Gareth Ainsworth

had it on the back of my mind that his first name was Gary. Whoops,

Anyway as some might already know on here I saw him play for Wycombe against Burton yesterday. He was their captain for the day and scored the goal of the season so far. A cracking 30 yard strike that hit the top left hand corner of the net.

However it was not the goal or his performance that impressed me about the guy. He looked like your old fashioned footballer with long hair and the looks that showed he had been around a while. He is 37 years old for those of us who do not know. What stuck out about him was his connection with the fans.

During Wycombes final warm up exercise where they assembled by their fans he was the only player to ackowledge their cheers. Thats when I realised what Incredible Hulk forearms he had as he applauded the fans. You could hear that clap for miles I reckon. As the players departed for the dressing room to prepare for KO he was the last one of the field as he made time to shake some of the Wycombe supporters hands. What a fantastic impression he left and I wondered what he would be like on the pitch.

The first half he played on the opposite side of the pitch to where I was seated. In the early stages he was outsprinting the younger defenders and creating some good crosses. It was in this period he scored his goal. He was Man of the Match before the first half was over as far as I was concerned.

In the second half he slowed down which was expected up he held his own very well in the fact he was not left standing by the younger guys. He read the game very well and seem to be there to stop any attack. He was not slow to get stuck in and when he was involved in a heavy challenging resulting in him and the opposing player being floored he made sure that the other player was OK when he got up himself. What a fantastic sportman impression he had left with me.

No one knows that the future holds for anyone in football but this is one guy I hope will remain around for a lot longer. I hope he makes it into management and is successful. I was quite proud of the fact he use to be a Cardiff player.

Seen his goal on the FL show, it was a beauty fair play

His 100th goal

He only played a short time for us, but his Attitude/ Commitment and Passion was Fantastic

Yeah you are Annis he didnt play long for us but his Attitude/ Commitment and Passion was Fantastic and the supporters loved him

Yeah you are Annis he didnt play long for us but his Attitude/ Commitment and Passion was Fantastic and the supporters loved him

And Thats the type of kind of player that needs to be in a City Squad, when things dont go to plan

I met Gareth Ainsworth in a service station a couple of seasons ago. We were on our way to Bournmouth away in the League Cup and QPR (he was caretaker manager at the time) were on their way to Swindon. Me and my brother got chatting about him and the games he played for City and he was a top, top guy. He said that he loved playing for us and would give anything to play for us again. He said the Cardiff fans were the best he's ever played in front of. Was really impressed with him and I think he'll eventually become a very good manager.

Great player.....
totally committed when playing for us.

Remember him playing at the Andy Legg testimonial charity again - the interview he gave was brilliant.

He does lead vocals in a band, Dog Chewed the Handle - http://www.myspace.com/dcthrock

At the end of his interview in the charity game he turned the crowd and shouted "Rock On!!" with his fist in the metal horns shape!


What a man.

To me he always seems a normal guy, football was a side hobbby that he was good at and paid well but he was all about real life.
"rock and Roll"