The director's box today was a sea
of Armani sophistication and sartorial opulence, silky greys offset by crimson
urbanity, with one stand-out figure challenging the artisan consensus with his
off-the-peg high street crafted belted-up banality. Yes, we were blessed with
the presence of the man who is synonymous with our 'Fire and Passion' motto,
one totally committed to the cause and who commands respect from both the
sporting and business communities for his ability to inspire, innovate, motivate
and help people reach their full potential.
Let's just hope the sober-suited Sir
Alex Ferguson gave Vincent Tan a bloody great turbo-charged hairdryer blast for
his shameful treatment of the finest young manager in the country.
The logo may have been dreamt up
by Tan's marketing flunkies - and the majority of fans will never fully buy
into the rebranding - but the fire and passion displayed by our hired hands
today under the tutelage of our very own pupil fiery Scot will have impressed
the watching world and reinforced the Cardiff City brand. And made it damned
near impossible for our witless chairman to move against Malky.
Ironically there's more fire and
passion generated by the increasingly stubborn upholders of the blue cause than
the red-faced opportunists, their vacant wonder-struck expressions betraying
years of indolent lounge-lizadry. The noticeable resurgence of vintage bluebird
livery has given a new impetus to the defenders of our noble heritage and an
increasing belief that all is not lost.
And so to the opposition. The
early days of David Moyes' reign have been beset by indifferent form, injuries
and unrealistic expectations and it was comforting to see that the basic spine
of his side, Vidic-Carrick-Van Persie, was absent. Worse still, a remodelled midfield
containing the unproven Cleverley and a confused Fellani cried out for the
steadying influence of a Scholes or the belligerence of a Keane as it struggled
to impose itself against a dominant City powerhouse.
We had the best of the early play
culminating in a chance when Mutch headed Whitts' perfectly floated free kick
straight into the grateful arms of de Gea. This was followed by the main
talking point of the game as Rooney, clearly miffed at being bossed by Mutch,
hacked at him from behind and was indulged with a yellow card.
So the unfeasibly follicled one
was lucky to still be on the pitch when minutes later, following a misplaced
Turner pass out of defence he collected the ball in the box, turned and with a
huge chunk of good fortune placed a deflected shot over the diving Marshall as
the Home Counties contingent broke out the Bolly with a heartfelt 'Hurrah!'
A lesser team may have
capitulated at this point but we responded well, taking the game to the
opposition, the consistently impressive Kev T-C linking up well with a
revitalised Cowie and keeping the young Janujaz and the veteran Evra on the
backfoot. Mutch and Whittingham were taking advantage of the ponderous
Manchester midfield and on the half hour they combined with a couple of gloriously
incisive defence splitters to set the ever-alert Campbell free to place the
equaliser past the advancing de Gea. 1-1.
In contrast to the Championship,
the unforgiving Premier League doesn't allow the luxury of switching off for a
second. As the half was a drawing to a close Evra was allowed to ghost in the
box to meet a Rooney corner and give the League Champions an undeserved
half-time lead and reinforce Cardiff's unenviable record of being the only
Premier League team this season not to lead at half time. The comfort of
spending most of last season defending a routine half time advantage seems a
distant memory.
The start of the second half saw
the visitors keen to consolidate their advantage with their stand-out player
Rooney at the heart of everything that was good. A couple of his early corners,
from either wing, proved his worth as they swung dipped and fizzed through a bewildered
City box, unerringly finding their target. His set pieces found both Fellaini
and Smalling in turns and only the human barricade that is David Marshall was
able to prevent them adding to their lead.
City however continued to thrive,
always seeking to find a way back into the game, unfazed by the occasion and
the stellar opposition, no hostage to reputation or history. Campbell, who
spent a frustrating four seasons at Man Utd awaiting the opportunity to prove
his worth, being sent out on loan and eventually shown the door when Sunderland
came knocking, was playing like he had a point to prove and almost scored a
second leveller with a mischievous chip over de Gea from the edge of the box
that hit the bar.
A rash of substitutions gave
Noone and Kimbo the chance to shake things up, with Giggs and Welbeck brought
on for the opposition. Inexplicably Giggs, icon, footballing legend, a towering
genius of a player, an ambassador for our nation, was booed by a section of the
Canton End highbrows on the basis of his perceived reluctance to be available
for the occasional San Marino, Swaziland or Syria friendly. Twerps.
As the less committed were
considering leaving their seats to seek an early advantage on the car park exit
grid a mistimed tackle led to a 90th minute free kick which was delayed after a
fracas between Medel and Fellaini in the box during which the pint-sized
Chilean appeared to elbow the Belgian bouffant. With defenders out of position,
Kimbo popped up to force a header past de Gea to provide a hard-fought and
much-deserved equaliser.
There was barely time for a
combined Giggs - Rooney move to fizzle out as the tabloids favourite messed up
with the goal at his mercy. Oh how we laughed the longest of the last laughs -
of the condemned man pardoned at the gallows as the hangman closes in.
Patrice Evra in his post-match
interview declared his admiration for our boys whilst struggling to contain his
frustration at the surprising ineptitude of his charges who he confessed didn't
deserve a win. So another Saturday, another scalp for our braves. City, United,
Everton, Tottenham - 4 of the top 7 at the end of season shakedown. OK we
haven't taken maximum points but we've competed against the very best and won
over the doubters. And that's good enough for now.
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