The Blurst of Times

It is the blurst of times. The word 'meh' is perhaps the best way to describe it.
 

This week's TTFE-L game has given me some real food for thought. To summarise, we conceded against the run of play, then went 3 goals down, strewn chance after chance and were humbled by a side we beat 12-2 in a reverse fixture. Losing 3-1, it was a match which could have unearthed as many footballing cliches as a Mick McCarthy post match interview, but above all we just didn't take our chances.

Games like these should make it think that some teams, maybe all, just have a bad day at the office. But maybe I delude myself in thinking that we are often better than we are, or perhaps, I am better than what I am. We all make mistakes - but I often think I don't learn from them enough and that is what is most important (great, another cliche).

Were we bad? Perhaps. We should be playing better with a full squad against a bare five side and now we've had a while to gel, teething problems are no excuse. It was a far cry from last week, summed up nicely by Riv (and honestly, it isn't because of the kudos I got). Is it OTT to say this result was a backward step?

I think above all, games like these often make me think about the performance too much. When I go on a gut feeling and strip the result from the equation, the lads put in a good shift. The thoughts after the game seemed to sum up just that. I just can't decide whether the result was good or bad really, avoiding the obvious nature of a loss denoting some kind of negativity. It's just meh.

Kind of the way I feel about Copenhagen too which starts tomorrow. I really can't get excited about it, nor think of it as some kind of lost cause just yet. It certainly has relevance for raising the issue of climate change, in fact it should actually do something about it. But I just can't muster the enthusaism to think it will actually do anything at all useful. It feels almost like the last roll of the dice on a global scale and I hope it wont be just another giant white elephant gesture just like Kyoto. Meh. 

"Kiss more babies"

I've returned. But for how long? Only time will tell. I decided that the old blog needed some loving and so here you go - One Man One Struggle in all its glory.

To kick off proceedings, I guess I better I blow off some of the cobwebs. So here, for the first time for your pleasure, is an draft of a post-in-progress from over 8 months ago. Enjoy!

Easter's been a hoot. Four days off to recharge the ole' batteries, four days to actually chill out for a change! Not to mention the new episodes of Red Dwarf, Doctor Who and huge helpings of The Wire to catch up on recorded on the Sky+ box. Therefore you can probably deduce that the majority of my Easter has been spent inside and not in this glorious weather that we're having!

But that isn't to say I have been cooped up all the time. I did manage to see some Blues Brothers impersonators at the Lyndon club last night who could have sharpened up their act a bit, but they did belt out the regular hits like 'Everybody Needs Somebody to Love' and 'Gimme Some Lovin'. The moves were pretty flash, but they didn't give the late John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd any real justice.

I also went to the City game today where the Bluebirds emerged 3-1 winners over fellow play-off rivals Burnley. They played much better after the break, which is really fortunate because they were crashing the gears in the first half - but now it looks like I get to see my last City game at Ninian Park and thankfully it was a win to remember! I'm looking forward to the new stadium now but I really hope that it can grab some of that hostility that the Ninian created - like today's 19-odd thousand demonstrated to our Northern opponents. Although it's an neccesity to have a new all seater stadium for a Premiership-chasing club, I fear we could lose the cauldron effect that made our home 'Fortress Ninian'. I guess it's up to the fans to turn up en masse and keep singing.

On the subject of singing and songs in general, I turn to my love for Spotify, which is the fab new online stream music player that has made me feel like the proverbial 'kid in a candy store'. Spotify is great because it allows you lots of freedom in listening to online-streamed music by searching a sizable database for your fave songs which rarely disappoints. Of course you don't own the music - but it's free and you can save the songs on playlists.

As you can guess.. I never got around to finishing it... story of my life.

Standing in Leckwith

It could be anywhere in the world. But for many Cardiffians, this giant metal structure is most definitely the building site which sits at Leckwith. The new stadium, which will host Cardiff City FC football matches and Cardiff Blues rugby games from next season, is the coming along quite nicely - even if the surrounding road network is being completely recovered in layer upon layer of asphalt, causing commuters to dive through traffic cones every morning and night.

By looking at it properly today and actually being within 100m of what could be the ground's away fan section, it is finally becoming a reality after all the political infighting, financial wrangling and pie-in-the-skyism we City fans had to endure. As you can probably tell I was standing in what will be the retail park; the necessity which provided the start up capital for the stadium. To my surprise, I was curious to see that one store is already up and running - Costco.

Ah Costco. As I entered the sliding doors for the first time and witnessed the gargantuan open space of hoverboats, jacuzzis and other seemingly exclusive stuff, I was told that after an initial tour around 90% of people sign up as Costco members immediately. Oooh I thought - I guess I could have even signed up on behalf of my organisation (my 5-a-side football team of course). But after the golden tour of personal wandering, maybe the credit crunch was seriously affecting the wholesale price of Edam cheese or Wychwood beer, because I certainly didn't feel compelled to sign. This was one time where my curiosity could have been fine tuned to find something a bit more interesting.

It soon occurred to me that there was something else which bothered me about the place. Mainly the fact that it looked like thousands of square feet upon square feet of captured Manifest Destiny, complete with Chicago's Finest Beef Hot Dogs and specialist department signs which cry out to be spelt 'Center'. I wouldn't be surprised if a guy in an Uncle Sam suit wanted 'me' to try out some new Aunt Dixie's apple pie, to which the feeling of Americana would then be complete. As I walked passed the 'Photo Centre', I was reminded of the Walmart I went to in Mexico last year. Despite the jaw-dropping price deals and excellent variety of choice, Walmart has a certain quality which makes it seem extremely cold and alien - that it is distinctively American, no matter where it appears on Planet Earth. But then again I could be wrong - after all, it is a wholesale store designed purely for businesses not families on their weekly shop.

As a City fan I am overjoyed that the stadium shell stands proudly over the Leckwith wasteland. Yet I ask myself as retail park after retail park is being erected, can it be done any other way?

Going down

On the same day in which Fulham completed their great escape from the perils of Premiership demotion, the hope remained that a small amateur 5-a-side team from Cardiff could do the same. Football and fate however, are not necessarily willing bedfellows.

Tonight my beleaguered TTFE team suffered a second consecutive relegation after a 2-2 draw was not enough to keep away the jaws of doom. My knee bleeds from a broken scab, my throat sore from incessant shouting and my heart firmly on my sleeve. I still ask myself - why do I care so much?!

I wish I knew. I guess when it comes down to it, I love to be the underdog and win against the odds. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, the reward is ever so sweet. And with such hope, it can be a great thing to be an optimist. But now that hope is dashed I feel really deflated. Crushed. Tired. Rueful.

We didn't help ourselves all season with some shoddy performances and we didn't help ourselves tonight in a game which did not have any spark or vigour seen in the title winning campaign only last Autumn. I'm not going to go into the reason why we have dropped from Division Three to Five quicker than you can say 'offside', but as a trusty blog, I reserve the right to have a good moan about it. So here you are.

Sing for Cardiff - or Wales?

Yes another football post from me and also another about my beloved Cardiff City, who have recently reached the FA Cup Final for the first time in 81 years. What can I say- these are exciting times for Bluebird fans!

So Barnsley have become the latest to bite the sword of Dave Jones’s men after a nervy semi final at the Twin Towers of Wembley. We were all shaking like a leaf when Odejayi had that clear-cut chance at goal, but just as if the Lord had offered his own divine intervention, the Tykes hitman put the ball wide. It’s another trip to Wembley, another scramble for those ‘golden tickets’ and another chance for the young Welsh stars of Ledley and Ramsey to showcase their talents to audiences across the globe.

However, as my last post highlighted, this amazing cup run has also brought up new complications of nationalities and technicalities, which threaten to undermine the FA Cup’s rules and tradition. Europe is one thorny issue for the FA bigwigs to untangle, but now it is the turn of our own politicians to stir up another qualm at Lancaster Gate.

The latest episode in the FA Cup saga has been instigated by the Sports Minister for the Welsh Assembly Government, Rhodri Glyn Thomas, by calling for the Welsh national anthem to be played on FA Cup Final day with God Save the Queen.

The minister has stated: "I hope the FA is going to be sensible about things because there will be great disappointment in Wales if we're not allowed to sing the national anthem”. With little surprise, his view has been echoed by proud Welshmen and Welshwomen who would love to hear Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau to spur on Cardiff City into beating Premiership high-flyers Portsmouth.

The fact that City have made the final has truly added to what has been a great year already for Welsh sport; from the Grand Slam rugby heroes to the Swans earning their promotion to the Championship. There’s no denying its great to be Welsh right now.

Welsh or not, commentators from both sides of the border have played down the idea of the national anthem being played at Wembley on May 17. Gwyn Davies from the Valley Rams Supporters Club is among those against the idea, as well as the Western Mail’s Head of Sport, Paul Abbandonato. The latter of the two fears that two anthems will encourage booing from rival fans, which is not appropriate for such a prestigious day in the fixture list. Talk Sport presenter Mike Parry, who was clearly incensed by the idea, has rather foolishly and tactlessly stated that Thomas’s role in Wales could be adequately covered by sports counterpart Richard Caborn at Westminster; a comment which could be taken very much as a slur on Wales and it’s very political process. A comment that I certainly do not agree with.

However when it comes down to it, I have to agree that Mae Hen should play no part in the FA Cup Final. I fear that the more we dress up City’s run as uniquely a Welsh phenomenon, the more we jeopardise any chance of them becoming a top-rate club in the Premier League. I agree that City should go to Europe, but Cardiff have to face the facts and become ‘English’ to do that. I’m not saying we should ‘drop trou’ to the FA as it were, but just remember to abide by their rules in their league as the ‘invited guests’ we are. If that means that we should be respecting time-old FA Cup traditions by allowing certain anthems to be played, we have to accept that.

I believe that we stand on the abyss at the moment for Cardiff’s future in the Football League, as Cardiff need to play ball with the FA to ensure that they can observe all the privileges they can possibly deserve. As all this furore goes on over the FA Cup, in the background the FAW are looking at ways it can reform the Welsh Premier. It is likely now that the Welsh Premier will be split into two leagues of ten teams, to increase competitiveness and maintain the integrity of the league. This is a reaction to the previously unpopular idea of having Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham field reserve squads in the Welsh Premier to give them a chance of earning European qualification via the Welsh football pyramid. To sum up, the subject of the ‘Welsh Exile Limbo’ hasn’t gone unnoticed by the FAW.

The FA will also be monitoring this closely, as they will have to reconsider the status of the Welsh Exiles for the long term. But as we in Wales continue to play both ends against the middle by wanting English league status with Welsh perks to boot, we should tread with caution. It would be devastating if one day Cardiff did break into the Top Four only to be denied entry to the Champions League because we pissed off the FA about aspects like these just to assert our nationality when it isn’t needed.

To emphasise the argument from Davies and Abbandonato, this isn’t England V Wales – no matter how much that duality seems glaringly obvious. Cardiff V Portsmouth is not a clash of nations, but simply two teams who play within the English football league. Although the Welsh factor is certainly some zest to the final, this should be a day about Cardiff City – who reached the final at the expense of other Welsh clubs, such as Swansea, Wrexham, or even Merthyr Tydfil or Newport County.

It begs the question whether the fans of those Welsh sides will actually root for the Bluebirds or will remain faithful to the regional rivalries which are well-known in Welsh football. The majority of non-Cardiff fans I’m sure will be supporting the South Coast club when the day comes.

If I were lucky enough to get to Wembley, I would belt out Gwlad, Gwlad until my lungs gave out if it meant the lads would be fired up by it. But in all honesty, I’m sure Men of Harlech, the anthem of Ninian Park, would have a much better effect on the likes of McPhail and Co.. A Welsh song through and through, I have no doubt the 25,000 Bluebirds will be raising the roof with the words to that immortal City hymn (or by replacing them with da-da-da-da-da-City, as it usually goes). This day is for Cardiff – and the rest of Wales if they are willing to wear blue for 90 minutes.

Cardiff on the continent?

March 9th 2008 - Middlesbrough FC, UEFA Cup finalists of 2006, are given a masterclass by Cardiff City on their own patch and lose the opportunity to progress to the semi finals of the FA Cup. In this most strange of years in modern FA history, 3 out of 4 teams at the semi final stage - West Bromich Albion, Barnsley and Cardiff City - will come from the second tier of the English game. That guarantees at least one Championship side in the FA Cup Final this May.

1927 is a pretty important year for Cardiff fans. In what has been a brilliant FA Cup run in 2008, 1927 has once again become cliche - the year in which City became the first (and only) Welsh club to ever take the trophy out of England. Now with the 'Big Four' out of the way, City fans believe that they can win the world's oldest football competition and reap the rewards which come with it.

For you see, the Holy Grail of the FA Cup isn't just the right to play the Premier League champions in the Community Shield season opener, nor just the chance to carve themselves into FA Cup history. It is also the gateway into the new dimension of European competition in next season's UEFA Cup. That prospect must be exciting for Portsmouth, Barnsley and West Brom. However for Cardiff the latter prize would only be a pipe dream. Even if they stand victorious at Wembley with the Cup in their grasp, Cardiff would not be playing the likes of Fiorentina or Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup.

In what remains to a bizarre arrangement of national boundary, competitive fairness and strictly bound red-tape, the Welsh teams which ply their trade in the English game linger in limbo when it comes to European competition. The teams who are affected - Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham in the professional tiers and Newport County, Merthyr Tydfil and Colwyn Bay in the English non-league pyramid - are simply 'associated members' of the league and their participation is based upon the foundation of certain 'rules'. One of these rules is that they would not be able to represent the FA (or England) in European competition, as they are Welsh clubs who are under the jurisdiction of the FAW (the Welsh FA). Bit of a bummer really.

Now that Michel Platini, the UEFA kingpin, has decided to look at giving Cardiff special dispensation into Europe if they were to win the FA Cup, the FA have sprung into action by also guaranteeing a review into the matter. AS Monaco have rubbed shoulders with Man Utd in the Champions League in the past, yet they come from a principality even smaller than our own. Yet they play in Ligue 1 and have the chance to play in Europe as French representatives. So why can't Cardiff do the same?

If only it was that simple. Monaco doesn't have a national league - but ever since 1995, Wales has. Back in the day the likes of Cardiff and Swansea freely competed in Europe through winning the Welsh Cup. But when the Welsh Premier League was set up FIFA and the FA stated that only teams in that league could contend for places in Europe to represent Wales. Seeing that the six English league Welsh teams wanted to stay in the English league (whilst the likes of Barry Town and Bangor City went into the Welsh Premier) they were unable to play in the Welsh Cup as well, as they played in the English league and their own cups.

Thus, since 1995, the teams participating in Europe to represent Wales were purely from the Welsh football league system - not including the exiles of above six teams. And let's be fair - Welsh they maybe through and through, and although there is growing improvement from the Welsh Premier crop, they stand little chance of progressing very far in Europe.

It all seemed a bit silly, especially when back over the last 30-40 years the legality of European qualification was a headache for the teams who played in the Marches. Whilst the FA states that the 'Welsh exiles' can't play in Europe by winning their cups, we invited the likes of Shrewsbury and Hereford to compete in the Welsh Cup but because they were English; we refused them a route into Europe as a Welsh representative. This tat-for-tat has denied true winners of what is rightfully theirs for decades.

So what is a modern answer? Is there a way of giving true winners the rewards they deserve and transcend the boundary of Offa's Dyke?

Big Sam Hammam once said that he would make sure Cardiff City would play Barcelona one day in the Champions League in a golden era of the football club. I wonder how he was going to arrange that, considering that it was never possible under the rules! But that does bring up an important consideration if Cardiff and Swansea - who both look to be on the rise - do make it to the Premier League.

I might be optimistic, but I know one day a Welsh club like Cardiff or Swansea could be contending for a European place in the Premiership season after season. This legality would therefore keep cropping up and up and there is no doubt that with so much money to be had in the game today, the Welsh clubs will undoubtedly fight tooth and nail to get the European place they deserve. A solution should be found - even if it means they become 'English'.

It is clear that if City want to have the money and have the chance to play in Europe, they have to become an English club in the eyes of the FA and the world. This would mean being based in England. Chester City actually play their home games in Wales, whilst their offices are in England - but of course the Anglo-Welsh border does run through the city boundary.

As much as I would like the FAW to become stronger and have a league system just like our Celtic cousins up north, it is clear that the Exiles are a lost cause. The sooner we tidy up the techicalities of national origin, the sooner the Welsh exiles can get settled into the league they truly want to be a part of.

The future of football has arrived

The TTFE League team c.2006 pre-match at the Gol centre (left to right, Dale Thomas, Chris Phillips, Gareth Jenkins, James Pugh, bottom, Dave Weller). Taken from Chillout Central (thanks again Dale!)

Sunday mornings, dog mess littered everywhere, oranges in halves and quarters at half time and the occasional walker who stands to admire twenty-two men trying to emulate their idols. These are the things you associate with when you think of park football, a tradition which is as a British as the red telephone box. Yet football stands at a crossroads - evolving into something quite different. Today is the golden age of five-a-side football; a game which before was condemned to the school gym halls, the local leisure centres and the city arenas when Masters Football is in town. Now the roots of this game are embedding deeply into the very foundations of our society, creating a new craze for everyone to enjoy and a new niche market for entrepreneurs to exploit.

The discussion of this topic is brought on by the opening of the new Powerleague 5-a-side arena here in Cardiff later this month. Powerleague, a new chain which is slowly building its footballing empire across the country, claim to host the hottest and most modern football stadia around, trouncing the competition with its state-of-the-art pitches and plush sitting areas with a fully licenced bar. They will boast a massive nine pitches for general use and to host their own tournaments and leagues, not to mention that the latest in astroturf technology will be used in each. The brochure could wow any self-respecting football enthusiast. The leagues are open to all and anyone can set up their own team and compete against others in the hope of winning their own trophy.

This however is not a new idea. Leisure Leagues first came to Cardiff over five years ago and their arena has proved to be real success, opening up leagues on almost every day of the week. Gol opened their arena roughly two years ago and have tried to muscle in on the dominance of Leisure Leagues in Cardiff, by enticing teams to try out the new ground technology used by none other than Real Madrid. Other minor places have even tried to emulate the success of Leisure Leagues and Gol, but have so far failed to rival them. Now that Powerleague is on the scene, things in the 5-a-side market will undoubtedly get a little heated. With three major players in the city all crying out to host your teams, the race is on to see which one will be crowned champions and which one will be relegated into oblivion.

So why has this type of football proved to be so popular? Complete and utter convenience. By playing in a 5- a-side league you have control over the team, not some over-zealous coach who wants to relive his playing days in the dizzy heights of the WPL. You can pick the day you play on, you can pick which mates you want to play with and you can decide your own team name. Not many pub football sides can offer that type of freedom and flexibility. In some places, the commitment doesn't even have to be great - you can quit instantly and walk away if things go pear-shaped. You can start up teams with workmates, schoolmates, uni mates, family etc. and represent places of work, institutions and so on. With more people liking this idea of a more 'casual football' which fits easily into everyday twenty-first century life, it is easy to see why this type of football is inundated with requests of new teams very week. There seems to be no saturation point either at present.

It is also no surprise that this surge into football is so great, even here in the Welsh capital, the very centre of what is still classed as a rugby nation. Football, unlike rugby is a big market to tap into from any angle, whether it's selling scarves on Queen St. before a big clash in the Millennium Stadium, or even using tired old cliches and corny innuendo on gimmick t-shirts such as 'I like to score', 'have you seen my balls?' or 'back of the net'. Football, very much like sex, sells. It amazes me how much advertising is based on using some kind of football associated item to flog a shaver, a crate of beer, or even ethical issues such as the stamping out of bullying. Football is powerful - and the 5-a-side craze rides the wave of this hysteria in the media quite happily. The government's drive on keeping the nation fit also does the business many favours.

Which brings me onto the image of the 5-a-side football arena. The beauty of the industry is that it is incredibly two faced, but not in a deceitful way might I add. In one light, these arenas display themselves to be a service to the city, delivering facilities in sport which the council can only dream of. I know this because I play at the outdoor 5-a-side facilities Sophia Gardens every week and it fares very poorly to the pitches of Gol. Yet, they are primarily cold-hearted businesses, which does its utmost to blow the competition out of the water and increase profit margins. This latter point I have no problem with, but from the constant pressure which can placed upon slightly interested parties to sign up and leave their current league can be little unsettling. Business is business, just like football is proving to be nowadays, but when one place is egging you on to quit one arena for another you get an idea of 'cut throat' this industry is proving to be. Cut throat? I guess it is - in a world where one badly officiated game can give you doubts about the integrity of a venue, it is no wonder people tend to jump ship to find the fairer green.

Which of cause, means it is essential to grab punters and keep them. But it is even more important to pay the bills and in 5-a-side football, there is no denying that the whole business can be a fairly hefty financial venture. Consider the mass capital one must provide to create an arena and the facilities which accompany it. It quite simply must succeed quickly or face the wall if it has no real financial backing behind it. Llanishen Arena felt the pinch after it faced closure - failing to get the interest it needed to survive. Gol received a grant and both Leisure Leagues and Powerleague are safe as they are chain businesses. The mighty Powerleague is even sponsored by technology juggernaut Microsoft. As a result of this tremendous support, the economies of scale would soon kick in and I can imagine the rewards would be massive. With match fees around £21-£25 and the size of some of the leagues, on average around 24 teams paying each day you can do the math. Although it maybe expensive to maintain a football arena I find it hard to accept that these companies are making little profit. Powerleague will charge a £25 match fee here in Cardiff, but in other places in England they are known to reach the £40-£50 which again begs the question of who the real winner is in this game.

This post may seem like a vendetta against this new capitalistic breed. But on the contrary, I play regularly in both Leisure Leagues and Gol, and will soon be representing my Argos store in a retail tournament at Powerleague. I have no problem with them and I must admit, I enjoy playing in each to have an idea of what they are all like to play in. I have never won a trophy in my five years at Leisure Leagues, nor have I ever won anything at Gol. I am not a great player, but I can claim to be a 5-a-side veteran who has witnessed the game at first hand, day in day out each week for five years. With this experience I can only say that the golden age of football has arrived. But will it be the end of park football as we know it?