Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Thursday, June 22.
Rubin Colwill 'a pleasure to work with'
Wales under-21s boss Matty Jones has heaped praise on Rubin Colwill after his two-goal display against Denmark in their Euro qualification opener.
It was a tough start for Wales, taking on top-seeds Denmark, but with the Danes finishing the game with nine players, they might have felt it was an opportunity for three points which went begging. They ended up drawing 2-2 thanks to two penalties from Colwill, one of which he was fouled for.
Speaking of Colwill, Jones said: "I think he has been a pleasure to work with. He has prepared himself as best as possible. Luckily for Rubin we have been able to have opportunities to capitalise on.
"Who else would you want to take a penalty other than Rubin?"
Clearly, Colwill would have favoured a win over scoring a goal, but it bodes well for Cardiff that he played a full 90 minutes and banged home two from 12 yards out. He remains humble, though.
"I wouldn't say it was brilliant, I'd have preferred the win and not to have scored any goals," Colwill said in his post-match press conference.
"It's good to score, but it's a bit disappointing. We will look to kick on from here. We have showed our character and that we can compete with the best in the group. We are full of confidence.
"It's been really good, a really good bunch of lads and staff, it's like one big family, really, so I've really enjoyed it, to be honest. It's always a pleasure to come away.
"The goal is to play for Cardiff more next year and stay injury-free. Hopefully I can take this forward into the season."
Sala civil case starts today
Cardiff City and Nantes are in court today for the pre-trial hearing over the civil case pertaining to the Bluebirds seeking compensation of around 110m euros.
Cardiff vowed to take separate legal action against Nantes after the Swiss Federal Tribunal decided the Court of Arbitration in Sport did not have jurisdiction to deal with the Bluebirds' damages claim. Cardiff were hit with a transfer embargo by FIFA after their initial refusal to pay Nantes the first instalment of the fee for Sala. They have now paid that sum, around £7m, and FIFA sanctions were lifted. They are still in negotiations to have the EFL's sanctions lifted in order to allow them to pay fees for players.
The two sides were scheduled to begin the hearing at Nantes commercial court early this afternoon, and it is believed the dispute could last anywhere from 12 to 18 months. Today's hearing will discuss the positions of the two parties and set a procedural timetable.
Cardiff find out Carabao Cup opponents
Cardiff City will host Colchester United in the first round of the Carabao Cup.
The draw, which took place on Sky Sports News at 2.30pm today, saw City picked out as the penultimate team in the southern draw, taking on the League Two team in the first cup game this season.
The Bluebirds will hope they fare better than last term, when they were beaten 3-0 at home to Portsmouth in the same stage.
Carabao Cup games have usually meant poor attendances in recent years and this tie is unlikely to inspire a huge crowd. However, it will offer Erol Bulut the opportunity to see some players in action as he finalises his transfer plan.
The game will be played in the week commencing August 7.
Chopra: South Asian community 'proud' of Luthra
Cardiff legend Michael Chopra has said Rohan Luthra made the South Asian community "proud" when he made his debut for the Bluebirds last season.
Luthra came off the bench when Jak Alnwick was sent off late on in the defeat by Preston North End, becoming the first goalkeeper to come out of Britain's South Asian community to play in the Championship.
And Chopra, of Indian heritage, hailed of the achievement.
"It was a brilliant moment for the South Asian community when Rohan came on for Cardiff," Chopra told Sky Sports News.
"Sometimes you only get one chance in life and that is especially true in the football world. Sometimes you only get one chance to make your mark, and if you can't, people often look elsewhere, especially with the amount of money that's involved in football now.
"I was very happy to see him get the opportunity, and now everyone wants to see him kick on and build on that.
"It's great what he is doing. It's great that people can actually look up to him now, especially other South Asian heritage goalkeepers. He's proved that it can be done and that South Asians can do it if they get the opportunity."
Cardiff's opening fixtures ranked
Cardiff City have been handed a tough start to the EFL Championship season - on paper at least, writes James Chittick.
With the new fixtures released this morning for the upcoming Championship season, fans will be looking through the calendar eagerly to pick out the big games over the next nine months.
As always it’s vital to get a strong start to the league campaign and build momentum during the opening rounds.
And with four games before the first international break, this first block of fixtures will be a great indicator of who has had the best pre-season, the strongest transfer window and the most beneficial summer break.
But looking at their opening four games, the Bluebirds have it harder on paper than most.
Erol Bulut's side visit Leeds United on the opening day, before hosting QPR ahead of games against Leicester City (a) and Sheffield Wednesday (a).
Their opponents’ average finishing position last season was 11.0, giving Cardiff the ninth-hardest start to the season statistically.
For the purposes of the calculation, teams were ranked in order based on last season's finishing position, with the relegated Premier League sides highest and newly-promoted former League One sides lowest.
The toughest start to the season in theory goes to Coventry City, though. The Sky Blues travel to recently relegated Leicester City on the opening day, before facing Middlesbrough (h) then playing Swansea City (a) and Sunderland (h).
That gives their opposition an average league position of 4.5 last season, higher than any other set of opponents in the league.
They are followed by West Brom (5.0), Rotherham (6.8) and Huddersfield Town (10.0).
Former Swansea boss and newly-appointed Southampton manager, Russell Martin, has been handed the easiest start on paper.
The relegated Saints’ first season in the second tier since 11/12 starts with a trip to promoted Sheffield Wednesday, before hosting Norwich City, then meeting Plymouth Argyle (a) and Queens Park Rangers (h).
That gives their opponents an average finishing position last year of 21.3, the lowest of any team in the Championship this coming season.
Following Southampton, Leeds United, another relegated Premier League side, have the next easiest start.
The Yorkshire club host Cardiff City, then travel to Birmingham City before playing West Brom (h) and Ipswich Town (a), with their opponents averaging a league position of 18.3 last year.
After Leeds, the easiest starts on paper go to Watford (17.0), Stoke City (16.0) and Leicester City (15.8).
