Cardiff City forward Cian Ashford is enjoying playing in a more central role following his eye-catching performance in the Bluebirds' Carabao Cup win over Swindon. The 21-year-old assisted Yousef Salech for the second goal in the 3-2 win and was also denied by the crossbar. Ashford spent many years playing in a central role with Cardiff's academy but his minutes for the first team have almost exclusively come on the wing.
Swindon Town boss Ian Holloway insists he would be "delighted" if the League Two side repeat last season's 2-1 defeat by Cardiff City in the EFL Cup. The Bluebirds, who thrashed Italian giants Roma 4-1 in their final pre-season friendly last weekend, kick off the season against the Robins at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday (15:00 BST). The teams met at the same stage in the 2025-26 competition, when goals by Cian Ashford and Rubin Colwill earned Cardiff victory on their way to the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Chelsea.
A new book details the footballer’s Ashington upbringing, his shyness and the work ethic that set him apartOf all the footballers who have worn the black and white, that possessive geordie pronoun “Wor” (our) was unique to Jackie Milburn; for he was a man of the people as much as he was a great sportsman. In that respect, his birthplace of Ashington in Northumberland only added to the mythology.“The biggest pit village in the world,” as it was known, was the north-east in microcosm – a one-horse coal town where miles of identical terraced houses spread out from the pitheads and the menfolk were obsessed by whippets, leeks, association football and pints in the club. Nevertheless, he had a self-discipline that saw the pitfalls of alcohol: “Certainly it prevented my dad, Alec Milburn, from making the big time,” Jackie recalled. “He could have gone to Tottenham but preferred to stay home and drink his ale.” Continue reading...
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