Tuesday night marks the first visit to the new Cardiff City Stadium for the Rams.
Cardiff City v Derby County
Coca Cola Championship
Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff
7:45pm, 29th September 2009
Cardiff City:
Current League position 9/24
Leading scorer: Michael Chopra 7lg1cp
Manager: Dave Jones
Kit Home: blue shirt,yellow trim/white shorts
Kit Away: yellow shirts blue shorts
Last game: Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 Cardiff City
Quotes from the manager:
From the BBC: Manager Dave Jones has accused several of his players of simply going through the motions in recent weeks. He told his squad:
"you can't expect it to happen, you have to make it happen". His defence has conceded five goals in their last two games, whilst eight-goal top-scorer Michael Chopra has not scored since August".
Following the defeat by Wednesday;
"We've got to be better and at the moment we're inconsistent, we'll have a good game, bad game and it's costing us".
"We've got a soft spot in us at the moment and the goals that we've given away in the second half are goals that can be stopped quite easily if players are going to do what's asked of them".
"But at this moment in time they're not doing it and that's the frustrating part".
Current Bluebirds Squad:
No. Position Player
1 Keeper David Marshall
2 Defender Kevin McNaughton
3 Midfield Mark Kennedy
4 Midfield Gavin Rae
5 Defender Mark Hudson
6 Defender Gábor Gyepes
7 Midfield Peter Whittingham
8 Striker Michael Chopra
9 Striker Jay Bothroyd
10 Midfield Stephen McPhail (vice-captain)
11 Midfield Chris Burke
12 Defender Tony Capaldi
14 Defender Paul Quinn
15 Defender Anthony Gerrard
16 Midfield Joe Ledley (vice-captain)
17 Midfield Kelvin Etuhu (on loan from Manchester City)
18 Midfield Solomon Taiwo
19 Midfield Riccardo Scimeca
20 Keeper Peter Enckelman
24 Defender Miguel Comminges
26 Striker Warren Feeney
27 Defender Adam Matthews
28 Midfield Aaron Wildig
29 Striker Josh Magennis
32 Defender Aaron Morris
44 Striker Ross McCormack
The Rams
Quotes from the manager:
From the BBC after Saturday's game;
"We kept going and we kept playing and trying to do the right things. If you've created chances for 85 minutes you'll keep creating them if you keep going".
"I thought the performance was very good and it's nice to get what we feel we deserve."
Current Rams Squad:
1 Keeper Stephen Bywater
2 Defender Paul Connolly
3 Defender James McEveley
4 midfield Paul Green INJURED
5 Defender Miles Addison INJURED
6 Defender Dean Leacock
7 Midfield Lee Croft
8 Midfield Robbie Savage (captain)
9 Striker Rob Hulse
10 Striker Kris Commons INJURED
11 Midfield Gary Teale
12 Striker Chris Porter INJURED
13 Keeper Saul Deeney
14 Defender Shaun Barker
16 Midfield Stephen Pearson INJURED
17 Defender Jake Buxton
18 Midfield Ben Pringle
19 Striker Giles Barnes INJURED
20 Striker Steve Davies INJURED
21 Midfield Dean Moxey
22 Midfield Arnaud Mendy
23 Defender Mark O'Brien INJURED
24 Midfield Jake Livermore (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
25 Striker Paul Dickov (on loan from Leicester City)
26 Midfield Lee Hendrie
27 Defender Fredrik Stoor (on loan from Fulham)
31 StrikerJames Vaughan (on loan from Everton)
Bookies:
Home Win: 5/6
Draw: 12/5
Away win: 7/2
First Scorer: Michael Chopra 4/1, Rob Hulse 7/1
Information for Travelling fans:
Driving: It's about 160 miles to Cardiff. Take the A38 south and using either the M6 toll or the regular M6, head for the M42/M40 interchange for the M5 south.
Join the M4 at J15. Leave the M4 at J33 and take the A4232 towards Cardiff. Leave the dual carriageway at the B4267 exit, signposted 'Cardiff City Stadium'. Follow the signs for the stadium.
Parking: There is a huge car park across the road from the ground.
Drinking: The ground isn't far from the old one so it's the same sotry with the pubs. Most of the pubs near the ground are home support only and should be avoided. The exception is the Lansdowne Hotel on Beda Rd approximately ten minutes from the stadium. Footballgroundguide.com recommends drinking in the city centre before making your way to the ground.
Mick's Prediction:
Palpable relief to get a win after the poor performances in the four previous games. Having said that, I'm slightly alarmed that Nigel Clough thought it was a good performance.
The plus's were the reaction save in the first minute by Bywater that prevented a sure goal. Dean Leacock and Shaun Barker were the first centre half pairing that has looked comfortable and in control of a game and Gary Teale's goal was well taken. James Vaughan looked to be a great prospect and may be another Leon Osman in the making.
The bad - well despite being full of running, Robbie Savage was not effective for 90 minutes and with Livermore alongside him, it meant there was a lot of pressure on the midfield.
Teale and Croft were ineffective in delivering the ball into an effective area for Hulse and Vaughan and they were chasing shadows and snatching at shots. Teale did not get back and cover his defender with the effect that we came under pressure down his flank.
These are problems we've had for years so why are they not being addressed? Now we have an injury crisis with players suffering from sore feet. Why weren't last season's injuries cleared up in the close season?
It's annoying to hear that we have no luck with injuries. Do other teams have the same problems? Maybe bad luck isn't to blame?
Mick's team:
Bywater, Stoor, Leacock, Barker, Moxey, Teale Livermore, Savage, Hendrie, Croft, Hulse
Subs: Buxton, McEveley, Mendy, Dickov … whoever is available!
Prediction: Cardiff 2-0 Rams