For I Am Ten Again : Cardiff City Vs West Ham Part Two: When Reality Bites

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So I'm here. The Cardiff City Stadium. It's about half past one. Wife has dropped me off. I'm still ten.

There is a small crowd by the players entrance. Cardiff City players are signing copies of the match programme. They go in. Soon the West Ham coach arrives. One of the first people to get out is the manager Manuel Pellegrini with a look that suggests he wasn't comfortable with the journey and moves swiftly into the players entrance. Then there is a pause, then another bunch of players emerge. Then another pause and a final group get out.

That's the back of West Ham captain's Mark Noble's head going into the Players Entrance. I can sure take a picture

I go to the gift store just to buy a few things for daughter and the matchday programme for myself. Their third strip ( a thing I hate. Just another way to fleece the fans) is on sale for £10. I was tempted to buy one for her as well but thought better of it. Until this year you would have thought it just the luminous colour of motorway maintenance which is bad enough. Now it would be also mistaken for right wing protesters in Britain and would be liable to have you attacked by French gendarmerie as part of the gilets jaune .

Gift Shopping

Eventually I get inside. I walk to my block. Past the betting kiosks and screens showing the early match Crystal Palace vs Brighton and make my way to my seat.

Bluebird Country

The players come onto the pitch. the West Ham fans are in the next block to me and sing Bubbles the theme song. Unquestionably the most realistic of all football anthems. Nothing says the agony of being a fan than the line "Fortune's always hiding. I've looked everywhere".

It would appear though that the Cardiff City DJ was ready for them. The moment Bubbles was finished immediately Men Of Harlech comes on the tannoy. Most of the crowd (including me - remember I'm a quiet hammer surrounded by Bluebirds) stand up. When that finishes the West Ham block begins singing God Save The Queen and then shouting "Engerland". Whatever the next ninety minutes or so was going to be a lesson in diplomacy was not one of them.

The West Ham block is to the left of this photo 

It was noticeable that there were some (not many) empty seats in the stadium. Mainly though for the most expensive seats contrary to what I thought earlier. My suspicion was that they were season tickets who decided to watch Scotland vs Wales which was being played at roughly the same time. However the ground was mainly full showing again that the awe of the international rugby game is not what it was, though still powerful.

The match begins

It was the fourth minute, the fourth minute you understand when Hoilett scored a goal at the near post. Cardiff City were ahead. Whatever I expected from this game Cardiff City scoring that early was not one of them.

Of course I clapped alongside the Bluebirds surrounding me but to  misquote Smokey Robinson if you took a good look at my face you'd see a smile that looked out of place.

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN. YOU'RE GOING DOWN. YOU'RE GOING DOOOWN" chants the West Ham block of fans. Whether true or not only time will tell but timing wise it smacked of sour grapes.

"ONE NIL AND YOU STILL CAN'T SING"
This goaded the guy in front of me to stand up, swear, give the finger and say things that google would ban me for. The bit I was bothered with was the standing up, given that he was spoiling my view of the game. He moved from his spot during the game. But late in the second half a group of stewards took him forcibly away from where he'd moved to.

And throughout the first half Cardiff City showed an energy and commitment seemingly absent from the last few games. In contrast West Ham only seemed to get their bearings in the last few minutes.

I had begun to notice that the guy sitting next to me was also a quiet West Ham fan amongst the Bluebirds. Clapping at the very rare West Ham attacks on the Cardiff goal. Thankfully for him not so loud as to be truly noticeable by the Welsh around him.

One-nil then to Cardiff City at the first half.

Come the second half , early in the second half, Cardiff City score again. Camarasa edging the ball passed the West Ham goalkeeper Fabianski (booed constantly - being ex Swansea City - worth noting though he stopped it being three nil soon after).

The Cardiff City fans truly began singing now. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN (etc) " was said in response again, as was bubbles. But we all really knew whose afternoon it was then.

More Action

West Ham were disappointing. They really only had two real chances. The most dramatic bring the Declan Rice shot that hit the post. Cardiff City had the greater passion. They had a purpose.

A disappointingly rare second half attack from West Ham

Perhaps Pellegrini had underestimated the Cardiff manager Neil Warnock (whose book when manager of QPR I've chatted about in this blog). What was clear was that Warnock had done his homework. He was the one who earned his wages this afternoon.

Two nil then is how the match ended. I came into the ground a ten year old boy. I existed back to my fifty five year old self. Disappointed as I am Cardiff were the better team and genuinely as I said in my previous post I hope they hang on in the Premier League. This result, as the music from the Bee Gees confirmed as I went out, that they were staying alive.

Some people later asked me whether at least I was happy to have seen the game anyway.
Of course not.
My team lost.
Reality Bites.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post: Nearly Halloween Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well it's 5:22am as I'm starting to write this. Though I actually was awake at 4:30. Tried to sleep but as it's a Saturday where I'm not working insomnia made sure I was up. It can be cruel like that.

Outside through the darkness it seems to be clear. It's also colder. I'm hearing rumours at work of the possibility of snow in the next few weeks. Hope not. March showed how much I hate the white stuff it settles.

Halloween soon. You can tell that by the decorations of the remaining shops left in the high street. Can't say I really care either way. Something to be tolerated I think.

Except that is a word about Pumpkins. One they really aren't that tasty. And Two when you put the leftovers in a food caddy it stinks.

I mean if it wasn't to gut out, put a creepy face on it and a candle within would people really eat pumpkins.....really?

I'm not going to bore you today about the contest to be the next Labour party leader in Wales and therefore the next First Minister except to say one thing. All three candidates have vision of running Wales different to the previous nine years. And whilst their visions are equally flawed and tied to Labour head office in London the fact that they all seem to move away from the way Carwyn Jones has led during that period is surely the ultimate confirmation that his leadership has been a failure.

Rather like Blair the power of the painting in the attic has long since gone.

Here's an interesting one. Have read about Kiera Knightley banning her daughter from watching Cinderella because it implies that for women to get out of a bad situation (and note in the case of Cinderella the villains are women) she needs the help of a man.

Thinking about it whilst it's a pipe dream that some day a royal prince would come (and think of the awful life of despair, drudgery and probable suicide if the story hadn't worked out the way it did) of course it was a woman, the fairy godmother, who started the process of freeing Cinderella from the life her stepmother and stepsisters had imprisoned her to.

And of course there's the Saturday Night question in these months. "Will I watch Match Of The Day tonight?" Of course it all depends on how West Ham do. Currently the season seems to be two steps forward and one step back. Hopefully West ham will beat Spurs today. It would be typical Hammers after losing to Brighton a few weeks back.

It's 7:22am....calling on shepherds....including Ms Grey from a few posts ago. It's a red sky out there.

Random thought. Have worn glasses since seven and will continue until my dying day. Don't like the idea of laser surgery in case it goes wrong and as for contact lenses, well it's like insering double glazing into your eyes.

Anyway time to say goodbye for today.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post: Dark Early Mornings Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The thing about the long dark nights and the equivalent  mornings is twofold. On the one hand when the insomniac within you wakes up there is less chance of guessing the time that when it's British summertime. Because you could make a guess based on the faintest hint of dawn.

Today I couldn't. Which made it more of a shock to discover it was 3:47am in the morning.

Of course the longer darkness also means another year is almost approaching it's final corner. And whilst there are still ambitions in my life, it also means that another moment will soon be crossed off the length of time I've left to achieve them.

Have just realised that it's not only dark but it's also raining. Which I can tell from the sounds outside. Yes I think we can all agree summer is practically over.

Working the afternoon/evening shift means that sometimes you don't really catch the day's news until the next morning. I didn't realise West Ham played Friday night. From a disastrous start they have improved in the past couple of weeks. However last night they played Brighton and lost (echoes of last year). Two steps forward one step back.

I've learnt on Twitter that supermarket chain Iceland are promoting Christmas tree flavoured crisps. My first reaction is to say what?
My second is to repeat what I said last year. Whilst there are many things I don't like about Christmas as I get older, the biggest by far is the idea of Christmas before December.
I don't want to know about Christmas before then!!!

My daughter calls me a Grinch. I explain that the Grinch did not try to steal Christmas as until this season he was too busy managing Arsenal.

Plaid Cymru news. Adam Price has put Welsh independence on the news agenda to such a level that UK media has noticed it. This is a good thing and should be welcomed. Once independence is in people's thoughts, it would not be easy to shake it off . As Scotland has proved.

You may remember a few months back that I chatted about Simon Thomas. The Plaid Cymru AM who had to resign after being arrested by the police. Well I'll chat properly when he's sentenced. But he's pleaded guilty to making 600 indecent images and videos of children (150 apparently in the "highest category" of illegal images)

So I'll say this now. Making one indecent image/video is shocking/despicable enough. Now multiply how disgusted you'd feel by six hundred.

Personally the authorities should not throw the book at Mr Thomas as punishment.

They should go for the whole library.

Until the next time.

Why Being A West Ham Fan Living In Wales And Working An Afternoon Evening Shift May Be The Best Thing Right Now

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So yesterday I was working the afternoon evening shift at work. Didn't to be honest have much thoughts about anything except just making sure I did my job and looking at the weather outside. I'd thought from the forecast I saw that Friday was going to be the calm before the storm....literally. That storm's name was Brian and apparently he was coming in the next day.

(What a name for Storm eh? Brian. Suggests that it will come in and reek havoc whilst discussing train timetables and wearing slippers)

As it happened Friday night weather wise wasn't that great either. Rain and wind with skies that darkened early. It was the gale before the storm.

And work was well, work. Left at around ten. The journey back to the apartment, which would normally take me thirty minutes took longer because the roads were treacherous due to the rain. Eventually though I made it. Wife/daughter were asleep (Daughter asleep? On a Friday? Is she unwell? Thankfully not).

I get out my Kindle tablet open the Alexa app and ask for a "flash briefing" which is Amazon's flash term for news headlines. Essentially then Theresa May is quite close to begging the EU to move quicker whilst at the same time slowly backing away from the hard line she originally gave. The Prime Minister really is incompetent wrapped in a professional wrapping.

Then I ask for a "Sports Update". I'd been speaking to a Swansea City fan that evening and had realised was unaware who West Ham were playing that weekend.

Well West Ham were not playing anyone during the weekend.
They had already played that evening.
They played Brighton...at home.....
,,,,and had lost three nil!!!

To lose at home is bad enough, to lose against a team that you should have at beaten is worse but to lose at home against a team that you should have beaten by three goals is just beyond. Is this the same Slaven Bilic who just two seasons ago had led us into Europe? Have West Ham just decided to go for a similar Brexit from the Premiership? For it does appear from a distance that way.

What is happening?

I am saved the smug comments from Arsenal fans had I still been living in London. Though for those who know me here in South Wales I'm probably the only West Ham fan they know. Have to prepare for that.

Still even from this distance I still feel the embarrassment and yes the shame. For just like Brexit the cliff edge of relegation is appearing and no one seems to know how to stop it.

Something has got to be done, quickly as well.

Until the next time.

Leyton Orient From A Distance

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I know that I haven't mentioned sports a lot in this blog recently, as most of my spare time has been spent on the agonies and ecstasies of moving house (scrub that, just the agonies).

But there was a piece of news I heard yesterday that cannot go uncommented. After one hundred and twelve years Leyton Orient have been relegated from the Football League.

As explained previously though I'm a West Ham fan there are a group of clubs such as Cardiff, Swansea and Newport County that I consider friends. The best way to describe my attitude to these teams is like being very friendly with a woman but not having an affair as you're faithful to your wife.

But by far the oldest team in this group is Leyton Orient.

When I was much, much younger and the Hammers were playing far away I would travel down the central line from Redbridge to Leyton tube station, walk to Brisbane Road and watch a game. And you know, even if it's from the misty fog of nostalgia can't ever recall a game that was dull.

O's fans had a different sense of humour as well. I can remember a game in the eighties (can't give precise details, the programme having been boxed/crated) against Brighton. It's the first half and the Brighton player Steve Foster was sent off for a dangerous tackle. The away fans at the far end of the ground from me were furious. Screaming blue murder at the decision. The Home fans seemed content enough to do nothing but cheer until half time.

However once the ref blew his whistle the Brighton fans increased their hostile roars against him. The Orient fans? As he was approaching the tunnel they stood up and gave the man a standing ovation.

Brighton now promoted to the Premier League. Orient now relegated from the Football League. There are many twists and turns in football. It can provide joy but also can be cruel to those who don't deserve it.

I mentioned in September that in late nineties took my then girlfriend (and now wife) to watch a match where they faced the Welsh team Merthyr Tydfil in an FA Cup third round match. So it's even been used to help me court her. So thank you for that.

But of course they've never had it easy. Living under the shadow of the bigger London clubs, and particularly West Ham meant that they would always have pressure with regard to support. I support West Ham because it's the closest team to where I was born but am always annoyed by people living by me who supported Arsenal (Man Utd etc) because it was the more successful club so can understand Orient fans' annoyance. And when West Ham won the battle to move into the Olympic Stadium there was a lot of focus on Tottenham's failed attempt to do. But Spurs were just being North London chancers. Leyton Orient was more affected by this move and to me from a distance here in Wales seems to have been ignored by the London authority.

With the exact science that is hindsight the match I saw in September was a shape of things to come. At that time the O's were in top half of the table and their opponents Yeovil Town were at the bottom. But despite what the table standings would have suggested beforehand and that the home team were basically the better side, Yeovil had but one clear opportunity to score and they took it.

But it's what happened after the defeat that I'll always remember. When the Orient fans shouted their protests at the emperor Nero of an owner and he seemed to have waved their concerns away with cold disdain from an executive box. His look at that moment is one I'll never forget, seeming to have viewed the fans as if they were peasants.

It since then it's got much worse. A succession of defeats and indeed managers have led them to the relegation they have to deal with today. But you could argue that off the field the situation is even more worrying. A winding up order due to unpaid debts is hanging over the club and staff haven't been paid since March which they issued a statement about saying that they've had no communication about this from club directors. A situation that goes beyond sad. Tragic is the closest word I can think of.

The attitude of the owner is beyond comprehension. At best it seems to be Nero fiddling whilst Rome burns. At worst the thoughts turn much darker but I don't feel expert enough to discuss it here. I would suggest downloading the Orient Outlook (the best one club podcast I know) when it next comes out to hear the opinions of its more knowledgeable presenters. It'll be a sad listen but an important one for all fans of football.

Leyton Orient. In a hospital bed fighting to stay alive. For what it's worth I hope you'll pull through.

Until the next time.