The Exiled Robin

A well-planned, increasingly well-executed and intensive summer of player recruitment continued today with the signing of one-time England squad goalkeeper Frankie Fielding, from Derby County.  Fielding's signing is undoubtedly a huge relief for head coach Sean O'Driscoll, who having let understudy Dean Gerken and youngster Lewis Carey leave in May, was facing returning to pre-season and having Sam Baldock, Steven Davies and others slotting the ball into an empty net in training.  A number two must still follow, but Fielding will undoubtedly be SOD's first choice come August 3rd, assuming he is fit. On the face of it Fielding is the headline capture of the summer.  It is hard to imagine Fabio Capello spent many minutes watching lower-league football, but saw enough in Fielding to pluck him from almost total obscuity, having only ever turned out for Wycombe Wanderers, Northampton Town and Rochdale whilst on loan from Blackburn.  Yes, he had Paul Robinson to oust ...

Following today's announcement of the fixtures for next season, City fans will be charting their hopes and aspirations for the 2013/14 season as they plan their route around the country.  Stuart Radnedge follow up his preview article from last night with a view on what the fixtures may mean for the season ahead... Well, the fixtures are out and the strong test I was hoping for has been realised. The opening game at home to last year's League Cup runners-up Bradford will certainly be a wake-up to life in League One, as will two trips in a few weeks to face Gillingham away – once in the cup, the other at the end of August, sandwiching trips to 'big' clubs, Coventry and Wolves. Following the announcement a quick chat with my colleagues confirmed a 50/50 split as to whether playing a newly promoted side is a good or bad situation. Bradford, who clearly exceeded expectations last year in the cup, will arguably have momentum behind them after securing promotion from Le...

It's that time again.  With a lack of an international football tournament, fans only have the announcement of the coming season’s fixtures to look forward to. On the eve of their announcement, Stuart Radnedge talks about how the coming season could develop. With the year ending in an odd number, I - like every other football fan in this far reaching world - was preparing for a football-free summer holiday.  The respite was probably a good thing seeing as a number of the City fans on Twitter, including myself, have been preparing weddings either this year or next… (congratulations to all who fall in this category). But as soon as the season finished, and I returned to the country from honeymoon and a work trip to South Africa, I found myself counting down the days for the release of the 2013/14 fixtures.  Just days before, the League Cup first round draw would be announced and I was praying for the opportunity of joyous journey planning.  Living in Cornwal...

The second episode of "The Cider Diaries" is now available to listen to or download. Featuring chat on the signing of Aden Flint, the great news about the Academy attaining Category 2 status, our thoughts on the continued changes to the backroom staff & much more, it's well worth a listen. You can find it (and subscribe) via iTunes by clicking on this link:  https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cider-diaries/id647752062 Or alternatively just listen here http://www.buzzsprout.com/11600/97984-the-cider-diaries-episode-2-positive-news-from-bs3-mp3 Finally, don't forget "The Cider Diaries" now has its own Facebook page so why not head over there & give us a 'like': Http://www.facebook.com/theciderdiaries

I figured it was finally time to get around to doing a bit more with the blog and also my brand new podcast, The Cider Diaries , so have made a start and created two new Facebook pages. These will feature news, info etc about City and other interesting football-related side stories, whilst also being the first to publish new posts when they become available. You can find The Exiled Robin's page here:  http://www.facebook.com/TheExiledRobin Whilst The Cider Diaries page is here:   http://www.facebook.com/TheCiderDiaries You can also now subscribe to The Cider Diaries podcast via iTunes here :  https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cider-diaries/id647752062 This really is the best way to know you won't miss anything and will be the first to hear when we go to air, so get subscribing ( it's FREE!!! ) Thanks all for your ongoing support, comments, feedback and in particular the praise.  It really does keep me doing this! The Exiled Robin Follow me ...