After 400 games, Joe Ralls still sets the standard

There was a passage of play in the recent draw with Coventry that typified Joe Ralls and his time at the club.

Cardiff had dominated the first half and led at half-time, but a minute into the second half, they had conceded a calamitous equalizer and been reduced to 10 men. It changed the whole fabric of the match and from then on, they were on the back foot. Ralls, returning after a couple of weeks absent, was introduced in the 85^th minute to help close out the game.

Within two minutes of his introduction, there was a loose ball in the Cardiff penalty area with the ball set to drop to Coventry goal scorer Tatsuhiro Sakamoto. Despite the danger of a penalty resulting from a mistimed challenge, Ralls came steaming in with a crunching tackle, won the ball cleanly and snuffed out Coventry’s hopes of winning all three points. As Sakamoto limped off, a team-mate handed Ralls the captains armband and Cardiff held on for a valuable point.

At 31, Ralls may be a diminishing force, but he very much still sets the standard and leads from the front. You can no longer rely on him to always be available, but you can always rely on him when he sets foot on the pitch. His leadership qualities are noticeably absent when he is and while he may now sometimes divide opinion, Cardiff tend to play better with him in the side.

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A pro since 2011, to remain at Cardiff, a club with a ridiculously high turnover of players and staff, all that time is a truly remarkable feat and the stats are astonishing. Ralls has racked up 27,826 league minutes under 15 different managers, with a further 1716 cup minutes, which only serves to highlight how dreadful Cardiff’s record has been in those competitions during this time.

Ralls has also outlived 281 permanent and temporary players. He has remained Cardiff’s north star throughout and in the Championship, only Liam Palmer at Sheffield Wednesday can surpass Ralls in terms of his stay at a single club. These players are very much a dying breed and should be appreciated by all while you still can.

Sean Morrison recently told a story on The Central Club podcast of the 0-0 home draw with Reading that sealed Cardiff’s promotion to the Premier League. He recalled, as the game drew to a close, acknowledging the achievement with Lee Peltier, only for Ralls to reprimand his captain while the game was still in progress and the goal was still to be achieved. It brings to mind the famous story of Manchester United flying back from a European game and Gary Neville doing shuttle runs down the aisle, proclaiming ‘my preparation for Saturday starts now,’ but you need those players. You need that drive and discipline in a side and Ralls has never allowed standards around him to slip.

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As it currently stands, Ralls, like many others, will see his Cardiff contract expire at the end of the season, but an appearance-based one-year extension could yet be activated by an unspecified number of games played. He’s featured in 13 of 25 league games to date and looks set to continue playing a pivotal role in the Cardiff midfield. Fitness permitting, I’m sure he will activate the extra year because he’s needed now more than ever.

Ralls may not have the legs that he used to have, but he played 90 minutes last night, his 400^th game for the club, albeit admitting in the post-match interview that he was knackered. The Championship is a gruelling, brutal division and while two games a week, every week may now be beyond Ralls, but he is exactly who you need in the trenches and make no mistake, Cardiff are very much in the shit at present.

We now live in an age where you’re only as good as your last appearance and the court of public opinion sways back and forth with the breeze. Ralls has drifted in and out of fashion many times over the years, yet he still remains. A totem of the modern era. When his legs finally do go, it should not be forgotten that all those hard yards were in service to Cardiff City and that deserves your undying respect. An ambassador for the club, on and off the pitch, appreciate him while he’s still there and you still can because there will never be another Joe Ralls.