Cardiff City 1 Blackburn 1 - Is There Hope? Yes, There Is Hope

Pre game, myself and the original Doom Monger ™ (my old man) had learnt to lower our expectations of Cardiff City. In light of a few months of the grimmest football you'll ever see, over pre game burgers I hoped half-heartedly for some possession and the Pops admitted to accepting a heavy defeat just to get Russell (#SladeOut) Slade sacked and out of the club. 

Thankfully, what transpired surpassed these expectations by a country mile as displayed in the snap below whereby some fans were seen clapping. 

Regular readers will know that our patience with Slade went a while back & last night saw the first game of his new 'Head Coach' (whatever that means) Paul Trollope (below pic) alongside him in the technical area - Complete with animated instructions, cajoling, arm waving and EVEN info being passed to the players. 

Whether he's Slade's idea or not doesn't matter - it seems to have improved things. 

Slade not giving instructions HAS IMPROVED THINGS - I'll let that staement hang in the air for a bit... 

Or is Trollope's arrival and improved performance a coincidence? No, it is not a coincidence. 

City may have conceded late on last night but can take hope from a number of aspects of the draw, including a lively showing from Matty Kennedy - a young confident pup signed from Everton full of wonderful rare jewels like pace, panache and creativity.  

Lets hope our coaching staff dont suck the life out of him. Research shows this takes approx 4 weeks. 

The tempo from the off was set a thousand times quicker and the Bluebirds were almost unrecognizable from the dire pile of s**t fans were served up last Tuesday in the 0-0 draw against an equally lifeless Brighton team.  

Kennedy’s debut was strong but it was all over the pitch things had woken up, from the pressing to the players appearing to understand their positions - There were shots on goal, crosses into the box and Cardiff EVEN shaded the possession statistics for the first time in what feels like several years. 

Over a half time brew inside fans were quiet and confused as to what they were seeing. Without moaning, most fans in the CCFC hospitality struggle for conversation y'see. 

Sean Morrison (above) powered home a booming header to give City a deserved 1-0 lead in the last ten minutes. Upon the glory of the goal I realised I’d forgotten how to celebrate goals resulting in the fumble of a pack of soft mints. The rarity of the joy added to it's potency. 

Yet perhaps the story of City's season, or of their past two seasons even, should suggest that nothing is ever simple. And as the Pops squirmed in his seat with nerves next to me in injury time it was simple for Blackburn.  

As the visitors threw everything at us for an equalizer, the improved Scott Malone was forced into putting his family jewels on the line for a last ditch goal-line clearance with the ball falling to the limp Craig Noone who could only fall down on the ball presenting it to a ruthless Rudy Gestede to smash home. 

Andy next to us reacted by throwing a Starburst sweet in rage towards Russell Slade. This is signification for Andy as he enjoys his game time sweets.

Now it remains to be seen whether the hope of a corner being turned at City lasts longer than their lead did. Let's hope so.  

Whilst last night was a step in the right direction though fans will reserve judgement until further consistent improvement is made. It’s nice to have a nudge of belief though right?

Is there hope? YES, THERE IS HOPE.