Lino in the stand unmasked

Further to my post below wondering about the linesman in the stand at Reyjkavic, this picture has come to light.

I robbed it without permission from Adam Jones' Facebook page.

These people are senior business professionals . They are 40 years old. At least one of them is a politician.

They went to Iceland v Wales dressed as match officials. Quality.

Name and Shame the Welsh-not Pubs

This is a list of pubs in Wales which showed England v USA last night, and ignored Iceland v Wales. Please add any other pubs to the list:

Cardiff: The Claude
Llandudno : Every single pub
Llanberis : Prince of Wales

Iceland 0-1 Wales

What a goal! Something special to put on my website, www.chedevans.co.uk.

I was quite excited by last night's performance. Not because Iceland were any great shakes, but because at last, there is some hope for us. It's going to be a long road, and people like Ched Evans have fallen by the wayside before now. But let's hope he can keep going, and more importantly, that he can find a settled place at a club with a manager that is more interested in developing players than bagging himself 50k for buying players from Africa.

The first point of interest was Hennessey's save. That was simply astonishing. I don't remember seeing a better one recently, and in many ways it was a better piece of skill that Ched's goal.

Great to see Jack Collison on the pitch, apparently making it 30 new caps that Toshack has dished out. The estimable Nic Parry claimed that Bobby Gould only gave out one first cap - to Craig Bellamy. But didn't he cap a 16 year old Ryan Green, and also to Vinnie Jones?

At last we can see the end of the "Fletcher-Robinson" tunnel. With those two out of the side, we may even become attractive to watch. And at least with Evans and Vokes we have an option if the passing game becomes snuffed out. We haven't had that since John Hartson retired.

It's great to get a win, because it puts pressure on the "personal reasons" withdrawals. Now I have no idea what those personal reasons are (that's a lie actually), but you know what boys? There were lots of people watching in the stands who also have personal problems. I dare say there were people going through divorce, had buried their dog, or had lost their wallet, but they still made it. Your choice to not travel with your National football side sticks in the throat of the supporters.

Remember this was still a side without some of our Premiership players. Still no place for Danny Collins or John Oster. Tosh is creating his own little team in his image, I know, but that defence could surely do with Danny Collins' relative experience.

I was disappointed not to see Aaron Ramsey get a game. Could Tosh be protecting him due to his imminent transfer?

And finally, a word about the lady who sang the anthem. Well done to you. An Icelandic girl singing it word-perfect in Welsh. She put Tom Jones to shame and anyone else who can't be arsed to pick it up. The Welsh National Football Team included.

Linseman in the Crowd?

Linesman in the crowd?
Originally uploaded by Phil Stead

Reyjkavic, May 2008. Iceland v Wales. Carl Fletcher's about to get nobbled. They showed the action replay again and again, but I couldn't take my eyes off the crowd.

I noticed them when they arrived, 5 minutes late. You see I know that flag. Inter Ifor was a Sunday League team I used to play for in Cardiff, made up from regulars at Clwb Ifor Bach.

At first there was some silly little flag waving. But as this photo shows, Griggy appears to be getting a right old ticking off from a linesman. (As usual, he has no interest in the game). And the linesman is actually in the crowd. You can just see his flag in his left hand.

Look closer and they all appear to be linesmen. Now either this was a National Association of Referee Assistants end of season jolly, or somebody was taking the piss. And knowing the characters involved, my money's on the latter.

Big Test in the Algarve

While we are all still swanning round in our post-Wembley euphoria, and basking in the adulation gushed upon us by members of the National press, the pre-season tournament in the Algarve seems a natural step for a club on the up. It's certainly a long way from our historic pre-season warm ups against Hednesford and Forest Green Rovers.

But it's a big test for this new Cardiff City. Not on the pitch, where we will be watching the sporting equivalent of Ray Winstone in "Sexy Beast", but off it.

Prompted by Harry Redknapps pre-match call for the fans to stay behind at Wembley and applaud the winners, we have been beatified for our sporting good play. Whisper it, but we only stayed to give our own team a send off. And we've also been lauded for our good support and general enthusiasm. Well compared to the soporofic theatre attenders that normally view these events when they're contested by Manchester United or Chelsea, I suppose it was pretty raucous.

But hidden in this impressionistic view of our rattle clacking fans are countless stories of yobbery, ignorance and fuck-you attitudes. Once again, families were mixed in with the lads, and were forced to deal with loutish behaviour. The lads in turn were irritated by the "plastic fans" and their perceived lack of passion.

There's a culture shift at Ninian Park, and the two forces clashed at Wembley. Only verbally of course, but it left a nasty taste in the mouths of some parents who are usually cocooned in the relative calm of the Spar Family Stand.

So who will win? I think that depends on the footballing success achieved by the club. If they do well again this season, more new fans will be attracted who don't see posturing and abuse as a pre-requisite for passion. The old Stone Islanders will feel more and more disenfranchised.

And the pre season tournament in the Algarve will be an early test of the new era. Can we go there peacefully for games against Celtic and Vitoria Guimaraes, with Middlesbrough also mooching around? This will certainly be an attractive option for a family holiday, but everyone knows it might well kick off.

Can our lads cope with the sun and the lager? Can they party happily for a week with our friends from Glasgow and the North East? Or will the plastic chairs be flying when the sun comes down? I think our behaviour in the Algarve will pretty much be a mark of our progress away from the nasty unloved club of the 1980s and 1990s. And I'm afraid I'm not that confident.