STICKY : " Sunday MAY 22nd 2011 UPDATE "

Firstly this update has been held off for several weeks whilst we were in the mix for automatic and then play off contention, it was the decision of myself and Annis to do so to try and avoid any negativity that the update may have created due to it's content. I suspect that many of you welcomed that decision and even with hindsight it still proved to be the correct decision as I guarantee if I had wrote some of what I am about to write then there would have been fingers pointed and tongues wagging that I am trying to destabilise the club.

Secondly the updates have been a huge success over the course of the season and despite detractors claiming otherwise they have kept City fans informed of what we learn about the club each and everyday, City fans have an insatiable appetite to know what is going in with our club and the proof is in the pudding and when you consider the amount of hits we get then it shows to us that what we are doing is right. We cannot write that everything is ok when it is not and we do not set out to paint our club in a negative light, we just say it as it is.

The season pretty much ended for everyone when some of our players were involved in socialising over the weekend prior to the Middlesbrough game. I want to take us all back a bit to Wednesday 27th April and there was a sponsors evening at the CCS which the players attended, I learned that week that the players were given permission to relax and enjoy their evening which meant they were allowed to drink alcohol but obviously be professional and not get drunk.

Then on Friday April 29th the players attended the end of season party at the CCS but I as said in a previous update the players were given permission to attend but there was a curfew imposed and certainly no alcohol was to be consumed, that message was not received by all the squad as many of them headed into Cardiff and were seen to be drinking. I am told that Craig Bellamy, Mark Hudson, Tom Heaton were not part of this group, in fairness that does not mean that other players were not involved too but I am told for certain that these named players most definitely were not.

If that was not enough some of our players were out again on the Saturday night and unbelievably on Sunday evening too and into the small hours of Monday morning. I am told that J Lloyd Samuel, Stephen Bywater, Michael Chopra and Jay Bothroyd were involved in socialising over the course of that weekend. I understand that 3 out of the 4 were drinking alcohol but Jay Bothroyd was drinking coke.

This information was passed to me less than 2 hours before the Middlesbrough game and to sit there throughout that game being aware of this was difficult and very annoying.

I firmly believe that Dave Jones was not aware of the situation until it came to light on the message board and the Echo contacted us and they done their investigation into the matter and the club were informed. The whole squad was brought in and questioned by the manager because it was claimed on here that the players were in Bar Soda on the Saturday and Sunday night but each and everyone of the players denied they were, a club official then called the manager of Bar Soda and was told that they were not in the club on the Saturday or the Sunday but the players didn't admit that they were in Salt over the course of the two nights and some of them went onto a casino too and only when the club were informed of this that the players were caught out so to speak, they must have thought they were really clever and got away with it because the wrong club name was given.

As a result of this meeting Dave Jones came out and said "that the players involved will be dealt with at the appropriate time in a way the fans expect". As I wrote in my latest column for the South Wales Echo http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballna ... -28720829/ ( please feel free to read this and recommend it or add your comments below the article ) the players were not dealt with in way I expect as a fan and an even bigger problem for Dave Jones was to follow. The week that followed and the aftermath of the storm was not just that the fans, the manager, the club and the other players felt let down by these fools but the players who were not involved felt let down by the manager too by his failure to act and discipline the guilty ones. I was told before the Burnley game that Dave Jones had lost the whole of the dressing room as a result.

Anyone who spoke with me prior to the Burnley game and going into the play offs will tell you that I had lost confidence and faith in this team and the manager as a result of what had happened. Obviously I kept this information off the message board for the reason I stated above.

Dave Jones had a brief meeting with Gethin Jenkins and Steve Borley after the Reading home leg and it was decided that everyone needed time to asses the situation before any decision was taken. I am told that breaks down to go away and come back with a decision Dave or we will make a decision for you. It is my understanding that Dave Jones is not making life easy and he is in fact being extremely difficult. Dave Jones will not resign from his position. If Dave Jones is to leave this club then he will want his compensation he is entitled too. I do not wish for this to become a foundation for abuse toward Dave Jones because he is rightly entitled to a full years payment as this is his contract, whether or not the club has any legal right to dismiss him without payment remains to seen, as I have said previously, certain officials at the club believe he has reneged on his contract because of his behaviour towards the press but again that is something they will have to work out.

I have received many texts and such to say that TG is flying into the UK tomorrow for talks regarding Dave Jones future but I can confirm that TG is not flying over and any discussions will be done via technology but there are meetings lined up over the course of next week. I am led to believe that a decision will be made by the middle of this week coming.

I understand that TG and Vincent Tan have been left very disappointed after they were promised a top 2 finish if they followed the plan set out by Dave Jones, the club is left with very little in terms of players who hold any real saleable value. There are no players in the youth team that are ready to step into the first team as yet. There are plans to set that right for next season with an introduction of an under 21 team. Now the Malaysians will want patience from fans whilst they set about putting things in place to help with the long term growth of the club, there will be a massive rebuilding job to do and they will need support from everyone including the fans to carry this out, the good news is that they have no plans to fly the nest just yet.

Terry Burton said on Friday that he does not know if he is too remain at the club but he sincerely hopes so and that he loves working for the club. He made a promise that if he is still here next season then the situation regarding the players not coming over to the fans at the end of games will be addressed by himself personally.

A few players that will not be part of the retained list that is handed to the FA tomorrow, the retained players list has to be presented to the FA no more than 4 days after the club's last game, will be Jay Bothroyd, Chris Burke and Gavin Rae. Bothroyd went off on his holiday on Friday, which was booked weeks ago he did not have a last minute deal, will not be offered a new contract by the club and the same I am told is the situation for Chris Burke, the club have no intention of making a last ditch attempt to keep hold of these 2 players.

Gavin Rae is expected to go to Aberdeen and the players went out to TGI Fridays in St David's 2 last Wednesday to give Rae a send off but there was an altercation between a member of the public and the players, which resulted in David Marshall getting head butted.http://www.walesonline.co.uk/cardiffonl ... -28735208/

Jay Bothroyd's agent Sky Andrew has I believe held talks with Everton and Fulham and it is Everton who appear to the leading club for his signature but a decision will be made when Bothroyd returns from his holiday.The loan players have reported back to their parent clubs. Olifinjana has expressed his desire to stay at the club but at the moment the club will be dealing with the manager situation first before any decision is made on bringing in new players.

One of the loan players that we had during the season was Stephen Bywater and it is my belief that Martyn Margetson was not overly excited about having Bywater at the club and that he was told to get on with it as this is what he has got. I am also made to believe that there are serious doubts regarding Tom Heaton's future with us as apparently Heaton was a bag of nerves toward the end of season, I admit I find that surprising and despite raising many questions I am assured that is in fact the case.

Craig Bellamy had a personal meeting with the Malaysians just days after the Middlesbrough game and he was asked on his thoughts of the season and he was quite frank I am told in his views on the coaching and the attitude of some of our players. I believe that Craig was quite critical of the managers role regarding training and coaching, he also give his view of the players who were involved in the drinking scandal and he said that some of the players needed a wake up call.

It was during this meeting that Craig was asked if he would consider a player/coaching role at the club next season and his response was that he would do whatever it takes to get this club into the Premier League, he felt that the club has the right environment and facilities off the pitch but there is much work to be done with the squad.

I understand that Man City are looking for a figure in the region of £4million for Craig and that City have offered Craig a salary of £30k per week. Whether or not the salary was based on us being Premier League remains unclear but I have been told as recent as the last few days Craig has told friends he does not want leave and also his wife is telling friends that they are going nowhere. It is down to Craig now whether he can work out the finances as there is a massive drop in wages but going on his conversations with the Malaysians the signs appear to be very good.

Until Dave Jones' future is dealt with then very little will happen on any front but that is the intention to get the matter dealt with this week so the club can move on and start preparing for a new manager as soon as possible. I am aware that one person has been sounded out to see if he is interested in the job should it be available and that is Alan Curbishley, I know that Curbishley has spoken with people who have worked with him at previous clubs and one member of his former staff, who hails from ' this part of the world' has said yes to joining Alan should the position be offered.

Chris Hughton I am told is very keen on the job should it become available and has let his feelings known to people within the game.

I have had email conversations with TG and I have asked TG to look at the lack of funding towards our academy, during Ridsdale's rein the academy was severely under funded to the point of virtually zero and all the hard work of the staff and previous regime was ruined and it will take time to build it back up to the level we were at and as a result we are losing talented players to other clubs, despite the hard work of every member of staff involved with the academy. One player who was released is Declan Daily who has signed an apprenticeship with Man Utd.

In fairness to Scott Young he recently said that because City cannot afford to have too many apprentices then difficult decision shave to be made regarding who to keep and who to let go. There is no doubting that Declan Daily is talented but Scott and Neil Ardley believe that we have a better centre half in Curtis Watkins who represented Wales Under 17's last week against Sweden. Also Declan John is another hot prospect of ours who has signed a pre agreement with us but he is being closely followed by Tottenham Hotspur, who were trying very hard at the same Under 17 game to entice Declan's parents to convince him to join Spurs, Neil Ardley has been made aware of the Spurs interest and he was due to meet with Declan today to get him signed up.

Our club has a lot to learn and there are people in positions who are still learning the ropes and this was evident on the morning of Monday May 16th when in a meeting with his counterpart Huw Jenkins, our namesake Gethin got into an argument on where our directors and staff would be sitting in Wembley. I find it embarrassingly amusing that before either side knew if they were to appear at Wembley there were arguments over seating arrangements, you couldn't make it up.

Many of you will want to know what is the latest with Langston, especially after the recent headlines. What I can tell you is that I along with Annis, Gwyn, Vince, Corky and Mogs have met with Sam several times over the course of the season. Sam is a representative of Langston to Cardiff City Football Club and all their discussions will take part through Sam. I can put it in simple terms what I believe is required to end the Langston loan note.

1. Pay Langston in full and end their affair with CCFC and there will be no more talk of a return of Sam Hammam. This is what Sam Hammam wants first and foremost and this would obviously be Langston's favoured option.

2. If the Malaysians do not have the appetite or the will to take the club over and pay off all the creditors then Langston will seek shares in return for their loan note and for Sam Hammam to come on board as their representative to protect their investment and look after the football business of the club.

If the Malaysians do not wish to do either of the two options then Langston will, in my opinion, take alternative routes to get their loan notes paid.

There is much talk that Langston are not due to be paid until 2016 and this is being bandied about by people who would be right had other factors involved in the loan note agreements not been reneged on. Because of certain conditions not being complied with means that the whole agreement has been breached and therefore payable immediately.

Don't forget many of the people who argued against me at the start of this season regarding a further loan agreement which could have settled the debt by Dec 31st 2010, felt a little bit silly when our Chief Executive admitted that such a deal was in play but the club did not take the option up.

If there was no urgency to pay Langston then I seriously doubt that Vincent Tan and TG would be meeting the Langston representative Sam Hammam on several occasions to try and conclude the matter. TG has stayed in Sam's home in Lebanon and it was through fear of his own safety, due to troubles in Lebanon, that Vincent Tan did not stay as a guest of Sam's. These are not the actions of people who have mistrust in the people they are dealing with. I have said for months that negotiations have been amicable and friendly but it is my opinion that this is the time for it to be concluded for the good of the club.

Glasgow Rangers have contacted Gethin Jenkins and have told the club that they wish to play 2 teams within a 50 mile radius in pre season friendlies, City have been offered first refusal and the other club will be Bristol City or Swansea. It is not confirmed yet and details have to be finalised but talks are ongoing over the possibility of the fixture.

South Wales Police are backing that Bristol City away next season will not be a bubble and just an RV Point for cars and coaches like they had against. Well done City fans we deserve it.

City fans can be proud that for the upcoming season we have sold 17,700 approx season tickets which is an all time record and this is already 500 more than we sold last season which also included sales of half season tickets which were sold at Christmas time. Expect to see season ticket go back on sale in the very near future.


I Recommend to everyone

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27976

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!

Carl, I haven't read this yet but I'll get back to you in August with my thoughts when I've finished. Cracking effort on this beast.

Cracking up date Carl! I also heard that jones had completely lost the dressing room and it was in open revolt prior to the crystal palace game away this year! As for where the players went they 100% went to soda bar on the Saturday as my girlfriends sister and cousin were out with jls and Jay! Your update says it all, taxi for jones and bellamy is the real deal

DJ on a rolling contract and noone thought to give him 1 years notice last year.
f**k me i posted this fact on here several times.
I thought the directors read this messageboard.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!

Carl, I haven't read this yet but I'll get back to you in August with my thoughts when I've finished. Cracking effort on this beast.

Cracking up date Carl! I also heard that jones had completely lost the dressing room and it was in open revolt prior to the crystal palace game away this year! As for where the players went they 100% went to soda bar on the Saturday as my girlfriends sister and cousin were out with jls and Jay! Your update says it all, taxi for jones and bellamy is the real deal

When will DJ leave then?

please no one quote from this.

Jonesy out! Time for a new approach! Great update.

very interesting.well done carl.

cheers carl great read!


this club seems to be rotten from the top to the bottom. gethin, jay, chops can all go f**k themselves.

I am suprised with heaton, I thought he was quality at preston. if we are that short of numbers i would have give rae another year

Great post Carl the acadimy were banking on us going up as thet only get 250,000 a year.

carl any idea on which club chris burke is going to ???

£750 to get rid of DJ.
THE WAY TO GET OUT OF A ROLLING CONTRACT IS TO GIVE 1 YEARS NOTICE EACH YEAR.
COMMONSENSE REALLY.

like war and peace

good write up mr curtis

This season very much echoes (pardon the pun) or mirrors 2009 when again Dave Jones lost the dressing room prior to the 6 - 0 defeat to Preston. He simply can't be given the opportunity to make the same mistakes yet again.

Carl, Fantastic update, But now get back to writing My book with Me

This season very much echoes (pardon the pun) or mirrors 2009 when again Dave Jones lost the dressing room prior to the 6 - 0 defeat to Preston. He simply can't be given the opportunity to make the same mistakes yet again.

SPOT ON

please no one quote from this.

Thanks Carl. One of Dave Jones favorite quotes was "we are trying to build things at this club", not much evidence of that at the moment is there?

so if jay is no longer our player, time for some banter on twitter.

i hate piss takers

Shocking state of affairs by our so called stars
Bye chops what a waste of talent
Curbs does not fill me with confidence let's hope for better much better

please no one quote from this.

Cracking update Carl! Thank you for sharing all your information over the season.

Any indications that the board are willing to pay DJ out?

He can't stay any longer!

The manager has to go NOW and quickly what a ****

Let's hope The Malaysians are ready with a fresh new team Carl.
From top to bottom for me clear the deadwood ASAP

That part about Heaton a bag of nerves towards the end, so no wonder Shitewater was picked even though we had Brown aswell-when are we gonna get a perfect keeper

Westwood is on a free now go for him

Last edited by ross1927 on Sun May 22, 2011 7:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mark Robins Barnsley is on a rolling contract.
His chairman gave him 1 years notice.
He resigned immediately.
He saw it as a vote of no confidence.

Just about to start reading this and noticed the bar on the right was getting small

Think I better read it when sober!!

Good update Carl, lots of thoughts I'll post later but one quick question. Do you think Sam is Langston or just representing them?

with the state of our finances we will never get rid of him