Mark Orders - South Wales Evening Post
Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:39 am
He is one of the columnists in the Evening Post, usually he sticks to the rugby. Anyway, don't shoot the messenger, just thought I would share his column on the rebranding at Cardiff.
TAKE IT AS RED - SWITCH IS A SHOCKING DECISION
IF Cardiff City FC relocated to Mars, made Red Stripe the drink of the club and instructed every one of their players to shower in crimson paint, it still wouldn’t be enough for them to guarantee popularity in Asia.
They could spray the grass at their stadium red, make blushing compulsory for supporters and get the Red Arrows to fly over their base in Leckwith every other weekend. It still wouldn’t matter a jot when compared with the significance of the club reaching the Premier League and achieving significant on-pitch success.
For it isn’t playing in red that has earned Manchester United their popularity in the Far East. It is winning, and more specifically winning titles, and many of them.
Yet Cardiff’s Malaysian owners have pressed on with their decision to ditch a century of tradition and switch from blue to red shirts.
The change has been made, we are told, because red is popular in Asia and decking out the club’s players in the colour will lead to an outpouring of affection for all things Cardiff in the Far East. We’ll see.
There had been warnings that if the switch didn’t go ahead a supposed £100 million investment in the club would be reassessed.
We’ll put to one side the emotional blackmail of the club’s supporters. But what has been a surprise is there hasn’t been more fury locally. No call to arms by significant opinion formers. No séances to canvass the opinions of club legends such as Fred Keenor and Jimmy Scoular.
The reality is Cardiff will run out at the start of next season in red shirts with Malaysia emblazoned on the front and a dragon dwarfing the tiny bluebird on the crest. Short of a name change, tradition could hardly have been trampled on more emphatically.
From here, the episode looks a 24-carat disgrace, one in which the most important people at any football club, the supporters, have been treated with contempt.
TAKE IT AS RED - SWITCH IS A SHOCKING DECISION
IF Cardiff City FC relocated to Mars, made Red Stripe the drink of the club and instructed every one of their players to shower in crimson paint, it still wouldn’t be enough for them to guarantee popularity in Asia.
They could spray the grass at their stadium red, make blushing compulsory for supporters and get the Red Arrows to fly over their base in Leckwith every other weekend. It still wouldn’t matter a jot when compared with the significance of the club reaching the Premier League and achieving significant on-pitch success.
For it isn’t playing in red that has earned Manchester United their popularity in the Far East. It is winning, and more specifically winning titles, and many of them.
Yet Cardiff’s Malaysian owners have pressed on with their decision to ditch a century of tradition and switch from blue to red shirts.
The change has been made, we are told, because red is popular in Asia and decking out the club’s players in the colour will lead to an outpouring of affection for all things Cardiff in the Far East. We’ll see.
There had been warnings that if the switch didn’t go ahead a supposed £100 million investment in the club would be reassessed.
We’ll put to one side the emotional blackmail of the club’s supporters. But what has been a surprise is there hasn’t been more fury locally. No call to arms by significant opinion formers. No séances to canvass the opinions of club legends such as Fred Keenor and Jimmy Scoular.
The reality is Cardiff will run out at the start of next season in red shirts with Malaysia emblazoned on the front and a dragon dwarfing the tiny bluebird on the crest. Short of a name change, tradition could hardly have been trampled on more emphatically.
From here, the episode looks a 24-carat disgrace, one in which the most important people at any football club, the supporters, have been treated with contempt.
Re: Mark Orders - South Wales Evening Post
Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:44 am
scotsjack wrote:We’ll put to one side the emotional blackmail of the club’s supporters. But what has been a surprise is there hasn’t been more fury locally. No call to arms by significant opinion formers.
watch this space gwyns going blue next week 
Re: Mark Orders - South Wales Evening Post
Thu Jun 14, 2012 4:42 pm
Shame he did'nt show the same passion for hi's own sport then maybe the likes of Neath and Pontypridd would be playing at the highest level after all their fans wer'nt shafted were they?