" MACKAY TAKES PRUDENT VIEW ON CARDIFF FUTURE "

Bluebirds boss Mackay takes prudent view over Cardiff future
by Steve Tucker.


CARDIFF CITY boss Malky Mackay has admitted prudence might be the best policy in these times of austerity.

Mackay has done a remarkable job since taking over a threadbare Cardiff squad last summer, guiding the Bluebirds into third spot in the Championship and the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.

But any Cardiff fans expecting the purse strings to be relaxed for a major push at league and cup glory are set to be disappointed.

Mackay will go to the Bluebirds board with potential targets and expects to be backed up to a point, but he said the club’s future could not be jeopardised.


“It’s about the club being here first and foremost and I think when you explain that to supporters they get it,” said Mackay, whose side entertain Birmingham City on Sunday.

“The board I deal with right now at Cardiff totally understand that.

“As soon as I came into this club it was clear they were trying to run it as a business.

“A business with a solid base to it. It is moving forward, but it is one which will be here for years to come as a going concern.

“We need a club with a good, solid foundation.

“We are building that here and that is something which is really important to me.

“It is something that when I came into the job I wanted clarification on.

“I needed to know that we were going to have foundations and we were going to build for the future and be strong going forward rather than things being just boom or bust.”

Mackay has already had to embark on a massive rebuilding job after a raft of players departed Cardiff in the summer.

So far, 10 new faces have been acquired on a relatively low budget, Mackay has spent just £1.85m on acquisitions.

The Bluebirds have quickly bonded into a side which is lighting up the Championship, but he warned there was a still a long way to go before the rebuilding process was complete.

“I’ve tried to build a new group of players and not by any means is it a full compliment yet,” he said.

“It will take two or even three transfer windows before that is the case.

“But we are gelling and the players are bang into what we are doing, we are all going in the same direction.

“Things are young really here now, things are growing and flourishing. We need to keep talking about things.

“If the staff, players and the directors are all aligned I think our supporters will quickly come on board when they see we are all behind the one plan.”

Mackay said he knows what working at a club teetering on the brink of financial meltdown is like after his time at Watford.

The Hornets were threatened with extinction during his time at Vicarage Road as the club consistently struggled to deal with historic debts.

Of course, Cardiff are no strangers to financial problems themselves with unpaid tax bills leading to transfer embargoes being imposed in recent seasons.

The club still has large historical debt, with loan notes to the tune of millions of pounds, taken out during the tenure of former owner Sam Hammam, still owed to the Langston group.

“You have to ask yourself one question, do you want a football club here?” said Mackay.

“If you do then that football club has to be run as a business.

“You do not want to be at a football club that teeters on the brink of administration.

“I’ve been at one that was two hours from administration when I was at Watford and it is not a nice situation to be in.

“That was all down to past discrepancies and wrong decisions in the past.

“So there has always got to be a balance.

“I know more than most how important that is.

“When I was at Watford the hierarchy opened the books to me every week.

“They showed me and that brought its own little problem in a way because I couldn’t go to them and ask them for somebody.

“I respected that. I’m not someone who is flash. I’m not spend, spend, spend.

“I understand that we need this club to go forward, but not at the cost of the club itself.”

this is a good article...

Excellent article and I'm glad that the club is being run in such a prudent way. Yes we know the team needs extra bodies but that has to be weighed up against the risk to reward test.

MM seems to have an excellent understanding of this so I believe we are in very good hands.

nice to see some common sense.

Excellent article and I'm glad that the club is being run in such a prudent way. Yes we know the team needs extra bodies but that has to be weighed up against the risk to reward test.

MM seems to have an excellent understanding of this so I believe we are in very good hands.

totally agree. if we do fall short this season i 100% believe that malky will be able to utilise the bosman ruling to secure targets from both home and abroad to make us one of the favourites for automatic promotion next year

We def need 2 or 3 players but we don't need any big money signings with the way malkay does his homework on players,I'm confident he will find the right players without spending big.

Sounds to me as if we don't really want promotion this season. He is building a squad and it wont be until January 2013 that he will have completed his rebuilding process. That's fine by me as long as we know where we stand and if we are lucky enough injury and suspension wise to get to the end of the season unscathed and in a play off position, I will take that.

I agree with ihatealiens

also

It makes sense - why go up if you are going to get battered and go straight down?
How many of this team could hack it in the prem league?
Fair doos to the JB,s and Norwich they have done it sensibly, within a budget
and with teams built over 4 + seasons.
I always thought under DJ that getting to the prem with no foundations would hurt rather than help us.

~I like Malky more every day - i want him to be my friend!!!!

I must admit it sounds like Malky is preparing the fans for City not doing much business in January...........I'm all for prudence especially when your running a big business concern but i hope we don't miss out on promotion through lack of ambition

i expect a couple of new faces in january but no way near what the likes of Leicester,West ham will do and thats fair enough but we should never be in a position like we were at Hull this season were we could barely field a full team and big ben turner had to go upfront,of course we were desperatley unlucky but with fixtures coming thick and fast from January Malky needs options

I must admit it sounds like Malky is preparing the fans for City not doing much business in January...........I'm all for prudence especially when your running a big business concern but i hope we don't miss out on promotion through lack of ambition

Dont think you could accuse Malky of lacking ambition. It is good for us to take a reality check though,and strong foundation is the most important thing for the club.

I have grown to get more excited by the thought of the gems Malky can find.Rather than any big name signings being offered about.It appears that we are lucky enough to have a manager with a plan and a board who support that plan. I also think we are performing even better than we could have hoped for....long may it continue.

Music to my ears, IMO this should have been done earlier rather than letting DJ continue to spend.

My dear Bluethrough i was thinking more about the owners of the club when i made my comments about lack of ambition

My dear Bluethrough i was thinking more about the owners of the club when i made my comments about lack of ambition

Thank you dear.....I see no evidence that the owners of our club lack ambition either.Last year they backed DJ in the way he wanted to run the club.This time around I get the impression that they are backing Malky in his plan for us.

Its great to see that the Dave Jones child in a sweetshop attitude "spend spend spend" has been given the cold shoulder by the MANAGER and not the owners, Malky understands whats important, before he needs to ask for any money, He and his staff also do their homework when bringing in players, so Im not bothered about the big names and Primma Dona's of the past, as look what hes done in an amazingly short space of time - its incredible! Hopefully though the fans wont EXPECT too much this season just because we have had a fabulous start.

First and foremost we have to be realistic.

Comparing our squad of players and the way they have played this season to some of the premiership clubs I would say if we go up we could quite easily be mid table in the premiership.

Strange how the usual "we need 3-4 players/the board need to get behind the manager, suspects haven't commented on this thread eh?

Strange how the usual "we need 3-4 players/the board need to get behind the manager, suspects haven't commented on this thread eh?

Jack, I still feel we need 3 or 4 new players and stand by it as it is my opinion/belief, but Malky is the boss. 2 weeks ago Malky stated if we want promotion we need strengthening.


Oh by the way Jack, it was me who made this Topic a sticky.

Sounds to me as if we don't really want promotion this season. He is building a squad and it wont be until January 2013 that he will have completed his rebuilding process. That's fine by me as long as we know where we stand and if we are lucky enough injury and suspension wise to get to the end of the season unscathed and in a play off position, I will take that.

What he's saying (which just backs what the new owners have said all along) is that
the Club is in the middle of a massive rebuilding programme of which the team is
just one part. City were planning to be in the Premiership in the next couple of
seasons, but progress on the pitch has outgrown expectations and we are flying!!
I truly think with a couple of signings in January we will go up with West Ham. Of
course we WANT promotion, its just that with this group of players and manager we
are ahead of schedule

I would also state that city need 3 or 4 more players to complete the job Lets all see if people feel this prudency rush when we start losing games due injuries or lack of alternative ways to change gamesIm not saying you have to go and spend millions but you have to remember you can not by a rolls royce for the price of a mini What the manager has done is fantastic but without more funds and players i really believe the bubble will burst due to what i have said aboveWILL alll the fans be saying the same if we miss out on promotion due to injuries or because we lost a games because sides realised how to play against us and we didnt have enough bodies to change thingsWhy wait for the shit to hit the fan before acting?Because im convinced that most of those people who are happy now will be the first people to moan if that happened

Totally agree with the sentiments that the club needs a solid foundation be financially prudent in these conservative austere times , and still standing so lets not spend what we have not got (head) but hey !!we are in the semi finals of the League cup and in 3rd place in the league lets push on and spend some cash (heart). Nothing can go wrong now!!!!!

Strange how the usual "we need 3-4 players/the board need to get behind the manager, suspects haven't commented on this thread eh?

Jack, I still feel we need 3 or 4 new players and stand by it as it is my opinion/belief, but Malky is the boss. 2 weeks ago Malky stated if we want promotion we need strengthening.


Oh by the way Jack, it was me who made this Topic a sticky.

Right, so do you want your club to be run properly and to a self sustainable budget like you said in the summer or do you want to be spending more than the club brings in and need a sugar daddy to fund it?

It can't be both.

Strange how the usual "we need 3-4 players/the board need to get behind the manager, suspects haven't commented on this thread eh?

Jack, I still feel we need 3 or 4 new players and stand by it as it is my opinion/belief, but Malky is the boss. 2 weeks ago Malky stated if we want promotion we need strengthening.


Oh by the way Jack, it was me who made this Topic a sticky.

Right, so do you want your club to be run properly and to a self sustainable budget like you said in the summer or do you want to be spending more than the club brings in and need a sugar daddy to fund it?

It can't be both.

Lets get summat straight

Your up there, we aren't

Congrats!!

But you will never be bigger than a Wigan or a Blackpool

We already are!!!

Cheers.

Strange how the usual "we need 3-4 players/the board need to get behind the manager, suspects haven't commented on this thread eh?

Jack, I still feel we need 3 or 4 new players and stand by it as it is my opinion/belief, but Malky is the boss. 2 weeks ago Malky stated if we want promotion we need strengthening.


Oh by the way Jack, it was me who made this Topic a sticky.

Right, so do you want your club to be run properly and to a self sustainable budget like you said in the summer or do you want to be spending more than the club brings in and need a sugar daddy to fund it?

It can't be both.

Lets get summat straight

Your up there, we aren't

Congrats!!

But you will never be bigger than a Wigan or a Blackpool

We already are!!!

Cheers.

What on earth has that got to do with my post?

Strange how the usual "we need 3-4 players/the board need to get behind the manager, suspects haven't commented on this thread eh?

Jack, I still feel we need 3 or 4 new players and stand by it as it is my opinion/belief, but Malky is the boss. 2 weeks ago Malky stated if we want promotion we need strengthening.


Oh by the way Jack, it was me who made this Topic a sticky.

Right, so do you want your club to be run properly and to a self sustainable budget like you said in the summer or do you want to be spending more than the club brings in and need a sugar daddy to fund it?

It can't be both.

Lets get summat straight

Your up there, we aren't

Congrats!!

But you will never be bigger than a Wigan or a Blackpool

We already are!!!

Cheers.

What on earth has that got to do with my post?

your passing comment on my club. Why, i cannot imagine? We dont care
about yours. I dont go on your website.

Remember your place is all!!

YES. You have tucked us up again, you went up, we never.

But your never going to be bigger than a Newport or a Bristol Rovers