Bluebirds' Greatest Games: Does Historic Man City Win Make the Cut?

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09 Sep

Bluebirds' Greatest Games: Does Historic Man City Win Make the Cut?

Cardiff City may have clinched promotion to the Premier League at the end of last season with three games to spare, but while the team finished the season at a canter for Cardiff City Greatest Games author Sean Wozencroft it created a nail-biting final few days as he put the finishing touches to what he describes as a “labour of love”.   

The lifetime Bluebirds fan said, “It was essential the book included the memorable 0-0 draw at home to Charlton which confirmed the club’s long-awaited promotion back to the top division, and the historic 1-1 draw at Burnley which clinched the Championship four days later – and these two games feature as matches 49 and 50.   

“When the season began, I had a good feeling that 2012/13 would finally be our year. Malky Mackay had assembled a very talented squad and I was confident enough that I told Pitch I would keep a couple of matches blank, just in case that feeling proved correct. As the season progressed it looked more and more likely.”   

Wozencroft, 27, admitted that had his deadline been later, the 3-2 win over Manchester City in City’s first home game in the Premier League would have made the cut, and while it can’t be added to printed versions of the book, on sale in all good bookshops around the city, it will be included in the e-book version, and can be downloaded free of charge from the publisher’s website later this month. 

 “That was another day City fans will never forget. It was a fantastic performance by the team and has given us all the belief that the team can compete at the very top level. It certainly would have made the top 50 greatest games – so the next print run will have to include 51, or hopefully more, greatest games.”   

The book also includes all the matches Bluebirds fans would expect: the 1927 FA Cup Final win over Arsenal, the 2003 Millennium Stadium play-off success against Queens Park Rangers, and those special promotion or title clinching games throughout the club’s history. Plus there are memorable European nights, against the likes of Sporting Lisbon and Real Madrid, and a famous comeback against South Wales rivals Swansea City. 

 Sports and news journalist Wozencroft is a third-generation City fan, and has been supporting the club at Ninian Park and the Cardiff City Stadium for more than 20 years. He is originally from Heath, Cardiff, but now lives in Telford, Shropshire. Cardiff City Greatest Games is his first book.

Click here for more information on Cardiff City Greatest Games, including Sean's bonus chapter of that historic 3-2 win over Manchester City.