Cardiff City vs. Liverpool: John Henry's Winning Ways

In February 2002, John Henry closed the deal to become the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and I could not have cared less.  I was in my Junior year at Villanova University and I barely followed the Philadelphia Phillies, my home town Major League Baseball (MLB) team.  Baseball could never really hold my attention; I far preferred National Football League (NFL) and men's college basketball.

Towards the end of the MLB 2002 season, in which the Red Sox failed to make the playoffs, I was fortunate enough to meet my future wife who is a lifelong Massachusetts resident.

Due in no small part to my new relationship, I watched every Red Sox playoff game in the 2003 season.  That year they beat the Oakland Athletics in the American League Division Series by fighting back from a 2 game deficit to win 3 games to 2.  The Red Sox went on to face the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).  Boston blew a three-run lead in the eighth inning of game seven and were eliminated.  

It was my first season following baseball with any remote interest and I felt like I had been sucker punched.

The following year, the Red Sox won the World Series.  The Series itself was boring, but the preceding ALCS against the Yankees was the most incredible sporting event I've ever seen.  If you have 16 minutes to spare, check out the season highlight video produced by Dailymotion here (safe for work).

Ending the Red Sox 86-year title drought was John Henry's explicit goal when he purchased the team.  All it took was three years, a pile of cash, and hiring the genius who mastered "moneyball".

I moved to the Boston area in 2005 and began going to games on a regular basis.  John Henry's organization would go on to add a second title in 2007.  The man is a billionaire and a winner.  I suspect he pisses excellence.

At the end of 2010, John Henry decided to branch out from baseball and became majority owner of Liverpool.  The Reds were approaching bankruptcy and underperforming by their own historic standards.  Henry was greeted with cautious optimisim.

Back in Boston, some Red Sox fans were worried that this hobby project of John Henry's would siphon money away from their baseball team.  But for the most part, locals found this new venture to be amusing.  Boston Magazine ran tongue-in-cheek features such as "A Masshole goes among the Thugs" and "A Red Sox Lover's Guide to Liverpool" (both links are safe for work).

When I was shopping for a Premier League team to follow, my affiliation with Boston would have made Liverpool an obvious choice.  But the lure of the underdog was too strong and without any regrets I chose Cardiff City.

Which catches us up to this weekend and the Bluebirds second clash of the season with the Reds...

Cardiff City 3 - Liverpool 6

• Mutch (CAR) 9'
• Suarez (LIV) 16'
• Campbell (CAR) 25'
• Skrtel (LIV) 41'
• Skrtel (LIV) 54'
• Suarez (LIV) 60'
• Sturridge (LIV) 75'
• Mutch (CAR) 88'
• Suarez (LIV) 96'

I could give you the play-by-play and detail how Cardiff City went from a promising 2-1 run in the first 40 minutes to a 1-5 beating in the last 50+ minutes.  I could do that, OR I could just show you an adorable pug in a Liverpool jersey...

In the future, I would like all of my bad news to be delivered by Chopper Fox (Liverpuglian).

Thanks to Sarah Dunn for providing the photos.  You can follow her and find more photos of Chopper Fox in Sarah's Instagram account @xsarahjdunnx".

Despite the loss, I think this was a performance of which Bluebirds fans can be proud.  The fact that they were able to score three goals against an opponent such as Liverpool is a triumph.  I am optimistic for the remainder of Cardiff City's season because they have now scored 3 goals in two of their past 3 matches.  Prior to that run, they had only scored 3 goals in exactly 1 of 28 matches.

Ole must be doing something right, even if the league standings still look dreadful.

Consider that Liverpool have the two highest goalscorers in the Premier League on their squad:  Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge...

(Image Credit:  Getty Images)

Sturridge has an impressive 20 goals so far this season, but his performance is eclipsed by that of Suarez.

The record for most goals scored by a player in a single (38-match) Premier League season is jointly-held by Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo at 31 goals.  After this match, Suarez has 28 goals and he still has 8 matches left to play.

Fun fact, guess who brought Suarez to Liverpool?  That's right, John Henry immediately after he acquired the club.  His Red Sox won their third World Series title in 2013.  It's entirely possible that Liverpool will win their first in 24 years under his supervision.

I've heaped a lot of praise on Liverpool in this post.  It's worth highlighting that Cardiff City's Jordon Mutch and Fraizer Campbell are both having excellent seasons at 6 goals a piece...

(Image Credit:  WalesOnline)

Modest goal totals for sure, but I believe enough ammunition to advance beyond the other relegation candidates.

With this loss, the Bluebirds are in 19th place with 6 wins, 7 draws, and 18 losses.  The table below captures the full Premier League standings as of 03/25/14.  The table columns are:  Current Position (POS), Last Position (LP), Club Name (CLUB), Matches Played (P), Wins (W), Draws (D), Losses (L), Goals Fielded (GF), Goals Allowed (GA), Goal Differential (GD), and Rankings Points (PTS).

There has been no movement in the ranking of the bottom five clubs.  Luckily, there is still a path out of the relegation zone for the Bluebirds.  Let's see where things stand.  The following clubs cannot be relegated:

• Chelsea
• Liverpool
• Manchester City
• Arsenal
• Tottenham Hotspur

Next week these are the results that we need:

• Everton to beat Fulham
• Liverpool and West Ham United to beat Sunderland (they place twice in next week)
• Chelsea to beat Crystal Palace

If those outcomes take place, a win against West Bromwich Albion next week would move the Bluebirds back into 18th place.

Ok, it's time to "Meet a US Bluebird"!

Meet Barry Scanlon (@druidbar, 03/22/14)

Where do you live and where are you from originally?:  I live in Sebastian, Florida.  It is a sleepy old town on the coast about 150 miles north of Miami. I was born and brought up in Fairwater, Cardiff, St Mary’s Canton and St Illtyds, Splott and later Llanrumney. I moved to London in the 70’s.

How long have you been following the Bluebirds and how did you become a fan?:  I’ve been a fan for about 50 years. My dad used to take me down to Ninian Park. We would stand on the Bob Bank.  I remember huge crowds, of course it was pretty much all standing then and City were in the old 1st Division. I played rugby in the morning and went ‘down the city’ in the afternoon. I’ve never been a rabid fan but went to as many games as I could.  A City scarf at Christmas was a big thing.  

What is your most favorite Cardiff City memory and why?:  I have 2 actually, I’ll never forget the night City beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the old Cup-Winners Cup, 1971 I think, the place was wild….talk about atmosphere. 

The other fond memory I have is taking my Dad down to Ninian Park to watch a 2nd division game a few years ago…one of the Sheffields I think. He was in his 90’s. We did it up and taxi’d it there and back, lunch and half-time in the Directors Club, Clark’s Pies, the whole bit. Great seats. Even met some of the players. I think City lost but it didn’t matter he had a blast.

Who is your most favorite current Cardiff City player?:  I haven’t seen every game but I think Gary Medel would be my favorite, he quietly works hard, not much gets by him and he is a very good distributor of the ball. 

What makes Cardiff City important to you?:  It’s hard to say really isn’t it? It’s just there.  I know that a win puts me in a great mood for a few days but a loss gives me a downer. From a personal point of view it gives a connection with my hometown too.

What is your favorite US sport and team?  Do you follow any MLS clubs?:  

I love American Football, once you’ve learned the finer points and understand that it’s not just a bunch of big guys slamming into each other you appreciate the skills of some great athletes. 

I lived in Chicago for many years and became a huge Chicago Bears fan, they’re a lot like City in so much as it wouldn’t be the Bears/City if they didn’t break your heart on a regular basis.

I keep an eye on the MLS but I don’t follow any club in particular. I know that’s it’s getting stronger though and producing more home grown players. 

The US national team are now regulars in the World Cup and none of the ‘big boys’ want them in their group.

One day they’ll win it all and really annoy all the traditionalists

Do you think Premier League is growing in popularity in the US?  What can NBC or the League itself do to grow its popularity in the US?:  Definitely, more and more people are aware of soccer in general, Americans enjoy any sport that’s played at a high level. NBC do a good job of showing the games.  Every Saturday they have  early and late games live, plus live games during the week. Highlight shows etc.

Maybe both NBC and the Premier League could do more to promote the games during regular TV but 

it’s early days. One thing that I enjoy is that I can watch any game live using NBC’s app, which allows me to watch City even if they’re not the featured game.

I think the Premier League should look at the NFL as an example of how it’s done. Huge viewership allows for everyone to make a lot of money, players, clubs, advertisers etc. They will change the rules between seasons to tweak the entertainment value. Most of all though they have a salary cap, it’s set each year and no team can go over it, however every team must spend a minimum too.This stopped the likes of the Dallas Cowboys basically buying Super Bowls. I think it would be great in the Premiership where only 5 teams have ever won it.

Thanks for the interview, Barry.  When you said, "a win puts me in a great mood for a few days but a loss gives me a downer" I knew exactly what you meant.  In fact, that has been the single most surprising experience for me since I've started following the Premier League.  Never in a million years would I have guessed that the outcome of a soccer match would determine my mood for hours afterwards.  Odd how the game infects you.

In Fantasy news, the Cardiff'rent Strokes have resumed their winning ways.  Thanks in no small part to Daniel Sturridge!

• Rank (Last Week):  1,011,416
• Rank (This Week):  931,757
• Total Players:  3,199,411

Well that's it for this week, readers.  Cardiff City's next match is on March 29th away at West Bromwich Albion.

Thank you as always for reading.  You can follow me on Twitter @dragon_bluebird.  And feel free to leave some comments on my posts via Blogger or Twitter.  Would love to hear your thoughts on the season so far and I'm always open to suggestions for features or topics you'd like to see on this blog.