Your Cardiff City headlines for Tuesday, September 27.
Kion Etete back training on the grass
Kion Etete is back on the training ground and involved with the first team, according to photos released by the Bluebirds' social media accounts.
Etete, 20, has been out of action for more than a month after rolling his ankle in an under-21s game, and has only made five appearances for Cardiff since his £500,000 move from Tottenham.
Cardiff have missed his height at the end of matches when pushing for a winner, with so few players unable to win aerial duels at the top end of the pitch. Now, though, it looks like he could be nearing full fitness as he was pictured on Tuesday training fully with the rest of the squad.
Rubin Colwill, fresh from his exploits with Wales on Sunday night, was also back in Cardiff colours. Many hope he will have more of an involvement as we move forward under Mark Hudson.
Rob Edwards now among manager favourites
Sacked Watford manager Rob Edwards has been installed as the third favourite to take the vacant post at Cardiff City.
It was something of a shock that the Bluebirds' divisional rivals let the Welshman go on Monday, having prised him from promotion-winning Forest Green Rovers in the summer.
Mark Hudson has been the heavy favourite for the Cardiff job for the most part, since Steve Morison's sacking a week last Sunday, and that very much remains the case. Indeed, WalesOnline were told that Cardiff are ready to give Hudson a crack at proving himself for the role, unless an outstanding candidate somehow becomes available.
Cardiff fans' favourite Sol Bamba is still second in the odds list, despite the centre-back never having taken a senior managerial post before.
Now, though, a fresh name has entered the fray, with former Wales international Edwards third on the list, as short as 9/1. He garnered a stellar reputation for winning the league with Forest Green last season, earning them promotion to League One for the first time in the club's history.
The Hornets moved quickly to appoint the former Wales defender, however they have moved just as quickly to sack him as the revolving door at Vicarage Road continues to turn. Needless to say, with Watford just one point off the play-off spots after 10 games, there was outrage among Hornets supporters at the decision.
But Watford's loss will likely be another club's gain and he is already featuring prominently with the bookmakers for clubs who are currently seeking managers. See the odds in full here.
FIFA ratings confirmed
Cardiff City's player ratings for the popular EA game FIFA 23 have been revealed, with a three-way tie for the best-rated player in the Bluebirds squad.
According to Futwiz, new signings from West Brom, Callum Robinson and Romaine Sawyers, along with new captain Joe Ralls are all rated 71 in the newest instalment of the game. Last year, Cardiff had four players — Kieffer Moore (74), Sean Morrison (73), Alex Smithies and Marlon Pack (both 72) — who were rated higher than their current highest-rated player.
Andy Rinomhota, Callum O'Dowda and Perry Ng are the joint-fourth best players at Cardiff, all with a rating of 70.
Rubin Colwill is the club's most-improved player from last season, leaping up 10 points from a rating of 57 at the start of last season to 67 this time around following his first full season in the senior side. Joel Bagan is another big winner, leaping from 60 last year to 66 this time.
Mark Harris has seen a similar hike owing to his exploits with Wales and Cardiff over the last 12 months, jumping from 62 to 67. Interestingly, Harris is the quickest player on Cardiff's roster, according to FIFA, with a rating of 83/100. Read the story in full here.
Bluebirds in action today
Despite the international break drawing to a close, we still have some players in action today.
Republic of Ireland duo Callum O'Dowda and Callum Robinson will hope to be involved as the Irish take on Armenia in Dublin.
O'Dowda was only a substitute last time out, however Robinson was brought on during the 2-1 defeat by Scotland on Saturday. Mark McGuinness, currently on loan with Sheffield Wednesday, will hope to play for the Republic of Ireland under-21s against Israel today, too.
Gavin Whyte, who produced a stellar display for Northern Ireland against Kosovo on Saturday, will hope to make a similar impact out in Greece tonight.
Eli King, also on loan at Crewe Alexandra, will hope to play some part in Wales under-21s' clash with Austria tonight, too, out in Vienna. Oliver Denham had to withdraw from the squad due to injury.
Joel Colwill, Morgan Wigley and James Crole will all be vying for a starting spot today when Wales under-19s play Gibraltar at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham.
Academy update
Cardiff City board member Steve Borley has tweeted an update on the club's new academy site in Llanrumney.
The collaboration between the Bluebirds, Cardiff Council and Cardiff University will see a state-of-the-art sports complex built to serve Cardiff University and the Llanrumney community sports trust. The project will include a tier-two 3G football facility, a floodlit, 3G, World Rugby-standard rugby pitch and another dual floodlit football and rugby pitch which will have pitch markings for both sports.
Cardiff City FC will occupy 16 acres of the site, within which learning facilities will be included in the construction, with the plan to take over the old Doctor Who building and create a learning environment with classrooms for the youngsters who attend college.
The two-storey building will include offices, a lecture theatre, canteen, changing rooms and a gym. The building will also house an indoor academy-standard 3G training pitch, in addition to five full-size grass pitches, a 3G tier-two standard pitch and a goalkeeper-specific training area.
And ground has not only been broken, but two pitches have already been laid. The rugby 3G pitch is already laid, while the surface for the dual football-rugby surface has already been laid. Cardiff's 3G pitch and the hockey 3G pitch drainage levels have been formed and the fences have been installed. The building accommodation block steelwork for the academy has also been installed.
READ NEXT
- Sacked Watford manager Rob Edwards now among favourites to take Cardiff City job
- The inside story of Cardiff City's fresh start and what to expect under Mark Hudson
