" SUNDAY 17th OCTOBER 2010 UPDATE "

Carl

What are the malaysians budgeting on a genuine break even figure - in previous regimes it has been given but not really true and this is not to include the additional 4 million

cheers

Carl

What are the malaysians budgeting on a genuine break even figure - in previous regimes it has been given but not really true and this is not to include the additional 4 million

cheers

Dobbin I asked the question last week and am waiting for the response which I hope to have this week.

thanks carl,but until we improve our defence we are going nowhere.

Thanks for the update Carl.

Any chance Riggot will be available for Tuesday?

Carl

What are the malaysians budgeting on a genuine break even figure - in previous regimes it has been given but not really true and this is not to include the additional 4 million

cheers

Dobbin I asked the question last week and am waiting for the response which I hope to have this week.

cheers Carl

i think everyone just wants a genuine figure - we have ranged from 11k to 13k to 14.5k to 18.5k - if the figure including season tickets is say 22 then the club needs to promote this because then any extra can pay off this 4 million

if the figure was 22k nd we got 24 k 2k extra at 26 per game minimum over 18 games would give the club another million

ITS ALL ABOUT THE PR (and thats not peter Ridsdale )

Suzanne has done well bringing money in but it sounds like she was on huge wages i can see how the club has such a massive wage bill it sounds like the club is now going to be run as is should be run great update CARL

Suzanne Twamley been with the club for years hasn't she?

Always used to see her walking around the pitch before games at Ninian Park. What did she do exactly? If she's been made truly redundant then the club have no need for whatever she did anymore.

Is Julian Jenkins still there? Is he next in line for the "chop"?

cheers carl,
yes julian is still there

Lord carl best update yet, full of quality info

Thanks Carl. Super update....and worth staying in for!!

I have sympathy for the two girls who are losing their jobs and unfortunately (for those concerned) I'm sure more will follow. If the club can save £100k by getting rid of 2 employees (is that really true??) then there must be substantial savings to be made elsewhere....which raises even more questions about the previous regime and its business sense!!

It sounds like Vincent tan really means business and Isort of get the impression he'll own the club fully by default soon as he's the only one committed to putting real cash in....notwithstanding Steve Borley's temporary investment into the House of Sport. Nice one Steve....

PMG appear to have softened a little bit recently. Maybe they can see the benefits of being associated with a Premiership club and are hapy to hold on the the shirt tails of our Malaysian investors....

Best news is that VT wants us in the Premiership next year....and I'm sure he (and Dave Jones) have a player investment plan in place for January....

Best Jay signs PDQ if you ask me, or he might find himself missing from the promotion party....and that would be a shame for all concerned!! Personally I think he'll sign for better money very soon (he'd be daft not to....)

Nice to see the WalesOnline doom and gloom merchants very quiet at the moment too!!

Thanks again Carl. Appreciated....


"Vincent Tan's Blue & White Army!!"

I'm dying to see Bellamy at the CCS again.


Good to see good news on the business front.

Carl, thanks a lot for posting it here.

cheers carl

great update thanks Carl and things looking good on and off the field ............... if Sam isnt coming back to the club then why mention him in a different light from all the other creditors that are owed by CCFC ?

Hopefully the person behind the 'goodbye ninian park' celebrations has been made redundant with the minimal compensatory payment required under UK law.

Two questions:

1.) Why was the crowd figure annonced incorrectly ?

2.) What will the additional £4M be used for and when
?

Ta

The crowd figures were correct, season ticket holders are shown as attending even if they don't make it to the game, it is the same at every club and always as been to the best of my knowledge.

Also from what I have been told on most occasions ten percent of season tickets holders are absent each week (not the same ones I hope or that would be silly) This is why earlier this month I suggested on certain games when it could sell out, there should be a scheme where we could tell the club we can't make that game and they could then release the seat and re sell it.

Great update Carl, once again thanks for keeping us all in the loop.

Vincent Tan is taking control of this Football Club and is implementing his rules, his staff and his way. As I told you last week he has instructed 2 of his accountancy staff to look over the books to see where his money is going and where he can make savings. The word used to describe VT to me today was "Ruthless", the man means business and wants this club promoted to the Premiership this season.

For this season VT has budgeted to lose an additional £4million to back Dave Jones on top of the annual budget in the quest to get the club promoted asap. This £4million is on top of the millions he is pouring in to pay the creditors to keep companies off our back. Whilst VT is putting money in and it is all great to hear there are casualties too, I told you a couple of weeks ago that there were redundancies being made and on Friday certain staff members were given their notice of redundancy and will leave the club at the end of this month.

The most prominent name made redundant is that of Suzanne Twamley, commercial department, and another from the same office. That is a saving of over £100k per annum in just those 2 members of staff. Gethin Jenkins has now been given the task of managing the commercial department. Many of the staff at the club are on casual contracts and hope that the issue will be resolved soon and those who are staying will be given full time contracts but until then they are sitting tight and hoping they keep their jobs.

Vincent Tan was introduced to this club by TG but I am told that TG is taking a step backwards and will not be so prominent for the immediate future allowing VT to get his teeth into the club and sort it out from top to bottom. TG is still very much involved with City business but the staff have been told that they answer to VT.

TG flew into the country last week and met with Peter Ridsdale on Thursday ahead of the scheduled payment settlement date of the Friday 15th October. During the meeting PR was asked to wait a little longer for his settlement and it is my understanding that PR declined the request. But despite a date of the 15/10/10 for full and final payment, the terms of the negotiation clearly state there is a 3 working day grace for the payment to allow for international payments so therefore PR expects his money by no later than Wednesday 20th October.

Whilst I am discussing Ridsdale, he has been swanning about at a lower league club and mingling with directors and even greeting players in the tunnel. The unfortunate club is Morecambe FC, he really is walking about the club like he owns it yet the man is very desperate to get his settlement from City.

Steve Borley took on the responsibilty of the build of the House of Sport and I can tell you that it is now only 6 weeks away from completion, inspectors have been and accepted the facilities which enables City to maintain it's academy status. The cost of the build was £1million and a further £1.5million to fit out, all this funded by Borley, on top of the £1.5million he is already owed by the club and the additional £400k he put in recently to help with a shortfall in the players wages. A total of £4.4million Borley has forked out but he is confident he will receive every penny.

VT and TG have agreed to buy the House of Sport off Steve and have also confirmed to him that the £400k for the wages was a temporary measure.

VT has met with PMG and after discussions Paul Guy has agreed that they wont be pushing the club for the money his company is due and will wait until 2013 for the payment, this does not mean that he will have to wait until then but it gives VT the option too if he wishes to exercise it.

PMG still have full control over the Premier seats and continue to receive the monthly payments £90k which is slowly reducing the debt.

The next big issue that VT will deal with is Langston. It is now 10 weeks away from the deadline that the club has to pay Langston off and save themselves a lot of money in doing so. If the payment is made by December 31st 2010 then the figure is £10million, if it gets to 2011 and the payment has not been made then that figure rises dramatically to £24million and upwards.

Speaking with Sam, he is in a very good position and is enjoying his life at present, he has remained patient and willing to allow VT and TG to deal with the short term issues they have had to deal with prior to getting to this juncture, which I know the Malaysians have been very happy with. There is going to be an interesting few weeks ahead, what will VT do ? Will he pay off Langston the £10million or will he negotiate the debt which is favourable to the club and to Sam Hammam ? I am waiting and looking forward to the outcome !

Sam is living a healthy stress free life in the mountains of Lebanon and each and every time we speak he is very upbeat and confident that whatever he and VT decide it will be for the best interest of Cardiff City FC. Sam is looking forward too his 9th grandchild in April 2011 and is loving the family life.

The attendance at yesterdays game was announced as 22,444 but the actual turn out was just over 19,800. The early kick off has not helped especially in the family stand as many kids will have been playing park football and unable to attend.

Too many peoples surprise Bellamy was totally omitted from the squad for the game but I am reliably informed that he will start against Coventry on Tuesday.

Danny Drinkwater returns to training this week and is expected, if all goes well, to be eligible for the Leeds Utd game.

Darcy Blake returns from suspension for the trip to the Ricoh and I am told that he will probably return to the line up too.

The players were called in for training at the Vale today and focused on the defensive errors and watched a re-run of the goals we conceded.

Thanks for the update Carl.You and I have discussed a number of these topics previously over the months.

I am not surprised that Vincent Tan has brought in his own accountants to carry out the review - just a bit surprised they didn`t do it earlier (although perhaps they have been working away quietly in the background for a time).Did your source say whether they were brought in from Malaysia itself or (more likely) from the UK offices of the firm that VT uses out there.
I know that PMG`s accountants had previously given quite a damning report on the previous management of the club`s finances but although they are a firm of many strengths they don`t have any insolvency expertise and so I think missed a few key points in their review.

Excellent news on the "fighting fund" money being promised on top of funding to cover the normal running costs to the end of the season.It sounds very harsh to say in the current climate , but some redundancies are long overdue in reality and I still think there is more "slack" in the commercial and Premier Club departments to be addressed.

I hadn`t realised the House of Sport was so close to completion as I must admit I didn`t even glance that way when entering the stadium for the last few games. It would be nice for Steve to get his money back on this. As I said on here at the time that land deal was announced the club had the option to buy it back from him at cost at any time up to 12 months after it is fully built but I didn`t think the club would have the cash or desire to do so.

The PMG debt has had a final repayment date of September 2013 since the EGM in May this year , with interest being paid on the balance outstanding in the meantime.With your current news , do you mean that PMG are not pressing for phased repayments but are willing to carry on earning interest instead? Also , have you heared if the club will be taking up its right to convert £2.7m of that debt into shares before October next year? (would save them that cash , but would give PMG a bigger share stake in the club)?

You don`t mention Michael Isaac and his debt. Do you know if the club took up the option they had to convert another £500k of the debt they owed him before the end of August this year to follow from the £1.25m they converted into shares in May?

For the club not to pay off Langston £10m before the end of this year would be stupid and I am convinced VT will do so as it will improve the finances by at least £16m .The debt will not go up if the deal is not done - the Langston debt was already in the books at £26m in the May 2009 accounts so it will be another big reduction in the total liabilities of £66m shown at that time).
Glad to hear that Sam is well. The last time I spoke to him at any length was just under 4 months ago following the birth of my first grandchild when he phoned me and also sent me a lovely written message.He is a strong family man and dotes on his grandchildren.

Good news on the player fitness front. I expect to hear news on the Bothroyd new contract front shortly as well.

I haven`t commented much on Ridsdale as the sooner he is expunged from my memory the better.

Keith

Carl

What are the malaysians budgeting on a genuine break even figure - in previous regimes it has been given but not really true and this is not to include the additional 4 million

cheers

Dobbin I asked the question last week and am waiting for the response which I hope to have this week.

Carl

The breakeven figure for crowds alone will be above what we currently get. But this will reduce as we relieve ourselves of some of the interest burden on loans now paid off or to be paid off in the near future. Also some of the wage cost reductions now being made public will help quite a bit , although more needs to follow.

I don`t have the club`s 2009 accounts with me at the moment but when I get to them in the next couple of days , I can give an educated (well I think so ) guess at future breakeven attendance levels allowing for costs that have since been eliminated.

The likelihood though is that we will still have to sell players each season at a fair profit to cover general losses unless and until we reach the Premiership (and perhaps even then) as that is the nature of football finances below the very top few clubs.

Keith

EXCELLENT UPDATE CARL

with regards to the riddler and morecombe i have it on good authority that he had applied for the mascots job early last week.
unfortunatley for him he failed the time trial for the mascots grand national by some 23 seconds which by a peculiar twist of fate was his current non stop shagging record achieved at a cardiff hotel in december 2009.
it should also be pointed out that he failed the second part of the interview by failing to fit into the mascot suit.
i hope this clarifies matters regarding his return to football

with regards to the riddler and morecombe i have it on good authority that he had applied for the mascots job early last week.
unfortunatley for him he failed the time trial for the mascots grand national by some 23 seconds which by a peculiar twist of fate was his current non stop shagging record achieved at a cardiff hotel in december 2009.
it should also be pointed out that he failed the second part of the interview by failing to fit into the mascot suit.
i hope this clarifies matters regarding his return to football

Superb Steve

Thanks Carl. another great update.
I can honestly never remember being so up to date with the financial issues surrounding Cardiff City and it's great to be so well informed.
i'm certain i'm not the only fan that feels far better informed of goings on off the pitch and thats down to you and this forum so Cheers.
Keep the updates coming as i look forward to every single one nowadays
Jes

Ms Twamley and one other leave the club and save us 100k a year??
Now if she was Commercial Manager, is is fair to say that the bulk
of that 100k will have been her wages??

If so, then well done VT. No offence to the lady but what on earth was
she doing to merit perhaps 60-70k a year. That side of the club has
been a joke

Vincent Tan is taking control of this Football Club and is implementing his rules, his staff and his way. As I told you last week he has instructed 2 of his accountancy staff to look over the books to see where his money is going and where he can make savings. The word used to describe VT to me today was "Ruthless", the man means business and wants this club promoted to the Premiership this season.

For this season VT has budgeted to lose an additional £4million to back Dave Jones on top of the annual budget in the quest to get the club promoted asap. This £4million is on top of the millions he is pouring in to pay the creditors to keep companies off our back. Whilst VT is putting money in and it is all great to hear there are casualties too, I told you a couple of weeks ago that there were redundancies being made and on Friday certain staff members were given their notice of redundancy and will leave the club at the end of this month.

The most prominent name made redundant is that of Suzanne Twamley, commercial department, and another from the same office. That is a saving of over £100k per annum in just those 2 members of staff. Gethin Jenkins has now been given the task of managing the commercial department. Many of the staff at the club are on casual contracts and hope that the issue will be resolved soon and those who are staying will be given full time contracts but until then they are sitting tight and hoping they keep their jobs.

Vincent Tan was introduced to this club by TG but I am told that TG is taking a step backwards and will not be so prominent for the immediate future allowing VT to get his teeth into the club and sort it out from top to bottom. TG is still very much involved with City business but the staff have been told that they answer to VT.

TG flew into the country last week and met with Peter Ridsdale on Thursday ahead of the scheduled payment settlement date of the Friday 15th October. During the meeting PR was asked to wait a little longer for his settlement and it is my understanding that PR declined the request. But despite a date of the 15/10/10 for full and final payment, the terms of the negotiation clearly state there is a 3 working day grace for the payment to allow for international payments so therefore PR expects his money by no later than Wednesday 20th October.

Whilst I am discussing Ridsdale, he has been swanning about at a lower league club and mingling with directors and even greeting players in the tunnel. The unfortunate club is Morecambe FC, he really is walking about the club like he owns it yet the man is very desperate to get his settlement from City.

Steve Borley took on the responsibilty of the build of the House of Sport and I can tell you that it is now only 6 weeks away from completion, inspectors have been and accepted the facilities which enables City to maintain it's academy status. The cost of the build was £1million and a further £1.5million to fit out, all this funded by Borley, on top of the £1.5million he is already owed by the club and the additional £400k he put in recently to help with a shortfall in the players wages. A total of £4.4million Borley has forked out but he is confident he will receive every penny.

VT and TG have agreed to buy the House of Sport off Steve and have also confirmed to him that the £400k for the wages was a temporary measure.

VT has met with PMG and after discussions Paul Guy has agreed that they wont be pushing the club for the money his company is due and will wait until 2013 for the payment, this does not mean that he will have to wait until then but it gives VT the option too if he wishes to exercise it.

PMG still have full control over the Premier seats and continue to receive the monthly payments £90k which is slowly reducing the debt.

The next big issue that VT will deal with is Langston. It is now 10 weeks away from the deadline that the club has to pay Langston off and save themselves a lot of money in doing so. If the payment is made by December 31st 2010 then the figure is £10million, if it gets to 2011 and the payment has not been made then that figure rises dramatically to £24million and upwards.

Speaking with Sam, he is in a very good position and is enjoying his life at present, he has remained patient and willing to allow VT and TG to deal with the short term issues they have had to deal with prior to getting to this juncture, which I know the Malaysians have been very happy with. There is going to be an interesting few weeks ahead, what will VT do ? Will he pay off Langston the £10million or will he negotiate the debt which is favourable to the club and to Sam Hammam ? I am waiting and looking forward to the outcome !

Sam is living a healthy stress free life in the mountains of Lebanon and each and every time we speak he is very upbeat and confident that whatever he and VT decide it will be for the best interest of Cardiff City FC. Sam is looking forward too his 9th grandchild in April 2011 and is loving the family life.

The attendance at yesterdays game was announced as 22,444 but the actual turn out was just over 19,800. The early kick off has not helped especially in the family stand as many kids will have been playing park football and unable to attend.

Too many peoples surprise Bellamy was totally omitted from the squad for the game but I am reliably informed that he will start against Coventry on Tuesday.

Danny Drinkwater returns to training this week and is expected, if all goes well, to be eligible for the Leeds Utd game.

Darcy Blake returns from suspension for the trip to the Ricoh and I am told that he will probably return to the line up too.

The players were called in for training at the Vale today and focused on the defensive errors and watched a re-run of the goals we conceded.

Thanks for the update Carl.You and I have discussed a number of these topics previously over the months.

I am not surprised that Vincent Tan has brought in his own accountants to carry out the review - just a bit surprised they didn`t do it earlier (although perhaps they have been working away quietly in the background for a time).Did your source say whether they were brought in from Malaysia itself or (more likely) from the UK offices of the firm that VT uses out there.
I know that PMG`s accountants had previously given quite a damning report on the previous management of the club`s finances but although they are a firm of many strengths they don`t have any insolvency expertise and so I think missed a few key points in their review.

Excellent news on the "fighting fund" money being promised on top of funding to cover the normal running costs to the end of the season.It sounds very harsh to say in the current climate , but some redundancies are long overdue in reality and I still think there is more "slack" in the commercial and Premier Club departments to be addressed.

I hadn`t realised the House of Sport was so close to completion as I must admit I didn`t even glance that way when entering the stadium for the last few games. It would be nice for Steve to get his money back on this. As I said on here at the time that land deal was announced the club had the option to buy it back from him at cost at any time up to 12 months after it is fully built but I didn`t think the club would have the cash or desire to do so.

The PMG debt has had a final repayment date of September 2013 since the EGM in May this year , with interest being paid on the balance outstanding in the meantime.With your current news , do you mean that PMG are not pressing for phased repayments but are willing to carry on earning interest instead? Also , have you heared if the club will be taking up its right to convert £2.7m of that debt into shares before October next year? (would save them that cash , but would give PMG a bigger share stake in the club)?

You don`t mention Michael Isaac and his debt. Do you know if the club took up the option they had to convert another £500k of the debt they owed him before the end of August this year to follow from the £1.25m they converted into shares in May?

For the club not to pay off Langston £10m before the end of this year would be stupid and I am convinced VT will do so as it will improve the finances by at least £16m .The debt will not go up if the deal is not done - the Langston debt was already in the books at £26m in the May 2009 accounts so it will be another big reduction in the total liabilities of £66m shown at that time).
Glad to hear that Sam is well. The last time I spoke to him at any length was just under 4 months ago following the birth of my first grandchild when he phoned me and also sent me a lovely written message.He is a strong family man and dotes on his grandchildren.

Good news on the player fitness front. I expect to hear news on the Bothroyd new contract front shortly as well.

I haven`t commented much on Ridsdale as the sooner he is expunged from my memory the better.

Keith

Keith with regards to PMG they have not received the £2million that was due to them in September and will continue to receive the interest. I do not have an answer regarding whether or not the right to convert the £2.7million to shares is being taken up by VT

Carl

What are the malaysians budgeting on a genuine break even figure - in previous regimes it has been given but not really true and this is not to include the additional 4 million

cheers

Dobbin I asked the question last week and am waiting for the response which I hope to have this week.

Carl

The breakeven figure for crowds alone will be above what we currently get. But this will reduce as we relieve ourselves of some of the interest burden on loans now paid off or to be paid off in the near future. Also some of the wage cost reductions now being made public will help quite a bit , although more needs to follow.

I don`t have the club`s 2009 accounts with me at the moment but when I get to them in the next couple of days , I can give an educated (well I think so ) guess at future breakeven attendance levels allowing for costs that have since been eliminated.

The likelihood though is that we will still have to sell players each season at a fair profit to cover general losses unless and until we reach the Premiership (and perhaps even then) as that is the nature of football finances below the very top few clubs.

Keith

I look forward to your projections Keith

Such reports ensure good loyalty to the board

Thanks Carl

Carl, Looking Forward to Tonights Update Tuesday

Carl, Looking Forward to Tonights Update Tuesday

please no more about ridsdale annis the next time i want to see anything on this forum about him is his obituary

Carl, Looking Forward to Tonights Update Tuesday

please no more about ridsdale annis the next time i want to see anything on this forum about him is his obituary

Steve, No hes History