CCFC 0 v 0 CHARLTON

CCFC  0 v 0 CHARLTON

'The Journey Is The Reward' - Chinese Proverb

It can also be a bit special when you arrive! In the words of Mr Kool and his famous Gang of celebrants:

Wah-hoo, Wah-hoo, Wa-hoo / Celebration, good times c'mon (repeat) Wah-hoo / There's a party goin' on right here / A celebration to last throughout the years / So bring your pick, and your shovel too / We're gonna celebrate your party with you / Wa-hoo!

In appreciation of those that have joined us on the journey:

The Cardiff City Roll of Honour 1961 - 2013 Heroes and Villains

Howard Thomas, Cyril Plain, Jimmy Scoular, Don Murray, Derek Tapscott, Ivor Allchurch, John Toshack, Peter King, Ronnie Bird, Dave Carver, Gary Bell, Fred Davies, Richie Morgan, Graham Coldrick, Brian Harris, Barrie Jones, Bobby Woodruff, Mel Sutton, Leighton Phillips, Jim Eadie, Derek Showers, Alan Warboys, Alan Foggon, Phil Dwyer, Willie Anderson, Albert Larmour, Ron Healey, Clive Charles, John Buchanan, Jimmy Andrews, Mike England, David Giles, Doug Livermore, Adrian Alston, Tony Evans, Freddie Pethard, Steve Grapes, Robin Friday, Bryan Attley, Alan Campbell, John Lewis, Ronnie Moore, Gary Stevens, Linden Jones, Peter Kitchen, Andy Dibble, Jimmy Mullen, Peter Sayer, Martin Thomas, Dave Bennett, Gary Bennett, Paul Bodin, Roger Gibbins, Jeff Hemmerman, Len Ashurst, Nigel Vaughan, Jimmy Goodfellow, Mike Ford, Alan Durban, Jason Perry, Chris Pike, Frank Burrows, George Wood, Jimmy Gilligan, Gavin Ward, Damon Searle, Cohen Griffith, Nathan Blake, John Williams, Eddie Newton, Carl Dale, Phil Stant, Scott Young, Eddie May, Kenny Hibbitt, Jason Fowler, Jeff Eckhardt, Robert Earnshaw, Andy Legg, Jason Bowen, Billy Ayre, Wille Boland, Rhys Weston, Alan Cork, Danny Gabbidon, James Collins, Leo Fortune-West, Neil Alexander, Graham Kavanagh, Peter Thorne, Sam Hammam, Lennie Lawrence, Spencer Prior, Andy Campbell, Paul Parry, Cameron Jerome, Joe Ledley, Darren Purse, Jason Koumas, Glen Loovens, Kevin McNaughton, Peter Whittingham, Michael Chopra, Roger Johnson, Aaron Ramsey, Dave Jones, Stephen McPhail, Jay Bothroyd, Peter Ridsdale, David Marshall, Craig Bellamy, Malky McKay, Datuk Chan Tien Ghee, Vincent Tan, Mark Hudson, Kim Bo-Kyung, Ali Yasseine, Half-Time Wayne (only joking...)

Any obvious omissions / controversial inclusions please let me know

Little to say about the game other than it wasn't the drab, tense affair that may have been reported. Two decent attacks were nullified by two better defences. We had the edge but couldn't quite push home the advantage.

Two significant facts which highlight both our limitations and strengths this season: We've scored fewer goals at home than Bristol City who were relegated tonight and astonishingly no player has reached double figures. This reflects the determination to scrap for every point and results from a work ethic that leaves no room for passengers or prima donnas. This was the key. Some of the players in the Dave Jones era were streets ahead in terms of natural ability but their attitude and commitment was often lacking.

The achievement allows us the chance to put all the near misses into context and, like everything in life, take greater pleasure in the success having come so close and failed previously. Now is a good time to take stock of the last few years and reflect that all those 'failures' were actually nothing of the sort and will live as long in the memory as any future successes.

To be filed under 'All part of life's rich tapestry'

·          2007-08 Defeat in the FA Cup Final.

·         2008-09 Miss out on a play-off position by one goal in an entire season.

·         2009-10 Defeat in the play-off final.

·         2010-11 Defeat in play-off semi final.

·         2011-12 Defeat in play-off semi final.

·         2011-12 Defeat in League Cup final.

Sorry, that was a real downer! Anyway, moving on...the debate still rages about the fundamental changes we've had to endure to enjoy this ultimate success, put fairly succinctly in this article http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/apr/17/cardiff-city-promoted-died-last-summer and I'm sure we can all agree with the sentiment. But nothing's really changed; fans have never had any control over events. The only decision to be made is to go along for the ride or walk away. Few fans have the opportunity to take a stake and when they do, the opportunity arises out of adversity.

If after the 2008 Cup Final you were told that within 5 years one of the finalists would be bankrupt and relegated to the fourth tier and the other would be in the Premier League, solvent (and playing in red?) you'd fear the worst a natural state of mind of course for a Bluebird...

In the words of our favourite Rastafarian soccer-playing bard, and the last song to fade away into the joyous night 'Don't worry 'bout a ting, cos every little ting gonna be alright.'