It seems to be generally accepted that the clubs currently in third to fifth positions in League One (Bolton, Bradford and Stockport) are guaranteed a finishing place of sixth at worst.
Therefore, it looks like there’s only one Play Off place still up for grabs and, before yesterday, nearly everyone giving an opinion as to which team would fill it were saying Plymouth Argyle. The pile on for Plymouth was so strong that they were expected by many to beat Bolton at Home Park yesterday afternoon, but, despite the visitors being reduced to ten men just before half time when the game was still goalless. Bolton were able to record a superb win by 2-1 with one of the goals coming from only their second penalty of the season – a decision which leaves City now by themselves as the team out of the the promotion challengers that has been awarded the least penalties.
It was not a good day for City who had to sit the Good Friday programme out because of Port Vale’s place in the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup. Bradford managed one of those unspectacular 1-0 home wins that they seem to specialise in these days when they beat Northampton and Stockport were surprisingly comfortable 3-0 winners over Wycombe. As for Lincoln, there was further proof that they’re fated to get the title as they squeezed past Wimbledon at home with the only goal having a pretty obvious looking hand ball by an Imps player in the build up.
City are next in action on Monday when they go to what I’d call their biggest bogey ground in the country, London Road, Peterborough. We’ve already played there this season as we fell meekly to a 1-0 defeat in the First Round of the FA Cup in former Swansea boss Luke Williams’ first game in charge.
Williams’ initial impact was so impressive that around Christmas, there were those who were tipping his team, which had been looking on course for relegation before he arrived, for a Play Off place.
However, Posh’s form has fallen away since then with only three wins, and six defeats since 27 January, although in fairly typical Peterborough style, two of those victories have been by 6-1 and 5-0!
In fact the 5-0 victory over a doomed looking Rotherham is the only one by Williams’ team in their last eight matches. So, you’d like to think that despite our own drop off in results recently, there’s no reason why we can’t go there and win. However, the game is being played at a venue where we’ve only won once and, certainly in the Championship. there’ve been quite a few occasions where what looks a stronger Cardiff side on paper has come a cropper. There’s no logical reason I can think of as to why previous results on a ground where we’ve only played once in the league since 2013 (we drew that game) should have an effect on the outcome of a game, but football is littered with examples which prove that it does!
Away from London Road, the good news is that one or both of Bolton and Stockport will drop points as they face each other at the Reebok (if it’s still called that). However, if it it turned out to be a home win, we got our usual defeat at Peterborough and then Bolton won here in a week’s time, then the gap between the teams would be down to two points with us facing away games at clubs still hoping to make it into the Play Off’s in our next two matches.
However, we’d then play our remaining home matches against a couple of teams who will probably be relegated by then before a final away match against a side with nothing to play for – we still have to be big favourites for automatic promotion, no matter how hairy the table may start to look.
Anyway, on to the quiz with the usual seven questions with answers to be posted on Sunday.
60s. Born in a village not too far from the team he first played for, his goalscoring record was such that it would have had the top flight clubs circling if it was repeated these days, but, instead, all it got him was a move down the football pecking order to Peterborough. At the lower level, the goals came at an incredible rate, but, although he ended up at a bigger club by reputation, they were still in the lower leagues at the time. Once again, his record for a club that was on the brink of big things was really impressive, but barely anyone seemed to notice and he moved to a striped team with near, more successful, neighbours for a season where his scoring rate fell below one every other game for the first time. Incredibly, that was him finished with the full time game – he’d only been in it for eight years and yet he’d scored a number of goals that most modern day strikers would be pleased with over, say, a fifteen year career, can you name him?
70s. I doubt it if this midfielder had his distinctive bald pate when he began his career in 1953 as what was called a left half at the time, but it was there when he was turning out for Peterborough in the early years of this decade. His first club wore stripes and were from his native county, Yorkshire, but he moved on to what was one of the biggest clubs in the country at the time, although they don’t have their troubles to seek these days, at the age of 22. Although he was a fairly regular starter for his new club during his two years with them, he was transferred to another side that has won European club trophies in their time for three seasons where, again, he was a regular starter. He’s best known for his time with his fourth club though where he played over two hundred games during his seven seasons with them and they won their only European trophy just as he was moving to Peterborough. He combined two roles while with Posh and went on to manage two clubs from Lancashire and one from Yorkshire beginning with a B. Who is he?
80s. At six foot six, this defender would be regarded as tall in the modern game, but he was a giant forty years ago! Along with his height, the most distinctive thing about him was his name – his first name is unique among footballers in my time supporting the game I believe and, although I can think of one or two others with his surname, it is very rare for a footballer. Very much a lower league journeyman he started off with his home town team where he wore their distinctive colours for six years, winning Player of the Season awards in three of the last four of them. His second club seem some way from a return to league football currently, but were, at one time, fairly regular opponents of City, if not too often in the league. Moving on quickly to Peterborough, he stayed with them for two years before returning to to the county where his second team are from to see out his career with reds from a junction, who is being described here?
90s. Winger with an alliterative name which may make you think of a traditional sporting event to be held this weekend. Peterborough were one of thirteen sides he represented, others included West Ham, Bournemouth, Peterborough, Partick Thistle and Hong Kong Rangers. After retiring he became a long term servant of the PFA and has also worked for UEFA, can you name him?
00s. Eyeball land at the start of race? (7,5).
10s. Fan of Welsh club in gain for the follically challenged!
20s. Lose a letter and you have star of a film about Cardiff!
Answers to follow:
