' HUDSON INTERVIEW - PARTING SHOT AT CLUB '

HUDSON INTERVIEW - PARTING SHOT AT CLUB

Saturday 6th Sept 2014

The Mark Hudson farewell interview: Cardiff City's promotion-winning skipper issues an explosive parting shot

His belief the club should change back to blue home shirts to reunite the fan base

The former Bluebirds captain claims it was suggested he may have scored a deliberate own-goal in his final match at Wolverhampton Wanderers

Cardiff City captain Mark Hudson has fired a parting shot at the Bluebirds claiming he expected to be central to their Championship plans and revealing how his time in South Wales finished on a bad note amid suggestions he scored a deliberate own-goal in his club swansong against Wolves.

The 32-year-old defender, who achieved cult status with fans after leading Cardiff City to the Premier League, joined Championship rivals Huddersfield on transfer deadline day this week ending a five-year association with the Bluebirds.

Hudson has always cut a diplomatic figure as captain of Cardiff, doing his best to avoid controversy.

But the centre-half, who made 165 appearances for Cardiff after joining from Charlton in 2009, lifted the lid on his stay in South Wales revealing...




* How his departure was tarnished by a bizarre claim about his own goal at Molineux. For the record, we have been told that suggestion was roundly dismissed by staff within the club

* He was informed he was no longer needed just three days before the transfer window closed, having earlier thought he was integral to the club's plans

* A death within his family, the day before he signed for Cardiff, meant he played through tragedy to try to win over doubting Cardiff fans.

* His belief the club should change back to blue home shirts to reunite the fan base


Hudson’s stay at the Bluebirds was something of a roller-coaster ride with the highs of a Carling Cup final appearance against Liverpool in 2012 and a first season in the Premier League last campaign offset by relegation in May plus the lows of three successive Championship play-off exits.

But despite all that commitment to the Cardiff cause, the centre-half admits to frustration about the way he left the club this week for Huddersfield.

It was not until the day before the Bluebirds clash at Fulham last weekend that he was told he was not needed any more, giving Hudson just three days to secure another club before the transfer window closed.

Vastly-experienced Hudson accepts that is the way football operates at times, but what he has found more perplexing is the suggestion from within the club that he deliberately put the ball into his own net at Molineux in what turned out to be his last appearance on August 23.

The Bluebirds had looked to have earned a good point at Wolves when Hudson sliced his clearance into the Cardiff goal off the post in the final minute.

Hudson acknowledged the error, but was not prepared at all for what was to follow and admits he alluded to something in a farewell tweet to supporters in which he stated: ‘Thank you to all the fans @CardiffCityFC and players. Proud to have been your captain the last 5 yrs. Shame the way it ended.’

In an interview with WalesOnline, Hudson expanded on his farewell tweet to the Cardiff fans by saying: “I’ve made mistakes, I’ve scored own goals before, but I’ve never had someone at the club accuse me of putting the ball into my own net on purpose.

“It wasn’t the manager, but what was suggested is not something you want to hear at all. So that’s what that tweet was all about.”

WalesOnline have had it confirmed that questions over the own goal were asked, but quickly quashed by staff.

“I’m sad to leave Cardiff of course, me and my family love the area and the people are wonderful. I have some great memories," Hudson added.

“It was a little difficult. All summer I had been told my future was at Cardiff, I was captain and that was the way it would remain and then the day before the Fulham match, I was informed I wasn’t needed and had to find another club.

“It’s hard in a way because clubs who had expressed an interest in me through the summer had been sent away and told I wasn’t for sale.

“But I half expected it, I wasn’t so surprised. You don’t spend £10m on two centre-halves for nothing so I suspected it. It’s football anyway, these things happen, you’ve got to roll with it.

“Anyway as you see those new players coming in you realise maybe your chance has gone and you are not going to get the opportunities you might want. That’s fine. I want to play. I waited patiently for my chances last season and was playing under Ole and then I got injured which was frustrating.”

Hudson is poised to swap a potential season chasing a return to the Premier League with the Bluebirds for a campaign of keeping the Terriers in the second tier of English football.

But for the centre-half, voted Cardiff’s Player of the Season in their promotion-winning campaign, it’s getting regular games under his belt that drew him to penning a two-year deal at the John Smith’s Stadium.

“I need to play football now. It’s not an age thing really. It’s just I want to play and not let these good years pass me by. I would regret that so the challenge at Huddersfield has got me very excited,” added Hudson.

One of the more contentious issues Hudson had to preside over as Cardiff captain was the decision by owner Vincent Tan to change the club’s famous blue shirts to red for home matches. The defender was the first man ever to score in the new red shirt when he netted against his new club Huddersfield to earn the Bluebirds victory at the Cardiff City Stadium on the opening day of the promotion winning campaign.

Hudson now believes the shirts should be changed back to blue if supporters are to be united once more.

The only way to unite fans is to change back to blue for the home games. It seems what the vast number of people want any way,” said Hudson.

“I think the whole issue has distracted fans from the important thing and that is what happens on the pitch. I have heard talk that the decision will be made to change back to blue and I really hope that is the case.

“I’m not knocking the owner for the level of investment put in. It’s been amazing. The club had been in difficult situations financially and the investment was needed, but going back to blue would bring everyone back together.”

And when it comes to that investment Hudson believes it puts incredible pressure on Solskjaer this campaign, adding: “The investment has been enormous for Championship level. The Cardiff squad is big and packed with quality players. I don’t think it’s a matter of them wanting to go up or hoping to go up, Cardiff must go up.”

As he departs the Welsh capital, Hudson leaves with the respect and best wishes of all supporters. Indeed, he admits to being ‘amazed’ by the messages of support he has received.

But that was not always the case. In his first season at the club in particular, the centre-half struggled to win over some sections of the Cardiff faithful with his performances in the heart of the Bluebirds defence often attracting criticism.

But for the first time Hudson has revealed how that first campaign was played out against a back-drop of deep personal tragedy for himself and his family.

The day before I signed for Cardiff my wife’s sister passed away,” said Hudson.

“It was very hard as you can imagine. It deeply affected us all and maybe some of that did come out on the pitch with me. I struggled, we all struggled.

“I’m not using it as an excuse. Lots of footballers have personal issues to deal with, but sometimes it is hard.

“I was aware of the doubts about me and had to fight to get my form back. What happened really made me stronger in the end, it made my family stronger too. I’m proud of my time at Cardiff now. To be captain for almost all my time was a big honour.

“To have helped lead the club to promotion at last is something I will never forget. It’s the kind of thing you dream about doing as a young player and maybe never achieve. I know how lucky I was.

“I still think about it all the time to be honest, I still can’t put the pride and joy into words and I will think about it all my life.

"I wish Cardiff all the luck in the world. My time there was wonderful, but now it is time to move on.”

Yet another player who says how we all feel after leaving on the rebrand

So Hudson has heard a decision to go 'back to Blue' will be made, interesting.

So Hudson has heard a decision to go 'back to Blue' will be made, interesting.

Hope so gav you will have to put your utd shirt back on then

So Hudson has heard a decision to go 'back to Blue' will be made, interesting.

Hope so gav you will have to put your utd shirt back on then

So Hudson has heard a decision to go 'back to Blue' will be made, interesting.

Hope so gav you will have to put your utd shirt back on then

C'mon Mr Hudson you have to rise above the flack.......I'm really disappointed in this swipe at the club.
Nice to get the fans on side with your back to blue rant, but remember who was putting food on your table when you were on the injury table for most of last season captain.

So Hudson has heard a decision to go 'back to Blue' will be made, interesting.

That's what I'm thinking.

Let's not get our hopes up, sometime outside of the club might have told him that!

I found Hudson, a vry honest straight talking guy in the times that I chatted to him.

C'mon Mr Hudson you have to rise above the flack.......I'm really disappointed in this swipe at the club.
Nice to get the fans on side with your back to blue rant, but remember who was putting food on your table when you were on the injury table for most of last season captain.

Agree

Fair play i like mark hudson and would still consider him good enough to play in the championship no probs.... yea he is getting older and slower we all do, but one thing i would say is he is a born leader and i have enjoyed watching him play for cardiff over the seasons. Would have him back any day and its a shame to hear that behind the scenes they said his own goal was deliberate thats the biggest load of bo****ks ive heard .......
good luck to you mark hudson solid player and captain.

Deliberately scored that own goal!! What a laugh! If Hudson had ten attempts to put that ball in his own net from that cross he would have missed. !

C'mon Mr Hudson you have to rise above the flack.......I'm really disappointed in this swipe at the club.
Nice to get the fans on side with your back to blue rant, but remember who was putting food on your table when you were on the injury table for most of last season captain.

Are you suggesting that he isn't allowed to speak his mind?!

He disagrees with a decision the club has made & airs his views on that.

Always liked Hudson, even after a dodgy first season. You won't find many better captains than him IMO throws himself in front of everything, wins every heads and plays through the pain barrier. I think everyone could tell he wasn't fit for the Carling Cup final but he still played and was my MOTM along with Turner.

Also hope this rumour about the return to blue is true

he was told he was part of the plans and a key part at that. the club turns down offers for him, then the club decide to splash out £10m on two new players, then suddenly he is told he is no longer wanted. then he has much fewer options of clubs to go to as the club changed their minds on him now being available for transfer.

yes, football is a fickle business and players have to move about as part of the job, but how does pointing out the above situation constitute a 'parting shot'? he gave it absolutely everything when he was here and he has to deal with sensationalised garbage like that.

Very very bitter. We rejected offers for him as Cala was suspended and Turner has an injury. We were low on CB's at one point, what's so wrong about that? That's football, we now have strength in depth in this position so decided he was surplus to requirements. Needs to stop crying

Very very bitter. We rejected offers for him as Cala was suspended and Turner has an injury. We were low on CB's at one point, what's so wrong about that? That's football, we now have strength in depth in this position so decided he was surplus to requirements. Needs to stop crying

Knew you had something against Hudson

Very very bitter. We rejected offers for him as Cala was suspended and Turner has an injury. We were low on CB's at one point, what's so wrong about that? That's football, we now have strength in depth in this position so decided he was surplus to requirements. Needs to stop crying

Knew you had something against Hudson

I don't. Hudson is a nice bloke but a guy of his age needs to stop crying. Ole is known for having younger teams. Nothing wrong with that, means more years together.

C'mon Mr Hudson you have to rise above the flack.......I'm really disappointed in this swipe at the club.
Nice to get the fans on side with your back to blue rant, but remember who was putting food on your table when you were on the injury table for most of last season captain.

Are you suggesting that he isn't allowed to speak his mind?!

He disagrees with a decision the club has made & airs his views on that.

Got to be honest here in my view......your such a prick Barry you come across like a spoilt child.

Very very bitter. We rejected offers for him as Cala was suspended and Turner has an injury. We were low on CB's at one point, what's so wrong about that? That's football, we now have strength in depth in this position so decided he was surplus to requirements. Needs to stop crying

Knew you had something against Hudson

I don't. Hudson is a nice bloke but a guy of his age needs to stop crying. Ole is known for having younger teams. Nothing wrong with that, means more years together.

Or maybe it's the fact that Ole himself told him he was going to be a key part of the team, only to tell him THREE DAYS before the transfer window closes that he's not needed. He has every right to speak out

Very very bitter. We rejected offers for him as Cala was suspended and Turner has an injury. We were low on CB's at one point, what's so wrong about that? That's football, we now have strength in depth in this position so decided he was surplus to requirements. Needs to stop crying

Knew you had something against Hudson

I don't. Hudson is a nice bloke but a guy of his age needs to stop crying. Ole is known for having younger teams. Nothing wrong with that, means more years together.

Or maybe it's the fact that Ole himself told him he was going to be a key part of the team, only to tell him THREE DAYS before the transfer window closes that he's not needed. He has every right to speak out

The key word being WAS. He told him THREE DAYS before the window closed because that's when we got our man, not hard to fathom.

C'mon Mr Hudson you have to rise above the flack.......I'm really disappointed in this swipe at the club.
Nice to get the fans on side with your back to blue rant, but remember who was putting food on your table when you were on the injury table for most of last season captain.

He was injured after Man Utd away, hardly injured for most of the season

tremendous leader in the 5 years he was here on & off the field

Who said OGS was too soft?

C'mon Mr Hudson you have to rise above the flack.......I'm really disappointed in this swipe at the club.
Nice to get the fans on side with your back to blue rant, but remember who was putting food on your table when you were on the injury table for most of last season captain.

He was injured after Man Utd away, hardly injured for most of the season

tremendous leader in the 5 years he was here on & off the field

Okay 3 months injured.....I agree he was a tremendous leader, that's why I feel disappointed with him coming out with this statement.....if you gonna say something like that you got to back it up with who said it or don't bother saying it.
For all we know it was David Marshall who accused him....how would people react if that was the case.

But people are just left thinking it must be Tan or Dalman or OGS.

And I don't want to rule out that it's a load of bollox as well after all It is the welsh media...who we all know deep down hate Football.

Sports World

Sunday 7th Sept 2014

in his last game for the Bluebirds, Hudson's 90th-minute own goal condemned them to a 1-0 defeat away at Wolves.

WalesOnline has reported that members of staff did ask the centre-back whether the goal was deliberate, and Hudson has admitted that the accusations were upsetting.

He said: "I've made mistakes, I've scored own goals before, but I've never had someone at the club accuse me of putting the ball into my own net on purpose.

"It wasn't the manager, but what was suggested is not something you want to hear at all. So that's what that tweet was all about."

After his transfer to Huddersfield Town had been completed, Hudson tweeted to thank the Cardiff fans for their support during his five-year stay in south Wales.


Hudson had captained the club since his arrival in 2009, and led his side out in the 2012 League Cup final and during the 2013-14 Premier League season.

Transfer news: Mark Hudson happy with Huddersfield choice -

Mark Hudson had a few options to consider over the summer, but is delighted with his decision to join Huddersfield Town.

The 32-year-old centre-half has penned a two-year contract with the Sky Bet Championship side after Cardiff City agreed to let him go.

Hudson had spent the last five years in south Wales, the last of which saw him turning out in the Premier League.

He has, however, made a fresh start in west Yorkshire and is convinced that he made the right choice in snubbing interest from elsewhere to join the ranks at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Hudson said in the Huddersfield Examiner: “I actually knew of Huddersfield’s interest a few weeks ago.

“As is often the case, there was a bit of a chain, with Cardiff looking to bring players in before others could go.

“When it became clear I could well be leaving, I got a few calls from other clubs, Huddersfield among them.
“Cardiff gave me permission to speak to other clubs last Friday, and I had a couple of conversations with Dean Hoyle.

“I liked what he had to say about how he wanted to take the club forward and how he wanted me to be a part of that.

“I decided I wanted to be a part of it as well, and I came up on Monday to get everything sorted.”

While happy to be in new surroundings, Hudson admits he leaves a lot of fond memories behind in Cardiff.

He added: “I had a great time there.

“Wearing the armband was a real honour, and I had a really good relationship with the fans.

“A few things have happened lately which weren’t to my liking, but I will always hold the club in high regard.

“Things change in football though, and I’m looking forward to getting cracking here at Huddersfield.”

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news ... eld-choice?