Kav on Ireland and Stoke City

Graham Kavanagh faces his former club Stoke City at Ninian Park this coming Saturday. Kav is a hated figure in the Potteries, many Stoke fans feel he betrayed them by joining Cardiff. The Potters, in beating City in the play offs in 2002, had what they thought was the last laugh on Kav and the much respected Peter Thorne. It's not taken long though for Cardiff to acheive promotion to Division 1 and now the Bluebirds sit above Stoke in the table and Kav is back in the Ireland squad. A reason he says he left Stoke for, he knew his chances were better being with Cardiff City.

Cardiff are 7 points ahead of Stoke and form would point to a home win for the Bluebirds this weekend. Stoke have lost 6 of 8 away games so far this season.


Wales on Sunday.

BLUEBIRDS skipper Graham Kavanagh's primary motivation for switching to Cardiff could FINALLY be vindicated next month.

Two years after a £1m switch from Stoke City, the Irish playmaker is set to achieve the one thing that was uppermost in his mind when he was weighing up a move to South Wales.

It wasn't promotion to football's upper echelons - although Sam Hammam's vision of taking a down-at-heel club to the Premiership is looking increasingly likely to reach fruition.

And it certainly wasn't money, despite the accusations and catcalls of Stoke supporters who felt Kav was cashing in.

No, Kavanagh's big wish when he first sat down with Hammam was for Cardiff to help him start an international game for Ireland.

At 7.30pm on November 18, Kav's wish looks likely to come true.

"What I realised straight away when I first came down to Cardiff was the club was just the sort of platform I needed to relaunch my international career," said Kavanagh, who is hotly tipped for a role in Ireland's friendly with Canada in Dublin on the 18th.
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