he did, there are no 2 ways about it, he cocked up big style. As soon as the team was named it baffled the Cardiff faithful and I would expect both the Caridff and Swansea players too. Why was Burke on the bench? With your top goalscorer injured surely you want the rest of your attacking unit playing and Burke has unquestionably been a key part of this.
It wasn't a surprise that Keogh was selected and I don't think it was necessarily a bad selection had we stuck with the 4-4-2 formation. But to play him on his own up from was, again, wrong. Chopra is an out and out striker, he thrives on playing on the shoulder of the last man, he is by no means a wide player and it was obvious from the start he didn't want to be in that position. Finally, Drinkwater's inclusion was a bit of a shock, okay I half expected it, but is this really the kind of game a young central midfielder should be playing in his first game after a 10 week lay off from injury? Evidently not.
That's my rant over, Jones obviously got it wrong, but it doesn't necessarily make him a bad manager. I still believe he is the man to take us to the Premier League, I just hope that he has learnt something from the defeat.
The atmosphere before the game was fantastic as the Welsh Guards marched around the stadium, led by a goat to the sound of 'Men of Harlech'. It was well applauded by both sets of fans, who embraced a rare moment of togetherness in showing their Welsh pride. However, that brief moment of solidarity was soon over as the players took to the pitch. The name of each Bluebird -announced by Ali - was greeted with huge cheers whilst the Jacks were booed in equal measure - nothing wrong with that.
The game itself started evenly enough with Swansea seeing a fair bit of possession, albeit largely in their own half. Cardiff could have easily been awarded a penalty in the 14th minute when Swansea keeper de Vries looked to have held back Chopra, however a free kick was bizarrely awarded against the Cardiff striker when the keeper fumbled the ball, highlighting just how much keepers are 'protected' in the modern game. Heaton then saved comfortably at the near post from Dyer 5 minutes later before Whittingham's cleanly hit shot from 25 yards just went over with De Vries rooted.
The next 20 minutes went by with little incident until Cardiff had another penalty appeal turned down with 5 minutes left of the first half, however it was turned down by the referee, who got this decision correct. The sides went into the break level after a half which neither team really showed its potential apart from the odd semi flowing move.
After the break I was hoping Cardiff would play more positively and maybe even revert back to their usual 4-4-2, something they could have done without changing personnel. But it wasn't too be and Cardiff continued to look uncomfortable on the ball, particularly in the centre of the park. Just 3 minutes after the re-start the Swans came within a few inches of breaking the deadlock when Sinclair - kept quiet by McNaughton for long periods in the first half - struck the post after a shot just outside the 18 yard box. Heaton got a touch, but it didn't look the most comfortable of saves.
This seemed to inspire the away team and they started to get a grip on the game, Dyer was a constant live wire and Cardiff seemed a pace behind the Swansea midfield in particular Joe Allen, who forced a decent save out of Heaton from long range.
With more than 30 minutes remaining Keogh was replaced with Burke. Keogh had actually done ok, but the main problem is that he isn't Bothroyd and it is unfair to compare him to one of the stand out players of the Championship so far this season, someone who's form has lead for calls for them to be included in the next England squad.
For all their possession, Swansea never really created any clear cut chances but did look much more likely to make a break throug, however as they were beginning to stamp their authority on the game Cardiff had a great chance to take the lead. With 65 minutes on the clock Heaton cleared the ball down the field, a Swansea defender slipped and Bellamy was gifted with a glorious chance to give his side the lead, but scuffed his shot and his lines as his left footed shot was easily saved by De Vries.
The next talking point came 5 minutes later when Chopra went in high against Allen, luckily for Allen his momentum made sure he rode the challenge, but had Chopra caught him a serious injury could have been caused. Chopra somehow survived without a booking but in reality he could easily have been shown a red card.
Despite Bellamy's earlier chance it was Swansea who were to deservedley take the lead. With 72 minutes on the clock Emnes shrugged off the challenge of Gypes to fire home from outside the box. Having seen it again keeper Heaton could and probably should have made a better attempt to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net. Although Gypes was easily beaten in the lead up to the goal he and Hudson had been solid for most of the match and kept Swansea to shooting from long range.
Cardiff never really looked like getting an equaliser, but in the very last minute of injury time Bellamy was again given the perfect chance to score in his first South Wales derby. Substitute Blake crossed from the right and Bellamy had the goal at his mercy, but he mis-timed his header and the ball came off his left shoulder with the ball trickled wide. Had he put it away it would've earned a point Cardiff's performance didn't deserve. Swansea were good value for their win and with it moved to within 3 points of Cardiff in 2nd spot. From the perspective of the home team it will be a day the fans will like to forget about as soon as possible, but one the Jacks will embrace.
But all is not bad, Cardiff are still in a very enviable situation and as I write this have a chance to regain top spot tomorrow night at Reading with QPR only managing a draw away to Portsmouth. There's expected to be changes, but whoever plays, it is important Cardiff put in a good performance and get their season back on track and there is no reason why they can't do just that.
Result - Cardiff City 0 Swansea City 1
Scorers - Swansea: Emnes 75
Attendance - 26,049
Fans man of the match - Didn't hear one announced.
My man of the match - Not many contenders here. Hudson was solid at the back and McNaughton was decent until he went off injured but erm, that's it. Hudson.
Jones got it wrong. I know it's easy to say that in hindsight, but he did, there are no 2 ways about it, he cocked up big style. As soon as the team was named it baffled the Cardiff faithful and I would expect both the Caridff and Swansea players too. Why was Burke on the bench? With your top goalscorer injured surely you want the rest of your attacking unit playing and Burke has unquestionably been a key part of this.
It wasn't a surprise that Keogh was selected and I don't think it was necessarily a bad selection had we stuck with the 4-4-2 formation. But to play him on his own up from was, again, wrong. Chopra is an out and out striker, he thrives on playing on the shoulder of the last man, he is by no means a wide player and it was obvious from the start he didn't want to be in that position. Finally, Drinkwater's inclusion was a bit of a shock, okay I half expected it, but is this really the kind of game a young central midfielder should be playing in his first game after a 10 week lay off from injury? Evidently not.
That's my rant over, Jones obviously got it wrong, but it doesn't necessarily make him a bad manager. I still believe he is the man to take us to the Premier League, I just hope that he has learnt something from the defeat.
The atmosphere before the game was fantastic as the Welsh Guards marched around the stadium, led by a goat to the sound of 'Men of Harlech'. It was well applauded by both sets of fans, who embraced a rare moment of togetherness in showing their Welsh pride. However, that brief moment of solidarity was soon over as the players took to the pitch. The name of each Bluebird -announced by Ali - was greeted with huge cheers whilst the Jacks were booed in equal measure - nothing wrong with that.
The game itself started evenly enough with Swansea seeing a fair bit of possession, albeit largely in their own half. Cardiff could have easily been awarded a penalty in the 14th minute when Swansea keeper de Vries looked to have held back Chopra, however a free kick was bizarrely awarded against the Cardiff striker when the keeper fumbled the ball, highlighting just how much keepers are 'protected' in the modern game. Heaton then saved comfortably at the near post from Dyer 5 minutes later before Whittingham's cleanly hit shot from 25 yards just went over with De Vries rooted.
The next 20 minutes went by with little incident until Cardiff had another penalty appeal turned down with 5 minutes left of the first half, however it was turned down by the referee, who got this decision correct. The sides went into the break level after a half which neither team really showed its potential apart from the odd semi flowing move.
After the break I was hoping Cardiff would play more positively and maybe even revert back to their usual 4-4-2, something they could have done without changing personnel. But it wasn't too be and Cardiff continued to look uncomfortable on the ball, particularly in the centre of the park. Just 3 minutes after the re-start the Swans came within a few inches of breaking the deadlock when Sinclair - kept quiet by McNaughton for long periods in the first half - struck the post after a shot just outside the 18 yard box. Heaton got a touch, but it didn't look the most comfortable of saves.
This seemed to inspire the away team and they started to get a grip on the game, Dyer was a constant live wire and Cardiff seemed a pace behind the Swansea midfield in particular Joe Allen, who forced a decent save out of Heaton from long range.
With more than 30 minutes remaining Keogh was replaced with Burke. Keogh had actually done ok, but the main problem is that he isn't Bothroyd and it is unfair to compare him to one of the stand out players of the Championship so far this season, someone who's form has lead for calls for them to be included in the next England squad.
For all their possession, Swansea never really created any clear cut chances but did look much more likely to make a break throug, however as they were beginning to stamp their authority on the game Cardiff had a great chance to take the lead. With 65 minutes on the clock Heaton cleared the ball down the field, a Swansea defender slipped and Bellamy was gifted with a glorious chance to give his side the lead, but scuffed his shot and his lines as his left footed shot was easily saved by De Vries.
The next talking point came 5 minutes later when Chopra went in high against Allen, luckily for Allen his momentum made sure he rode the challenge, but had Chopra caught him a serious injury could have been caused. Chopra somehow survived without a booking but in reality he could easily have been shown a red card.
Despite Bellamy's earlier chance it was Swansea who were to deservedley take the lead. With 72 minutes on the clock Emnes shrugged off the challenge of Gypes to fire home from outside the box. Having seen it again keeper Heaton could and probably should have made a better attempt to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net. Although Gypes was easily beaten in the lead up to the goal he and Hudson had been solid for most of the match and kept Swansea to shooting from long range.
Cardiff never really looked like getting an equaliser, but in the very last minute of injury time Bellamy was again given the perfect chance to score in his first South Wales derby. Substitute Blake crossed from the right and Bellamy had the goal at his mercy, but he mis-timed his header and the ball came off his left shoulder with the ball trickled wide. Had he put it away it would've earned a point Cardiff's performance didn't deserve. Swansea were good value for their win and with it moved to within 3 points of Cardiff in 2nd spot. From the perspective of the home team it will be a day the fans will like to forget about as soon as possible, but one the Jacks will embrace.
But all is not bad, Cardiff are still in a very enviable situation and as I write this have a chance to regain top spot tomorrow night at Reading with QPR only managing a draw away to Portsmouth. There's expected to be changes, but whoever plays, it is important Cardiff put in a good performance and get their season back on track and there is no reason why they can't do just that.
Result - Cardiff City 0 Swansea City 1
Scorers - Swansea: Emnes 75
Attendance - 26,049
Fans man of the match - Didn't hear one announced.
My man of the match - Not many contenders here. Hudson was solid at the back and McNaughton was decent until he went off injured but erm, that's it. Hudson.
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