' Steve Tucker thrown the towel in '

Embarrassing piece of journalism, get a backbone lad He sounds like he is typing this with tears rolling down his cheeks.



Gap between Swansea City and Cardiff City has become a chasm that will only get bigger
Nov 11, 2014

by Steve Tucker

Football correspondent Steve Tucker reports on the two very different paths taken by Cardiff City and Swansea City


Swansea City and Cardiff City have taken different paths

Earlier this year Cardiff City and Swansea City were each in the Premier League, but just a few months on there’s a chasm between the clubs.

WalesOnline correspondent Steve Tucker witnessed first hand the gulf between our nation’s two footballing giants, reporting on Cardiff’s City bore draw at Birmingham in the Championship last Saturday before 24 hours later covering Swansea’s stunning Premier League comeback at the Liberty Stadium as Garry Monk’s men scored two goals in the final 15 minutes to shoot down Arsene Wenger’s top Gunners.

Here are his conclusions...

It was a weekend of football which starkly illustrated Wales’ very own Grand Canyon growing between our two biggest clubs.

As Cardiff City laboured at St Andrew’s to fight out a dour goalless stalemate, the following day, Swansea City put the mighty Arsenal to the sword in a thrilling victory which set the pulses racing and, most importantly, was thoroughly deserved.

The contrast between the two games could not have been greater and in its way more depressing or perhaps pleasing depending on your point of view and allegiances. I know this because I was at both games for WalesOnline and the Western Mail.

When you consider both the Bluebirds and the Swans occupied the same top flight status last term it is remarkable to note how both clubs now seem light years apart in terms of, well, just about everything.

They are only a division apart, but in just about every other aspect, on the pitch and off it and from top to bottom within, it is Swansea who hold the upper hand. It is the second city club which shows the capital how things really should be done to thrive in the modern game.

Current league position
Swansea City (Premier League)
Bafetibis Gomis of Swansea City celebrates scoring their second goal
5th
Cardiff City (Championship)
Cardiff City players look dejected as Dan Gosling (3rd L) celebrates after scoring the third goal for AFC Bournemouth
12th

On the pitch there is no question the Swans are a by far the superior side right now. The Arsenal game, the opening day victory at Old Trafford were achieved again via a version of the beautiful game that has so excited so many during their stay in the top flight. Under new boss Garry Monk now there is a new found grit and steel to add to the thrills and spills

The Bluebirds meanwhile under new manager Russell Slade seem all bluster, talk of the most talented squad in the Championship is belied by a series of average performances, particularly away from home, and their campaign seems blighted by under-performing individuals. But, in truth, the football itself seems the least of it.

That the Swans prosper and remain a solvent viable business while the Bluebirds sit mired in goodness knows how much debt is perhaps the clearest indication of the different terrain both currently occupy.

It was supposed to be all so different. Cardiff are a bigger club than Swansea, that it seems is perceived wisdom. That is what we have been told down the years. The catchment area of the capital is larger, the fan-base bigger, the city more attractive, the seat of Welsh power and all that.... and that perhaps does hold for now.



But if things continue the way they are, if, as they seem poised to do, the Swans take things to the next level in the top flight and if, as they seem poised to do, the Bluebirds fail to get back to the promised land that accepted order of power might not be able to be taken for granted for much longer.

And this is not all alarmist nonsense from a Bluebirds perspective.

Should the gulf continue, should it continue to widen, should owner Vincent Tan step away from Cardiff, unleashing all that might follow, a generation might come through that effectively sees just one team in Wales and that would play in white at the Liberty Stadium.

Let’s be honest if you are the sort of Bluebirds fan who defines themselves through the prism of hatred for their club’s bitterest rivals then there has surely never been a worse time. Conversely Swans supporters must be pinching themselves at where their club stands right now and what the future holds.

Further apart than ever before?...
Perhaps not since the heady days of John Toshack at Swansea in the early 1980s have the two clubs occupied such vastly different spheres.

But even then that was a flying visit to the big time for the Swans, a blip in the natural order of things if you like. This time, with American investors waiting in the wings, Swansea are establishing themselves as a Premier League brand. The Bluebirds meanwhile continue to stutter.

Cardiff’s Premier League experience was a disaster in contrast.

He should go on mastermind...........specialised subject.....stating the F@cking obvious.

Dont be a fucker tucker. Its a big wheel.

We are polls apart. It hurts me to say it but the whole club is a embarrassment and with Swansea doing so well their fans are pissing themselves over it all.

Just a pity that tucker hasn't got the bollocks to firstly criticise the Cva that was the catalyst for swansea success and secondly he should be slating tan for the rebrand that has destroyed my once proud club.

Just a pity that tucker hasn't got the bollocks to firstly criticise the Cva that was the catalyst for swansea success and secondly he should be slating tan for the rebrand that has destroyed my once proud club.

Not to mention having a new stadium built by the local council and not paying the council a single penny in rent since the stadium opened.

Having said all that on the field they certainly are doing well and fully deserved turning the gooners over at the weekend.

They havent paid a penny in rent?????! That cant be true can it?

I have no issue with the CVA, ironically it probably saved most of those companies as they have been able to continue to trade with them. But not paying a penny in rent is scandalous and inexcusable if true.

Can't stand Tucker & his silly childish style of 'journalism'.
Always looks like he's been sleeping rough on a park bench to me.
Every time I see him on Blakey's boot room he's constantly scratching like he has fleas.

To think we beat Swansea just over a year ago. Whether people like to admit it or not, it all went wrong when Malky was sacked.

To think we beat Swansea just over a year ago. Whether people like to admit it or not, it all went wrong when Malky was sacked.

We certainly did Ross and it certainly has.

It's true unfortunately.

I really wish Cardiff was run like them, rather than some megamegalomaniac nutter that we have

It's true unfortunately.

I really wish Cardiff was run like them, rather than some megamegalomaniac nutter that we have

They havent paid a penny in rent?????! That cant be true can it?

I have no issue with the CVA, ironically it probably saved most of those companies as they have been able to continue to trade with them. But not paying a penny in rent is scandalous and inexcusable if true.

It is absolutely true the council has not received a single penny in income for the £30m+ investment it made on the Liberty Stadium. Not only that the council also loaned the Stadium Management Company £2.37m to cover the cost of fitting out the stadium, mostly spent on the hospitality areas, but did include fitting out the stadium shop.

Since the stadium opened Swansea City have received upwards of £1m a season in revenue from these hospitality areas but the council never received a single penny in repayment of the loan. This become an issue with thier auditors so the council decided to "write off " the entire loan. So SCFC have earned approaching £10m from these hospitalty areas and the rate payers of Swansea have lost £2.37m.

Well run club my arse.

I honestly don't care what happens to Swansea. There is only one club I am interested in!

He hasn't got a clue. the biggest chasm was only about 10 years ago when there was 2 divisions and almost 60 places between the clubs.

The position as it is now could be reversed in 12 months, or it could get much worse. Things change very quickly in football.

To think we beat Swansea just over a year ago. Whether people like to admit it or not, it all went wrong when Malky was sacked.

Would have gone wrong if they kept Malky. He ruined our one chance to establish Cardiff City in the Premier League by wasting millions on Cornelius and failing to bring in a quality striker. Our midfield and defence was ok (just about) but we never presented a threat in front of goal. Had he solved that problem, instead of spending millions on an untried kid, we could well have stayed up.

To think we beat Swansea just over a year ago. Whether people like to admit it or not, it all went wrong when Malky was sacked.

Would have gone wrong if they kept Malky. He ruined our one chance to establish Cardiff City in the Premier League by wasting millions on Cornelius and failing to bring in a quality striker. Our midfield and defence was ok (just about) but we never presented a threat in front of goal. Had he solved that problem, instead of spending millions on an untried kid, we could well have stayed up.

Disagree. While I accept Cornelius was a flop, we played all the tough teams at home under Malky. The only two teams we played at home under Malky who finished in the bottom half were Swansea and West Brom and they were both 1-0 wins. The only two teams we played at home who finished in the top half after Malky was sacked were Liverpool and Chelsea. So we went from being above the relegation zone with several winnable looking home games ahead to climb the table under Malky, to embarrassing defeats against Hull, Crystal Palace, Swansea and Sunderland and sinking to the bottom without a fight under Ole. We are now where we are, a million miles behind Swansea all because of the ego of one man ruining our club.

Just a pity that tucker hasn't got the bollocks to firstly criticise the Cva that was the catalyst for swansea success and secondly he should be slating tan for the rebrand that has destroyed my once proud club.

Not to mention having a new stadium built by the local council and not paying the council a single penny in rent since the stadium opened.

Having said all that on the field they certainly are doing well and fully deserved turning the gooners over at the weekend.

Who told you that? Does the source go by the name of 'staff' by any chance

With regard freebies, the donation of the land for the house of sport? Have you conveniently forgotten that

However, lets not kid ourselves, football is morally bankrupt and any club will take advantage of loopholes to benefit themselves

I think us beating them gave us a false idea if where we were. We also beat man city remember but it wasn't an indication that they were not miles ahead of us although our problems and downward trend did seem to happen at around the time Malky was sacked. Although he may have been a c**t he is still the best manager we have had in years.

They havent paid a penny in rent?????! That cant be true can it?

I have no issue with the CVA, ironically it probably saved most of those companies as they have been able to continue to trade with them. But not paying a penny in rent is scandalous and inexcusable if true.

It is absolutely true the council has not received a single penny in income for the £30m+ investment it made on the Liberty Stadium. Not only that the council also loaned the Stadium Management Company £2.37m to cover the cost of fitting out the stadium, mostly spent on the hospitality areas, but did include fitting out the stadium shop.

Since the stadium opened Swansea City have received upwards of £1m a season in revenue from these hospitality areas but the council never received a single penny in repayment of the loan. This become an issue with thier auditors so the council decided to "write off " the entire loan. So SCFC have earned approaching £10m from these hospitalty areas and the rate payers of Swansea have lost £2.37m.

Well run club my arse.

Well thats shocking if true. But Im sure i read that they paid a peppercorn rent where there was an agreement that rent is only payable when an attendance is above a certain figure, which suggests they have paid full rent for their Prem stay as they have sold out? Maybe your info was from the Championship days with their 14,000 attendances?

Either way, this article is wank.

They havent paid a penny in rent?????! That cant be true can it?

I have no issue with the CVA, ironically it probably saved most of those companies as they have been able to continue to trade with them. But not paying a penny in rent is scandalous and inexcusable if true.

It is absolutely true the council has not received a single penny in income for the £30m+ investment it made on the Liberty Stadium. Not only that the council also loaned the Stadium Management Company £2.37m to cover the cost of fitting out the stadium, mostly spent on the hospitality areas, but did include fitting out the stadium shop.

Since the stadium opened Swansea City have received upwards of £1m a season in revenue from these hospitality areas but the council never received a single penny in repayment of the loan. This become an issue with thier auditors so the council decided to "write off " the entire loan. So SCFC have earned approaching £10m from these hospitalty areas and the rate payers of Swansea have lost £2.37m.

Well run club my arse.

it didn't even cost 30 million to build and some of that was made up of grants , how much did Cardiff pay the council for the land that legoland was built on ?

You can't compare the two clubs, they are a well established PL outfit playing and beating teams like Arsenal and hovering around a European place, and we are a poor and ailing championship side loosing to teams such as Bournmouth, but who really cares, we are Cardiff Cuty, we are the Bluebirds and so long as we get our blue back one day, it doesn't really matter if we slip back to league two, a supporter will always support their side whatever league they play in

This is painful to read. The illustrious "reporter" (crapperazzi) has gone out of his way to show a totally biased side to this situation. It may be true that we are, at present, unable to compete at their level, but promotion and survival breeds further success as the big payouts roll in.

2 years in PL for CCFC would see huge attendances and huge financial gain.

I don't care who pays for their stadium. Truth is we are hugely in debt to Tan. If he wrote that debt off would we refuse it? Not on your Nelly duff!!

We have to plough our own furrow and be patient IMHO.

Thanks TheRow for ruining my night by the way. Cheers.

Can't see us back In The PL ever I'm afraid

They havent paid a penny in rent?????! That cant be true can it?

I have no issue with the CVA, ironically it probably saved most of those companies as they have been able to continue to trade with them. But not paying a penny in rent is scandalous and inexcusable if true.

It is absolutely true the council has not received a single penny in income for the £30m+ investment it made on the Liberty Stadium. Not only that the council also loaned the Stadium Management Company £2.37m to cover the cost of fitting out the stadium, mostly spent on the hospitality areas, but did include fitting out the stadium shop.

Since the stadium opened Swansea City have received upwards of £1m a season in revenue from these hospitality areas but the council never received a single penny in repayment of the loan. This become an issue with thier auditors so the council decided to "write off " the entire loan. So SCFC have earned approaching £10m from these hospitalty areas and the rate payers of Swansea have lost £2.37m.

Well run club my arse.

it didn't even cost 30 million to build and some of that was made up of grants , how much did Cardiff pay the council for the land that legoland was built on ?

The council bought the land in late 80s from the club for absolute peanuts. 50k which even in those days was a piss take but club was desperate. The council built leckwith stadium with European grants with hope of attracting commonwealth games (my memory may have got this wrong so please correct me) to cardiff. The club then bought the land back at a cheap rate but had to spend huge amount on improving road network and building new athletic stadium to replace leckwith. Paul guy is the one person who has benefitted from the land-ccfc have had new stadium built but the city of cardiff has had road improvements and a big retail park built at no cost to the local council tax payer.

He hasn't got a clue. the biggest chasm was only about 10 years ago when there was 2 divisions and almost 60 places between the clubs.

The position as it is now could be reversed in 12 months, or it could get much worse. Things change very quickly in football.

This.

2 years ago Wigan won the FA Cup against Manchester City and were in their 8th (guess) premiership season. Streets ahead of Cardiff.

2 years down the line and the "chasm" is non existant & some would argue that Cardiff are now the club going places out of the two...

Just an example of how quickly things change. One promotion or one relegation and the "chasm" is non existant.

They havent paid a penny in rent?????! That cant be true can it?

I have no issue with the CVA, ironically it probably saved most of those companies as they have been able to continue to trade with them. But not paying a penny in rent is scandalous and inexcusable if true.

It is absolutely true the council has not received a single penny in income for the £30m+ investment it made on the Liberty Stadium. Not only that the council also loaned the Stadium Management Company £2.37m to cover the cost of fitting out the stadium, mostly spent on the hospitality areas, but did include fitting out the stadium shop.

Since the stadium opened Swansea City have received upwards of £1m a season in revenue from these hospitality areas but the council never received a single penny in repayment of the loan. This become an issue with thier auditors so the council decided to "write off " the entire loan. So SCFC have earned approaching £10m from these hospitalty areas and the rate payers of Swansea have lost £2.37m.

Well run club my arse.

Well thats shocking if true. But Im sure i read that they paid a peppercorn rent where there was an agreement that rent is only payable when an attendance is above a certain figure, which suggests they have paid full rent for their Prem stay as they have sold out? Maybe your info was from the Championship days with their 14,000 attendances?

Either way, this article is wank.

Swansea City and the Ospreys both contribute to the running costs of the Liberty Stadium and that's where the peppercorn rent comes from. But the question is in business should they contribute to the running costs or pay "Market Value" in terms of hire costs for the stadium. There is a massive difference there where the "Market Value" or going rate would be set to deliver a profit and that's what would deliver the return on investment for Swansea City Council.

By paying only a share of running costs both the Swans and Ospreys have effectively been receiving "State Aid" which is why the European Commission is currently investigating the agreement in place.

http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk ... story.html

Swansea are not the only club in this country to benefit by arrangements like this Hull City (Kingston Communication Stadium) and Doncaster Rovers (Keepmoat Stadium) have also been under scrutiny by local authority auditors. Is it a coincidence that two clubs Hull City and Swansea City, who were both involved in a game in 2003 that could have seen the Swans drop out of the football league, are currently playing in the Premier League in modern stadium built and funded by the local council.

How does it go Hmmmmmmm

He hasn't got a clue. the biggest chasm was only about 10 years ago when there was 2 divisions and almost 60 places between the clubs.

The position as it is now could be reversed in 12 months, or it could get much worse. Things change very quickly in football.

This.

2 years ago Wigan won the FA Cup against Manchester City and were in their 8th (guess) premiership season. Streets ahead of Cardiff.

2 years down the line and the "chasm" is non existant & some would argue that Cardiff are now the club going places out of the two...

Just an example of how quickly things change. One promotion or one relegation and the "chasm" is non existant.

He hasn't got a clue. the biggest chasm was only about 10 years ago when there was 2 divisions and almost 60 places between the clubs.

The position as it is now could be reversed in 12 months, or it could get much worse. Things change very quickly in football.

This.

2 years ago Wigan won the FA Cup against Manchester City and were in their 8th (guess) premiership season. Streets ahead of Cardiff.

2 years down the line and the "chasm" is non existant & some would argue that Cardiff are now the club going places out of the two...

Just an example of how quickly things change. One promotion or one relegation and the "chasm" is non existant.

Spot on chuckles. How far were palace & hull behind the jacks 2 seasons ago? Yet the former finished above them last season with the latter only a few points behind and a FA cup final behind them. These people who bleat on about how we're are "light years behind" make me laugh. Football changes very quickly and 2 years can see major shifts.

Besides, who cares what the jacks do, it's more than enough following the Cardiff City soap opera.

They havent paid a penny in rent?????! That cant be true can it?

I have no issue with the CVA, ironically it probably saved most of those companies as they have been able to continue to trade with them. But not paying a penny in rent is scandalous and inexcusable if true.

It is absolutely true the council has not received a single penny in income for the £30m+ investment it made on the Liberty Stadium. Not only that the council also loaned the Stadium Management Company £2.37m to cover the cost of fitting out the stadium, mostly spent on the hospitality areas, but did include fitting out the stadium shop.

Since the stadium opened Swansea City have received upwards of £1m a season in revenue from these hospitality areas but the council never received a single penny in repayment of the loan. This become an issue with thier auditors so the council decided to "write off " the entire loan. So SCFC have earned approaching £10m from these hospitalty areas and the rate payers of Swansea have lost £2.37m.

Well run club my arse.

Well thats shocking if true. But Im sure i read that they paid a peppercorn rent where there was an agreement that rent is only payable when an attendance is above a certain figure, which suggests they have paid full rent for their Prem stay as they have sold out? Maybe your info was from the Championship days with their 14,000 attendances?

Either way, this article is wank.

Swansea City and the Ospreys both contribute to the running costs of the Liberty Stadium and that's where the peppercorn rent comes from. But the question is in business should they contribute to the running costs or pay "Market Value" in terms of hire costs for the stadium. There is a massive difference there where the "Market Value" or going rate would be set to deliver a profit and that's what would deliver the return on investment for Swansea City Council.

By paying only a share of running costs both the Swans and Ospreys have effectively been receiving "State Aid" which is why the European Commission is currently investigating the agreement in place.

http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk ... story.html

Swansea are not the only club in this country to benefit by arrangements like this Hull City (Kingston Communication Stadium) and Doncaster Rovers (Keepmoat Stadium) have also been under scrutiny by local authority auditors. Is it a coincidence that two clubs Hull City and Swansea City, who were both involved in a game in 2003 that could have seen the Swans drop out of the football league, are currently playing in the Premier League in modern stadium built and funded by the local council.

How does it go Hmmmmmmm

Check the service level agreement. The rent raises in line with attendances, so yes there was a 'peppercorn' rent in place but now that isn't the case.

You really need to stop getting your 'facts' from kings (and queens) of myths