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A round-up of the articles running in the local and national press on Sunday

ROB FLIES IN TO LIFT BLUEBIRDS

Sunday Mirror: Ken Gorman 22/07/2007

ROBBIE FOWLER will become Cardiff City's biggest transfer coup for half a century when he joins the Welsh club tomorrow.

And the former England striker will also become the most expensive player in the club's history when he signs a two-year deal that could net him a staggering £2million. We can reveal that the terms have already been agreed and Fowler will be flying back from a family holiday in Portugal to undergo his medical examination.

When the former Liverpool, Leeds and Man City man puts pen to paper it will climax weeks of patient groundwork by Cardiff manager Dave Jones and chairman Peter Ridsdale. They have both met Fowler and sold him their own dreams for the future of the Championship club.

Ridsdale (right) is so keen to oversee the signing of a player he once took to Leeds that he has cut short his own family holiday in America to be at Ninian Park tomorrow to seal the deal.

A close friend of Fowler said: "Robbie could have gone to other clubs for more money. At least a couple of Premiership clubs were interested. But he needed something to give him that spark after leaving Liverpool for the second time in the summer. And Cardiff appeals most to him."

The money is handy, however. Fowler's contract will earn him £1m a year - £20,000 a week - for two years. And he will collect a £1m bonus if he helps the Championship side into the Premier League.

Ridsdale, determined not to allow the deal to erode the tough financial restrictions he has imposed at Cardiff, has acted cutely by bringing in local businesses to subsidise much of the costs in the form of sponsorship. Redrow, the building company who were once Cardiff's shirt sponsors, have ploughed £250,000 into the Fowler kitty and several other local firms are also keen to become involved.

The signing will certainly lift the spirit of Cardiff's supporters, who were bitterly disappointed by the £5m sale to Sunderland of last season's top scorer Michael Chopra.

Not since the signing of legendary Wales striker Trevor Ford - from Sunderland - for a then record fee of £30,000 way back in 1955 have the club scooped such a big name.

Fowler has been a star on the world stage at Liverpool, where he scored 171 goals in 330 games before moving to Leeds six years ago for £11m. He scored 14 goals in 31 games for the Yorkshire side before their crippling debts forced them to sell him on to Manchester City for £6m just 14 months later.

He struck 26 goals in 92 games for City before moving back to Liverpool 18 months ago. And even though he played just 35 games for the Anfield side last season, he still managed a dozen goals.

The gamble for Cardiff is whether Fowler, 32 and with a property business worth more than £30m, still has the appetite for the rigours of the game. His advisor George Scott insists: "Robbie is still a footballer first and foremost. He has been working on his own all summer and he is desperate to do well."

And Fowler's former Liverpool teammate Ian Rush - the greatest Welsh striker of them all - says: "Knowing Robbie as I do, I am sure he will see this as a chance to end his career by achieving something special - and if he can get Cardiff into the Premiership, that really would be special."

Kevin Ratcliffe on Fowler's move

BBC Online

Robbie Fowler's arrival at Ninian Park is a major coup for Dave Jones and Cardiff City. Fowler might have to adjust a little bit to the pace and style of play in the Championship, but I think the move will suit him.

I certainly enjoyed my time with Cardiff when I joined them from Everton back in 1993. I maybe knew a bit more about the club than Fowler does, but I can't see him having any problems settling in.

The fans will certainly give him a great welcome because his record speaks for itself - and he's still a fantastic finisher, there is no doubt about that. I know he's lost that little bit of sharpness, but he's still got that Premiership quality. For me, he's one of the best finishers the British game has seen over the last 10 to 15 years.

He's reached a stage in his career now where I think he was looking to step down a division, but it was important for him to join a club with potential and looking to go places. And although Cardiff have put a great financial package to get him, I don't think money is the reason he's coming to Ninian Park.

Obviously he's talked to the people in charge at Cardiff and he's liked what he's seen and what he's heard. Cardiff have been looking to replace Michael Chopra after selling him to Sunderland, but I don't think Fowler will fill the same role. He's a totally different player to Chopra. He's more of a natural goalscorer and he's done it at the top level.

Chopra is still unproven at that level, although he could yet become a great player in the Premiership. But with Robbie you're getting a proven goalscorer. He's the wrong side of 30 now so Cardiff have to play to his strengths. They need him inside the box, that's where he'll score the goals.

There is a danger for strikers in their 30s to drop deeper and deeper instead of leading the line. He needs to be on the shoulder of the last defender. If he's not, then he hasn't got the pace to get himself into the box to hurt the opposition.

Cardiff are also still being strongly linked with a move for Francis Jeffers, and he could be more of a straight replacement for Chopra. He's a little bit more lively than Robbie but not as prolific as a goalscorer. He will get you goals but he's been dogged by injuries over the last few years. I think he still hasn't proved himself at the top level. He's got the potential but he hasn't yet fulfilled it.

Feeney: I'll learn from Fowler

Jul 22 2007, Wales On Sunday

ROBBIE Fowler's decision to join Cardiff is clear proof of the Welsh club's determination to win promotion to the Barclays Premier League this season, according to Bluebirds striker Warren Feeney. Feeney, who joined Cardiff during last season, said: "Robbie is one of the players I looked up to the most. I always admired the way he was, on and off the pitch. He has that cockiness about him, which is why he is so good.

"When I was growing up and making my way in the game, Robbie was the main man in English football in terms of strikers. He was the player all young strikers wanted to be like, and to have the chance to play with him is great."

Feeney revealed that Fowler's former international team-mate Trevor Sinclair, who also joined Cardiff this summer, had played a role in persuading the former Leeds and Manchester City player to move to Ninian Park. Feeney said: "Trevor has been on the phone to Robbie, telling him to come here and telling him that it is a club going in the right direction.

"I know a lot of clubs were interested in Robbie, but he has made the right choice in coming here. The club is buzzing. Robbie will be a great player to learn from, and I am a bit shocked no Premiership clubs were in for him. He could have done a job for someone in the top division. He has proved himself time and again. All he needs is a run of games to regain his confidence."

New signing is heaven sent

Jul 22 2007 by Peter Shuttleworth, Wales On Sunday

CARDIFF City should thank the Lord they've signed 'God' - because he should fire them into the Premiership. Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler - or 'God' as he's known on The Kop - is arguably the greatest goal-poacher of this generation and his inspiration will be the perfect recipe for Championship success at Cardiff.

Fowler is the ultimate fox in the box and the chances City missed last term won't go begging this time as The Bluebirds boast the best striker in the division. Robbie is the fourth highest goalscorer in Premier League history and is proven quality.

While he hasn't enjoyed such a prolific time in the Premiership of late, dropping down a level should spark a goal rush as defenders aren't quite as sharp and Fowler can score from anywhere and with any part of his body.

Robbie is a multi, multi-millionaire so he clearly hasn't come to Cardiff for the money; he doesn't need it. But what money can't buy is the adrenalin rush from scoring goals and the adulation of a city - that is what motivates goal-scorers and at Cardiff he'll have that in abundance as long as he stays fit.

What is positive for Cardiff is that Fowler turned down moves to Leicester and Australian side Sydney to join the Ninian Park Premiership push - so he clearly wants to play for them. Robbie Fowler is a born winner and his knowledge and experience will be invaluable to all the lads; it'll raise the performance levels as every City star will want to show he's worthy of playing in the same side as such a superstar.

Now my old Everton team-mate Francis Jeffers should join Fowler because he needs leadership and guidance to get his career back on track. Franny is a Premiership missfit so should not price himself out of Cardiff's market. If that's what has happened it's a very short-sighted approach.

He, like Fowler, just needs to play regularly and recapture the goalscoring touch that impressed me when Franny broke into the Everton team as a teenager. Premiership clubs are sceptical of signing him because of his terrible injury record so he must prove to everyone he can play a season without breaking down and score a few goals for luck. That'll get top-flight clubs interested. The amount of chances Cardiff create, a Fowler and Franny double-act would be a match made in Championship heaven.

Yeovil Town 0-2 Cardiff City

BBC Online

Steven MacLean scored his second goal in as many games as Cardiff City enjoyed a comfortable win at Yeovil. New signing MacLean scored Cardiff's second from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time after Warren Feeney had been brought down.

Feeney had opened the scoring eight minutes earlier with a simple tap-in when his penalty was partially saved. Cardiff captain Darren Purse missed the game being caught up in floods in Gloucestershire on Friday night. Purse and team-mate Riccy Scimeca were forced to abandon the car they were travelling in after it became stuck in an overflowing ford.

"It was a nightmare. I left training at one o'clock on Friday afternoon to come home but then we got stuck on the M5 at about six o'clock," Purse told BBC Wales Sport. "We decided to take a few back roads and Riccy's car ended up stuck in a ford in the middle of a little village in Gloucestershire.

"I think the car is still floating in there at the moment! My wife came out in here 4x4 to pick us up but we had to wade through a waist high river to get to her. I finally got into my house at two in the morning. It was quite a scary night."

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Yeovil Town: Mildenhall, Lynch, Castro, Skiverton (Guyett), Forbes, Dempsey (Bircham), Barry, Owusu, Stewart (Morris), Warne (Welsh), Hughes (Marshall).

Cardiff City: Oakes (Forde), Gunter (McNaughton), Capaldi, Rae, Johnson (Blake), Loovens, Sinclair (Parry), Feeney (Green), MacLean (Byrne), McPhail (Ramsey), Whittingham (Ledley). Subs Not Used: Cooper

Robbie Fowler snubs Sydney for Cardiff

Daily Telegraph

Robbie Fowler has agreed a two-year contract with Cardiff City after leaving Liverpool for a second time. The striker, 32, rejected an offer from Australian side Sydney FC to join the Championship club. Fowler was released by Liverpool at the end of last season, having rejoined the club in January 2006. A Liverpool trainee, Fowler scored 171 goals in 330 games before moving to Leeds United in 2001.