Cardiff - V - Wednesday

[Lord Snooty]

 

 "Bit gloomy eh Stubbs"

 

 "I'll say ,Sir.  Four matches to win before you even get to zero points, some task."

 

 "I meant the weather!"

 

 "Oh ,right. Yes. Well, yes, Sir"

 

 "I'm not bothered about the twelve point deduction."

 

 "You're not?"

 

 "No, of course not. Bit of adversity. Making of a team isn't it. Hardship and what not. Builds the spirit."

 

 "Or crushes it, Sir"

 

 "What rot! Crushes it indeed. Never heard such tosh. Character building, that's what it is."

 

 "Really,Sir"

 

 "Yes really. Did I ever tell you about the time I was in the Boys Brigade and Major underwood took us out into the sticks for a game of 'wide'?"

 

 "No Sir."

 

 "Well, he bundled us onto an old bus, Winter this was. Dark early doors, you know. Sun dipping over the Tor as we trundled out there.  Anyway off we went , right out onto the moors, it was bleak Stubbs. Bleak. Dark and foggy. Well we had to play this game you see. Bit like hide and seek the gist of it. Except you had to get back to a rendezvous point without them seeing you. Understand? The seeker that is."

 

 "I understand the concept,Sir"

 

 "Well anyway, the Major Counts to 20 and we bound off and hide, about 15 of us.  I got myself a great spot. Small outcrop of rocks surrounded by thick bracken."

 

 "Very good ,Sir"

 

 "Yes, I thought so. Anyway...we'd been there a while. Waiting, you know, for him to leave this post that was the rendezvous point. I waited and waited. Then when I saw the coast was clear I made for it. 'cept it wasn't there. Fog you see. Hours we must have been there. One by one, by calling into the mists we found each other. Took hours. We were freezing cold. The rain started to slant in.  We called for the Major but he didn't come back."

 

 

 "Is there a point to this..."

 

 "Well, turns out the old cove had got bored looking, or forgotten what he was doing out there, he was a bit, y'know. Cracking on. Plus I think he had a bit of Shell shock. Anyway, the hours passed. We huddled and shivered against a big boulder against the wind until the Police came looking for us the next morning. And this is what I'm saying Stubbs. Adversity! That night, as little strapplings we were all in it together, you see!"

 

 "Yes, Sir, you all went in there 15 young lads and came out a team of 15 men."

 

 "Yes! Well, not fifteen exactly. More like thirteen and a half. Young Silverman didn't make it to the group. It was the police that found him, such as he was, missing an appendage or two, been mauled by some sort of beast . Kept blathering about red eyes looming out of the dark. And of course, they never found poor old Fatty Tomkins' body. Lucky he was so fat really. Probably stopped the beast coming back for anymore of us. Aye, he'd have made a hearty meal that lad."

 

 "What?!.......Sir?!"

 

 "Yes. Looking back, maybe not the best analogy. Still. Made men of the rest of us.  Toffers and Craddock became raging alcoholics of course and Spencer joined the Foreign Legion. But the point is ...adversity!"

 

"If i might be so bold ,Sir. This is the worst motivational story I've ever heard"

 

 "Yes. Perhaps you're right. Still, first match of the season and all that. Anything can happen. Get off to a good start, bang a few goals and it'll all start looking a bit rosier"

 

 "But the season kicked off last week,Sir. At Walsall. A very uninspiring game"

 

 

 "That wasn't the start of the season."

 

 "It wasn't?"

 

 "God no! That was a competitive friendly. Nothing more. Nothing to worry about"

 

 "Not even Reach up front?"

 

 "Do you know Stubbs, he covered 6 miles?"

 

 "So does a crisp packet on a windy day Sir ...and challenges about as hard"

 

 "It was just to get the lad some minutes under their belts Stubbs. All part of the master plan."

 

 "Was drawing 0-0 with a third division side part of the plan too,Sir?"

 

 "Of course it was. Canny thinker that Monk. He knows that it doesn't matter how many penalties you take in training there's nothing that can replicate a proper competitive shootout. Match situation. The pressure of the result. We might need penalties in the play offs and the Walsall plan, executed to perfection by the lads refusing to have a shot on target,  ensured we've got some decent , pressurised penalty practise in. Yes its' all coming together. Now pop the kettle on, the party starts today!"

 

"I hate it when he's like this. It only makes 4:45pm so much harder"

 

 

CARDIFF

- V - 

WEDNESDAY

 

EFL Championship

Saturday 12th September, 2020

Kick Off: 15:00

Cardiff City Stadium

***************************

 

TEAM NEWS

 

Cardiff

After losing 3-0 to Northampton Town in the first round of the EFL Cup, they were forced to release winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on Wednesday for a breach of contract.

Star man Lee Tomlin is also carrying an injury sustained in the playoff semi-final loss to Fulham, so Neil Harris needs to pick up squad up ahead of this opening fixture.

 

As well as likely being without Tomlin, who has been directly involved in eight goals in 12 league appearances against Wednesday, Cardiff are also ruing the loss of midfielder Joe Ralls.

 

Mendez-Laing is no longer in the picture, but Harris can now call upon Liverpool loanee Sheyi Ojo in a like-for-like change.

 

Kieffer Moore is also in contention for his competitive debut this weekend after missing the Northampton loss due to being away on international duty with Wales.

 

Cardiff possible:

4-3-3
Smithies

Osei-Tutu       Morrison  Nelson Bennett

Pack  Bacuna   Vaulks

 Murphy       Moore     Hoilett

 

********

Wednesday were without four first-team players for their EFL Cup first-round tie with Walsall, which they won on penalties after a goalless draw in normal time. Liam Palmer was away with Scotland but is now back involved, while Elias Kachunga is also part of Monk's plans after not being risked last time out.

Chey Dunkley and Osaze Urhoghide are not expected to be involved, though, for an Owls side likely to go with a 3-5-2 formation of sorts for this trip to Cardiff.

 

Wednesday will be desperate to start making inroads after being hit with a 12-point deduction, but this is one of the toughest fixtures they could have asked for to kick things off.

Cardiff had the fourth best home record in the Championship last season, losing just three of their 23 matches, and we can see them edging this contest.

 

Wednesday possible :

3-5-2
Wildsmith

 Iorfa   Lees   Borner

Odubajo    Luongo     Bannan     Penney 

Brown

Rhodes         Windass

 

*********************

UTO

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Lord Snooty

[Owlinator]

Very nice work snooty.

 

Come on you blue an white wizards

0-1

[Hunter]

I'm optimistic for this one, Cheeky 0-1 to us

Edited September 11, 2020 by Hunter

[offalyowl]

Brilliant as always snoots, nice to have the football back, pity no fans though, think we win 2-1 uto 

[Gresh]

It would be a great start to the season if we could snag a win but I feel the best we'll get is a draw.

[Guest]

Welcome back snoots

 

I'd be more optimistic if we had a decent strike force but can't see us getting the points/goals required to stay up

 

1-1 draw

[nevthelodgemoorowl]

i'll be happy if the 20 odd that venture out onto the South of Wales coast all get counted back. With this weeks Covid19 explosion we want to avoid at all costs bumping into any Mutant Sheep on the way back. That could put the hex on our season before we have barely started.

 

It's not like we have Snowden to climb. We fear nothing and no one. On your way home fill your boots with Lamb Shank and plenty of Fresh Mint ready for a great Sunday Lunch ! 

 

 

UTO & DTB WAWAW  COME ON WEDNESDAY !   

 

 

 

 

[Morepork]

There’s plenty to be gloomy about, all discussed on here at length.
 

As difficult as it is, not to mention mostly self inflicted I don’t think it helps our cause any if we don’t rally behind the manager and team.

Regardless of my personal views that will be my position for the first 10-12 games.

 

In saying that we must show fight, physicality, hunger and belligerence as an absolute minimum.

[S36 OWL]

My heart says a wednesday win , but my head says the first of many defeats this season.

[Utah Owl]

C'mon Wednesday!

 

Reach for the crisps..............er I mean stars!

[Tommo_]

Cracking thread snoots

 

 

FOOTYS BACK YEAAAAAAAAAAH

[new zealand owl]

The difference will be up front. I think we will play well,not take our chances and probably lose 1-0.

 

But this is football so who knows....4-2 win to us and some champagne football with lots of stepovers, Rabonas, rainbow flicks and walking the ball into the net......and that's just from monk in the warm up. 

 

Blind optimism is the only way!

 

 

[WindygrOWLer]

Was worth it for the analogy that Adam reach  is as pointless as a crisp packet blowing in the wind......

[Roscoe P. Coltrane]

THE WEDNESDAY

[Jim]

It’ll be 0-0 or 1-0 either way?

[Westfield Owl]

Just don’t see where our goals are going to come from.  Cardiff score first and it’s game over.

[james o connor]

0-3 

[quinnssweetshop]

COME ON WEDNESDAY !!!!!!!!!

UP THE OWLS

[thewookieisdown]

Cardiff are odds against. Surprisingly. 

 

So too are Bris C and Derby with equally winnable home games. Add in Barnsley to beat Luton and it's not a bad yankee

[York_Owl]

So if we don’t die and we don’t get mauled by a wild animal we might survive if someone comes to our rescue.

 

Up The Owls.