Life at the Death - Wales draw in Germany

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Well, talk about saving your best for last.
While most eyes might have been on Wembley and England's self-destruction, Wales chose their moment to show that they're not the laughing stock of British football after all.
With the guts, grit, determination - and no little skill - a makeshift side showed progress is being made under Toshack.
It had been predicted to be a walloping in Walstadion.
Even Tosh had got in on the act, doing his best to talk up a thumping so anything less would seem like an achievement.
But from the off you sensed Wales weren't overawed by the occasion, weren't fearing their opponents and instead were ready for a fight.
Germany didn't offer much of one; a bit sloppy, a bit lazy but still a darn bit better than the rest of the teams in Wales' group.
And Tosh's team matched them.
The centre backs raised their games to the levels we expect of them. The full-backs drove forward in support to implement the game plan demanded of them. The midfield held their own and created that spark so important of them.
And, most importantly, the kids stepped up to the mark to fill in where the experienced injured, suspended and retired had once been.
A relative high point to finish on then, after a campaign that brought it's fair share of lows. But my particular highlight of the match - Welsh fans enjoying themselves at last. Especially as they sang "England's staying home" as their final say on the Euro 2008 qualifiers.
Talk about saving your best for last. . .

Backing, Sacking and New Arrivals

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Cardiff City have backed under-fire boss Dave Jones - but have left him in no uncertain terms that he needs to turn results around.

Chairman Peter Ridsdale is a firm fan of Jones and the ex-Wolves and Southampton chief also has supporters among the rest of the board and key investors.

And they showed they're not in the business of pressing the panic button by standing by their man after a meeting earlier today.

But they pointed out the recent form has been unacceptable - and if Jones' needed a timely reminder of what's at stake it was the swift sacking of Paul Simpson at Championship rivals Preston.

Preston, like Cardiff, were among the high-flyers last year but have not lived up to expectation this time around.

It means Preston, Norwich, Palace and QPR - the only sides below City in the table - have all given their bosses the boot.

Meanwhile, Wrexham are set to announce who will step into the manager's role at the Racecourse to work "alongside" Brain Carey. It could be a fight between Stan Ternent and Brian Little. If it's the former, Carey will be packing his bags.

Is The Boot Really The Best Foot Forward?

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Lots of speculation over the future of Cardiff boss Dave Jones at the moment.

But if a sacking truly is in the air - and I'm not sure it is - is it the right option?

Results haven't been good enough and clearly something needs to be done quickly before it's too late to save the season.

But, especially with some of the names of the potential replacements being prematurely banded around failing to inspire, would hanging the DJ really be it?

I'll guess we'll all have to wait and see before we can all have our say in hindsight.

But one last point for now - why oh why do all the names for the hot seat have to be welsh. We've seen Chris Coleman, Gary Speed, Geraint Williams and even Andy Legg being tipped. Since when does being from our shores qualify you as the right man for the job? Even the rugby got that bit right this time. . .

Brian Carey's Reaction to Posh Cup Defeat

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Apolgies Wrexham fans - somehow quotes from last year's game at Peterborough made it to the paper today.
Here's what should have appeared and what Brian Carey actually said following the 4-1 defeat at London Road.

Brian Carey refused to defend his players any longer as the question of who will lead Wrexham after the international break remained unanswered.
Carey has regularly sheltered his players from blame after previous defeats.
But after what could have been his last game in charge, Carey admitted his side let him down as the spectre of a new man at the Racecourse loomed large.
Asked whether he thought his players would have at least given him a final send-off, Carey said: "They let me down - but I tried to spin that and tell them that there could be somebody watching in the stand too see what response I got.
"The situation has been difficult and the players could have used it as an excuse but you would have to ask them about that.
"All I've done is focussed on preparing for the Fa Cup - we did that. But I hoped the Cup could spark these players into life but I guess I was wrong.
"The second goals was just a calamity, it was like a circus act and that's quite appropriate at the moment because that's what we're doing - we're killing ourselves week after week.
"You can't legislate for things like that, we absolutely gifted them their goals and it cost us dearly yet again. Peterborough are a good side and they didn't need any help to beta us - but we gave it to them."
Carey will now wait and see what decisions the board make, although it is thought Carey was happy to make any decision of a potential new man public.
Still, there is no idea whether the "senior" man being sought will come in above Carey or simply replace him.
The Irishman added: "This has been difficult for everybody but now we've got an opportunity in the next two weeks to put some foundations in place for the future of this club. All I can ask is that we wait and see what happens.
"Somebody will come in in some capacity but I don't want to speculate on my position, I'll have to wait and see. Asking me if I want to stay is not a question for me."

ends

Cardiff Get Shirty for Final Year at Ninian

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You're either a person who sees the glass half-empty of half-full, so it's interesting to take the different views on Cardiff's latest sponsorship scheme.

The club has unveiled a 500 club, where local businesses can buy a ticket for a draw that will decide the shirt sponsor for next season.

It's called the 500 club because, you've guessed it, there will be 500 tickets . . .. at £1,000 a pop.

So, it's either a really innovative way to getting as much as half a million for a shirt deal that would normally only bring in half that.

Or, it's an attempt to secure a sponsor through different means because the normal avenues have failed, and it means the cash comes in now rather than later.

I think the latter view is a tad unfair - and credit should be given to chairman Peter Ridsdale for trying to come up with new ways to skin a cat, especially in the club's final year at their old ground.

There's going to be two draws, one for home and one for away kits, with the club going to the Football League to see if it can change tops in either half for the last ever game at Ninian Park.

And even if you don't win the draw, you get an unique shirt with your company's name framed and ready for the wall.

At £1,000, that's worth the money alone to some fans and can you imagine if Dai Jones of Grangetown beat off all the big businesses to get "Dai's Pies" or something plastered across the front of Robbie Fowler's shirt.

You only hope the entering companies don't get too obscure or the Bluebirds could be left with egg on their faces. Splott Sewerage Systems just wouldn't look right in the Championship, would it!

Cardiff City Sales are waiting for your call - 029 20348028

LIVE - Boxing Updates from the Millennium Stadium

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Joe Calzaghe has cemented his place as the greatest boxer in British history with an unanimous points win over WBA and WBC super-middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler.

Super Joe edged an absorbing contest which had the 50,000 fans at the Millennium Stadium on the edge of their seats.

Enzo Maccarinelli had set the tone for pal Joe Calzaghe by knocking out opponent Mohamed Azzaoui in the fourth round of his WBO Cruiserweight title defence.

Coming 58 seconds into the fourth, it was the Swansea man's 21st KO of his career and a comfortable win for the 27-year-old.

It was a good night for the rest of the Welsh fighters on show too.

Harry Miles saw off Mark Phillips in an entertaining opening bout.

Nathan Cleverly endured the toughest fight of his fledgling career so far with a points decision victory over Joey Vegas.

And Kerry Hope took a four-round decision against Ernie Smith..

Keep an eye for Pete Shuttleworth's report - the first and the best from the late,late action in Cardiff.

Well Done Joe! Truly, the pride of Wales.

Ridsdale, Refs and Ringside - The Week That's WoS

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What a week it's been - and still could be - in Welsh sport.

Apologies for those who've logged on and not seen much updating recently - this blog's author has been on a Halloween holiday.

But with Guy Fawke's Night almost upon us, the fireworks are all set to go off tonight at the Millennium Stadium as Joe Calzaghe takes on Mikkel Kessler in a super-middleweight slug-out.

If you stay online (and awake), this blog will take a veer away from football for a few hours to give you live updates.

Then you can read the very first detailed reports from Wales on Sunday's top boxing writer Pete Shuttleworth on www.icwales.co.uk, or in later editions of tomorrow's paper.

Still, it's not all about boxing and Welsh football held its own in terms of an explosive week.

First we had Peter Ridsdale's launch of his new book United We Fall, a great insight to the life at the top of a Premier League football club and his early days at Cardiff.

Wales on Sunday has spoken to the City chairman, who admits there could be a few more chapters to add yet, plus exclusive extracts from the book.

It comes on the back of Cardiff's trip to Anfield and the official start of work on the club's new stadium - but results around the Championship today mean eyes will very much be on Tuesday night's game against Palace to lift them away from the bottom places.

In League One, Swansea dropped points at home to Gillingham last night but could still hold their heads up high after a superb performance against the odds.

Referee Stuart Atwell - 25, in his first year as a ref and in his first ever League One game - gave one of the most woeful performances from a man in black I have ever seen. Ever.

But the ten men Swans still really should have won the game - even before Andy Robinson's last gasp penalty miss.

There's the fall-out from that game in tomorrow's paper - plus a look ahead to next week's FA Cup game.

We look forward to Wrexham's big cup clash with Peterborough and a certain reunion with Darren Ferguson, plus the big derby clash with the Shrews tomorrow.

See, told you it was a hell of a week.

Now, C'mon Joe - make it even better.