SAND MARTIN OWNERS DONATE TO KEENOR APPEAL

The following Press release has been issued by the Fred Statue Statue Fund:

A £500 donation has been made to the Fred Keenor Statue Appeal by the owners of the new Sand Martin pub and restaurant which lies just yards from where the tribute will be erected.

In a letter Derek Andrew, Managing Director of Wolverhampton-based Marston's, said that "this gesture is from the hardy football supporters among us".

Mr Andrew, a Wolves fan, said that Marston's general stance on fundraising was normally to support disadvantaged individuals or groups but on "this occasion I am happy to enclose a cheque for £500 to help towards your target."

He has also invited the appeal committee to take part in joint activities in the future with Marston's.

David Craig, appeal project manager and a member of the board of Cardiff City Supporters' Trust, said: "This is a great gesture from Marston's and we're delighted because the pub and restaurant is based just yards from where the statue of Fred Keenor will be sited.

"We'd like to see businesses and employers in South Wales, particularly those with links with Cardiff City, following the lead set by Marston's, which is, after all, a business based in the West Midlands.

"The donation from Marston's means we have now passed £47,500 on our way to the £85,000 needed."

Earlier this year Cardiff City Supporters' Trust wrote to Mr Andrew urging him to consider naming the pub, which is at the junction of Leckwith Road and Ffordd Fred Keenor, after the Cardiff and Wales skipper, who led Cardiff City to FA Cup triumph in 1927 the only time the trophy has been taken out of England.

Excellent.

"The donation from Marston's means we have now passed £47,500 on our way to the £85,000 needed."

Thats a hell of a lot raised and well done to the organizers ......... still seems a long way to go tho , so cant it be done for any less than £85k ? Seems a bit steep that .

"The donation from Marston's means we have now passed £47,500 on our way to the £85,000 needed."

Thats a hell of a lot raised and well done to the organizers ......... still seems a long way to go tho , so cant it be done for any less than £85k ? Seems a bit steep that .

I seem to remember something about once the appeal had reached £50,000 the statue could be commissioned and work on would start, there was even hope of having it unveiled in a few weeks time (23 April) the 84th anniversary of our FA Cup win.

Surely that date won't be met now although aiming for next April with the more significant 85th anniversary might be very do able.

fair play to them

Its a shame Marstons didnt use a city theme for the pub but great to see them make a donation. David Craig has worked tirelessly in raising money for the statue and i hope he gets the recognition he deserves when the statue is finally unveiled! Good stuff!!!

Does the £48,000 inlcude all of the money from the 'I'll be there' song? i know there was a bit of a phased payment was'nt there? i.e download profit first and then physical singles copies second?

Also is there any indication from the club as too the value of any of the seaon ticket donations? 11,000 season tickets must have raised at least another £10,000? Or an I being overly optimistic?

The season tickets will add to it but not as much as anticipated I would have thought...no sign of it on my form for 5 monthly payments so I made a donation else where...but it is well advertised in the ticket office and on forms for people paying in full for season tickets.

Fund raising is so difficult in these days of financial difficulties and that is why it is good that fans are supporting the Fred Keenor statue and also the Young guns initiative...even small donations will help.

If the Welsh assembly had given the Fred Keenor statue the same £25,000 they give for Tasker Watkins then we would be almost there now...but we are not a rugby club so we had nothing off them at all.

Please support the statue fund even if you do not support the trust...seeing the famous Fred Keenor outside our stadium will make it more of a football venue in my opinion and that is why we opted for the £85.000 option...it is a master piece of a statue, made of the best quality material and will last a lot longer and look a lot better than a cheaper version.

Great News and even of the pitch we are still linked with Wolves

The season tickets will add to it but not as much as anticipated I would have thought...no sign of it on my form for 5 monthly payments so I made a donation else where...but it is well advertised in the ticket office and on forms for people paying in full for season tickets.

Fund raising is so difficult in these days of financial difficulties and that is why it is good that fans are supporting the Fred Keenor statue and also the Young guns initiative...even small donations will help.

If the Welsh assembly had given the Fred Keenor statue the same £25,000 they give for Tasker Watkins then we would be almost there now...but we are not a rugby club so we had nothing off them at all.

Please support the statue fund even if you do not support the trust...seeing the famous Fred Keenor outside our stadium will make it more of a football venue in my opinion and that is why we opted for the £85.000 option...it is a master piece of a statue, made of the best quality material and will last a lot longer and look a lot better than a cheaper version.

Cheers for clarifying Corky. Still a way to go then but we'll get there eventually. It'd be nice it the Malasians/Borley/the players to contribute however it'd also be great just to do this on our own as supporters - either way I'm looking forward to the addition of a statue at the ground.

Are you aware of any other improvements that CCS is likely to have in the close season? Anything more on this 'memorial garden'? Anything adding to the concourse etc?

Cheers

has anyone tried this pub yet? what is it like?

Hopefully the memorial garden will be sorted in the summer, this will become a symbolic area where fans can pay respect to their loved ones who have passed away....

The Sand martin is a tidy pub for a meal, it holds 200 and has plenty of friendly staff...not a traditional darts and pool pub...rather a typical chain linked new pub.

It was tidy though to be fair

did,nt the people who built the first st david shopping centre pay or donate something towards the gareth edwards statue, perhaps if you approached them then the people who built and have/are taking a big profit out of the retail park on the back of the city footy ground might like to make a contribution. you never know your luck.

I renewed my season ticket online and there was no option to donate.

I know it would have been nice for the club to just pay for the statue but I think its nice the way all the fans have pulled together to get it done.

fantastic gesture

great gesture, just shit beer, pity it wasnt a brains pub, its like the old ansells brewey in the midlands, its an aquired taste, errrr , no thanks

Nice gesture from them

Nice gesture in keeping some tradition at Cardiff City, if the Malaysians had any balls about them they would pay the rest of the balance but they wont, doesnt interest the malaysian audience does it?

Nice gesture in keeping some tradition at Cardiff City, if the Malaysians had any balls about them they would pay the rest of the balance but they wont, doesnt interest the malaysian audience does it?

I know it would have been nice for the club to just pay for the statue but I think its nice the way all the fans have pulled together to get it done.

Agreed it should be a fans led project.

This is very much a fans led initiative. The club have been very helpful - re the £1 per ticket sold from the pre-season game, the celebrity evening with Ricky Tomlinson and the season ticket scheme. We have been disappointed that nothing has come in terms of donations from major businesses in Cardiff, South Wales or Wales, particularly those which are linked through sponsorship and other ways with CCFC. The biggest donation we've had is the £500 from Marston's who are based in Wolverhampton!! We've written to many businesses and most have not even responded to say no,

This is very much a fans led initiative. The club have been very helpful - re the £1 per ticket sold from the pre-season game, the celebrity evening with Ricky Tomlinson and the season ticket scheme. We have been disappointed that nothing has come in terms of donations from major businesses in Cardiff, South Wales or Wales, particularly those which are linked through sponsorship and other ways with CCFC. The biggest donation we've had is the £500 from Marston's who are based in Wolverhampton!! We've written to many businesses and most have not even responded to say no,

The thing is you can't always rely on local businesses every time especially during current financial times especially when they actually get nothing back for it if you get my drift.

Nice gesture in keeping some tradition at Cardiff City, if the Malaysians had any balls about them they would pay the rest of the balance but they wont, doesnt interest the malaysian audience does it?

Did you try and say something Keef , lol lol