07/04/2008 1 Media Wales jonahwebb 07/04/2008 ECHO Mon apr7

SOUVENIR EDITION CARDIFF CITY REACH FA CUP FINAL

ECHO
South Wales

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WE DID IT!
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THE CELEBRATIONS PAGES 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9 & 40 PLUS A BUMPER SPORT PULLOUT
19/05/2008 08:52:34 98-99 Media Wales jonahwebb 19/05/2008 ECHO may19 Mon

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City stars join mass Ayatollah as fans welcome them back
OUR HISTORIC DAY... THE FANS, THE CELEBRATIONS, THE TEARS PAGES 2-13 PLUS SPORT PULLOUT
DOUBLE ‘IT’S TIME
MISERY FOR
FOR JONES
FANS TO GO’
PAGES
4,5&6 BACK PAGE
Wales

THEY BLUE IT
Monday, May 4, 2009 47p

GUTTED... Blues lose out in sudden

death penalty shoot-out GUTLESS... City blow golden chance
to make play-offs
 Monday, 4 May, 2009
IT’S TIME TO GO
DAVID Giles believes it’s time for
Dave Jones to go as Cardiff City
manager after the Bluebirds’ play-off
flop.
The former Wales star is adamant
the club need a new boss if they are to
achieve the Premier League dream.
Echo columnist Giles echoed the
view of many City fans who were
questioning Jones, pictured, in the
wake of yesterday’s abject 1-0 loss to
mid-table Sheffield Wednesday.
That result, coupled with Burnley’s
win over Bristol City and Preston’s
triumph over QPR, condemned the
Bluebirds to seventh place.
It meant there is no proper farewell
to Ninian Park and fans are left with
the horrible memories of a 3-0 beating
by Ipswich as the last game.
Jones’ team somehow shot them-
Says David Giles
selves in the foot by missing out on
the play-offs, when they seemed a
shoo-in a few weeks ago.
City’s failure to get more than
one point from the last 12 on offer
cost them, as did the six goal
battering at Preston. That
result turned out to be a 12
goal swing between the
two sides in terms of
goal difference,
after they fin-
ished level
on points
yesterday.
In his
Wales
Cup of despair for Blues
MONDAY SPORT
tunes, I am firmly of the opinion that
Jones’ time at City should end.
“Teams, managers, they have their
already.
“It’s harsh lesson to learn. We’ll pick
ourselves up, dust ourselves down and
natural cycles. Jones has had four get ready again,” he said last night.
years at the club, and I’m convinced “Some are going to get hammered
column for the Echo today, there is a need for a new voice at the from every quarter and they’ve got to
Giles writes: “City’s fail- helm. Jones said at the start of the take it on the chin.”
ure to reach the play-offs season that the play-offs had to be ■ Don’t miss Gilo’s brilliant column in
leaves me stunned. achieved and he has failed in that. our 12-page sport pullout
“The history between “He should fall on his sword rather
me and Dave Jones is than wait for the decision to be taken
well documented and it out of his hands.
would be easy for me to “It's the start of a new era at a new
just be personal about stadium in only a matter of weeks and
my response to this. I believe it is time we wiped the slate
“Please believe clean and went into it with a new man
me, that is not the in charge.
case. Putting the “The fans deserved so much better
club first, as I have than they have received.”
always done in com- But Jones is adamant he is going Price: 47p
menting on their for- nowhere and is focusing on the future
IS IT BUT AT
TIME LEAST
FOR CARDIFF
JONES DID WIN
TO GO? SOMETHING
SPORT SPORT

BLUE MONDAY
Monday, May 24, 2010 Wales 49p

Players and fans left shattered by heartbreaking play-off defeat

■ Nine pages of fans’ agony and ecstasy PLUS 12-page Wembley sport special

Wednesday, 18 August, 2010
YES! BELLAMY
IS A BLUEBIRD
It’s the transfer coup of
century for ecstatic City
CRAIG BELLAMY put pen to
paper with Cardiff City and
roared: “With the players at this
club, we can really push for the
Premier League.”
The Bluebirds pulled off the
biggest transfer capture in their
history when they persuaded Bel-
lamy to ignore the lure from
top-flight clubs and sign for his
hometown team instead.
Bellamy’s decision to join on a
season’s loan, coupled with
Cardiff’s capture of Jason Koumas,
has given a new buzz to the
cash-hit Bluebirds as they look to
make up for May’s Wembley tor-
ture against Blackpool.
Tottenham, who played in the
Uefa Champions League last
night, Everton, Blackburn, Birm-
ingham, Fulham and Celtic were
amongst the glut of top clubs keen
to land Bellamy.
But the Wales skipper said:
“Once I explained to the other
team why I wanted to join Cardiff,
they understood my reasoning.
■ Craig Bellamy tries a City shirt for size in front of fans at the Cardif City
Stadium yesterday, after joining Jason Koumas (left) and Dave Jones (right)
Wales
Sponsored by
Paul Abbandonato
“After moving away from home
at the age of 15, it was time for me
to come home.
“I’ve always wanted to come
back and play for Cardiff, but I
wanted to come back at the top of
my game. I didn’t want to come
here and play the odd year when I
was past my best.
“Yes I’m dipping down into the
Championship, but hopefully it’s
only for a season. We’ve got the
players here to push for promotion
to the Premier League and, fingers
crossed, we will achieve that.
“It will be huge for Welsh foot-
ball if we can get Cardiff up into
the top flight. The knock-on effect,
in terms of youngsters here seeing
the greatest players in the country
week in, week out, would enable
our club game to really kick on.
“And I guarantee that if it helps
our club football, it would help the
national team too.”
Echo Main Aug 18 10 49p ISSN:1479-2303
Price: 49p
 Official sponsors of
the Cardiff Devils
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Sponsored by
Wales
‘JET’ targeting a dream Lennie: Title is Halfpenny
double for Bluebirds now out of reach reveals Six
and Gunners 38&39
Pages
for Cardiff Page 39 Nations pain

DON’T WRECK
LEIGH Halfpenny shed tears after
being stretchered out of Wales
training and missing the Six
Nations opener with England.
“I just broke down in tears. It
was absolute devastation because
I had put in so much hard work,

OUR DREAM
put in a couple of good
performances for the Blues and
had a couple of man-of-the-match
awards,” he said.
But, after making a speedy
recovery, he’s bubbling with
enthusiasm following a
scintillating display for the Blues
during their Magners League
success at Edinburgh last
weekend.

Bluebirds’ boss Jones

And the 22-year-old winger is
desperate to reclaim a place in the
■ Cardiff boss Dave
Wales starting line-up for
Jones has hit out at
Saturday’s big clash with Ireland
the vocal minority

sends a message to
at the Millennium Stadium.
“It’s up to me to try and do what
I can to put my hand up to the
selectors,” he said.

the City ‘boo-boys’ Wales coach Warren Gatland has

resisted the temptation to call up
fit-again tighthead prop Adam
Jones and powerhouse wing
DAVE Jones has warned the Blue- George North.
Steve Tucker But he has summoned 38-times
birds’ ‘boo-boys’ are in danger of
wrecking Cardiff City’s Premier- capped Huw Bennett with doubts
ship dream. telling you that will transmit to the concerning the fitness of skipper
After Cardiff slumped to a 2-0 players and there’s nothing you can Matthew Rees (hamstring) and his
defeat against Ipswich on Saturday do to stop it. hooking under-study Richard
disgruntled home supporters “Our players could not under- Hibbard (shoulder).
hurled insults and jeers at Jones stand it. There are also fitness concerns
and his men. “If we had played poorly against over outside-half, centre or
With City heading to Crystal Ipswich and lost then fine, but to full-back James Hook (calf), No.8
Palace tonight, Jones has warned play well and come away with noth- Ryan Jones (calf) and winger
the Cardiff faithful to get behind ing was disappointing. Even Bar- Morgan Stoddart (shoulder) while
the team or risk making the Blue- celona lose now and again. reserve back-row or lock Jonathan
birds’ players nervous. “There were one or two people Thomas has a dead leg. His
“The last thing we need is to go having a right pop. condition will be assessed on
somewhere and have the crowd on “The players are trying their best Thursday.
people’s backs,” he said. and you just have to stick with
“It means people get nervous and
don’t want to be free.
them because booing them won’t
help the cause.” Rees ready to
boost Blues
“We are fully focused on trying to Jones will be sticking with Jay
get out of this division and we are in Bothroyd tonight, but admits the
with a fantastic shout, although striker needs a goal to boost his
that doesn’t seem to be enough for confidence.
some people. Bothroyd remains Cardiff’s top PAGES 34&35
“There were certain people boo- scorer with 17 goals, but hasn’t
ing on Saturday. They were even found the net in seven games and Echo Main Mar 08 11 49p ISSN:1479-2303
booing at half-time because we has only scored twice since his
were 0-0. These people must have England call-up last November.
seen some unbelievable football at Jones added: “He needs that con-
this club in the past. fidence boost to pick him up, but
“That is nerves, I wouldn’t even he’s our leading goalscorer and he’s
say it was frustration, and I’m always likely to do something.”

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THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Lambert is not
getting carried Enough is enough, Jones
must be shown the door
away just yet
NORWICH manager missal of Brian Laws
Paul Lambert remains with a 4-2 victory over
reluctant to discuss his Sheffield United, and

side’s promotion pro-
spects despite their
lofty position in the
Championship table.
A 1-0 win over leaders
QPR on Saturday, cour-
tesy of Russell Martin’s
early strike, saw the Ca-
naries climb to third
and within four points
of the summit.
It marked a third suc-
cessive win for Nor-
wich, but, although
Lambert was happy
with the result, he still
fears being dragged
back down the stand-
ings.
“My target is still sur-
vival,” he said. “If we
can achieve that in this
league, then hopefully I
will be in a job for a
little bit longer.
“Don’t ask me about
promotion now. Try
again in May and I
might be able to give
you an answer.
“All the lads were
brilliant for me, though,
and I couldn’t have
asked any more of
them. It was an excel-
lent performance.”
Preston caretaker
manager David Un-
sworth was still able to
Nathan
interim boss Stuart
Gray was pleased to
have the crowd on side
for the performance.
“Obviously, on the
back of the disappoint-
ment of Brian (Laws)
and Russ (Wilcox) los-
Blake
Tells it straight
ing their jobs, then go-
ing 1-0 down, I thought IT is time for Dave Jones to be
the crowd was fantast- released as Cardiff City manager.
ic,” Gray said. That is quite a hard thing for me to
“They stayed with us write, but when I look at recent
and got the players go- results, culminating with that awful
ing.” defeat at Bristol City, then you have
The managerial to say enough is enough.
merry-go-round contin- We keep hearing about a blip in the
ued on Saturday with Bluebirds’ form, but what is hap-
George Burley getting pening currently is not a blip. It is
the axe following Crys- something far more serious than
tal Palace’s 3-0 loss at that.
Millwall. A month ago when people were
Palace are just one calling for his head I was urging calm
place off the foot of the and for more time for Dave to turn
table, but their oppon- things around, but I truly believe that
ents are now one point time has run out.
behind the play-off Talk of bad runs and dips of form
spots and Lions man- and of how Cardiff are still well
ager Kenny Jackett is placed in the division are just not
aiming high. going to cut it any more, I’m afraid.
“The play-offs were Being told to ‘stick together’ and
always a target,” he ‘not to panic’ well, it’s too late for that
said. too.
“We talked at the ■ Jon Parkin, pictured I have been saying for weeks now
start of the year to get a getting the better of Mark there is a big problem within the
foothold in the division, Hudson, is looking forward Cardiff squad, a disharmony amongst
seeing if we could com- to a promotion challenge the ranks which is causing problems
pete and I am pleased with the Bluebirds on the pitch.
to see where we are, but I don’t need to be told this is not the

Parkin lined up for

take positives from his
side’s 2-1 loss at Derby,
although they remain
three points adrift at
the foot of the table.
A second-half brace
we have to keep work- case because I can see it with my own
ing hard and keep our eyes.
feet on the floor.” To hear this constantly denied by
Scunthorpe also re- Dave is unacceptable too. I would
main in the drop zone have a lot more respect for the man if
after their 3-0 drubbing he came out and admitted the prob-

slot against Stoke

from Chris Porter put
Derby 2-0 up, before
Callum Davidson
scored a late penalty.
Unsworth, who took
the reins following the
sacking of Darren Fer-
guson in midweek, said:
“Derby are a decent
team, I thought we ac-
quitted ourselves well.
“I asked for a game
full of passion and de-
sire, to get on the front
foot and give me
everything they’ve got,
and they certainly did
that.”
Burnley’s players re-
sponded to the dis-
■ Leeds United’s Luciano Becchio is challenged by
Middlesbrough’s Nicky Bailey
at Doncaster, while
Middlesbrough are two
points better off follow-
ing the 1-1 draw at
Leeds.
Leicester enjoyed
only their third away
win of the season with a JON Parkin, Cardiff City’s first
1-0 result at Hull, new signing of the January trans-
Swansea beat Reading fer window, is likely to make his
by the same scoreline debut against Stoke City in the FA
and Watford beat Ports- Cup.
mouth 3-0. Centre-forward Parkin is now a
Strugglers Ipswich Bluebirds player and will chal-
held Coventry 1-1 and lenge Jay Bothroyd to lead the
Nottingham Forest ex- Bluebirds attack.
tended their unbeaten Bothroyd is expected to be back
home run to 31 league in action during tomorrow’s
games with a 2-2 draw Championship clash with Leeds
against Barnsley. United at Cardiff City Stadium,
while Parkin is likely to be ruled
out by an ankle injury.
The problem was revealed by
Preston North End chairman
Maurice Lindsay, but it’s not a
serious problem and Parkin is
likely to face Stoke City at the
Britannia Stadium.
“I had a call from Cardiff City on
Thursday and it took scarcely any
time to decide,” said Parkin.
“Cardiff City are a massive
club.”
The Bluebirds were delighted to
sign Parkin and fill a gap which
has long been a problem because
they have not had an influential
back-up for Bothroyd. Parkin and
Terry Phillips
Bothroyd will battle it out for the
starting place.
The pair were at Stoke City
together and Parkin told Cardiff
City Player: “I had time with Jay
at Stoke City and hopefully,
between us, we can score a few
goals for the Bluebirds.
“Everything is set up at Cardiff
City for promotion and I want to
be part of that.”
Jones had asked about
Leicester City striker Steve
Howard, but that deal was
blocked by the Midlands club,
who don’t want to let him go.
Parkin is the first signing for
Cardiff City this month, but Jones
wants more and has suggested
there could be ‘four or five’ new
players.
Jones missed out on a bid for
centre-half Andy O’Brien. The big
stopper came to South Wales for
talks at Cardiff City Stadium, but
later decided to stick with Leeds
United. Bolton Wanderers de-
fender O’Brien has been playing
on loan for Cardiff’s Champion-
ship rivals Leeds and his last ap-
pearance under that deal is
against the Bluebirds tomorrow.
He will play in that game before
signing a long-term contract for
Leeds.
Jones has also been keen on
Everton striker James Vaughan
and Newcastle United winger
Wayne Routledge, among others.
City have agreed personal terms
with Vaughan, who was expecting
to sign for Cardiff.
There has been a delay because
Cardiff and Everton have not yet
been able to agree on a fee,
around £1m, and how it should be
paid.
Routledge would love a second
spell with Cardiff City, but they
are unlikely to pay the £2m fee
wanted by Newcastle United.
Unless that fee is lowered it
seems unlikely Routledge will be
returning to South Wales.
New striker Parkin scored in the
6-0 Preston North End win two
seasons ago against Cardiff which
did so much to shatter the Blue-
birds’ promotion dreams, while he
was involved in a dramatic match
against Leeds United, who are at
Cardiff City Stadium tomorrow,
this season.
“That was quite a game because
we were 4-1 down and came out
6-4 winners,” said Parkin, who
scored a hat-trick and was de-
scribed by then Preston manager
Darren Ferguson as ‘unplayable’.
“The Leeds defenders couldn’t
handle Jon,” said Ferguson. “He is
technically an excellent player.”
City have paid a £100,000 fee for
Parkin, a 29-year-old, 6ft 4in
striker, who started his career
with home-town team Barnsley.
Parkin has signed a contract
which takes him through to the
end of this season and on to 2013.
He has also played for Hartlepool
United, York City, Macclesfield
Town, Hull City and Stoke City.
His career started in defence,
but he moved forward to build a
career as a centre-forward.
Parkin has netted seven goals in
16 starts for Preston this season,
while he has earned six book-
ings.
lems – we don’t need to know details
– and then assured everyone that he
was doing his utmost to put things
right.
It is this inability to actually focus
on the underlying problems that has
convinced me that Dave’s time at
Cardiff is up.
I know what goes on in dressing
rooms, I’ve been in plenty, I’ve been
in Dave Jones’ dressing room.
I know all too well how it operates.
One disillusioned player becomes
two then three, then five and six. I’ve
seen the signs.
We are constantly told that Dave
will be bringing in more players,
getting rid of others, but you can’t
deal with it like that. You can’t throw
money at it.
Bringing in more players now is
only likely to make the problem
worse. It has to be dealt with from
within and Dave, I’m afraid, seems
unable to do that.
Anyway, Cardiff’s position now,
even if they are in fifth place, is a real
worry.
I feared they might be swallowed
up by the chasing pack and that is
just what has happened.
When you look at the form of some
of the sides around them and chasing
them, Cardiff just cannot afford to
keep this run of poor results going.
The Cardiff City board need to act
decisively and they have to act fast.
The new manger must be given at
■ Cardiff manager Dave Jones, pictured shouting at his side during the 3-0 drubbing by Bristol City, has been given more than enough time to turn things around
least a fighting chance of stamping
his own authority on things.
Any new manager needs time to
operate within this month’s transfer
window. That would only be fair.
Then he has half a season to make
sure the Bluebirds are promoted to
the Premiership because I really
doubt they are going to get a better
chance than this.
People might find it strange to call
for a manager’s head when they are
riding high, but let’s face it, this is no
ordinary Cardiff squad this season.
The addition of the likes of Craig
Bellamy, Seyi Olofinjana and Jason
Koumas, on top of what Dave already
had, well there was really no room for
error.
Most certainly not the amount of
error we have seen from Cardiff over
the last two months anyway.
I tell you what, though. I have made
the call for Jones to be sacked, but I
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don’t think he will be.
I fear the way the Cardiff board is
set up at the moment means taking
the decision might prove too dif-
ficult.
You’ve got your local directors, but
the real power lies with chairman
Dato Chan Tien Ghee and, in par-
ticular, Vincent Tan.
I actually believe they may be too
far removed from the action, from the
groundswell of feeling, to make the
right move before it is too late.
And, believe me, if Jones is not
removed soon, they will need to come
out and totally back him until the end
of the season because soon they will ■ Gethin Jenkins, pictured right when Craig Bellamy signed for the Bluebirds,
find it is too late. does not have the experience to deal with the Dave Jones situation
I don’t think chief executive Gethin
Jenkins has the experience to deal going on now. from Preston and you really don’t
with the situation either. Football is like swimming with allow that from a manager you plan
He has only been there five minutes sharks, rugby is like swimming with on showing the door any time soon.
and he really is a rugby man. That is dolphins – they don’t bite! I think Dave might be given the
not adequate preparation for what is But perhaps the clearest indication chance to lead the Bluebirds through
that the Cardiff board plan to stick by to the end of this vital season.
Jones is the fact they have already There are plenty of people out
allowed him to make his first signing there who will agree with this de-
in the transfer window. cision. I respect that view, but it is not
Jon Parkin has been brought in one I share.

4 South Wales Echo Monday, 3 January, 2011 Monday, 3 January, 2011 South Wales Echo 5