Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale says they have turned down a substantial bid for star striker Michael Chopra.
There was speculation that Cardiff's Championship rivals Watford had tabled a £3m offer, but Ridsdale said the unnamed bidders are not the Hornets.
"We haven't had any bid from Watford although we have had a bid for Michael Chopra," Ridsdale told BBC Sport Wales.
"But like the bids we've had for other players we've said 'no', we want to try and keep the team together."
Chopra joined the Bluebirds from Newcastle in June 2006 for £500,000, a bargain sum given that the 23-year-old struck 22 league goals last season.
The Geordie's scoring record in the Championship compares favourably with that of England striker David Nugent, who his club Preston have valued at £6m.
Ridsdale admits that a bid in that region would test Cardiff's resolve to keep Chopra.
"I've gone on record as saying that every player has his price, but so far no one has met the valuation for any of our players," Ridsdale added.
"But we're not going to sell any of our players on the cheap."
The Bluebirds have turned down a bid of more than £1m for 16-year-old midfielder Aaron Ramsey from a London-based Premiership club, and two bids from Everton for defender Chris Gunter, 16.
Cardiff continue to be linked with a move for Robbie Fowler, who was released by Liverpool this summer.
Should the Bluebirds pull off that audacious bid, the 32-year-old former England striker is likely to arrive as a partner in attack for Chopra rather than a replacement.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Sunday 8 July 2007
Cardiff City Make Robbie Fowler Offer
Cardiff City have confirmed they have made an offer for Robbie Fowler.
Fowler is looking for a new club after leaving Liverpool at the end of last season.
The 32-year-old revealed earlier this week he was open to offers and that he was waiting to hold talks with interested clubs.
Cardiff have made a firm offer for Fowler and Bluebirds chairman Peter Ridsdale is hoping the former Leeds hit-man will decide to move to Ninian Park.
"We have offered an attractive package and are hopeful Robbie will decide to come to Cardiff City," Ridsdale told Liverpool's official website
"I think the calibre of the players the club is approaching shows how much we've progressed."
Cardiff could face a fight to sign Fowler with the player's agent, George Scott, claiming eight clubs are chasing the prolific forward.
"We've got eight offers on the table and Robbie is considering the lot of them," Scott told the Western Mail.
"I can't see Rangers or Celtic being an option. They have each got too many strikers on their books and would need to off-load a couple first."
"The one thing Robbie knows he wants is regular first-team football. Could it be at Cardiff? Why not? I think Cardiff, if they have the ambition, is the sort of place Robbie would thrive at. He could supply the goals to get them into the Premiership"
"It is the sort of challenge he is looking for, to be honest. I see Dave Jones has said on TV he is interested if Robbie is available. Well he is available, so we need to talk.
"I know Peter Ridsdale as well. He has my number."
Source: www.skysports.com
Fowler is looking for a new club after leaving Liverpool at the end of last season.
The 32-year-old revealed earlier this week he was open to offers and that he was waiting to hold talks with interested clubs.
Cardiff have made a firm offer for Fowler and Bluebirds chairman Peter Ridsdale is hoping the former Leeds hit-man will decide to move to Ninian Park.
"We have offered an attractive package and are hopeful Robbie will decide to come to Cardiff City," Ridsdale told Liverpool's official website
"I think the calibre of the players the club is approaching shows how much we've progressed."
Cardiff could face a fight to sign Fowler with the player's agent, George Scott, claiming eight clubs are chasing the prolific forward.
"We've got eight offers on the table and Robbie is considering the lot of them," Scott told the Western Mail.
"I can't see Rangers or Celtic being an option. They have each got too many strikers on their books and would need to off-load a couple first."
"The one thing Robbie knows he wants is regular first-team football. Could it be at Cardiff? Why not? I think Cardiff, if they have the ambition, is the sort of place Robbie would thrive at. He could supply the goals to get them into the Premiership"
"It is the sort of challenge he is looking for, to be honest. I see Dave Jones has said on TV he is interested if Robbie is available. Well he is available, so we need to talk.
"I know Peter Ridsdale as well. He has my number."
Source: www.skysports.com
Cardiff Get Pre-Season Underway
Cardiff City suffered mixed fortunes on Saturday as a split squad got pre-season underway with matches at Carmarthen and Merthyr Tydfil.
Michael Chopra looked sharp as the Bluebirds striker bagged both goals in a 2-0 win at Merthyr.
But Carmarthen won 2-0 over a Cardiff side that included new recruits Tony Capaldi, Steve MacLean and Gavin Rae.
One bright spot was triallist Costas Charalambides, the Cyprus international impressing from right midfield.
The former Panathinaikos wing, who turns 26 this month, did enough to be included on Cardiff's pre-season tour to Portugal, which departs on Monday.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Michael Chopra looked sharp as the Bluebirds striker bagged both goals in a 2-0 win at Merthyr.
But Carmarthen won 2-0 over a Cardiff side that included new recruits Tony Capaldi, Steve MacLean and Gavin Rae.
One bright spot was triallist Costas Charalambides, the Cyprus international impressing from right midfield.
The former Panathinaikos wing, who turns 26 this month, did enough to be included on Cardiff's pre-season tour to Portugal, which departs on Monday.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Capaldi Makes Cardiff Debut
Former Plymouth Argyle defender Tony Capaldi has made his debut for his new club Cardiff City.
Cardiff played a pre-season friendly game against Carmarthen Town with Capaldi playing at left back.
However Capaldi's first game in a Cardiff shirt ended in defeat with the Bluebirds losing 2-0 in front of a crowd of just over 400. Cardiff now move onto to their pre-season training camp in Portugal.
Capaldi, 25, left Argyle in May after a long and bitter contract wrangle. The Northern Ireland international had a contract with the Pilgrim's until June of this year but rejected several offers of a new deal, instead preferring to allow his contract to expire and leave Home Park as a free agent using the Bosman system.
After leaving Argyle Capaldi spoke about the move to Cardiff, speaking to the Welsh press, he said: 'Cardiff City is an exciting club to join.
'A new stadium is on the way and they are aiming at promotion to the Premiership.
'I'm a player who likes to get the ball down and play football and I don't mind whether I play at full-back or in midfield.
'At full-back I can get up and down. I love to go forward and link up with the strikers.'
Capaldi was Argyle's most capped player and is equally happy at left back or at left midfield. Former Argyle manager Paul Sturrock signed Capaldi from Birmingham City in 2003, since then has gone to make nearly 150 appearances for the Pilgrims.
Source: www.plymouth.vitalfootball.co.uk
Cardiff played a pre-season friendly game against Carmarthen Town with Capaldi playing at left back.
However Capaldi's first game in a Cardiff shirt ended in defeat with the Bluebirds losing 2-0 in front of a crowd of just over 400. Cardiff now move onto to their pre-season training camp in Portugal.
Capaldi, 25, left Argyle in May after a long and bitter contract wrangle. The Northern Ireland international had a contract with the Pilgrim's until June of this year but rejected several offers of a new deal, instead preferring to allow his contract to expire and leave Home Park as a free agent using the Bosman system.
After leaving Argyle Capaldi spoke about the move to Cardiff, speaking to the Welsh press, he said: 'Cardiff City is an exciting club to join.
'A new stadium is on the way and they are aiming at promotion to the Premiership.
'I'm a player who likes to get the ball down and play football and I don't mind whether I play at full-back or in midfield.
'At full-back I can get up and down. I love to go forward and link up with the strikers.'
Capaldi was Argyle's most capped player and is equally happy at left back or at left midfield. Former Argyle manager Paul Sturrock signed Capaldi from Birmingham City in 2003, since then has gone to make nearly 150 appearances for the Pilgrims.
Source: www.plymouth.vitalfootball.co.uk
Cardiff Chairman Admits Offer For Liverpool's Fowler
Cardiff City chairman Peter Ridsdale admits they're keen to sign Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler.
Ridsdale said: "We have offered an attractive package and are hopeful Robbie will decide to come to Cardiff City.
"I think the calibre of the players the club is approaching shows how much we've progressed."
Source: www.tribalfootball.com
Ridsdale said: "We have offered an attractive package and are hopeful Robbie will decide to come to Cardiff City.
"I think the calibre of the players the club is approaching shows how much we've progressed."
Source: www.tribalfootball.com
Saturday 7 July 2007
Carmarthen Town 2 Cardiff City 0
The Bluebirds new summer signings all made their first City appearances on a sunny afternoon in Carmarthen.
City boss Jones selected a mixed starting eleven with youth and first team players in the starting line up.
Tony Capaldi started at left back, with Steve MacLean up front and Gavin Rae taking up a central midfield role.
The signing of Michael Oakes came too late for the first of the pre-season games. Youth goalkeeper Josh Herring took the spot in between the posts.
Cypriot International Costas Charalambides who is currently here on trial started on the right hand side of midfield and showed his international pedigree with a string of tricks and movement.
It was this movement early on that created a chance for MacLean to force the impressive Carmarthen keeper Thomas to make a smart save.
The Bluebirds forced the tempo of the game and really dominated the opening exchanges.
It was Carmarthen Town though, who opened the scoring with Nathan Cotterrall seemingly impeding Gunter to the ball his cross into the six yard box found Sacha Walters, who headed firmly past a helpless Herring.
City forced the rest of the half and created a number of chances with the front two looking lively. Matt Green kept the Town keeper Thomas busy, forcing him into a string of saves.
Steve MacLean came close to opening his City account but his shot was once again saved by Thomas.
Half Time:
Carmarthen Town 1 Cardiff City 0
The second half started in the same manner as the first finished. City continued to create chances, but either no luck in front of goal or Thomas denying the break through.
In fact it was Carmarthen who doubled their lead after 60 minutes with some bizarre refereeing. Glenn Loovens passed the ball back with his knee to the young keeper Herring only for Mr John to deem the pass and illegal back pass. The four hundred plus crowd all saw witnessed the legal pass but unfortunately one man never.
Paul Fowler from the edge of the box dead centre dispatched the free kick past the City keeper with some style.
The impressive MacLean nearly brought the Bluebirds back in touch with a neat turn and finish, but the Town keeper palmed the shot over for a corner when the ball looked destined for the top right hand corner.
All in all it was a good work out for the team we now pack our bags for Portugal and move into the next phase of our pre-season programme.
FT:
Carmarthen Town 2 Cardiff City 0
Attendance 420
Source: Cardiff City - The Official Site
City boss Jones selected a mixed starting eleven with youth and first team players in the starting line up.
Tony Capaldi started at left back, with Steve MacLean up front and Gavin Rae taking up a central midfield role.
The signing of Michael Oakes came too late for the first of the pre-season games. Youth goalkeeper Josh Herring took the spot in between the posts.
Cypriot International Costas Charalambides who is currently here on trial started on the right hand side of midfield and showed his international pedigree with a string of tricks and movement.
It was this movement early on that created a chance for MacLean to force the impressive Carmarthen keeper Thomas to make a smart save.
The Bluebirds forced the tempo of the game and really dominated the opening exchanges.
It was Carmarthen Town though, who opened the scoring with Nathan Cotterrall seemingly impeding Gunter to the ball his cross into the six yard box found Sacha Walters, who headed firmly past a helpless Herring.
City forced the rest of the half and created a number of chances with the front two looking lively. Matt Green kept the Town keeper Thomas busy, forcing him into a string of saves.
Steve MacLean came close to opening his City account but his shot was once again saved by Thomas.
Half Time:
Carmarthen Town 1 Cardiff City 0
The second half started in the same manner as the first finished. City continued to create chances, but either no luck in front of goal or Thomas denying the break through.
In fact it was Carmarthen who doubled their lead after 60 minutes with some bizarre refereeing. Glenn Loovens passed the ball back with his knee to the young keeper Herring only for Mr John to deem the pass and illegal back pass. The four hundred plus crowd all saw witnessed the legal pass but unfortunately one man never.
Paul Fowler from the edge of the box dead centre dispatched the free kick past the City keeper with some style.
The impressive MacLean nearly brought the Bluebirds back in touch with a neat turn and finish, but the Town keeper palmed the shot over for a corner when the ball looked destined for the top right hand corner.
All in all it was a good work out for the team we now pack our bags for Portugal and move into the next phase of our pre-season programme.
FT:
Carmarthen Town 2 Cardiff City 0
Attendance 420
Source: Cardiff City - The Official Site
Merthyr 0-2 Cardiff City
Early pre-season run-out proves to be little more than just that as Cardiff ease past a tough, hard-working Merthyr side at Penydarren Park.
A scrappy opening sprang into life after barely 3 minutes when bluebirds talisman Michael Chopra caused panic in the home defence with a quick turn and strong surge into the box, halted by a superbly timed tackle the ball broke to Kevin McNaughton in an advanced position, the right-back claimed he was bundled to the floor as he shaped to shoot however, the referee thought otherwise and correctly ruled play to continue.
Unsurprisingly things continued the lethargic pace expected of game played on a sunny day in the first week of July, momentary bright-spots coming in the form of some precise passing expected of Stephen McPhail and two unsuccessful shots from distance by Chopra and Paul Parry.
It took a full 20 minutes for either goalkeeper to be tested and it was David Forde who was called into action first, tipping over a wonderful 20-yard dipping shot from Merthyr striker Rhys Carpenter.
Neither team managed to create anything meaningful or even looked like doing so for large periods, Merthyr's only glimmer of a chance looked like coming through catching Cardiff out by getting in behind the City back-four which they managed on several occasions but with no end product. The home side did nearly catch Cardiff cold however on the 40 minute mark again it came from a shot from distance; this time Ryan Dorrian struck a viscous left-footed half-volley which whistled past Ford's near post.
For City it was again Chopra who looked most likely to open the scoring, leaving his marker rooted to the spot with a stunning turn on the edge of the box he looked certain to finish only for Tydfil 'keeper Ashley Morris to palm his shot away with a strong hand down to his right, the ball looked to be falling to the oncoming Warren Feeney however Jaime Rewbury scrambled it away to safety at the back post to deny a definite opener and ensure it remained goal-less at the interval.
Half-time Merthyr Tydfil 0 - 0 Cardiff City
Cardiff looked far more confident from the off, following the break, nearly opening the scoring within the opening minutes, however replacement striker Jason Byrne on as a half-time substitute for Feeney scuffed his effort across 'keeper Morris but tamely into his grateful arms.
Cardiff seemed to work up a head of steam following this and were ahead within 5 minutes, again it was Michael Chopra who collected Stephen McPhail's deft chip over the Martyr's back-four to fire home from close-range.
Merthyr Tydfil 0 - 1 CARDIFF CITY(52mins) Michael Chopra
Merthyr re-grouped and struck back strongly and were nearly awarded an immediate reply however again the referee sided with the visitors in denying a positive penalty appeal, this time for hand-ball against Roger Johnson. Merthyr continued to pressure and once again got in behind the City defence, a splitting pass from finding Kalim Ali in space wide on the right however his intended cut-back evaded every on-coming Tydfil player and fell safe.
Cardiff soaked up the pressure and very nearly struck themselves youngster Paul Gallagher bravely challenging out-rushing Ashley Morris to poke the ball goal wards from a Byrne through-ball only to see his dribbling effort strike the outside of the post.
Moments later the bluebirds did double their, this time Chopra collected an intricate pass from Byrne on the right of the area, steadied himself and dispatched his shot into the far corner.
Merthyr Tydfil 0 - 2 CARDIFF CITY(67mins) Michael Chopra
Chopra didn't have to wait long for his hat-trick chance, within a minute Paul Parry intercepted a lose pass to sprint down the left-flank and find an un-marked Chopra 8-yards from goal, he attempted to round the out-rushing Morris before sliding the ball to his right only for Jason Byrne's side-footed effort to be blocked on the line by two convening Merthyr defenders.
As the game petered to a close the only action either sets of fans had to cheer-on was the most polite, un-assuming streaker ever, only semi-naked he even stayed out of the way of the action, unfortunately even he like the game got boring, severely out-staying his welcome by returning twice more, this time naked he even attempted to full down the shorts of former Swansea City player Sean Cronin to endear himself further to the travelling fans.
Full-time Merthyr Tydfil 0 - 2 CARDIFF CITY
CARDIFF CITY starting line-up: David Forde, Ashley Buswell, Kevin McNaughton, Darren Purse, Roger Johnson, Paul Parry, Stephen McPhail, Jack Carlisle, Kevin Cooper, Michael Chopra, Warren Feeney
Subs: Jason Byrne (45mins) Aaron Ramsey (45mins) Bradley Middleton (45mins) Paul Gallagher (57mins) Travis Wheatle (65mins) Josh McGuiness (68mins)
Merthyr Tydfil starting line-up: Ashley Morris, Sean Cronin, Tarrant Watkins, Marcus Griffiths, Andrew Thomas, Ryan Dorian, Kristian Diamond, Jaime Rewbury, Dean Clarke, Kalim Ali, Rhys Carpenter
Source: Cardiff City - The Official Site
A scrappy opening sprang into life after barely 3 minutes when bluebirds talisman Michael Chopra caused panic in the home defence with a quick turn and strong surge into the box, halted by a superbly timed tackle the ball broke to Kevin McNaughton in an advanced position, the right-back claimed he was bundled to the floor as he shaped to shoot however, the referee thought otherwise and correctly ruled play to continue.
Unsurprisingly things continued the lethargic pace expected of game played on a sunny day in the first week of July, momentary bright-spots coming in the form of some precise passing expected of Stephen McPhail and two unsuccessful shots from distance by Chopra and Paul Parry.
It took a full 20 minutes for either goalkeeper to be tested and it was David Forde who was called into action first, tipping over a wonderful 20-yard dipping shot from Merthyr striker Rhys Carpenter.
Neither team managed to create anything meaningful or even looked like doing so for large periods, Merthyr's only glimmer of a chance looked like coming through catching Cardiff out by getting in behind the City back-four which they managed on several occasions but with no end product. The home side did nearly catch Cardiff cold however on the 40 minute mark again it came from a shot from distance; this time Ryan Dorrian struck a viscous left-footed half-volley which whistled past Ford's near post.
For City it was again Chopra who looked most likely to open the scoring, leaving his marker rooted to the spot with a stunning turn on the edge of the box he looked certain to finish only for Tydfil 'keeper Ashley Morris to palm his shot away with a strong hand down to his right, the ball looked to be falling to the oncoming Warren Feeney however Jaime Rewbury scrambled it away to safety at the back post to deny a definite opener and ensure it remained goal-less at the interval.
Half-time Merthyr Tydfil 0 - 0 Cardiff City
Cardiff looked far more confident from the off, following the break, nearly opening the scoring within the opening minutes, however replacement striker Jason Byrne on as a half-time substitute for Feeney scuffed his effort across 'keeper Morris but tamely into his grateful arms.
Cardiff seemed to work up a head of steam following this and were ahead within 5 minutes, again it was Michael Chopra who collected Stephen McPhail's deft chip over the Martyr's back-four to fire home from close-range.
Merthyr Tydfil 0 - 1 CARDIFF CITY(52mins) Michael Chopra
Merthyr re-grouped and struck back strongly and were nearly awarded an immediate reply however again the referee sided with the visitors in denying a positive penalty appeal, this time for hand-ball against Roger Johnson. Merthyr continued to pressure and once again got in behind the City defence, a splitting pass from finding Kalim Ali in space wide on the right however his intended cut-back evaded every on-coming Tydfil player and fell safe.
Cardiff soaked up the pressure and very nearly struck themselves youngster Paul Gallagher bravely challenging out-rushing Ashley Morris to poke the ball goal wards from a Byrne through-ball only to see his dribbling effort strike the outside of the post.
Moments later the bluebirds did double their, this time Chopra collected an intricate pass from Byrne on the right of the area, steadied himself and dispatched his shot into the far corner.
Merthyr Tydfil 0 - 2 CARDIFF CITY(67mins) Michael Chopra
Chopra didn't have to wait long for his hat-trick chance, within a minute Paul Parry intercepted a lose pass to sprint down the left-flank and find an un-marked Chopra 8-yards from goal, he attempted to round the out-rushing Morris before sliding the ball to his right only for Jason Byrne's side-footed effort to be blocked on the line by two convening Merthyr defenders.
As the game petered to a close the only action either sets of fans had to cheer-on was the most polite, un-assuming streaker ever, only semi-naked he even stayed out of the way of the action, unfortunately even he like the game got boring, severely out-staying his welcome by returning twice more, this time naked he even attempted to full down the shorts of former Swansea City player Sean Cronin to endear himself further to the travelling fans.
Full-time Merthyr Tydfil 0 - 2 CARDIFF CITY
CARDIFF CITY starting line-up: David Forde, Ashley Buswell, Kevin McNaughton, Darren Purse, Roger Johnson, Paul Parry, Stephen McPhail, Jack Carlisle, Kevin Cooper, Michael Chopra, Warren Feeney
Subs: Jason Byrne (45mins) Aaron Ramsey (45mins) Bradley Middleton (45mins) Paul Gallagher (57mins) Travis Wheatle (65mins) Josh McGuiness (68mins)
Merthyr Tydfil starting line-up: Ashley Morris, Sean Cronin, Tarrant Watkins, Marcus Griffiths, Andrew Thomas, Ryan Dorian, Kristian Diamond, Jaime Rewbury, Dean Clarke, Kalim Ali, Rhys Carpenter
Source: Cardiff City - The Official Site
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