Liverpool vs. Cardiff City: E Malkymus Unum

In last week's Dragon and Bluebird post, I somewhat casually mentioned that "...Mackay's odds [of getting fired] are more likely [than other current managers] because of backroom tension with Cardiff City ownership with which I've elected not to weigh down this blog."  Well unfortunately, that tension has boiled over and I can't fairly report on my first season watching the Premier League without sharing the situation with you.

Hold your noses, dear readers, because something is truly rotten in the state of Denmark...er...Wales.

This is Cardiff City majority shareholder Vincent Tan...

Don't mess around with the guy in shades (Image Credit:  WalesOnline)

Below are two scenes of Cardiff City fans taken at this week's match...

With the lights out, it's less dangerous...

...Here we are now, entertain us

How did we get to this point?  Here's what you need to know...

1.  Cardiff City stank for decades

2.  Tan bought a majority stake in the club in 2010 and proceeded to dump millions of pounds into it

3.  Cardiff City no longer stank

4.  Tan changed the jersey color and badge of one hundred years to cater to his desired Asian fanbase

5.  Cardiff City fans went ballistic

6.  Cardiff City won the Championship League (i.e. 2nd tier of English soccer) and got promoted to the Premier League (i.e. 1st tier of English soccer) for the first time in almost 60 years

7.  Cardiff City fans still pissed about changes, but distracted by the promotion excitement

8.  Tan builds new training facilities, negotiates a long-standing debt settlement, and authorizes $35M to buy new players in the summer

Below is a list of Cardiff City's summer signings and their base transfer fees.  I put ranges for most of these numbers because different sites report different exact values.

Gary Medel:  $11M-$13M

Steven Caulker:  $8M-$9.15M

Andreas Cornelius:  $7.5M-$8.7M

Peter Odemwingie:  $2.25M-$2.9M

Kevin Theophile-Catherine:  $2.1M-$2.5M

John Brayford:  $1.5M-$1.74M

Simon Moore:  Undisclosed (estimated at $0.175M)

Maximiliano Amondarain:  Free

Total Base Transfer Fees:  $32.55M-$38.17M

OK, so Tan authorized $35M and the club spent $35M +/- $3M depending on who you believe.  So what's the issue?  Well, the base transfer fees are only part of the equation.  That money goes to the club from which you're getting the new player.  There are "add-ons" and "other fees" that go along with each player transfer.  According to most sources, these added costs came to $15M for the eight new players, bringing the grand total spent over the summer to approximately $50M.

I don't mean to bore you with these numbers, but that $15M over Tan's publicly-stated, authorized amount of $35M is the cited reason for firing Cardiff City's head of recruitment Iain Moody in October.  

Moody has since stated that he had full approval from ownership for every signing and has yet to hear a legitimate explanation for his firing.  Oh by the way, Tan replaced Moody with a 23 year old intern who had spent the summer painting the stadium.  

Yes, seriously.

Fast forward to earlier this week when Bluebirds' manager Malky Mackay told reporters that he had a wishlist of new players to add to the team and that he planned to ask for approval from the owners.  Tan promptly sent an email to Mackay demanding that he resign or be fired.

Tan felt that Mackay had overstepped in mentioning to the press that new player acquisitions were even a possibility.  Among the other reasons cited, Tan reiterated his unhappiness with the overspending, with Cardiff City's playstyle, and with the club's performance to date.

Whoa whoa whoa.  The Bluebirds are in 15th place in their debut Premier League season.  Why are we even discussing FIRING the man who got them there?

That my friends is a point of confusion that absolutely no one other than Vincent Tan can clear up.

I've given you the facts.  Everything else you read about the situation is conjecture.  But conjecture is more than enough to try one in the court of public opinion, and Tan has been found guilty.  Premier League managers and owners, fans of other clubs, and the press of several nations have been united in slamming Tan's actions.

For those of you who may not have watched a Premier League match, the first thing you'll see in the televised program are live shots of the players lined up in a tunnel to the field.  And if you had been watching this particular week, the first think you would have heard were Gladiator-esque chants of "Malky Mackay" from the crowd outside.  This is particularly impressive considering there were only about 3,000 traveling Cardiff City fans and roughly 40,000 home fans present.

In addition to the very audible chanting, two other things surprised me.  First was the fact that Malky was even the manager for this match.  He had delegated the traditional pre-match press conference and the media were confident in reporting that he was likely to be stripped of his duties prior to the match.  

The second thing that surprised me was that the Bluebirds were dressed in their BLUE away jerseys that rarely get used.  

So we have gone from a very public "resign or be fired" email to a stadium screaming Malky's name, in a game at which he wasn't even expected to manage, leading a team dressed in Tan's least favorite color.

What the heck?!

That brings us right up to the start of Cardiff City's match against the Reds of Liverpool...

Liverpool 3 - Cardiff City 1

• Suarez (LIV) 25'
• Sterling (LIV) 42'
• Suarez (LIV) 45'
• Mutch (CAR) 58'

The Bluebirds kicked off this match fiercely.  Well, fiercely defensive at least.

This match was another "Miracle if they manage to draw" situation.  I don't like thinking that way, but the sport is what it is and I'm in deep enough that I do find myself pleased when Cardiff City walk away with one point.

At this time, I should probably acknowledge the Uruguayan elephant in the room.  His name is Luis Suarez and he scores goals.  Lots of goals.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!  (Image Credit:  Getty Images)

I don't think you understand how many goals this man scores.  After lighting up Cardiff City this past week, Suarez has scored a total of 19 goals.  There are eleven TEAMS with less than 19 goals!

Suarez's (what is the possessive form of "Suarez"?) first opportunity came less than two minutes into the match.  Then fourteen minutes in, Cardiff City's Craig Noone had their only legitimate shot of the first half.  No luck.

The Bluebirds' defense was up to the challenge and survived constant pressure from the Reds.  That is until Suarez's first goal at 25 minutes.  The commentator mentioned that a goal from Suarez was "inevitable".

After that goal, Cardiff City looked punch drunk.  Suarez followed his first goal with an assist to teammate Raheem Sterling 42 minutes in, and then added another goal of his own at 45 minutes.

The first half ended with the Bluebirds outshot 16-3 and out possessed 75%-25%.

At halftime it was awkward to hear commentators discussing Malky's replacement candidates and speculating that he'll surely be fired at the end of the match.  

In the second half, Cardiff's City's defensive form improved.  Or maybe Liverpool just didn't bother trying anymore since they were up 3-0.  It's hard as a novice soccer viewer to tell the difference.  

A spectacular, although ultimately meaningless, Bluebirds goal did finally arrive at 58 minutes into the match.  And that goal came form none other than rising star Jordon Mutch.  

On my signal, unleash hell.  (Image Credit:  WalesOnline)

Done deal bud, I'm buying your jersey.  Just need to settle some personal qualms over what color...

It was sad to see the cameras cut to the sideline to show Malky's reaction to the goal.  Normally he's animated and fist pumps, but this day he just looked distracted.

The match ended 3-1 with the Cardiff City fans screaming Malky's name.  They hadn't stopped since that moment in the tunnel.  

Malky Mackay is a class act.  He really believed this was his last time on the field as the Bluebirds' manager.  As soon as the match ended, he went over to the away section and applauded the fans...

More class than a university.  (Image Credit:  Getty Images)

The only word I can find to describe the scene is "adulation".  

Mackay left the field and I'm told that the away fans sang "Don't Sack Malky" 225 consecutive times AFTER the match, before the Liverpool stadium attendants and police finally managed to get them to leave.

I cannot say whether it was the massive outpouring of public support, the actions of a few trusted advisors, or a change of heart, but somehow as of the time I'm writing Mackay is still Cardiff City's manager.  There have been no public meetings between Tan and Mackay, but the understanding is that he will remain in charge for the foreseeable future.  

The drama isn't over, and the season continues.

The Bluebirds remain in 15th place with 4 wins, 5 draws, and 8 losses.  The table below captures the full Premier League standings as of 12/25/13.  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).

In fantasy news, the Cardiff'rent Strokes had a very slight dip in the standings, but overall I'm very pleased with their performance to date...

• Rank (Last Week):  1,351,143
• Rank (This Week):  1,358,010
• Total Players:  3,113,472

Next week the Fantasy Cup tournament begins.  The top 2,097,152 ranked players, of which I am one, qualify for the tournament.  Each week, random pairings of the qualified players are made.  Whoever has the most points in that week wins and moves on, the loser is eliminated.  Very excited to see how this plays out and I'll keep you posted as the tournament progresses.

That's it for this week readers.  Cardiff City have two games coming up in the next week.  First they will host Southampton on December 26th and then they host Sunderland on December 28th.  

I want to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas!  Thank you for reading and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @dragon_bluebird!

Cardiff City vs. West Bromwich Albion: Wrath of Khaaaaaaardiff

This past Saturday morning, after watching the second half of the Manchester City-Arsenal laser show, my television offered me a dilemma....

TV:  Mark, do you really want to watch the Cardiff City match today?

Mark:  Yes.

TV:  Are you sure?

Mark:  I was until you said it that way...

TV:  What if I were to tell you that Wrath of Khan is on at the same time?

Mark:  Oh man, I love me some Wrath of Khan.  But I have to watch the match!

TV:  Do you?

Mark:  Um...

TV:  You know they haven't scored a goal since four matches ago.

Mark:  Er...

TV:  And their last win was six matches ago.

Mark:  Ugh.

TV:  <Maniacal laugh>

While I did wrestle with the decision, come 10am the Bluebirds were playing on my iPad.

They did not disappoint.

Cardiff City 1 - West Bromwich Albion 0

• Whittingham (CAR) 65'

Ah...not so wounded as we were led to believe.  So much the better!

This was not a beautiful match.  What took place on Saturday was two teams throwing whatever they had at each other in a desperate bid to move away from the relegation zone.  

There were no shining moments in the first half, but I did think that Cardiff City played more attacking soccer than I had seen in previous matches.  They had a siginificant lead in terms of possession time at the end of the half.  And unlike most of the previous fifteen matches, I never felt that they were in any serious danger from West Brom.

The second half opened with the score level at 0-0.  At some point during the break it started to rain and the commentators had this gem of a conversation...

Commentator 1:  Conditions are wretched all of a sudden.

Commentator 2:  Are you referring to the weather or the game?

Everyone is a comedian

I should mention at this point that friend of Dragon and Bluebird, Jody Davies (@jodylaforge), was once again in attendance at the match.  Thanks for the pics, bud!  And does this picture in fact confirm that Santa is a Cardiff City fan?

Santa!  I know him!

After three fourths of the match had gone by, still with a score of 0-0, I was starting to regret not watching Wrath of Khan for the 30th time.  And then Peter Whittingham restored my faith in the Bluebirds.

Rising up, straight to the top... (Image Credit:  Getty Images)

...had the guts, got the glory (Image Credit:  Alex Morton/Action Images)

And with that brain-jarring header, Cardiff City went up over West Brom.  

Peter Whittingham looked like he banged his head pretty hard after that play.  I couldn't tell how badly he was hurt, but it definitely took him a while to get up.  

But get up he did and thanks to that goal and a few critical performances from Bluebirds' goalkeeper David Marshall, Cardiff City earned a much-needed win.  At the end of the match, the West Brom away fans broke out into a fight with each other and then ultimately the stadium attendants and the police.  That could just have easily been the Cardiff City fans had the results been reversed.

The Bluebirds now find themselves in 15th place with 4 wins, 5 draws, and 7 losses.  The table below captures the full Premier League standings as of 12/17/13.  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).

The Bluebirds have managed to put a paper-thin buffer between themselves and the relegation zone.  The Baggies (yes that really is West Brom's nickname) on the other hand are left feeling slightly less secure.

Let's stick with the West Brom storyline for another moment, as there were some ominous events that took place after the match.  A single win next week could put the Baggies as high as 13th in the league.  A loss and wins by two of the lower-ranked teams would put them in 18th.  

Apparently the owners of West Brom were not willing to wait a week to see how their manager, Steve Clarke, would fare.  He was fired a few hours after the loss to Cardiff City.

Mid-season firings happen in all sports.  In the NFL, maybe 2 or 3 coaches each year get fired before the season is finished.  But what absolutely blows my mind is that in the 2013/14 Premier League season to date, 5 managers have already been fired!

• Crystal Palace's Ian Holloway
• Fulham's Martin Jol
• Sunderland's Paolo di Canio
• Tottenham's Andre Villas-Boas
• West Brom's Steve Clarke

Mind you, the NFL has 32 teams and the Premier League only has 20.  So 25% of the Premier League managers that started this season have been axed!

If you take a look back up at the standings table, you can see that four of these managers were in charge of bottom five clubs.  As nuts as it sounds, when you're in a league that has relegation you literally cannot afford to lose matches.  

The fifth of the recenlty fired managers might seem like a more confusing case.  They currently sit in 7th place, and with a few wins could (mathematically at least) make it to 1st place before the end of the season.  So why fire the manager?  Well, 7th isn't good enough for some teams as there are financial incentives for finishing in 5th or better.  Tottenham are in a bit of a downward spiral in the past few matches and I'm sure the owners were starting to wonder if Villas-Boas was ever a good manager or if having the best player on the planet last season made him look better.

I bring this all up because the next two most obvious candidates for the axe would be West Ham's Sam Allardyce and Cardiff City's Malky Mackay.  The Vegas odds on "Next Manager to Leave" stand at 5/2 and 11/10 respectively.  If you're wondering, Mackay's odds are more likely because of backroom tension with Cardiff City ownership with which I've elected not to weigh down this blog.

Still it was a great week for the Bluebirds, and Mackay has released a statement today (Tuesday) reiterating his commitment to stay at Cardiff City to make sure they remain in the Premier League next season.

One manager who is unquestionably safe from firing is this guy (points at self).  My Cardiff'rent Strokes continue to show modest improvement thanks in part to Peter Whittingham!

• Rank (Last Week):  1,477,881
• Rank (This Week):  1,351,143
• Total Players:  3,100,820

Well that's it for this week.  Don't forget to check out Dodgem-X on iTunes and follow the band on Twitter (@DodgemXofficial).  And thank you as always for reading Dragon and Bluebird!  You can find me on Twitter as well, @dragon_bluebird.

Stoke City/Crystal Palace vs. Cardiff City: Don't Panic (Yet)

Sorry for the delay, readers.  I have to admit this week's post was a tough one to write.  I had hoped to tell you about a tidy two wins in four days, but alas no such luck.  So let us get the facts out of the way, dust ourselves off, and look forward to some better performances from the Bluebirds in their upcoming matches.

Stoke City 0 - Cardiff City 0

- If a soccer ball rolls in a forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?

This was the first match of the doubleheader week, and what can one really say about a zero zero tie?

I was actually in Tucson, AZ for work while this match was being played.  I finished dinner around 9pm and had every intention of watching the full replay on my iPad.  But when I accidentally saw that the match had ended 0-0 I let out a "NOPE" loud enough for the coyotes outside my hotel window to hear.

This is actually a pretty accurate depiction of Tucson

Stoke City are not a good club.  Like Cardiff City, they are residents of the Premier League's "just above relegation" neighborhood.  But in this meeting, neither the Potters nor the Bluebirds did anything to elevate themselves.  While Stoke City did have the edge in possession time, both teams had similar (i.e. crappy) goal attempt statistics.

From the match reports that I read, it seems like towards the end both sides got a bit chippy.  I think that's natural for two clubs that go into a match believing that their opponent should have been a pushover.

Stoke City striker Peter Crouch looks and sounds exactly like Chewbacca (Image Credit:  Getty Images)

Still, Cardiff City left the stadium with a point and that's good enough for government work.

Which unfortunately brings us to the Bluebirds' match against fellow promotees Crystal Palace...

Crystal Palace 2 - Cardiff City 0

• Jerome (CPL) 6'
• Chamakh (CPL) 57'

Is there any more gifted actor in all of science fiction history than Patrick Stewart?  No.

For my money, I prefer the above Picard Facepalm to the standard internet Picard Facepalm.  It artfully blends the emotions of despair, fatigue, and incredulous mirth all in one pose.  And I think that it nicely sums up the 90+ minutes of athletic excrement I witnessed on Saturday.

Crystal Palace were not good by any means, but Cardiff City were atrocious.  It was sort of like watching the kids scrimmage during halftime at a Celtics game.  Neither side are playing basketball per se, but your kids are on the team that are picking their noses and doing the worm on the court

If we dig deep for a positive from this debacle, I will say that each week I am more impressed with Jordon Mutch...

Life imitating FIFA 14 (Image Credit:  Huw Evans Picture Agency)

"Dammit" (Image Credit:  Huw Evans Agency)

Jordon if you're reading this, you are currently in the lead to become my first Premier League jersey!  I wear a size large and have absolutely no qualms about accepting bribes for future positive commentary on this blog.

Crystal Palace have spent the entire season alternating with Sunderland between 19th and 20th place.  I honestly can't explain why Crystal Palace had such a convincing win this weekend.  Maybe it is because their new manager of two weeks has lit a fire under their collective asses.  Whatever the reason, they earned this win.

I should also issue an apology to Crystal Palace.  I wrote you off very quickly during my quest for a Premier League team and I'm sorry.  I like that you fly an eagle across the field before your matches and your fans are top notch.  I do however stand by my statement that your name sounds like a strip club.  Albeit, a very classy strip club, but a strip club nonetheless.

Don't send me hate mail, Dragon and Bluebirds readers, I'm still with Cardiff City for life.  Just giving credit where credit is due.

Following this week of disappointment, the Bluebirds now find themselves in 16th place with 3 wins, 5 draws, and 7 losses.  The table below captures the full Premier League standings as of 12/11/13.  The table columns are:  Club Name, Matches Played (Pld), and Rankings Points (Pts).

This post has been a bit gloomy so far, so let's shine a positive light on the Bluebirds' current situation.  

First, Cardiff City are in 16th place.  In any other sport, 16th out of 20 teams would be garbage.  But in the Premier League, finishing anywhere between 6th and 17th is just fine.  We can talk some other time about why finishing 5th or better matters, but for this debut season the name of the game is solely to avoid relegation (18th place or worse).  Next season will bring more television revenue and thus more experienced players to replace the scrubs.

Second, the Bluebirds really aren't performing that poorly for a new Premier League club.  To date, they have accumulated 14 points in 15 matches.  If they continue at this pace, history says they will (probably) avoid relegation and live to fight again next season.  

Third, there are four matches left until the halfway mark of the season and I believe Cardiff City can walk away with 5 points from them.  Let's review some quick stats to show why I'm optimistic about these matches.

Cardiff City Home Record:  2 Wins 2 Draws 3 Losses, 7 Goals Fielded 10 Goals Allowed

Cardiff City Away Record:  1W 3D 4L, 4F 12A

Next four opponent stats...

• West Bromwich Albion at Cardiff City (WBA Away Record:  1W 4D 2L, 7F 10A)
• Liverpool at Liverpool (LIV Home Record:  7W 0D 1L, 22F 5A)
• Southampton at Cardiff City (SOU Away Record:  2W 2D 3L, 5F 8A)
• Sunderland at Cardiff City (SUN Away Record:  0W 2D 5L, 2F 14A)

From these matches, I'm predicting a draw, loss, draw, and win in that order.  Liverpool is going to crush Cardiff City, period.  And Sunderland can't beat an egg with a whisk.  The other two games are pretty even matches and I honestly think they will both end in 1-1 draws.

So lift your chins up, Bluebirds fans!  Yes Cardiff City should have beaten Crystal Palace.  But surprise performances against Manchester City and Manchester United have helped balance out a bad loss.  And the Bluebirds are still in good enough shape to stay up.

The Cardiff'rent Strokes are also in good enough shape.  We seem to have settled into a comfortable zone of marginally-better-than-average performance.  Here's the summary of my FPL status...

• Rank (This Week):  1,477,881
• Rank (Last Week):  1,477,728
• Total Players:  3,091,954

Interesting note, after 15 weeks, only one of the original Cardiff'rent Strokes' 15 members remains.  That would be Sunderland midfielder Jack Colback.  

Mark, why do you still have the third best player on the worst club in the Premier League on your fantasy team?  This has been an item for which I've been heckled by my friends in the Fantasy League. There's no good explanation, but believe me it's not that I'm being sentimental.  Basically, Colback is insanely cheap and I've had so many more expensive problems to fix this season that I just can't fire him.  In January I get the opportunity to rebuild my team from scratch for free, so rest assured he'll be gone by then.

Well that's it for this week, thank god.  Cardiff City's next match is at home against West Bromwich Albion on December 14th.  Stay positive, readers, and don't panic!

Thank you as always for reading Dragon and Bluebird!  You can find me on Twitter as well, @dragon_bluebird.

Cardiff City vs. Arsenal: Outgunned, but not Outclassed

...and I'm back.  Murph, thanks for covering for me while I was on vacation!

It's cold and rainy here in Massachusetts where I'm writing this week's post.  Normally this wouldn't bother me, but for the past seven days I was in the Caribbean enjoying my first cruise with my wife and in-laws.  As we speak, my bronzed roman god physique is reverting back to its naturally pasty state and I'm feeling a little bit sun-starved.

If you live in New England long enough (or Olde England as well I suppose), you start to forget what real sunlight feels like.  The closest we come to it is during the summer months when we escape to Maine or Cape Cod.  Which is great of course, but it's not quite the same as this...

View of Magens Bay from "Mountain Top" St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

The above picture was taken out on the deck of "Mountain Top" St. Thomas, which is allegedly the home of the first Banana Daiquiri.  I have no way of verifying this claim (the internet says it was either invented in St. Thomas in the 1950s or in Cuba in the 1800s), but who cares about details when someone is handing you banana puree mixed with a triple shot of rum? 

Snorkeling off the coast of St. Martin was probably my favorite part of the trip.  We saw a sunken ship and a cannon, which admittedly led me to entertain the hope that I might find a chest full of gold doubloons somewhere on the ocean floor. 

Searching for pirate treasure off the coast of St. Martin to offset our bingo losses

Back on board the ship, I was ecstatic to find out that ESPN FC would be broadcasting the Cardiff City-Arsenal match.  The members of Bluebirds USA (i.e. aforementioned wife and in-laws) and I caught the entire game in one of the ship's bars.

Dedicated Bluebirds fans or just people waiting for "Napkin Artistry, Level 2" to begin?

I like the fact that watching a sporting event has the ability to bring complete strangers together.  An Aston Villa fan and a Bayern Munchen fan sat next to us watching a Bundesliga (i.e. the German equivalent of the Premier League) match.  I'm pretty sure those two guys didn't know each other when they came into the bar, but by the end of the match they were hugging and snapping photos of each other.

OK, I think I've kept you in suspense long enough.  Down to blog business.  Did Cardiffy City manage to pull off another miracle like last week?

Unfortunately not...the Gunners sank the HBMS Bluebird.

Cardiff City 0 - Arsenal 3

• Ramsey (ARS) 29'
• Flamini (ARS) 86'
• Ramsey (ARS) 90'

You'd be forgiven for thinking that anything is possible for the Bluebirds after they defeated Manchester City and drew against Manchester United.  But Arsenal is a different beast.  Coming into this match, they were the leaders in the Premier League standings.  And you could see why when you watched them play.

Less than two minutes into the match, Arsenal's Jack Wilshire launched a rocket that almost squashed Cardiff City's hopes before they could even get their footing.  Luckily, Wilshire's shot hit one of the goal bars and the game marched on.

A moment ago I said that the Gunners were a different beast, and I think it's fair to say so too were these Bluebirds from the ones that lost their season opener to West Ham United.  As fast as Arsenal were on the field, Cardiff City were able to keep pace with them for the majority of the match.  Just a few minutes after Wilshire's near-goal, Bluebird Fraizer Campbell had a solid attempt of his own.

Ten minutes into the match, Frazier Campbell barely misses the goal (Image Credit:  Cardiff City FC Official Website)

About thirty minutes into the match, Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey netted the ball and gave the Gunners a lead they would never relinquish.  I wasn't kidding though when I said Arsenal was up against a credible opponent.  Cardiff City's Kim, Mutch, Whittingham, Cowie, and Theophile-Catherine all had legitimate attempts during the match.  And they kept the score at 0-1 for most of the game...until Arsenal's Mathieu Flamini added to the tally.

Ramsey's second goal in stoppage time was just gravy on top of an already cooked bird.

After the game, I did a little research on Ramsey.  I knew he was Welsh, but I was surprised to learn that he actually came up through the Cardiff City academy system.  And he also started his professional career with the Bluebirds before joining Arsenal.  Remembering the debt he owes to Cardiff City and its fans, Ramsey showed a ton of class by not celebrating either of his two goals.  

Ramsey does the Cardiff City "Ayatollah" as a gesture of respect to the Bluebirds' fans  (Image Credit:  Cardiff City FC Official Website)

Speaking of classy Welshmen, Jody Davies (@jodylaforge) was once again in attendance at the Cardiff City Stadium and emailed me this game shot...

Somewhere down there, Gary Medel is resisting the urge to bite someone

Thanks, bud.  And if anyone from the Cardiff City establishment is reading, how about allowing Dodgem-X to perform a punk rendition of "Men of Harlech" for an upcoming home game?

At the end of the day, no matter how well they acquitted themselves, the Bluebirds still find themselves in 17th place with 3 wins, 4 draws, and 6 losses.  The table below captures the full Premier League standings as of 12/03/13.  The table columns are:  Club Name, Matches Played (Pld), and Rankings Points (Pts).

Technically, Cardiff City are just one spot away from the relegation zone.  But things aren't quite as bad as they may seem.  The Bluebirds have two matches in the next five days and by this time next week, they could be sitting as high as 10th place.  So keep the faith!

Speaking of faith, I hope you haven't given up on the Cardiff'rent Strokes!  They've had a few good weeks and are now slightly better than mediocre.  This is due in no small part to Aaron Ramsey whose goals, while detrimental in reality, helped propel my fantasy team forward in their journey to greatness.  Here's the summary of my FPL status...

• Rank (This Week):  1,477,728
• Rank (Last Week):  1,582,387
• Total Players:  3,077,104

That's it for this week.  Cardiff City will face Stoke City away on December 4th and then Crystal Palace away on December 7th.  I have no idea why they have two games in one week, but it's the same story for all the other Premier League clubs as well.  Which means that next week will be a super-sized post from Dragon and Bluebird, so tell all your friends!

You should also tell all your friends that they can download the Dodgem-X EP "After the Horse has Bolted" for free at dodgem-x.moonfruit.com

I checked the album out.  It sounds similar to the screaming bits from Linkin Park mashed up with the Dropkick Murphys.  You can find more songs from Dodgem-X on iTunes and follow the band on Twitter (@DodgemXofficial).

Thank you as always for reading Dragon and Bluebird!  You can find me on Twitter as well, @dragon_bluebird.

Cardiff City vs. Manchester United: United, We Draw

Hi. I’m new here. Be gentle. Let’s get started.

Back in early September, Mark examined the frequency of a tie match from the most recently completed Premier League season. And because I’m new to the web log, I’ll start off my own entry by copying and pasting from one of his earlier ones:

Just for kicks, I did a little digging into the 2012/13 season results.  Apparently, 216 of 380 (57%) matches ended in a tie.  Alarmingly, 35 of 380 matches (9%) ended in a 0-0 tie.

I want you to digest that for a moment, then I want you to imagine the NFL having 57% of its games end in a tie, then I want you to take some Rolaids so you don't get ill.  

If ANYONE is confused about why soccer hasn't taken off as a professional sport in America, this is the reason:  ties are shameful things that happen and we never speak of again.

Keeping all of that in mind, I was prepared to say that a 2-1 Cardiff City LOSS to reigning Premier League champion Manchester United was a moral victory. To that point in the match, Cardiff City played hard and looked like they belonged in this game (and certainly in the top tier of play). At no point did they look out of their league. In the day’s early match, Tottenham got embarrassed by Man City (6-0, ouch Spurs). A 2-1 loss to Man U was respectable. Noble, even. This outcome seemed like reality when we entered stoppage time, and Man U needed only to play four minutes of good defense.

So. When Kim Bo-kyung SCORED AN EQUALIZER IN THE FIRST MINUTE OF STOPPAGE TIME VERSUS THE REIGNING CHAMP, it felt like MORE than a moral victory. It felt like an actual victory. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s start at the beginning.

Before the beginning: one of Mark’s terms in my contract for writing this blog entry was that the piece had to be pro-Cardiff. Before watching the game, I wondered if this would be a problem. By a happy accident, I also negotiated the use of one Emily Dickinson quote. Here’s the quote I picked:

“The heart wants what it wants – or else it does not care.”

So was it hard to root for Cardiff?

(Full Disclosure: I don’t really have a Premier League team; I’m still on the market, waiting for one of them to sweep me off my feet.)

Anyway, as I learned very quickly, the heart does not want to cheer for one of the most successful sports franchises in the world. The heart wants to root for the unlikely underdog, the scrappy upstart. It’s the American way. Unfortunately, the underdog is less likely to get preferential treatment from the refs. 

"Wayne Rooney will stop you from catching the golden snitch using any means necessary! And Wayne Rooney will only get a yellow card for his trouble!" (Image Credit:  Getty Images)

Especially when the opposing manager casts a confundus charm on said referee.

Man U manager Gilderoy Lockhart wrote the book on deceiving people. 

Wayne Rooney’s assault happened in the 8^th minute of play. Wayne Rooney scored the first goal of the match seven minutes later. Wayne Rooney is lucky. And now, not only is Cardiff City the lovable underdog, they’re also the victims of poor refereeing. At this point in the match, the heart wants Cardiff to destroy Man U. But the heart will settle for some sweet passing by Gary Medel and Jordon Mutch. Fraizer Campbell is the recipient of a few perfect touches, and buries the ball in the back of the net, tying the score in the 33^rd minute. This is the type of play that keeps me coming back to the sport. It was stunning.

Fun fact! Fraizer Campbell used to play for Manchester United. For the purposes of the narrative, he was the perfect person to score that goal. 

“Revenge is a dish best served with a side of goal against your former employer.” (Image Credit:  Getty Images) 

It looked like that would be the last goal scored in the first half. At this point, I’d like to pause briefly and look at the match stats:

This reflects how the match felt, as well. Time of possession felt even. Shots on goal felt even. The refs certainly favored Man U when they handed out cards. The stats generally bear all of this out. The biggest difference was the amount of corner kicks. I don’t know if some teams are better at forcing corner kicks. I assume it reflects a successful offense keeping possession in the opponent's half of the field. I do know that the only shot guaranteed to not go in is the one you didn’t take. Man U took eight corners. Wayne Rooney played one perfectly in the 45^th minute of the first half. It found its target in Patrice Evra’s head. Patrice Evra’s head directed the ball over the goal line. And Man U entered the half with a 2-1 lead, mostly thanks to a goon who should have been sent off eight minutes into the game. Rooney! I shake my fist at you!

The second half seemed largely uneventful, but I can’t be 100% sure of this since I was feeding my daughter lunch. One thing I did learn from the possibly-uneventful-but-probably-nerve-wracking-second half: Ryan Giggs, a man who has spent 20+ years playing for the most-successful club in the Premier League, a man who was seemingly put on this earth to star in a Cialis ad, is from Wales. 

“Is that a bath tub on the beach or are you just happy to see me?” (Image Credit:  Getty Images)

This is the first time in Giggs’ (Giggs’s?) illustrious career that he has played against Cardiff City, the city of his birth. Neat.

Giggs entered in the 73^rd minute. Kim Bo-kyung entered four minutes later, setting in motion the end game. The rest of the match was tense and I was coming to terms with a Cardiff loss. The game got chippy. Three of the six yellow cards were handed out after the 85^th minute, but in an obvious case of the universe righting itself, Medel did not receive any of them, in spite of getting handsy with Fellaini’s face during the set up for a free kick. The same free kick taken by Peter Whittingham in the 1^st minute of stoppage time. The same free kick taken by Peter Whittingham in the 1^st minute of stoppage time that found its way to Kim Bo-kyung. Kim Bo-kyung snuck past Evra and behind Rooney, and headed the ball into the goal, tying the game! Jubilation! Frenzied cheering! Loud noises!

Phew. What a roller-coaster. Cardiff hung on (and survived another scare orchestrated by Rooney), and walked away with the sweetest draw, a draw that felt like a win.

Which brings me back to my original point: will Americans ever embrace a sport that ends in a draw more than half the time?

Ironically, on the same day, an American Football game ended in a tie (Packers versus Vikings, 26-26). This football tie WAS a shameful thing, an exercise in futility played by two teams who couldn’t distinguish themselves from one another. It often appeared that the teams were playing not-to-lose. I would never levy such criticism on either team in the Cardiff/Man U match. Cardiff City didn’t win, but at least they weren’t playing not-to-lose. I embrace that; I may have even been swept off my feet. 

Aston Villa vs. Cardiff City: Of Meat Grinders and Meat Pies

Two weeks ago, my wife and I were in Portland, ME to celebrate our five-year wedding anniversary.  Our cab driver on the way to the 2013 Maine Brewers Festival was English, so I asked him if he followed Premier League.  Apparently he wasn't an avid fan, but he asked what club I supported.  When I told him I supported Cardiff City, I swear it was the moment in the movie when the record screeches and all the bar patrons turn around to gape at you.

"Are you of Welsh decent", he asked.  

"No", I replied.

"Then why on Earth would you support those of whom we do not speak", he flatulated from his mouth.  

He was of course referring to Welsh teams in the Premier League.  I politely explained to him that there is nothing more pleasing or frankly more American than supporting an underdog.  I wanted to tell him, "shove off, you wanker."

I bring this story up not to flaunt my adopted Welshness, but instead as convenient introduction to Pie Quest...  

Om nom nom...

I've been wondering for a while about the meat pies sold in and around Premier League stadiums.  I like meat and I like pie, so this seems like my kind of cuisine.  By some odd coincidence, while at the Maine Brewers Festival I came across a vendor selling...you guessed it...meat pies.

Victory is mine!  Or so I thought.

If you can envision a pie crust, filled with the drained ingredients of Dinty Moore beef stew, baked, left out for a few hours, and then served at room temperature that pretty much sums up the experience.   

I'm not one to be defeated so easily, and this story has a happy ending, which I'll share with you in a moment.  But first let's appreciate that you can't get meat pies without first going through the meat grinder...

Aston Villa 2 - Cardiff City 0

• Bacuna (AVL) 76'
• Kozak (AVL) 84'

This loss was a real let down from the demolition (ok, 1-0 win) of Swansea City last week.  Cardiff displayed the same level of professionalism and skill as they had against the Jacks, however the rivalry-fuelled frenetic energy was noticeably missing.

At the end of the first half, the Bluebirds held a 60% possession lead over the appropriately-nicknamed Villans (sic).  I genuinely felt that this was going to be another Cardiff City victory.  And my current favorite player, Gary Medel had a decent attempt on goal in the 70th minute...

You do not tackle Medel, you tackle yourself and hope you don't disturb Medel.   (Image Credit:  Nick Hayes Photos)

Alas, Medel's shot went wide and the 0-0 match marched on.

A few minutes later Medel received his first yellow card of the season.  Normally, receiving a yellow card isn't that significant of an event.  But this particular instance set up Aston Villa's Leandro Bacuna with a free kick...

Look at this picture of Leandro Bacuna, then brace yourself for the sonic boom.  (Image Credit:  The Telegraph)

Bacuna's goal put the Villans ahead 1-0.  And less than ten minutes later, his teammate Libro Kozak scored another.

The game started well for the Bluebirds, but ended in defeat.  Even though Cardiff City ended the game with 57% of the possession, their truly flaccid offense once again let us all down.  The Villans outshot the Bluebirds 17 to 8 (6 on target versus only 2 on target).  

Cardiff City, you need to drink a V8 and go score some goddamn goals!

With this loss, the Bluebirds are now in 14th place with 3 wins, 3 draws, and 5 losses.  The table below captures the full Premier League standings as of 11/12/13.  The table columns are:  Club Name, Matches Played (Pld), and Match Points (Pts).

I suppose based on my Fantasy performance this week, I'm in NO position to comment on how to manage a soccer team.  The Cardiff'rent strokes are adrift at sea and in desperate need of a John Belushi-esque pep talk.  I will be giving that aforementioned pep talk to my guys over the next two weeks, and let's see if we can't turn this thing around!  Here's the summary of my FPL status:

• Rank (Last Week):  1,382,968
• Rank (This Week):  1,673,539
• Total Players:  3,054,479

I teased a happy ending to Pie Quest at the beginning of the post, and here it is!

Blog research is exactly like regular research...except that blog research tastes like delicious meat pie

After returning from Portland, I did some digging online and found Thwaites Market in Methuen, MA.  The form factor is a little different than what I had in Portland, but I'm told these are reasonably authentic English pub-style pies.  

I ordered one chicken, one pork, one "cornish" (mix of beef and vegetables), and daringly one "gyoza" (i.e. a japanese appetizer).

Far and away the best pie was the chicken.  The pork and chicken were tied in second.  The gyoza was a little odd, so let's politely say that was a distant third.

This was a much better experience than the pastry-covered sadness I ate in Portland.  Go check out the Thwaites Market website or visit them yourself if you live in the area.  I think you need to call in advance to order some things on their menu, but it's worth your time.

That's it for this week.  There will be no blog post next week, because the Premier League is on break while its players participate in their home countries' World Cup qualifier matches.  Cardiff City's next match is home against Manchester United on November 24th.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

I will be away on vacation and unfortunately will miss the Manchester United match.  Fear not, gentle readers!  I would never expect you to slog through your Tuesday without my humble contribution to the gelatinous blogosphere.

My friend John has agreed to guest blog for Dragon and Bluebird in my absence.  John is an avid soccer fan and is also in the Fantasy League with me.  He will be your Premier League sherpa as you join the Bluebirds in this particularly tricky portion of their ascent.

If you always go for the two point conversion in NFL Blitz, and if your heart burns with passion when you read Dickens, then you'll enjoy John's post next week.

Thank you as always for reading Dragon and Bluebird!  You can find me on Twitter as well, @dragon_bluebird.

Cardiff City vs. Swansea City: Swan Song

I must admit, I have been looking forward to this past week's match since the day I picked Cardiff City as my Premier League club.  If you have a single competitive fiber in your body, then you really don't need to care one ounce about soccer to appreciate a match between rivals.  And for those of you who don't know me, my body composition is 85% competitive fiber.

The other 15% is a Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast meatloaf called "scrapple".

If you're a Premier League newcomer and haven't been following Dragon and Bluebird, you can read my earlier post on the Cardiff City-Swansea City rivalry.  The one minute version is that Cardiff and Swansea are the two most populous cities in Wales.  Their respective clubs, the Bluebirds and the Jacks, are the only non-English members of the Premier League.  Whenever these two clubs meet, it's referred to as the "South Wales Derby".

Oh...and the fans of these two clubs HATE each other.

This is why we can't have nice things.  (Image Credit:  PA)

I knew that in the past, fan violence had been a severe issue when these two clubs met.  What I didn't know were the measures that Welsh police have put in place to prevent future eruptions from occurring.  Here is an excerpt from an NBCSports ProSoccerTalk article describing the police tactic known as "the bubble":

"On the day of a game between Swansea and Cardiff, fans of the visiting team are not allowed to use public transport to get into the segregated section in which they're sitting or have tickets.  For instance this Sunday, Swansea's fans will have to board specially policed buses in Swansea.  No matter if you're a Swansea fan living in Cardiff, you will have to drive 40 miles to Swansea to get on the bus.  When you're on that bus, the doors are locked, your ticket is handed to you and the 2,000 or so Swansea fans are given police escort along the M4 several hours before kick off, with police helicopters, vans and motorcycles guiding them along the short stretch of road to Cardiff.  Then they're ushered inside the stadium, locked in, and the same process will occur to get out of Cardiff an hour or so after the final whistle and Cardiff's fans have been ushered away."

This is NOT your high school's annual Thanksgiving football rivalry.

Swansea City may have reached the Premier League first, but now Cardiff City have arrived and are their equals once again.  The South Wales Derby would be broadcast to a global audience for the first time in its history...no better opportunity for one of these two clubs to stake a claim as the "one team in Wales".

In the Premier League, as in every major league in America...it's the eye of the tiger.  It's the thrill of the fight.  And by now you must all be wondering, did the Bluebirds rise to the challenge of their rival?

You're goddamn right they did.

Cardiff City 1 - Swansea City 0

• Caulker (CAR) 62'

For the first fifteen minutes of the match, Swansea City seemed composed and Cardiff City seemed anxious...timid even.  The Jacks weren't particularly aggressive, but they were clearly on the attack and easily stuffed the Bluebirds repeatedly in the midfield.

Then starting in the second fifteen minutes, Cardiff City seemed to calm down and looked more professional than I had ever seen them this season.  Every pass seemed controlled and every offensive action by Swansea City was blunted.  

At the end of the first half, the score was still 0-0.  I was starting to feel frustrated that despite a superb performance so far, the Bluebirds might now start playing not to lose.  Then Cardiff City captain Steven Caulker proved my fears unfounded.  

Steven Caulker, Bluebird rising (Image Credit:  BBC)

Cardiff City went up 1-0 over Swansea City and I saw fans screaming, hugging, and I swear even weeping.  And while the remaining thirty minutes were tense, the Jacks were unable to mount a credible challenge.

This was a low-scoring match, but one piece of the drama was particularly awesome.  Towards the very end of the match, Swansea City's goalkeeper Michel Vorm made a last ditch attempt to stop an imminent Fraizer Campbell goal by kicking the Cardiff City forward right in the chest.  Vorm got a red card and was ejected.  

You know darn well what you did!  (Image Credit:  RTE Sport)

At this point, a club would normally substitute in their backup goalkeeper.  Unfortunately for the Jacks, they had already used all three of their allotted substitutions for the match.  So down to just ten men, and not allowed to bring on their reserve goalkeeper, Swansea City were forced to hand over the gloves and jersey to defender Angel Rangel.

It's raining, we're losing to Cardiff, and now you want to make ME the goalkeeper?!  (Image Credit:  PA)

If this replacement had occurred any earlier in the match, Cardiff City would have been up 12-0.  But with only minutes left, and admittedly some skill on Rangel's part, the match ended at 1-0.  Cardiff City were the first champions of the Premier League edition of the South Wales Derby.  

The Bluebirds walk away with bragging rights and three critical points that put the Bluebirds in 12th place with 3 wins, 3 draws, and 4 losses.  The table below captures the full Premier League standings as of 11/05/13.  The table columns are:  Club Name, Matches Played (Pld), and Match Points (Pts).

We're 10 games into the 38-game season, so this seems like a good point to talk about what these standings mean in the larger context.  

In my earlier post on classmates, I mentioned that the average number of points needed to avoid relegation (over the past 21 seasons) is 37.  Clubs have survived with as few as 31 points and in some seasons have needed as many as 43 points.

After their first 10 matches, Cardiff City have earned 12 points. Projecting to the end of the season, at this same level of success, this would put the Bluebirds at 45.6 points.  Enough historically-speaking to avoid relegation.

I have the formula worked out for the "magic number" (i.e. exact number of points needed to avoid relegation), but it's way to early in the season to worry about it.  I'll do this same projection again after 19 and 29 games.  Then starting after game 30 (or sooner if something goes horribly wrong) I'll breakdown exact scenarios needed to stay up.

It was a mediocre week for the Cardiff'rent Strokes.  Here's the summary of my FPL status:

• Rank (Last Week):  1,297,995
• Rank (This Week):  1,382,968
• Total Players:  3,044,193

That's it for this week.  Cardiff City's next match is away at Aston Villa on November 9th.  Thank you as always for reading Dragon and Bluebird!  You can find me on Twitter as well, @dragon_bluebird.