Having had to travel to Home Park to face a team in their best form of what still has to be regarded as a disappointing campaign for a club like Plymouth that was strongly fancied to mount a concerted promotion challenge, Cardiff City now have to travel to Doncaster on Saturday to play a team who are also in their best form of the season!
After a terrible run of just one victory in sixteen league games which appeared to doom them to relegation with the season not yet half way over, Donny have won five and drawn two of their last nine with a draw with Bolton and a win over Huddersfield included in that impressive run.
Since losing at Stockport on 29 December, Doncaster have tended to confirm the impression gained by anyone who watched their 4-3 defeat, courtesy of a late, late Joel Bagan goal, at Cardiff Stadium not long before Christmas that they are too good to go down.
Therefore, it’s quite easy for fans bruised by City’s 5-2 humbling at Plymouth on Saturday to feat the worst and expect a defeat that would start leading to questions being asked about whether we were good enough for a top two finish, let alone a title win.
Optimists would point out that, apart from a run of three defeats from four in all competitions as October turned into November, City have tended to react very well to setbacks – for example six wins and a loss for what was almost a youth team against Wimbledon in all competitions following the 3-1 defeat at Blackpool and twelve unbeaten in the league following the 2-1 loss at Lincoln.
For myself, I honestly don’t know what to expect from our next game – it was concerning that we reverted to the sort of defending Donny encountered in their first meeting with us, but players such as Tanner and Kellyman still showed that they are in pretty potent form despite the mayhem that was occurring behind them.
I suppose what I’m saying is that we need to revert to how we were defending before a bit of an off night against Wimbledon and then a disaster at Plymouth – there has been something of a feeling lately that we can perm any two from four at centreback and still be fine, but Saturday’s selection in those positions (plus at left back and left winger) will be given a lot more scrutiny than normal I suspect.
On to the quiz, I’ll post the answers on Sunday.
60s. Another footballer with a surname that is a one off in my sixty plus years of following the game, this midfielder never got to play for either of the clubs from the city of his birth, but he never left his native Yorkshire. He started off with flour makers and, very early in his time with them, he shone in a draw with a star studded Manchester United team in the FA Cup. After three years with his first side, he was involved in an unusual transfer to Doncaster reminiscent of the one in 1983 between us and Newport County where a number of players swapped teams without any money being paid in transfer fees. Our man went on be a first team regular with Rovers for the next five years as he became something of a utility player by filling in at full back at times. He won a title while at Doncaster and was part of a Donny team that gave a decent account of themselves at Anfield in an FA Cup tie, but can you name him?
70s. Unusually, red featured prominently in the kit of all six clubs this striker played for. He was at Doncaster fleetingly during this decade and he also played for a future England manager in the lower divisions before establishing himself at a club in the county of his birth where he enjoyed the best times of his career in terms of winning trophies. When he moved on, it was to play on the continent – in fact, he spent the rest of his career performing in the same European country, save for an interlude where he returned to the UK to play in London. Who am I describing?
80s. Nandos in India to start with perhaps! (3,6)
90s. A full back, who you would have thought would be more at home on a green perhaps, who had a brief spell with Doncaster during this decade – he also played for a team that has won the European Cup in their time and for a team that wore striped shorts while he was with them, do you know who he is?
00s. There is no doubt that this Yorkshire born midfielder is remembered with much more affection in Doncaster than he is in Cardiff! He was at a disadvantage from day one after signing for us and his cause wasn’t helped by him playing for one of the poorest teams in our history. He moved on to Doncaster to become a significant figure in the club’s history – in fact, it could be argued that Donny’s eventual success, which saw them playing in the Championship in a new stadium, would not have been possible without him – who am I talking about?
10s. Sounds like this midfielder/winger could make you dizzy when watching him – he’s now playing for Manchester United some twenty odd years after first leaving them as a teenager, can you name him?
20s. Compel something that’s very hard?
Answers to follow:
