Cardiff City

Leeds 0-1 Cardiff
Willo Flood struck an 83rd-minute winner at Elland Road to send Cardiff joint top of the Championship. Flood converted Michael Chopra's cross into the penalty area from close range as Cardiff built some late pressure. Leeds had earlier gone close as Eirik Bakke and David Healy forced fine saves from Cardiff goalkeeper Neil Alexander. Cardiff captain Darren Purse was sent off for violent conduct on 90 minutes and Shaun Derry's injury-time header forced Alexander into action again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell: \"At the moment things aren't dropping for us. \"We had all the best chances in the game and dominated for long spells. But that's life, isn't it?\" Cardiff manager Dave Jones: \"We played very well and thoroughly deserved the victory. \"It's not a bad start but there's a long way to go. \"If the players are prepared to listen and learn then it bears well for the future of the football club.\" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leeds: Warner, Kelly, Butler, Kilgallon, Crainey, Westlake, Stone (Bakke 32), Derry, Lewis (Carole 85), Healy, Blake (Beckford 68). Subs Not Used: Gregan, Richardson. Booked: Bakke, Healy, Derry. Cardiff: Alexander, McNaughton (Johnson 87), Purse, Loovens, Ledley, Kamara (Flood 68), Scimeca, McPhail, Parry, Chopra (Blake 90), Thompson. Subs Not Used: Glombard, Campbell. Sent Off: Purse (90). Goals: Flood 83. Att: 18,246. Ref: N Miller (Co Durham).

Ridsdale backed in Leeds fall-out
Cardiff City owner Sam Hammam has defended deputy chairman Peter Ridsdale in the row with Leeds United. Former Leeds chairman Ridsdale claims he was banned from Elland Road for life by United owner Ken Bates after celebrating Cardiff's 1-0 win. Bates denies he has banned Ridsdale from the ground, but confirmed he was no longer welcome in the boardroom. \"I am totally satisfied that Peter's behaviour at Leeds was impeccable,\" Hammam told the Cardiff website. \"Having spoken to four witnesses... (and) Cardiff City officials who were in the boardroom, I can confirm that they witnessed Ken Bates using foul and abusive language in telling Peter Ridsdale that he was no longer welcome in the boardroom. \"Peter reacted by saying he obviously was not welcome and proceeded to shake Ken Bates' hand and wished him all the best and left.\" However, Bates' account paints a different picture of the disagreement between the two men. In a statement, Bates countered: \"As ever Mr Ridsdale continues to be out of touch with reality. \"My words, in front of a number of witnesses, were 'you're no longer welcome in the boardroom at Elland Road'. \"If he was ever banned from Elland Road it would purely be for safety reasons.\" Ridsdale quit his post at Elland Road in March 2003 with the club more than £100m in debt. Cardiff recruited him last year to help them drive through their new stadium project, which has been plagued by delays and financial uncertainty. With the return Championship match at Ninian Park set for 17 February, Hammam is keen for the spat to be laid to rest. \"I sincerely hope that Ken Bates, on reflection, will regret his action on the day and accept that it was an in the heat of the moment outburst,\" Hammam added. \"In the correct spirit and camaraderie in football, Peter has asked that Ken and his partner be welcomed if they choose to come to Ninian Park. \"I have known Ken for over 25 years and he remains a friend that I respect and I put what should not have happened as just one of those things.\" \"Peter and I would like to wish Ken and Leeds all the best for this season.\"

Jones defends Cardiff selection
Cardiff manager Dave Jones says he was right to field a much-changed side in the 2-0 Carling Cup loss to Barnet. \"I maintain I did the right thing,\" said Jones, who made 10 changes at Ninian Park from the side that won 1-0 at Leeds on Saturday. \"I couldn't afford any of my first-team to get injured. \"It wasn't a good result but it has given me the chance to see some of our young players in action and every one of them did well this evening.\" The Bluebirds are joint top of the Championship, but there are concerns about the Bluebirds' lack of strength in depth.

Savour top-of-table clash - Jones
Manager Dave Jones has told Cardiff to prove they can handle the pressure of Saturday's Birmingham showdown. The Blues arrive for a top of the Championship clash, with Ninian Park expecting a rare 20,000 sell-out crowd. \"When you're at this level expectation levels rise everywhere, but if you don't embrace that you should get out of the game,\" Jones told Sir Stanley. \"We're up there against one of the title favourites and must rise to the challenge to stay there.\" Bluebirds right-back Kerrea Gilbert will undergo a late fitness test as he bids to make the game, but captain Darren Purse remains out through suspension. \"It's so disappointing, I hate watching,\" Purse told Sir Stanley. \"I had to watch our Ninian Park win against West Brom because I was injured and now I can't believe I'm missing the game against another one of my old clubs. \"We've surprised a few people in the Championship with the way we're playing and where we are in the league. \"The atmosphere against West Brom was unbelievable and I'm sure it's going to be the same on Saturday.\" Cardiff will have to face the threat of their former striker Cameron Jerome, sold to Birmingham for £3m in the summer. \"I'm still pleased with that sale,\" said Jones. \"We would have liked to have kept him, but then we couldn't have done what we have in the transfer market. \"There's no animosity, we wish Cameron well - except when he plays against us! \"These are exciting times at the club and 12 months of hard work are starting to pay off. \"These are the sort of games everyone wants to be involved in. \"The only thing better would be to be in the Premiership - and that's why both Steve Bruce and myself will both be going all out to kill each other on Saturday.\"

Cardiff pace 'too hot to handle'
Former Cardiff captain Jason Perry says that the Bluebirds' high-tempo style is the key to their Championship success. \"Birmingham didn't know what hit them,\" said Perry after Cardiff's thrilling 2-0 top-of-the-table win over the Blues at a near-capacity Ninian Park. \"They are used to the Premiership where people stand off and let you play - not at Ninian against a Dave Jones side! \"Cardiff stopped them playing from the outset with Michael Chopra defending from the front like Ian Rush.\" Perry's comments were supported by man-of-the-match Roger Johnson and Bluebirds manager Jones. \"We started at an unbelievable pace and they couldn't handle it,\" Johnson told BBC Sport Wales. \"There was just an immense atmosphere. I've played at Ninian Park for Wycombe against Cardiff and it's scary out there.\" Jones added: \"We knew we had to come out of the trap early, to not let them breathe and deny good players the chance to find their touch. \"There was a good feeling about the game all week, we were determined to bounce back from our midweek loss to Barnet. Cameron Jerome missed a good chance to equalise for Birmingham \"People had been saying that this club always flops on the big occasions before the big crowds, but there was no sign of that. \"The fans were magnificent, the whole occasion was great. \"Birmingham did come back at us, but you always expect that at this level and we handled it. \"There's a long, long way to go, but we're a few points ahead of the target we'd set after five games.\" Perry agrees that the Bluebirds - who have a small squad - will not be able to maintain such momentum for the entire season. \"There will inevitably be a blip at some stage,\" Perry told BBC Sport Wales. \"That's when we'll see the true strength of the side, but all the signs are positive right now. \"The rest of the Championship will have taken notice, and the danger could be that they will come to Cardiff looking for a draw. \"Until now the Bluebirds have been able to play the counter-attack game, but Dave Jones has players in his squad who are able to play more than one way, he can be flexible with his tactics.\"

Cardiff 2-0 Birmingham
Cardiff leaped above Birmingham at the top of the Championship with a rampant show in front of a near sell-out 20,109 crowd at Ninian Park. Michael Chopra starred in a storming first half, Joe Ledley opening the scoring on 12 minutes by burying a clinical left-foot shot from 12 yards. The Blues rallied after the break, sub Cameron Jerome blowing a good chance. But a poor defensive clearance fell to Steven Thompson who fed Paul Parry, the winger firing a decisive right-footer. The win took the Bluebirds to the top of the second tier for the first time since March 1971 - when they were knocked off their perch by Birmingham. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardiff manager Dave Jones: \"We started like a house on fire after taking a bit of flak following Tuesday's defeat to Barnet. \"We will get better and we will get stronger, but in the last few weeks we have matched the top two teams in this division in every department and we didn't freeze in front of a huge home crowd. \"The noise was electric and the crowd deserved the cheers as much as the team at the end. \"In the past as a manager I have had seasons when we didn't have a win in the first seven games yet still went up. \"I've also had seasons where we started well but didn't win a thing so we'll keep everyone's feet on the ground and make preparation the key.\" Birmingham manager Steve Bruce: \"The simple fact is that we were just not good enough particularly in the first half. \"You cannot expect to come to a place like Cardiff, play poorly and get something from the game. \"I spoke to Bryan Robson and he told me that playing Cardiff has been West Brom's toughest game of the season so I knew exactly what to expect. \"I am just disappointed that only three or four of my players played to their full potential. We have invested heavily in improving our goal ratio but you cannot afford to miss chances like we did today. \"Ninian Park is a fantastic place to play, there are not many left like it in the league but many of my players are used to the Premiership and World Cups so they should not have been affected by the atmosphere or surroundings.\" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cardiff: Alexander, Gilbert, Loovens, Johnson, McNaughton, Parry, McPhail, Scimeca, Ledley, Thompson (Campbell 89), Chopra. Subs Not Used: Flood, Glombard, Kamara, Gunter. Booked: Chopra. Goals: Ledley 12, Parry 75. Birmingham: Doyle, Kelly (Larsson 58), N'Gotty, Jaidi, Sadler, Johnson, Nafti, Dunn, McSheffrey, Bendtner, Campbell (Jerome 58). Subs Not Used: Legzdins, Forssell, Tebily. Booked: N'Gotty, Johnson. Att: 20,109 Ref: P Crossley (Kent).

Seven charged after match trouble
Seven people have been charged after violence erupted at Cardiff City's game against Birmingham City on Saturday. South Wales Police said there were skirmishes before and during the Championship match, which left three stewards injured. Violence flared before kick-off at the Ninian Park and Kings Castle pubs and by the Jeff Winter car sales centre. In the second half, 45 seats were pulled up in the away supporters' end as more trouble occurred. Three people have been charged with public order offences, three with assault and one with causing criminal damage. They are likely to appear in court this week.

Cardiff not chasing late recruits
Cardiff chairman Sam Hammam insists the Championship club will make no new signings unless some existing squad members are moved out of Ninian Park. With the transfer window closing on Thursday, some fans hoped to see more fresh faces to consolidate the team's status as league leaders. But Hammam said: \"Players still need to be moved out to release the purse-strings for fresh faces. \"I stress again, the club will not go over its £4m-a-year wage bill.\" Financial restrictions have already seen the Bluebirds call time on their quest to sign West Brom midfielder Jason Koumas permanently. The Wales international had been keen to return to Cardiff after spending last season there on loan, even boycotting West Brom's pre-season. But the collapse of negotiations after Cardiff were unable to match West Brom's transfer demands, saw Koumas return to the Hawthorns and sign a new contract.

Jones is Championship's top boss
Cardiff City boss Dave Jones has been named as the Championship's manager of the month for August. The Bluebirds have collected 13 league points from a possible 15 - beating Barnsley, Coventry, Leeds and Birmingham and drawing with West Brom. City lead the early table by three points after five games, although they did lose to Barnet in the Carling Cup. The other contenders were Norwich City boss Nigel Worthington and Wolves manager Mick McCarthy.

Discarded Weston eyes Norway move
Wales international Rhys Weston has had his contracted terminated at Cardiff City by mutual consent. Weston is now set to join Norwegian side Viking Stavanger with a view to earning a long-term contract. Viking, who are joint-bottom of the Norway's top division, have eight games left to play this season. Former Arsenal trainee Weston made 214 appearances in just under six years at Cardiff, but fell out of favour with manager Dave Jones this season. 'It's been very unsettling knowing that you don't figure in the manager's plans and there is no point hanging around the place if you don't,\" said right-back Weston, who won two promotions with Cardiff. He added: \"Having watched Viking last weekend I'm looking forward to the challenge and the travelling is not that bad, it only takes five hours from here (Cardiff) to Norway. \"It's one flight from London, and two from Cardiff so it's not difficult to travel. But now a decision has been made I'm looking forward to a fresh challenge.\" A statement on Cardiff City's website said: \"We would like to thank Rhys for his services as he was instrumental in the Bluebirds gaining two promotions.\"

Preston 2-1 Cardiff
Preston ended Cardiff's unbeaten start in the Championship as both sides played most of the game with 10 men. Cardiff defender Glenn Loovens was sent off after nine minutes when he brought down David Nugent, but the striker then saw red for a second bookable offence. Patrick Agyemang put Preston ahead two minutes after coming on at half-time with a superb solo effort. Michael Chopra hit back for Cardiff, but Danny Pugh headed Chris Sedgwick's cross to give Preston the win. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preston boss Paul Simpson on Patrick Agyemang's introduction: \"They are gambles that sometimes work for you. I felt we needed to do something. \"Patrick has got pace, strength and power. On his day he is frightening. I'm very satisfied, relieved, chuffed for everybody. \"We have all been waiting for our first home win.\" Cardiff boss Dave Jones: \"We will get over this loss. It's how you respond to it that matters, how you keep fighting, learning and pushing on. \"There are going to be days when it just doesn't go for you. When it was 1-1, we could have gone in front. \"We are up there on merit and because we have one loss it doesn't mean it's the end of the world.\" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preston: Nash, Alexander, Chilvers, Wilson (Hill 45), St. Ledger, Sedgwick, McKenna, Whaley (Jarrett 85), Pugh, Nugent, Dichio (Agyemang 45). Subs Not Used: Lonergan, Anyinsah. Sent Off: Nugent (35). Booked: Nugent. Goals: Agyemang 48, Pugh 65. Cardiff: Alexander, Gilbert, McNaughton, Johnson, Loovens, Parry (Kamara 76), Ledley, Scimeca, McPhail (Flood 85), Thompson, Chopra. Subs Not Used: Campbell, Glombard, Blake. Sent Off: Loovens (10). Booked: Chopra, Parry. Goals: Chopra 51. Att: 12,435 Ref: E Ilderton (Tyne & Wear).

Ferretti loan at Scunthorpe ends
Cardiff City striker Andrea Ferretti has returned to the Bluebirds after the end of his one-month loan spell with Scunthorpe United. The 19-year-old made four appearances as a subsitute for the League One side. Scunthorpe manager Brian Laws told the club website: \"He's gone back to Cardiff because we couldn't afford to keep five strikers on thye books. \"He wasn't going to get on the bench and we need to look at the long-term players at the club.\"

Cardiff protest over Loovens' red
Cardiff City have appealed against Glenn Loovens' red card against Preston on Saturday. Centre-back Loovens was dismissed after appearing to bring down Preston striker David Nugent just outside the box. But Loovens has travelled with the squad to Plymouth for Tuesday's league match as Cardiff hope the FA of Wales will overturn the referee's decision. \"Glenn has been punished for being stronger than their boy. It was shoulder to shoulder,\" said Jones. \"Anywhere else on the pitch, as the ref said, he wouldn't have given a caution.\"

Plymouth v Cardiff
Plymouth are likely to be unchanged for the home game against Championship leaders Cardiff. Recalled striker Sylvain Ebanks-Blake is likely to partner ever-present Barry Hayles in attack after netting his first Argyle goal against QPR. Skipper Darren Purse will return to the centre of Cardiff's defence after serving a three-match suspension. Arsenal loanee Kerrea Gilbert will be fit to play despite losing three teeth at Preston.

Jones seeks answers over Ledley
Cardiff City manager Dave Jones has written to the FA of Wales to register his concerns over the treatment of Joe Ledley while with the national squad. Midfielder Ledley played in Wales' friendly defeat to Brazil on Tuesday despite suffering from a toe infection. Jones denied he had fallen out with Wales manager John Toshack, saying he just wanted to clarify the situation. \"We've received the letter, but we do not want to answer it in public,\" said an FA of Wales spokesman. \"It will be a matter which is dealt with in due course.'' Ledley was eventually passed fit to play for Cardiff on Saturday, and lasted the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 defeat. But Jones was obviously unhappy that the 19-year-old returned to Cardiff in midweek with doubts surrounding his fitness. He told Sir Stanley: \"As manager of Cardiff I will want the best for Cardiff City. If you're a manager of the international team, you will want the best for your team because that's your job. \"It's just finding that even balance. Whatever questions I've asked, I'm sure I'll get answers to and then as far as I'm concerned, if all parties are happy, then there isn't a problem. \"I had certain concerns over a situation with one of my players. \"But it wasn't slamming anybody or criticising anybody, it was just a case of trying to find out about a situation and why it actually happened. \"I think I'm entitled as a manager to question why certain things have gone on.\"

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