posted Apr 26, 2008

I have spent most of this morning reading this guff and all I want to do is watch my club play football.

Who gives a damn if the Prince of Wales is English as far as I am concerned he doesn't play for Cardiff City.

Cardiff has done well this year and if they win the cup then so be it who gives a shyte where they are from they are representing the league they play not Wales not England THE FA League.
As far as anthems are concerned who's idea was it to have the Welsh anthem it didn't come from Cardiff City or it's supporters.
If you read previous threads you will see that many City supporters are against it.
This is NOT England Vs Wales it's Portsmouth Vs Cardiff A.K.A Premiership Vs Champoinship.
So start talking about football not Edward 1

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posted Apr 26, 2008

By the way read this link I think this might clarify the situation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cardiff_city/7367392.stm

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posted Apr 26, 2008

Im sad to say, taffcastle, this is Wales v england!
It has to be said that the FAW should have sorted out a way of getting Wales's best sides into Europ years and years ago! And now there paying the price!!!

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posted Apr 26, 2008

The ideas that Evans came up with aren't gonna work.

Enter second teams in the Welsh League. Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham don't want to do it, and surely having the league contain reserve teams would ruin it's reputation completely. "Who won the Welsh league?" "Cardiff Reserves. Swansea Reserves came second ahead of Wrexham Reserves." If you can't get Newport County and Terthyr Tydfil to return to the league either you're never gonna get Cardiff, Swansea or Wrexham to return there or to field a team there. The league's currently a bit of a shambles as the winners are gonna come from one of two teams, and why? Because only TNS and Llanelli are full time teams. The money they get for TV rights etc is appauling, attendances are poor, and as such they cannot afford to improve. Hell, people are rejecting promotion because they can't afford it. The FAW does nothing to improve it's own league.

And as for getting the exiled teams to compete in the Welsh FA Cup. They already compete in the Welsh Premier Cup, and that got dropped from BBC Wales for being too dull. First teams are still not going to be played in it if that was made the one that got you into Europe, so you'd have a good chance of ending up with Newport County qualifying for Europe and doing just as poorly as the league teams do. And surely then you say Cardiff etc can't qualify through the English leagues, but then your own teams would have sod all chance of qualifying through the cup? And do you really think the FAW should deny Cardiff/Swansea etc the chance of playing in the Champions League on the unlikely event that they get there? People in Europe are not going to think Cardiff are English. Monaco plays in Europe, and plays for the French league. But we don't think of them as French, we think of them as Monaco. Cardiff will be promoted as a Welsh team throughout Europe, although they'll still probably do as well as Millwall did when they qualified through the FA Cup.

Cardiff may well be one of England's entrants, but they will make sure they are seen as a Welsh club. Having the FAW kick up such a fuss about the only team to have a chance to do something in Europe will not hurt. It's their own fault for letting their own league suffer and doing nothing about it. When the FAW were looking at a joint bid for one of the European Championships, it's all happiness and smiles to Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham, because they needed something from them. But when they need something from the FAW, they get insulted and have it thrown back in their faces. The FAW knows that without major investment the league will never reach any sort of recognition, and they're not willing to do that as they know it's going to be impossible to get an entire league that could compete against the English leagues. Look at the Scottish leagues for an example. How long has it taken them to get to where they are now? Aside from Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Aberdeen and Hibs, how many of the teams could be really considered a truely top club? I'm not trying to insult their league, I'm simply trying to point out how much effort and money is required to compete against the English leagues. Especially when in Wales and Scotland the English games are broadcast to a load of people as well, meaning they have to compete against the English leagues in their own country. Doesn't help that all the Welsh league teams are all in little villages or small towns (hell, one of the biggest teams, TNS, plays in Oswestry now, over in England) and you can't get the attendance.

It's gonna be a long time until the Welsh leagues can produce a team who can do something in Europe. Right now, Cardiff haven't even got the place in the UEFA Cup yet. Can't we just wait, give them a chance to earn that place, and then let them do what they can to represent Welsh football?

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posted Apr 26, 2008

"There's only one Gavin Ward, one Gavin Waaarrrddd" Stop going on my English buddies, it's driving me to boredom!

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posted Apr 26, 2008

Spence, you make some very good points but I don't agree with "Monaco plays in Europe, and plays for the French league. But we don't think of them as French, we think of them as Monaco"

I do think of them as a French club, even though I know they are a separate country in political terms.

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posted Apr 27, 2008

I am baffled how this is considered bad for Wales or Welshness. The argument that it is better for Wales´ identity if Cardiff (or indeed any Welsh clubs) play in obscurity rather than at the highest level possible is small minded in the extreme.

I am a proud Welshman who is currently living in Barcelona, and explaining that I am not English, and how the England/ Wales thing works, is one of my favorite pastimes. Cardiff´s progress to the final has increased people´s interest, questions and therefore understanding of Wales and England`s "special relationship".

Cardiff play with the Welsh flag on their shirts, with Welsh players in the team, Welsh fans in the crowd and celebrate - like they did after beating ´boro and Barnsley - running round with Welsh flags. It is the images and sounds football fans around Europe will see and not the fine details of what league the club is registered in. It will put Cardiff on the map, not change where Cardiff is on that map!

The FAW want the big clubs to come under their control because they want more power, not because they want the best for Wales. The best for Wales would be to have two patriotic Welsh teams in the Premiership, and regularly in Europe, supplying Welsh players to a competitive Welsh team.

Other small countries would kill to get the opportunity to put their best teams into the English Premiership and FA cup. Somehow, through good fortune mostly, Wales has that opportunity but small mindedness threatens to undermine it with this pig headed, anti- english flag waving.

I am looking forward to watching Cardiff play in the final, with my Spanish brothers and sisters cheering on the Welsh team to beat the English. It is the first time they will see Cardiff play, the first time they will see a Welsh team play, and perhaps, when Joe Ledley pops up in the 89th minute to score the winner, they might understand a little better what it means to be Welsh.

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posted Apr 28, 2008

Cardiff plays in the English league structure and should be allowed the same rewards as any other club that plays in the same league system.
Cardiff does not play in the Welsh league system and should not take a European place of any club that does.
The F.A. and UEFA have seen sense.
Don't see what it has to do with Alun Evans or national identity.
If Cardiff were foced to play in the Welsh league system then that would be bad for the rest of the Welsh clubs like TNS etc because it is unlikely that they would chance to play in Europe again.
Alun Evans was a backward step for welsh football anyway.

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posted Apr 29, 2008

I've no problem with Welsh teams in the English league structure being able to qualify for Europe...

Provided Welsh teams can't also qualify via the LoW.

Indeed wouldn't it be better for the highest placed Welsh club to get Wales' UEFA cup spot?
(but that would undermine the Welsh FA's attempts to build their own little Empire)

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posted Apr 30, 2008

Dont be daft. You ever had a holiday home in Wales that gets burn down because you, the owner is English. England, Wales & Scotland have been around a lot longer than "Britain" you idiot!!!

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