Return of the Bluebirds: A Cardiff City AFC Dynasty

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Return of the Bluebirds:
A Cardiff City AFC Dynasty


15 minute halves - Slow - No simming
Sliders: Matt10's: http://www.operationsports.com/forum...4-sliders.html

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Breaking News: Tan Out!

In a shock move that will please many vocal fans, Vincent Tan has tonight announced the sale of Cardiff City FC to an American business consortium. Tan refused to answer questions from the press, choosing instead to release an official statement in which he labeled his ownership of the club and relationship with the Cardiff supporters as "untenable," and cited a desire to spend more time with his family and vast fortunes.

The new owners have vowed to return the club to the traditions of Cardiff City AFC, including changing the club's colors back to blue.

"We do this to honor the history of this great club," the new owners said in a statement issued soon after the announcement, "not to distance the club from the proud heritage of Wales. We will keep the red kits Mr. Tan introduced, but use them as an alternate third kit, after the club's traditional blue home kits and yellow change."

The new owners wasted no time in naming a new manager, choosing a little-known American coach named Thomas Shepherd.

"It is truly an honor," Shepherd said in his introductory press conference. "I will do my best to keep this team up as we face the challenges of our inaugural season in the Premier League. But I want to be clear: my goal, and the goal of the board, is to build a club, not just a team. This will take time, so I urge patience from the fans and the media."

As his first act as manager, Shepherd has announced the hiring of the Russian Mikhail Govorov (3*/4*) as the club's lead scout. Mr. Govorov will be scouring England over the next six months, trying to find the best young English talent willing to come train in Wales.

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Cardiff City: Return of the Bluebirds
Season Preview: 2013/14

Season Objective: Avoid Relegation
Cup Objective: Round of 16
Predicted Finish: 17

Budget: £5,500,000*
Available Wages: £40,000


* £2,975,000 of the initial budget was spent on the 3*/4* scout, Mikhail Govorov.

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Cardiff City Announces Lescott Signing, Two Other Moves

In the first significant transfer of the Shepherd era, Cardiff City today have announced the signing of England international defender Joleon Lescott, 30, from Manchester City. The £1,500,000 deal sees defender Juan Cala head in the opposite direction.

When asked why he would trade a promising younger defender for one heading toward the end of his career, the Cardiff manager had a ready answer.

"Experience," Shepherd said. "We've got a number of young defenders in Caulker, Theophile-Catherine, Fabio, and several promising boys like Declan John, Ben Nugent. I wanted to bring in an experienced central defender who could help guide the back four. Joleon's a champion. He's been in this league for many years. I'm thrilled we could get a player of his class and expertise."

In the same press conference, Shepherd announced one of those promising young defenders, the Uruguayan Maximiliano Amondarain, 20, will join Barnsley on a season-long loan to gain more experience in English football.

Finally, Shepherd announced the acquisition of Spanish goalkeeper Ruben Blanco, 17, from Celta Vigo in a swap for 'keeper Joe Lewis.

"We wish Joe all the best," Shepherd said. "He's done well by us. Ruben offers some amazing skill for such a young keeper, and we're very excited to watch him develop over the coming years. This season, he will be the primary understudy to David Marshall."

When asked about rumors linking Cardiff to former youth academy player Adam Matthews, Shepherd admitted they had made approaches to Celtic. "Adam's a great player. We made contact to see if there was any chance we could convince him to come back to Cardiff. His club rate him highly, as they should, so there was no way we could afford his price."

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2013 Preseason Friendly Wrap-Up

Cardiff City 4 - 0 Catania
Medel 23', Mutch 29', Bellamy 45', Noone 83'

A great debut for the new manager. "We played well," Shepherd said afterward, "showed really class out there, not only in attack, but also in defense. Give the players all the credit, they made the most of every opportunity they were given.

Monaco 2 - 1 Cardiff City
Rodriguez 19', 84'
Daehli 62'

Despite the loss away to Monaco, new manager Shepherd remained upbeat about the performance of his players, particularly since he made 11 changes to the lineup that beat Catania. "No one likes to lose, even in a friendly," Shepherd said. "But I thought we played well, particularly some of the younger guys. There are no moral victories in football, but to keep a player of Falcao's quality from scoring on you is no small feat.”

Cardiff City 1 - 1 Evian
Bellamy 66’
Blanc 74’

Cardiff City finish the preseason friendlies with a 1-1-1 record after a 1-1 draw at home to Evian. Shepherd fielded a Cardiff side full of under-21s and players more likely to find the bench than the pitch this season, though it was substitute Craig Bellamy who finally broke the deadlock. Newly signed ‘keeper Ruben Blanco let in his third goal in two matches, but Shepherd was generally pleased with his team’s performance, saying the preseason friendlies have “set the tone” for the coming season and shown the team’s strengths and weaknesses.

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Bluebirds Fight Back for 1-1 Draw at West Ham


Man of the Match: Gary Medel

Cardiff City looked destined to lose the new regime's first match after Andy Carroll put West Ham United in front after 15 minutes until Gary Medel's stoppage time equalizer earned the Bluebirds a point.

In the fifteenth minute, Carrol brought down a long lob pass and left new signing Joleon Lescott rooted to his spot, dribbling around the former Manchester City man before slotting the ball into the bottom corner past the Cardiff goalkeeper.

From there, West Ham were able to park the bus and frustrate the Cardiff attack. Cardiff dominated possession but could find no space in the middle of the pitch, particularly in front of goal. This seemed to please West Ham, who continually drew Cardiff in, regained possession, and bombed it downfield to Carroll.

"Route 1 football is frustrating to face," Cardiff manager Thomas Shepherd conceded afterward. "It's hard to defend, particularly against a talented poacher like Andy Carroll."

Cardiff were able to repel West Ham's many counterattacks, but could find no purchase in the final third. They managed 12 shots, but merely 2 on target, before Medel brought the traveling support to their feet in stoppage time.

Craig Noone found some space down the right flank before wrong-footing his defender and cutting inside. He slotted a pass to Medel who stood at the edge of the penalty area. Medel took two dribbles to his left before unleashing a vicious strike with his weaker foot which beat the diving Adrian.

"Give the lads all the credit," Shepherd said in his post-match interview. "They never gave up, never quit, kept pushing, kept willing something to happen. To pick up a point here is huge."

Up next in Shepherd's home debut is a visit from high-powered Manchester City.

Aug 17, 2013 - West Ham United vs Cardiff City
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
West Ham United (0-0-0)	1	0	1
Cardiff City (0-0-0)	0	1	1

Team Stats Comparison
West Ham United		Cardiff City
1	Goals	1
9	Shots	13
2	Shots on Target	3
45	Tackles	55
2	Fouls	2
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
0	Injuries	0
22	Shot Accuracy	23
85	Passing Percentage	82

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Negredo the Hero, Lescott the Goat as City Rout Cardiff



Man of the Match Alvaro Negredo

Alvaro Negredo scored the first hat trick of his Manchester City career, while Joleon Lescott contributed an embarrassing own goal as his former employers routed Cardiff City 2-5.

Negredo opened the scoring on 12 minutes when he put his head to a James Milner cross and found the corner of the net. David Silva doubled the visitors' lead nine minutes later with a beautiful display of close dribbling, turning two Cardiff defenders inside out before nutmegging a third and placing a finesse shot into the bottom of the goal.

Cardiff seemed to have regained some momentum as Frazier Campbell equalized with goals on either side of halftime. City seemed stunned by the equalizer in the 55th minute, and the Cardiff fans shook the stadium, but their joy was very short lived as a minute later Lescott scored a goal for his former employers. Silva tried to pick out a ground cross in front of goal, but Lescott got a foot to it. The ball came off the newly Cardiff signing and straight past his 'keeper and into the net.

Cardiff's hopes were obviously crushed, and from there Manchester City never looked back. Negredo completed his debut hat trick with goals in the 77th and 90th minute, and Manchester City earned an entirely deserved three points.

All was not well for the Citizens, however, as Yaya Toure went down in the second half with what is being called a broken elbow. Initial reports indicate City will be without their midfield engine for two months.

Cardiff manager Thomas Shepherd was obviously disappointed with the result. "Losing is the worst feeling, but it's even worse when you lose in front of the home crowd. And to lose by three goals? I thought the result was a little harsh, given how well we were able to hang with them for the first 60 minutes, especially when you compare the size of the two squads’ bank accounts."

Aug 25, 2013 - Cardiff City vs Manchester City
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Cardiff City (0-1-1)	1	1	2
Manchester City (2-0-0)	2	3	5

Team Stats Comparison
Cardiff City		Manchester City
2	Goals	5
7	Shots	15
4	Shots on Target	12
73	Tackles	28
4	Fouls	1
	Yellow Cards
	Red Cards
0	Injuries	1
57	Shot Accuracy	80
79	Passing Percentage	92

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Cardiff Makes Several Moves Before Transfer Window Closes


New Signing Callum Chambers

Cardiff City have made several moves before the close of the Summer Transfer Window, though none of the moves were exactly blockbusters.

The only signing on deadline day was that of 18-year-old England international Calum Chambers from Southampton for £1 million. The move for the young right back also sees 25-year-old Matthew Connolly head to the Saints.

"Calum's a talented boy," Thomas Shepherd said. "We're really excited for the potential he brings to the club, but also for the quality he brings to the team right now. We expect him to step in and immediately compete with Kevin Theophile-Catherine and Kevin McNaughton for playing time at right back."

Two of Cardiff's veteran players made moves away in search of more reliable playing time than they were likely to get under the new manager. Defensive back Simon Lappin (30) joined Charlton Athletic for £60,000, while midfielder Tommy Smith (33) sealed a move to Nottingham Forrest for a reported £130,000.

"We wish Simon and Tommy all the best," Shepherd said. "They played important roles in getting this club to the Premier League. Ultimately, though, they wanted - and rightly deserved - larger roles in the club than we were going to be able to guarantee with the level of competition for spots in our starting XI. They chose to move on, and we respect that."

In addition, two youngsters were sent out on loan to gain more experience. Midfielder Kadeem Harris (20) has joined Walsall, while defender Luke Coulson (19) has been sent to Kilmarnock, both until the end of the season.

Here is a roundup of the moves Cardiff City made during the summer transfer window:

IN:
GK Ruben Blanco, Celta Vigo, swap for GK Joe Lewis
CB Jolen Lescott, Man City, £1.5 mil + CB Juan Cala
RB Callum Chambers, Southampton, £1 mil + RB Connolly

OUT:
CB Amondarain, Barnsley, season loan
LB Lappin, Charlton Athletic, £60k
LM Harris, Walsall, season loan
RM Smith, Nottingham Forrest, £130k
RB Coulson, Kilmarnock, season loan


And here's a look at some of the most expensive transfers from around world football this August:

Robert Lewandowski to Real Madrid, £34 million
Thiago Silva to Juventus, £27 million
Mario Mandzukic to Roma, £15 million
Kevin Mirallas to Fulham, £15 million
Giorgio Chiellini to Manchester City, £14.5 million
Javier Mascherano to Manchester City, £13.5 million
Ezequiel Garay to Manchester United, £12 million
Edin Dzeko to Arsenal, £12 million