Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Thursday, September 15.
O'Dowda receives Ireland call
Bluebirds winger Callum O'Dowda has been called up to represent the Republic of Ireland for the first time since November 2020.
O'Dowda has been one of the best new signings to have come through the door this summer, scoring twice and assisting twice in his seven outings for his new club.
And that sort of form has been recognised by Stephen Kenny, who has also called up Callum Robinson, and Cardiff boss Steve Morison is delighted with the player's blistering start to life in south Wales.
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"Yeah I was really pleased to get it over the line," Morison said of signing O'Dowda. "I could see why so many people were interested him. He’s an intelligent footballer and an intelligent person. A great athlete.
"We are really lucky to have him at the minute. I fully expected it, but you never know until it actually happens. I'm really pleased for him."
Fixture fury
Steve Morison has expressed his disappointment at being forced into playing the rearranged Hull City game before the World Cup begins.
The Bluebirds' clash with the Tigers last weekend was postponed due to the passing of the Queen and while Cardiff and Hull both want the fixture to be pencilled in for next March, the EFL are telling them it has to be played next month.
Morison believes it's unfair on the footballers and the spectacle of the game will be hurt in the process.
"The Hull game we have missed, they are now forcing us to play it before the World Cup comes around," he said.
"Us and Hull want to play it in March but they’ve said no, so October becomes an eight-game month. The spectacle gets hurt, because the games become less entertaining, because the players are tired.
"When we start back after the international break, it’s Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday for a month. It’s going to be hectic. We are going to need all the squad, everyone will need to be ready."
Ralls injury update
Cardiff skipper Joe Ralls is 'highly unlikely' to feature against Huddersfield Town this weekend owing to a groin injury.
The Bluebirds midfielder was taken off at Middlesbrough on Tuesday and it looks almost nailed-on that he will miss the trip to the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday.
"He is highly unlikely to be available for Saturday. There are lumps, bumps, knocks and bruises. It’s whether people turn around quickly enough," Morison said.
"He will be back after the international break. He feels better today than he did at the time. It’s a really quick turnaround so I doubt he’ll be ready."
Purse: The club is in safe hands under Morison
Darren Purse has said he is "nowhere near" progressing to become a first-team manager but admits that is where he ultimately wants to end up.
Speaking on ACE Podcast Nation this week, the Bluebirds under-21s boss spoke about enjoying his own situation at the club as well as Cardiff being in capable hands under Steve Morison.
"That's where I want to be," he said when asked if he wanted to be a manger one day. "Whether I get that opportunity or not, I don't know. I'm not ready for it, not anywhere near. I'm learning every day.
"Morro is brilliant. You look at where we are as coaches, I'm older than Morro, but he's got more experience than me in coaching, he finished playing younger than I did. I think he's an excellent manager, the way he's handled the turnover of players, I think the club is in a good place in his hands.
"People like Hudds (Mark Hudson) being around, we are always bouncing off each other, trying to learn things and make the best of what we are as a football club.
"I do want to go into management, but I'm not ready for that at this moment in time."
Having taken the job at the beginning of this year, Purse said he identified an area which needed addressing in the club's under-21s cohort: Needing to loan more players out to benefit their careers.
He said of the loan policy at the club: "It was one of the things, when I came in as under-21s manager at the end of last year, I said the club lacks. We never sent enough players out on loan or enough players out on loan to the right level.
"If you looked at the under-21s' results until Christmas, they won every game. After Christmas, we sent Chanka Zimba out, James Connolly to Bristol Rovers, because that's what was right for them as individuals. It probably wasn't right for the under-21s as a team, because we struggled the second half of the season, but for the four, five, six individuals out on loan, it was perfect for them.
"Chanka is now out on loan at Newport and scoring goals, James Connolly we sold in the summer to Bristol Rovers. We would love to win every game at under-21s, but we won't get judged on winning that, we will get judged on the number of players who get in the first team and make careers for themselves. That's my job."
He even picked out three 'exciting players' he is hoping have big seasons for his side, saying: "We've got some exciting players, like Joel Colwill, Rubin's brother, he is only a second-year scholar, but he is up playing with the under-21s already. He is a bright talent.
"People like James Crole, Jack Leahy, there is a lot of talent coming through the under-21s and hopefully over the next six months or year there will be more (first-team) debuts."
Ollie Denham receives under-21s call-up
Ollie Denham has been named in the Wales under-21s squad to face Austria later this month.
It comes as the under-21s have named Matty Jones as their new manager following the departure of Paul Bodin.
In the senior Wales side, Bluebirds dup Mark Harris and Rubin Colwill were called into Rob Page's side yesterday.
A number of under-19s have been included in that age-grade, too. Joel Colwill, Morgan Wigley and James Crole will link up with the W Wales under-19s squad as they bid to qualify for the 2023 UEFA U19 European Championship.
The young Dragons will face Hungary and the Republic of Ireland at Nantporth Stadium in Bangor, before then heading the the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham, where they will host Gibraltar.
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