Just back from a nice few days in Paris, for our wedding anniversery. Very rainy, but we had a good time. We saw Lucy and Chris, and limited our gallery visiting to the Picasso museum and the Orangeries. I went to the Orangerie many years ago, but I do not remember it having the effect it had on me this time. The paintings downstairs - especially the Cezannes and the Soutines, but also the Matisse were a fantastic start. The Monet waterlilies nearly made me cry.
I have lost my camera's battery charger - dog knows where - so only had my mobile phone to take pictures. Chris had been showing us his panoramic pictures, and this inspired me to play - especially at the Orangerie, but also elsewhere (see my flckr site for more silly photos - including one of the man juggling in the rain with a goldfish in a bowl on his head).
We ate (too) well, and enjoyed ourselves a lot. Soon, touch wood, we will be in France permanently.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Paris in the the Spring
Thursday, May 10, 2007
2006-7 all over in 2006
It's not been much fun being a Cardiff City fan in recent weeks. At the start of the season I hadn't expected much, and so I guess I got what I deserved. But after being top of the league, six points clear for a couple of months I think we had a right to expect a better finish than we got. We finished 13th - worse even than my predicted 9th. We did not win one single game out of our last nine, and in that run only managed two draws - the worst EVER finish of a season for Cardiff, in over 100 years of existence. Watching them was dreadful: I saw games at home, and away at Derby and QPR and it was awful. Our players seemed lost, lacking in cohesion, with no confidence, and some with - at least it seemed - with little motivation. True we had several injuries. True the players that came in were not good enough (especially Byrne and Walton). But the young players that came in - Gunter and Blake especially - did well, whilst more experienced players: Whittingham, Thompson, McPhail - just looked a waste of space.
And I guess Jones has to take the blame to a large extent, just like he rightly took the credit when we were top of the league. He managed to motivate that team into a confident group of players, passing the ball crisply and accurately, and beating all comers. Fantastic. Some of the best football I've EVER seen City play. But a few months later the team is completely demotivated. Quite apart from the injuries, Jones fell out with Alexander (after mucking him around with stupid contract offers it seems), after falling out with others earlier (Weston, Barker) and started saying things to the press that were of a different tone. Instead of backing players up and keeping things in the dressing room, Jones started publicly saying things about players that could not possibly help. I have to admit the treatment of Alexander, plus negative comments about Parry contrasted with public praise for Forde (who looks decidedly average, if not dodgy) has swayed me. Chopra stopped scoring, Thompson stopped looking like he could ever score, Whittingham started looking like he'd prefer to be playing for Villa reserves, Gilbert disappeared altogther, Ledley came and went. And we ended up the season with 8 strikers, none of them looking any good, except perhaps Green, who looks like he might have a future. But Byrne? useless. Redan? Hopeless. Campbell? Past it. Thompson? Couldn't hit a barn door. Ferretti? Gone. Glombard? Rubbish. Feeney? You're kidding. Which leaves Chopra, who has a mimimum fee release clause so will, no doubt, be gone this summer to the likes of Man City or Everton.
Seeing what Alan Lee has done at Ipswich is also worth noting: 17 goals this season. Jones didn't rate him. I am seriously concerned that Jones can only manage half a season. Only one other team has been top of the league at the end of October and then not even made the play offs, ever. That team? Wolves. Who was their manager? Dave Jones. Hmmmm.
I guess he deserves another season, and maybe I'll be taking this all back this time next year. I hope so, but I doubt it. With reportedly 17 players to leave and little or no money for new signings I guess next season we'll be playing with a lot of our kids. Ihope they are good enough. 17 to go is a hell of a lot, though - unless it includes loans. Without loans we only have a squad of 25 - and that includes more than a couple of teenagers who have never played.
On the positive side, Chopra's goals made me £72.50 at the bookies, plus another £20 from Earnie. Cheers boys.
I should also note that today is, according to Peter Ridsdale, 'A Historical Day', because all the money is now committed for the new stadium. Whoop de doo. £58m on a new stdium, and £5.80 on new players? Entertainingly, he also said that 'today is a day to saver'. Is that a Super Saver Pete?
And I guess Jones has to take the blame to a large extent, just like he rightly took the credit when we were top of the league. He managed to motivate that team into a confident group of players, passing the ball crisply and accurately, and beating all comers. Fantastic. Some of the best football I've EVER seen City play. But a few months later the team is completely demotivated. Quite apart from the injuries, Jones fell out with Alexander (after mucking him around with stupid contract offers it seems), after falling out with others earlier (Weston, Barker) and started saying things to the press that were of a different tone. Instead of backing players up and keeping things in the dressing room, Jones started publicly saying things about players that could not possibly help. I have to admit the treatment of Alexander, plus negative comments about Parry contrasted with public praise for Forde (who looks decidedly average, if not dodgy) has swayed me. Chopra stopped scoring, Thompson stopped looking like he could ever score, Whittingham started looking like he'd prefer to be playing for Villa reserves, Gilbert disappeared altogther, Ledley came and went. And we ended up the season with 8 strikers, none of them looking any good, except perhaps Green, who looks like he might have a future. But Byrne? useless. Redan? Hopeless. Campbell? Past it. Thompson? Couldn't hit a barn door. Ferretti? Gone. Glombard? Rubbish. Feeney? You're kidding. Which leaves Chopra, who has a mimimum fee release clause so will, no doubt, be gone this summer to the likes of Man City or Everton.
Seeing what Alan Lee has done at Ipswich is also worth noting: 17 goals this season. Jones didn't rate him. I am seriously concerned that Jones can only manage half a season. Only one other team has been top of the league at the end of October and then not even made the play offs, ever. That team? Wolves. Who was their manager? Dave Jones. Hmmmm.
I guess he deserves another season, and maybe I'll be taking this all back this time next year. I hope so, but I doubt it. With reportedly 17 players to leave and little or no money for new signings I guess next season we'll be playing with a lot of our kids. Ihope they are good enough. 17 to go is a hell of a lot, though - unless it includes loans. Without loans we only have a squad of 25 - and that includes more than a couple of teenagers who have never played.
On the positive side, Chopra's goals made me £72.50 at the bookies, plus another £20 from Earnie. Cheers boys.
I should also note that today is, according to Peter Ridsdale, 'A Historical Day', because all the money is now committed for the new stadium. Whoop de doo. £58m on a new stdium, and £5.80 on new players? Entertainingly, he also said that 'today is a day to saver'. Is that a Super Saver Pete?
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