' Cardiff City And The Price Of Success. '

A good article on 365. A good summary of the situation in my opinion and the dillema of the whole situation.
Article on CCFC and rebrand - football 365

06th Feb 2013

Cardiff City And The Price Of Success
Cardiff are on course for promotion to the Premier League, but success has come at a price. Is it worth seeing your club's traditions tarnished in pursuit of the dream?




' A club's identity had been sold to the highest bidder. '


All football supporters clamour after success. This notion of 'success' is not necessarily winning the league but may well be surviving relegation, winning a trophy or merely outperforming last year's achievements. It doesn't matter if your club is Barclays Premier or Ryman Premier, every fan has that same pre-season dream; this will be our year. It is this desperate desire for glory that multiplies football's addictiveness; the longer success eludes our club, the stronger the need.

In commercialised football, it is an evident statement to say that money accelerates success. Moreover, as a rule the more money invested the quicker success is gained. So, if supporters desire success, should they also not long for money to be invested in their club, a huge stride towards the dream?

The Championship is the ideal breeding ground for this yearning to be at its strongest. After all, this is the league in which success provides the greatest reward. Next season the team that finishes bottom of the Premier League will still receive approximately £70million in television revenue alone. Eighteen teams in the Championship have been there before and six just want their first taste. For Premier League, read Promised Land.

Even within the division, there is a club whose fans could be forgiven for having more a more fervent longing for success than any other. Cardiff City have never experienced the elation of promotion to the top table, but they have come mightily close. After qualifying for the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, the Bluebirds have lost two playoff semi-finals and suffered Wembley heartbreak against Blackpool in 2010. As the goal gets closer (but remains just out of reach), the strength of desire grows exponentially. Promotion has been Cardiff's One Ring.

This season, finally, the elusive dream should be realised. Cardiff sit ten points clear at the top of the Championship with 17 games remaining. They have dropped five points at home all season and although they exited both cup competitions at the first possible stage, this has enabled a clichéd concentration on league form.

It is no coincidence that the introduction of money has hastened such an improvement. Last summer Cardiff spent £8million on players from the Premier League, Slovakia, Slovenia and Japan, allowing new manager Malky Mackay the opportunity to overhaul the squad. In addition, Craig Bellamy, Joe Lewis and Heidar Helguson were signed on free transfers. The wage bill at the club is sizeable, to say the least.

But whilst this should be a time for great unity at Cardiff, there is a lingering air of resentment within many supporters. Whilst the investment introduced to the club has effect positive change on the field, it has come at quite a price.

Before the season began, owner (and investor) Vincent Tan, a Malaysian entrepreneur, had announced that after 103 years of playing in blue, Cardiff would be playing in red. This was to be considered Tan's lucky colour and was a direct stipulation for his involvement in the club. In addition, the club's badge would be completely altered, pushing the bluebird to the bottom and instead introducing a red dragon.

The board members could do little but pull down their pants and accept. "The change of colour is a radical move which will be met with unease and apprehension by a number of supporters. There is no getting away from the fact that history and traditions are the lifeblood of any club and as such should be jealously guarded and preserved," started the official line.

And then the magic words: "The changes to the home kit and badge introduced as a consequence of the investment package secured the investment [£100million promised by Tan], with which we can safeguard the immediate and long-term future of this club."

A club's identity had been sold to the highest bidder.

Despite being overwhelming favourites for promotion on the field, Cardiff fans still harbour worries about their owner. Tan has indicated that he will convert the shares he has in the club to equity, alleviating the financial burden on the club, but accounts produced last month showed debt increasing to £83million. £8million of this was listed as 'administrative costs', an increase of £2million despite Tan promising to make the club more efficient. There is also talk that Tan's loan to the club is at an interest rate of seven per cent, which means Cardiff would owe him more than he has invested should he walk away.

Debts owed to former owner Sam Hammam (and his company Langston) are also a worry. These total around £19million (dating back to 2004) and Cardiff's current owners have put forward a repayment plan, which has been rejected. Hammam will be due an additional payment of £5million should the debt remain outstanding when the club are promoted. Clearly if Tan fails to renegotiate with Hammam, this debt continues to linger over Cardiff.

Such a situation leaves fans in a moral dilemma. Should they celebrate the sweetness of promotion if and when it arrives, accepting that the changes to their club's traditions are simply an eventuality instigated by modern football, or should they stick to their principles and refuse to glorify the removal of the club's customs at the whims of a foreign businessman?

If fans choose the second option, can they not be accused of cutting off their nose to spite their face? They would be living in the past, holding onto a sepia-tinted ideology that has failed to service the club previously. And in any case, supporters cannot simply turn off feelings for a club, and would certainly be unable to choose a different team to support. That's not how football works, the loyalty of the 'customer' is simply too strong, leaving us ripe for exploitation.

Which leaves us with the only option of 'getting on board', trying to put to one side the pillaging of a club's history and merely celebrating the achievement. It may be that the enjoyment of the moment is slightly diluted by the means and the method, but this is still Cardiff City in the Premier League.

If this is our choice, then do we have a tipping point, or do we choose this second option come what may? If your club's owner has dealt in selling arms to the third world, admitted to being racist or had instigated appalling human rights elsewhere in the world, would you still be part of the 'getting on board' brigade, or is there a level where your conscience tells you that a club no longer deserves your money? There are no right or wrong answers, but modern football is placing supporters in a moral quandary as never before.

Whatever your stance, there is a sad consequence. There should be universal happiness at Cardiff City, and in four months supporters should (barring a collapse in form) be as one, celebrating the realisation of a dream. Instead, there is a split between fans sat on both side of a moral fence. Season ticket holders who have been friends for years now fail to see eye-to-eye because of their opinions on a matter to which there is no right answer. It's just not football.

Worst of all, it threatens to dilute and undermine the very entity of success, the very ideal that supporters craved for so long. And whilst today it is Cardiff, it may well be your club tomorrow.

Sold to the highest bidder?????

Sold to the ONLY bidder!

Sold to the highest bidder?????

Sold to the ONLY bidder!

Exactly what crossed my mind when I seem the headline.

I'll be honest I'm not going to read it tho. Feeling good about city ATM so why depress myself with more rebrand

Sold to the highest bidder?????

Sold to the ONLY bidder!

they must have mistook the que at greggs for the que of bidders for the clubs identity craig

7% interest on a businees loan is a good deal for the club.
It states with interest rates of 7% we would owe him more than he invested if he walked away.. Of course, that is called business, and on a personal note, would you put money in a bank/building society unless they gave you more back than you put in?

How have we lost our history? We are the same club, with the same name. Unlike those clubs who took the easy option of administration. How can they claim to be the same club, because surely they are a different company (and therefore a different club), because a company is a single entity in law and as such if it closed down (for whatever reason) then the replacement company is a different legal entity, therefore a different club.

I do not like the rebrand, but at least we have the moral high ground compared to those who went into administration and ripped off suppliers/local businesses etc.

Spot on Craig.The thing that gets me is the people who say that the gloss will be taken off the hoped for promotion by whats gone on in the past,I can assure the original poster that I will be ecstatic if we finally cross the line and at a guess so will the vast majority of Cardiff City supporters.

Another rebrand post ...

What a load of bollocks.

This could well have been written by that Dubbers bloke who auctioned his "support" to highest bidder on EBay.

Not a particularly good article IMHA as it is 'Old Hat' and gets regurgitated every time a (lucky?) club manages to get a rich benefactor

Happened to Chelsea, happened to Man City and Newcastle and others in the past

ALL clubs would like to be in a position where they can progress 'in real time' and without debt and we are currently one such club. Long may it last

VT may well have been the ONLY bidder but to me that has proved to be our good luck, as we are now in THIS position for sure. Although I accept we will never know what MIGHT have happened with 'another' investor at this point I can't say (given our current success) that I particularly care

Not a particularly good article IMHA as it is 'Old Hat' and gets regurgitated every time a (lucky?) club manages to get a rich benefactor

Happened to Chelsea, happened to Man City and Newcastle and others in the past

ALL clubs would like to be in a position where they can progress 'in real time' and without debt and we are currently one such club. Long may it last

VT may well have been the ONLY bidder but to me that has proved to be our good luck, as we are now in THIS position for sure. Although I accept we will never know what MIGHT have happened with 'another' investor at this point I can't say (given our current success) that I particularly care

Agree this has been done to death internally . What you will find however , is you see more articles of this nature popping up the closer we get to promotion . In some respects , you could take a positive outlook on this , in that the club in general is now starting to get more focus as it gets closer to prem

Rebrand again - yawn, yawn

Im sorry I do not buy into this "we've sold ourselves rubbish".

For me it does not matter whether CCFC is owned by English, Welsh, Malaysian, Russian or indeed a small farming community in Nepal. The fact remains that the club I love continue to be called Cardiff City and that they aim to play at the highest level possible. Tan Sri is allowing us to do that and I am looking forward to photographing the club in the Premiership next season.

In life when you are successful people want a part of you and, because of our recent success, the interest in us has become global. In years gone by the interest was local - Tony Clemo (Red Dragon Travel), Kenton Utilities and dare I say it the local rugby guys. But we are now becoming a global brand and, once we reach the Premiership, I am sure that there will be plenty more interest in us.

Let me pose a thought. If you ride on a London Bus the chances are it will be owned by a German Company. If you shop in Boots you will be assisting the Italian market. Harrods used to be british but it is now owned by a company from Qatar and if you shop in Asdas you will be shopping in a US owned shop. If you drive there you will probably be driving in a car from Japan, China or India - because we only appear to assemble a small number over here.

The fact is that, to me, it does not matter who owns us or indeed what colour we play in. I give my best for CCFC and all I ask is that whoever runs us gives their best too.

Rebrand, nearly one year ago, time to move on me thinks.

Answers these questions TRUTHFULLY

Would any one of the 22,000 that go on average to the CCS

Change places with Peterborough, bottom of the Championship(probably relegation) but playing in blue ?

Go back to pre VT days facing tax demands and winding up orders?

Assets frozen , transfer embargoes, surviving day to day and no future?

I am for one really pleased that VT is here, No VT no Malky ,No 10 points clear,No success.

Playing in red , is a small price to pay , we are still Cardiff City the BLUEBIRDS . Don't worry about nicknames you cant get rid of them.
Nicknames are with you forever.

Like the

Like the new

Chill and enjoy the ride.

Not a particularly good article IMHA as it is 'Old Hat' and gets regurgitated every time a (lucky?) club manages to get a rich benefactor

Happened to Chelsea, happened to Man City and Newcastle and others in the past

ALL clubs would like to be in a position where they can progress 'in real time' and without debt and we are currently one such club. Long may it last

VT may well have been the ONLY bidder but to me that has proved to be our good luck, as we are now in THIS position for sure. Although I accept we will never know what MIGHT have happened with 'another' investor at this point I can't say (given our current success) that I particularly care

Agree this has been done to death internally . What you will find however , is you see more articles of this nature popping up the closer we get to promotion . In some respects , you could take a positive outlook on this , in that the club in general is now starting to get more focus as it gets closer to prem

Agree, mate. Didn't want to appear as having a go at you. Just that the 'other' clubs will (rightfully) be VERY jealous of us

Certainly DOES raise our profile though. Even Sky and the FL Show are starting to give us more coverage, as they KNOW we are on our way!!

In life when you are successful people want a part of you and, because of our recent success, the interest in us has become global. In years gone by the interest was local - Tony Clemo (Red Dragon Travel), Kenton Utilities and dare I say it the local rugby guys. But we are now becoming a global brand and, once we reach the Premiership, I am sure that there will be plenty more interest in us.

Comments like the ones I've highlighted never fail to amaze me. I find the level of self-delusion utterly astonishing.

Does anyone genuinely believe that a Championship club based in South Wales with an average attendance of 22,041 can be considered a global brand?!? If so, then do those same people consider that Championship clubs like Brighton, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby and Nottingham Forest are also global brands? After all, those clubs play in the same division as Cardiff and have bigger fanbases at present.

What about clubs like Southampton, Stoke, Norwich, Fulham, West Brom and Reading? They are better-supported than Cardiff and play in the promised land of the Premier League. Does that mean they are global brands? Or are they merely Premier League football teams that people in other countries watch on TV from time to time?

Here's a question for Paul: do you consider Swansea City a global brand? And if not, why not?

I now treat these posts with the contempt they deserve .

I now treat these posts with the contempt they deserve .

If anything deserves contempt, it's that joke of a badge that you are so proudly displaying.