Sheff Wed 3 Cardiff 1

Prediction : 0-0

Thumbs up : N/A

Thumbs down : Another poor performance. Discipline. 4 yellows and 1 red, but saying that Mr Oliver clearly has a different agenda if he's booking Hudson in the 3rd minute. Misfiring strikers. Decisions not going our way. It's easy to make excuses when the team is not playing well.

In Conclusion : This result only heaps more pressure on Tuesday's home game with Derby. More of the same against them and we'll truly be in the shit and this will be the point when I start worrying about the coming season. I'm disappointed that there'll be no loan signings. This was an ideal opportunity to stick a rocket up some of those players arses.

It just goes to show how much the team is missing McCormack and McNaughton. The way things are going McNaughton might find himself in the centre of defence. Hudson has been found out for what he is - slow, clumsy and error prone. I know he cost us 1 mill and we have to play him, but why not drop him and partner Gerrard with the giant Hungarian. I wish DJ would make some bold decisions instead of keeping faith with a faltering team.

Say what you like about his formations and tactics, the buck passes him and now stops with the players. I really thought we'd get something out of this game bearing in mind what occurred here last season. What better way to exorcise those demons, but it looks like Sheffield Wednesday have just added their name to our list of bogey teams. Roll on Tuesday, where I could be watching in delight, or through my fingers.

My eyes can see but I can't believe....

....what happened out there on the pitch today. I've cogitated and deliberated at length about whether to fill this space with a damming critique of today's game, but you know what...I'm fed up with saying the same things over and over again. I got quite a fair bit off my chest summarising the Newcastle game and I don't want to simply regurgitate the same old same old. All 11 of them plus subs need shooting today, and bringing Scimeca on was tantamount to throwing the towel in. So instead I'm just posting a picture of a pile of horse manure which I think adequately sums up today's performance.

Reading 0 Cardiff 1

Prediction : 1-1

Thumbs up : Back on track. Bouncebackability. Couldn't be a better time to play Reading away due to their dismal home record. Up to 4th and mini rut over.

Thumbs down : McFailure again. This guy is a fecking walking disaster zone. His sending off just made the last 15 minutes even more difficult for his team mates. Come January, ship him out Paul Parry style. He's not even a squad player now. Come on DJ, give big Sol a full game. This guy could a shot in the arm to our ailing midfield

In Conclusion : Great result, especially remembering back to this fixture last season when their keeper scored in the hundredth minute of extra time. Reading are a totally different team now. Don't rate Brendan Rodgers at all. I honestly think Reading are going backwards with him at the helm. Anyway, renewed confidence going into Saturday's game against QPR. Perhaps Briatore can fix it for us to win.

A-Z Cardiff v Newcastle

Absolutely awful away kit : What were they thinking?

Basics : Couldn't get them right. Passing, crossing. It's back to the training ground.

Chant of the day : "You're supposed to be in jail" aimed at Newcastle prison fodder Joey Barton.

Deteriorating : Ledley's form. There was a moment in today's game where he rashly just booted the ball into touch making a clearance. It was if he was saying what he thought of his new contract. I think his heart and soul for the club has gone, and if he goes in January his value could be cut price.

Edge : Both teams lacked the cutting variety

Fans : Both sets were superb. Created another superb atmosphere.

Gears : We rarely got futher than 3rd gear, Newcastle looked comfortable in 3rd gear.

Hair : Coloccini's poodle afro. I thought Dirty Den's dog Roly was playing for a minute.

Into them : We just never got....

Jay : Where do we start? I could fill volumes writing about this guy. For me he has to be one of the most frustrating players to watch. So far this season I think he's been well off his game, but today he plumbed new depths of laziness. There must some Opta Index stats on how much gametime he spends on his arse, of which he needs a rocket up it. We need an on loan striker to compete for his place. In some ways I wished he hadn't been fit for this game because it could have meant mixing things up a bit, and playing a different way.

Kelvin : Looked lively and direct. The complete antithesis to Bothroyd

Left : Or lack of it. Whittingham was anonymous (again), kept cutting inside and his link up play wih Capaldi was pretty much non existent.

Midfield muscle : Where is it? We could've done with some today. I was hoping Taiwo was going to make an appearance.

Nile Ranger : What kind of name is that?

Outnumbered : Newcastle seemed to get everyman behind every ball at every opportunity. They set their stall out as the away team, got to pretty much every ball quicker, created sod all, soaked up the pressure, and it worked

Penalty : Stone wall apparently, but there's a visually impaired man from the West Midlands to blame for that

Quinn : Puzzled as to why he was playing. Matthews has been in good form, did DJ think he was not experienced enough. Quinn looked slow, out of his depth and occasionally inexperienced today.

Reading : We really need something from Wednesday night's game. Bouncebackability

Set pieces : I lost count of the number of free kicks we were awarded, but we never looked like scoring on every one.

Tactics : DJ's stubbornness. Was he really happy with what he was seeing on the pitch in the last half hour. Only making one sub. Or does he think that the players on the bench we not good enough. No plan to combat an away team packing the midfield.

Unhappy with ref : DJ's not a happy camper

Va-va-voom : Could've done with some of that today

Watertight defence : Newcastle's...not ours !

Xylophone....what else !

Yellow : Far too much two tone vomit yellow on show today.

Zidane....Could've done with him today

Cardiff 0 Newcastle 1

Through the medium of poetry

Ridsdale meets some Cardiff fans with news from his Far East trip

Ledley goes on a French city break and injures his hand in a slip

Continued talk of Cousin coming to bolster the striking line

There is no need for his Premier greed, he's a total waste of time

Darcy's gone for some Argyle fun to get his game on track

A young Pole left most bereft, has anyone seen Erwin Sak

Rae is summoned to the Scottish squad for their big clash against the Dutch

But Burley calling on in form Burke was obviously a touch too much

So the Geordies wait with five wins straight to prove they're no Premier flops

Will Harper advance and stoop down low to deny the in form Chops

On Sunday eve will we believe what happened before our eyes

A table's glance, a little dance, as upwards Bluebirds rise.

All is quiet on Deadline Day

Well...what a surprise. The transfer window slams shut and Ledley remains at Cardiff City for the forseeable future. All the talk of the smaller Premiership clubs coming in for him, came to nothing. Wolves looked the most interested party with Mick McCarthy being a 'fan', but no bid was tabled. Ridsdale has put the closed sign up, switched his ansaphone on and popped off to see his Malaysian chums and there ridiculously long names. Apparently there was a caveat in the answer message for anyone interested in McPhail to contact Ridsdale immediately on the Skyphone whereby he'd accept their offer.

So Joe, when PR comes home it's time to pick up his monogrammed pen and put your name to your new contract, then knuckle down, play like you mean it, and help get City out this god forsaken league.

And well done Sky Sports for yet another transfer deadline day completely over-sensationalised. At one point I thought the excitable scot Jim White was going to explode in a ball of D-day delight all over the lovely Georgie Thompson and her white dress. I'm quite impressed though with your nationwide network of reporters hanging around outside football clubs and training grounds peering into sports cars and 4x4s that pass by. I'm just glad an entire day of speculation and gossip draws to a close.