"WHY PLAYING INFRONT OF CARDIFF FANS IS SO SPECIAL"
Thu Jan 19, 2017 12:15 am
Where we that good at Bristol!? 
Why playing in front of Cardiff City fans is so very special and really lifts the players
Hearing the incredible support at Bristol City made hairs stand up on the back of my neck and I know just how much Neil Warnock's players will have been lifted by the backing they received
18 JAN 2017
By Nathan Blake
Blakey says nothing compares to the thrill of celebrating a goal with the Cardiff City fans
It's a few days on, but the memory of events at Ashton Gate at the weekend still bring a smile back to my face.
This is my take on the main talking points of the week...
Those brilliant Bluebirds fans
After the result itself, for me the big winners from the Bristol City game were the travelling fans who hardly stopped making themselves heard throughout.
It was so wonderful to see them get the reward they fully deserved and celebrate with the players at the end, thanks to that stirring fightback in the closing 20 minutes.
Cardiff City supporters have come, not so much under pressure, but suspicion from some quarters because of the lack of numbers at the FA Cup defeat to Fulham.
One or two people, some high profile, had their say about the empty seats that day. But there were bona-fide reasons for that low gate and you certainly shouldn't question the loyalty of Cardiff fans.
Bristol City was another early kick-off, but more than 2,000 made the trip across the Severn Bridge and they showed the true meaning of support for their team. They made a right old racket throughout and as a former Bluebirds player I can tell you at times it made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock celebrates with the fans at Bristol City
Those supporters barely stopped roaring on their team, even when Cardiff played poorly in the first-half and then twice went behind. Most of them must have been so hoarse by the end they probably needed a bit of TCP on the coach journey home - although in their case, lager would have made a handy substitute!
They had every right to celebrate too because those fans more than played their part in the victory, lifted the players when they were down, helped them when they were up.
When you go to a place like Bristol City, it is like stepping into the lions' den. There is a sense of apprehension. To see a blue army of your own support, even if they are vastly outnumbered, suddenly makes you feel like anything is possible. You're 10 feet tall, have a spring in your step.
Cardiff have always had this though. I remember the time when we won the old Third Division back in the mid-1990s and took 5,000 fans to Scunthorpe... in a ground that only held 7,500!
Video thumbnail, Paul Abbandonato on Cardiff City's win over Bristol City
When I was in the Premier League with Sheffield United, we were about to play Newcastle and my team-mates were saying, 'These Geordies are so passionate about the game they'll bring 5,000 down. Their support is second to none.'
When I replied that when I was with Cardiff we had 5,000 supporting us in the old Third Division at Scunthorpe, they refused to believe me. But it's true.
There are two things I miss most about football. One is celebrating scoring a goal with your team-mates, the other is celebrating with your fans. There aren't many human emotions where you feel as happy as that and watching Cardiff supporters going loopy at Bristol, particularly when Anthony Pilkington struck the winner, was a wonderful moment for me.
The only disappointment, if there was one, was that the goals were scored at the other end of the pitch, so the players couldn't run to their own fans. But they made up for that at the end, celebrating the win together.
I know what Neil Warnock's players were going through. It's almost like you have a one-on-one rapport with those fans, even though there are 20,000, 10,000 or even 2,000 of them in the stadium.
If you're not playing well, they tell you to get your arse shifted. And you do. If you are playing well, their support is non-stop. Just ask Pilkington and his team-mates, who witnessed that first hand at Ashton Gate.
Make no mistake, the fans played their part in the fantastic win.
Why playing in front of Cardiff City fans is so very special and really lifts the players
Hearing the incredible support at Bristol City made hairs stand up on the back of my neck and I know just how much Neil Warnock's players will have been lifted by the backing they received
18 JAN 2017
By Nathan Blake
Blakey says nothing compares to the thrill of celebrating a goal with the Cardiff City fans
It's a few days on, but the memory of events at Ashton Gate at the weekend still bring a smile back to my face.
This is my take on the main talking points of the week...
Those brilliant Bluebirds fans
After the result itself, for me the big winners from the Bristol City game were the travelling fans who hardly stopped making themselves heard throughout.
It was so wonderful to see them get the reward they fully deserved and celebrate with the players at the end, thanks to that stirring fightback in the closing 20 minutes.
Cardiff City supporters have come, not so much under pressure, but suspicion from some quarters because of the lack of numbers at the FA Cup defeat to Fulham.
One or two people, some high profile, had their say about the empty seats that day. But there were bona-fide reasons for that low gate and you certainly shouldn't question the loyalty of Cardiff fans.
Bristol City was another early kick-off, but more than 2,000 made the trip across the Severn Bridge and they showed the true meaning of support for their team. They made a right old racket throughout and as a former Bluebirds player I can tell you at times it made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock celebrates with the fans at Bristol City
Those supporters barely stopped roaring on their team, even when Cardiff played poorly in the first-half and then twice went behind. Most of them must have been so hoarse by the end they probably needed a bit of TCP on the coach journey home - although in their case, lager would have made a handy substitute!
They had every right to celebrate too because those fans more than played their part in the victory, lifted the players when they were down, helped them when they were up.
When you go to a place like Bristol City, it is like stepping into the lions' den. There is a sense of apprehension. To see a blue army of your own support, even if they are vastly outnumbered, suddenly makes you feel like anything is possible. You're 10 feet tall, have a spring in your step.
Cardiff have always had this though. I remember the time when we won the old Third Division back in the mid-1990s and took 5,000 fans to Scunthorpe... in a ground that only held 7,500!
Video thumbnail, Paul Abbandonato on Cardiff City's win over Bristol City
When I was in the Premier League with Sheffield United, we were about to play Newcastle and my team-mates were saying, 'These Geordies are so passionate about the game they'll bring 5,000 down. Their support is second to none.'
When I replied that when I was with Cardiff we had 5,000 supporting us in the old Third Division at Scunthorpe, they refused to believe me. But it's true.
There are two things I miss most about football. One is celebrating scoring a goal with your team-mates, the other is celebrating with your fans. There aren't many human emotions where you feel as happy as that and watching Cardiff supporters going loopy at Bristol, particularly when Anthony Pilkington struck the winner, was a wonderful moment for me.
The only disappointment, if there was one, was that the goals were scored at the other end of the pitch, so the players couldn't run to their own fans. But they made up for that at the end, celebrating the win together.
I know what Neil Warnock's players were going through. It's almost like you have a one-on-one rapport with those fans, even though there are 20,000, 10,000 or even 2,000 of them in the stadium.
If you're not playing well, they tell you to get your arse shifted. And you do. If you are playing well, their support is non-stop. Just ask Pilkington and his team-mates, who witnessed that first hand at Ashton Gate.
Make no mistake, the fans played their part in the fantastic win.
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Re: "WHY PLAYING INFRONT OF CARDIFF FANS IS SO SPECIAL"
Thu Jan 19, 2017 6:50 pm
On our day our fans are as good as anyone tobe honest a lot of clubs will admit when we are in town with our full support the fixture becomes attractive and the atmosphere his second to none winning away from is always special with cardiff