Bluebird closes in at the top

Cardiff City ace Paul Parry closed the gap at the top of The Actim Index, the official player ratings system of the Coca-Cola Championship, after being named in the team of the week.

Parry earned 33 points with the only goal in a 1-0 defeat of Southampton last weekend, retaining second place in the overall standings behind Stoke's Liam Lawrence.

But with Lawrence scoring just five points against Sheffield Wednesday, Parry's haul has taken him to within 42 points of the leader as the season reaches its climax.

The Bluebirds have four players in the current top 100; Joe Ledley is the next best placed team member in 34th spot with 445 points.

Analysis of all Championship games is taking place throughout the season and so far the top five Cardiff players are:

Player, Ranking, Position Ranking, Index Score

Paul Parry, 2nd, 2nd Ranked Midfielder, 590

Joe Ledley, 34th, 10th Ranked Midfielder, 445

Roger Johnson, 39th, 10th Ranked Defender, 436

Stephen McPhail, 89th, 26th Ranked, Midfielder, 375

Tony Capaldi, 120th, 31st Ranked Midfielder, 326

The Actim Index is calculated using a unique mathematical formula that rates each player’s contribution be it goals, shots, passes, dribbles, tackles, crosses, saves, clearances, blocks, interceptions, assists, clean sheets, time on the pitch or number of points gained by the team with marks deducted for red and yellow cards.