Sheff Utd 3 Cardiff 4

Prediction : 1-0

Thumbs up : The boy Whittingham. He's become a real match winner now. He hasn't scored so many since the under 8s. He's ghosting in and popping up all over the place. The way City are attacking at present and the way defenders are getting dragged out of position with our myriad of attacking options, clearly suits him.

Thumbs down : Defending. Hudson's back header was poor to let in Henderson. But then again when you score 4 away from home and win, these things tend to get overlooked.

In Conclusion : I hope it was one of those results that now has the other Championship contenders sit up and raise an eyebrow. A crazy game...even the brief highlights on the City website looked manic. The way the ball fell at Bothroyd's feet for the opener (Chris Morgan smacking the ball at James Harper's arse) was comedy gold. I'm sure Forest at home on Sunday will be an altogether different prospect.

Cardiff 2 Coventry 0

Pre match mood - Assured that 3 points were on the cards. Even the light rain couldn't dampen spirits.

Prediction - 3-0

First half - Started very lively, and the perfect start came in the 5th minute when Gerrard headed in from close range. City found their stride and played some lovely football, the ball fizzing around on the wet surface. Bothroyd had decided to take part tonight and was soon hunting down clearances. Chances came aplenty and more goals looked certain

Second half - Stepped up a gear which was good to see. Coventry just couldn't seem to put any passage of play together, and when they did, Morrison and Best looked lame upfront. Burke was skinning anything in front of him, and Matthews ventured forward assuringly. The penalty was just desserts for the consistent pressure we were piling on. Should really have been 4 or 5 at the end of the night.

Thumbs up - The way Matthews and Burke were linking up was excellent. The boy Matthews had another fine performance and seems to get better every time I see him. It was nice to see the ball on the deck for most of the game for a change. When City kept it simple they were far more direct and were running rings around the Coventry defence. Must mention Marshall too. He too is looking like a good signing. He goes about his business with minimal fuss, is a good shot stopper and can kick a ball too. We may finally have sorted out the goalkeeping headache of recent seasons.

Thumbs down - Free kicks. I can't remember a decent free kick so far this season. There's no middle ground, it's either blasted straight at the wall, or troubling the fans at the back of the stands. Midfield could've got stuck in a bit more earlier on. Ledley could've been more effective.

Crowd highlight(s) - The second half ribbing of poor Hussey desperately wanting the ball out on the left. "Do the Hussey Hussey", and strangely cheering him on when he attacked Stan down the left. I laughed so much I genuinely had tears in my eyes. Crowd improv at its best.

Man of the Match - Quite a few contenders for a change, but I'd go with Gerrard. He looked solid and commanding at the back. He's developing a good partnership with Hudson, but lets keep things in perspective here....it was only Coventry

CCFC verdict - Professional and business like. No frills, got into a stride early on, pushed on, stepped up through the gears and finished the job.

Visitor's verdict - Poor. Just a bad away trip. I don't think they'll go down but they may find themselves caught up in the relegation dogfight come the end of the season.

Cardiff 1 Crystal Palace 1

Pre match mood : Really upbeat, 3 points in the bag

Prediction : 2-0

First half : Palace were certainly the better team in the first 15. They looked quick and sharp. After Hudson's blunder I really thought Palace could capitalise on this and have us in real trouble. But we looked threatening going forward also and I never for a minute thought we weren't going to score. Chopra's first touch had deserted him today. Two weeks ago he would've been putting those chances away. Bothroyd was in bone idle mode again !!! and our midfield was AWOL again.

Second half : Soon became flat, turgid, lifeless and scrappy. It really reminded me of many of their home performances last season where they looked busy but nothing was happening. Ledley again was anonymous and really starting to piss me off. Begs the question, how much we were missing McPhail (now there's something I never thought I'd write). By the hour mark, Palace looked like they had settled for the point (and who can blame them, the way they play). Burke was the only one again who looked like he wanted the ball, and when he had it he was prepared to run at the Palace defence. McCormack's appearance looked hopeful, but after 10/15 mins he was trying to hard, and sitting on the shoulder of the Palace centre halves waiting in vain for a cleverly dinked ball over the top which quite frankly was never going to happen.

Thumbs Up : Coming back from a goal down I suppose. Again Burke looked sharp with his unrelenting desire to run at the defence. Why can't some of the others take a leaf out of his book?

Thumbs Down : Jay 'Bone Idle' Bothroyd. I honestly don't like slagging our players off, but the massively inconsistent way he's playing at the moment is a real concern. His absence on Tuesday against Coventry may be a godsend. And crap refereeing.

Crowd highlight(s ) : The lone voice who tried in vain to start up 'I'd rather wear a turban than a rose'. It was never going to work but it was a good laugh watching him try.

Man of the Match : Purely based on his first half performance, Whittingham. Second highest goal scorer who seems to think he's a centre forward.

CCFC Verdict : We never play well against the uglier teams in the league. They get stuck in, but we never do. We should've and could've won that game fairly comfortably. Yes, N'Diaye should've been sent off, but I'd rather see City play against 11 than 10 (remember Reading at home last season). After scoring 10 in the previous two, something was going to give. A good City performance seems to hinge on so many different variables all coming together at the right time. It's like the planets realigning to create something celestil. When we're crap, we're all crap. When we're good, we're all good. There's pressure on for Tuesday's game. Another draw will be disappointing.

Visitors Verdict : A typical Neil Warnock team. Hard, gritty, unpopular, and totally lacking in any skill. Palace have no money to make any big signings, they make do and mend with what they've got. They're ugly and uncompromising and they know it. and take pleasure in it. Their big amateurish lump N'Diaye personified the team. They're not going up and they're not going down, but they revel in the ability to put a few noses out of joint week in week out. Nobody stood out. I thought Freddie Sears was distinctly average, and Neil Danns couldn't hit the preverbial barn door. Unfortunately Palace are one of those Championship teams we all have to put with.

We must be paying Burke too much !!

If Chris Burke is driving around in one of these, then we are paying him too much money. This is supercar territory of around 75-80k. A good player though he is, I didn't picture him driving an overrated Audi. I would've thought he was more of an SUV man myself.

The love affair between footballers and cars has always fascinated me. I think you can tell a lot by the cars players choose. Sportscars = flash, SUVs = road safety/have children, Exec cars = style/luxury. Then again, some players earn so much they can go out and buy one of each.

I also read that Burke has split from his partner (sorry to hear that Burkey) so perhaps it's his way of getting through the pain and he's looking for something flash for the lay-deees. It must be kind of odd to pull alongside an Audi R8 at the lights, look across and see the diminutive Scot peering over the steering wheel. I wonder if Gavin Rae still has his Q7.

Watford 0 Cardiff 4

Prediction : 1-1

Thumbs up : Continuing the goalfest (10 in 2 games). First win at Watford in 39 years. Bothroyd ending his barren spell. McCormack on the pitch albeit for a minute or so, and chomping at the bit to be playing. I was on a stag do in Amsterdam so this result made the taste of victory even sweeter Saturday night.

Thumbs down : Nothing related to the performance. I hope the international break hasn't come at the wrong time with City flying and on a roll.

In Conclusion : After a crap spell, things are on the up again. Players are back from injury, so the squad is looking healthy and competitive. Back in the play off spots and on the up.

Cardiff 6 Derby 1

Pre match mood : To be honest I was dreading it. I was expectiing a limo wreck of a game....Derby scoring first and then City panicking and chasing the game

Prediction : 1-1

First half : Very sound. Fairly solid at the back, never really troubled. It was good to see Bothroyd up for it for a change. He was chasing down defenders, applying pressure from the off

Second half : The goals just kept coming. Nobody there Tuesday night would've expected to see City score six in light of their recent performances. Just a shame Bothroyd couldn't get himself on the scoresheet.

Thumbs Up : A good game from McPhail. He got stuck in, broke up play and turned provider for Chopra.

Thumbs Down : Letting Rob Hulse score. It was a soft goal in reply and caught City's defence napping at the start the second half. In light of the fact that Derby were so poor, they shouldn't have scored it at all.

Crowd highlight(s) : Mostly the banter aimed at Robbie 'Lily' Savage.

Man of the Match : Has to be Chopra. You can't deny a MOM to a player who puts away 4 goals with clinical ease.

CCFC Verdict : A good night out. Six goals to the good and a drubbing that I wished I'd put a bet on.

Visitors Verdict : Very poor. Hapless up front, created little, Robbie Savage was awful....spent much of the 90 minutes just shuffling the ball from side to side. Simply had a bad night. Wrong time, wrong place.