November 7 2011

Scowcroft - Providing the commentary against Cardiff

Jamesey wonders whether our expectations have been too great after a dream opening to the season.

There weren't too many fireworks at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday (Nov 5) but the two big rockets came from the Bluebirds as they ended our unbeaten run with a 2-0 victory. They also ended a five-game clean-sheet run with their goals.

As I write, we still stand sixth in the league table but it is worrying that we don't seem able to score any goals at present. The Reading game (Oct 29) was disappointing, as 0-0 draws at home usually are, but the Royals were quite a classy outfit and deserved at least a draw on the day.

On Tuesday evening (Nov 1), Portsmouth came to town and I think our expectations were rather higher.

In the old days Pompey would often bring a massive away contingent but maybe the country's economic woes and the poor performance of their side have dampened the enthusiasm of the Fratton Park faithful. The away supporters' area was not exactly bursting at the seams.

Unfortunately a lacklustre display from the Eagles ended in another 0-0 stalemate.

To mangle the sentiments of Lady Bracknell in The Importance of being Earnest: To draw 0-0 at home once, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune. To do it twice in succession looks like carelessness. (Apologies to Oscar Wilde for that.)

Glenn Murray cut a lonely figure at the sharp end of the team and, all in all, we never really looked like taking a firm grip on the game.

Our third outing in eight days was a visit to the Cardiff City Stadium, a venue where I am sure a 0-0 draw would have satisfied most of us. I listened to the Palace Player commentary - the duo performing included one of our Old Boys, James Scowcroft - and in the first half we were far the superior side according to them.

But the goal drought continued and we were unable to cash in on our dominance and we paid for it in the second period when the Bluebirds came at us all guns blazing and scored twice. As any good general will tell you, if you don't take advantage of your military superiority when you have it, your enemy can sometimes outmanoeuvre you later.

So, with an international break for the Gaggingforcash-ship and our own division coming up, we have a clear weekend to gather our thoughts. But however optimistic one tries to be, two points out of nine (including two home games) is a paltry return. It is probably time to curtail promotion hopes and regard a mid-table finish as more realistic although with the abundance of talented players we have, that shouldn't really be so.

To conclude, the weekend's newspapers have gone bonkers on Sir Alex Ferguson's 25th anniversary as Manchester United boss.

CPFC, of course, has quite a bit of history with MUFC - the most important from their point of view being their FA Cup replay win against us in 1990.

It was, of course, gut-wrenching for us to lose and only be able to put "FA Cup runners-up" on our CV. But for Fergie it was crucially important. Most sources reckon that he was about to get the elbow after four years of indifferent results but that piece of FA Cup silverware saved his neck.

He then went on to produce an almost unassailable string of triumphs for his club and even his worst enemies usually admit that his record of achievements is absolutely beyond compare.

Personally, I have to agree, but I am still hoping that in a few weeks, we can visit Old Trafford, kick his illustrious backside with a victory and deprive him of the chance of adding this season's Carling Cup to his bulging trophy cabinet...

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