SAM HAMMAM MY LORD, SAM HAMMAM

We are in touching distance of the Dream that was started 10 years ago by Sam. Whatever has happened between then and now, the one thing that remains is the fact that Sam Hammam came and started laying the foundations to put us in the position that we find ourselves today.

I know there are arguements and debates from both sides where Sam is concerned but I am glad and thankful that Sam came into our club.

10 years ago nobody wanted to touch Cardiff City FC, including investors, sponsors, not even the press had anything good to say about us but that changed the day Sam walked in.

He raised the profile of the club, he gave us a belief, he gave us a winning team, an academy, a new stadium, he gave us recognition.

Sam lost a hell of lot of money in Cardiff City, around the £19million by my reckoning, £3 million he used to buy the club, the £6 million he let go when he was ousted and the £14 million that was reduced in the recent Langstone deal.

So today I say Thank You Sam and hopefully one day you will come into the new stadium and see the dream you created.

As financially wreckless as he was, you can not deny the fact that none of this would have started without him.

Thank you sam. and good post Carl.

carl he lost f**k all, it wasnt his money, and he took a massive chunk in wages, it may well have been his dream but it was thousands of city fans dreams before he came along

carl he lost f**k all, it wasnt his money, and he took a massive chunk in wages, it may well have been his dream but it was thousands of city fans dreams before he came along

It was his money Baz because he came in at the beginning and used his £3 million to start the dream and dont forget Sam borrowed the money under his company not Cardiff City therefore not a secured loan and also I agree there were thousands of dreamers before Sam came but he turned our dreams into the reality that it is today, without Sam we would not be where we are right now.

As financially wreckless as he was, you can not deny the fact that none of this would have started without him.

Thank you sam. and good post Carl.

Cheers Merlin, growing up with nothing always gave me the belief you should never forget where you come from and to be where we are right now is ultimatley down to Sam and I will never forget that.

Fully agree Carl.

We may be a few euros in debt but without old Sam we'd be in the welsh league by now. There would no doubt be an FC of Cardiff or a similarly non offensive name run by a few well meaning but ultimately clueless folk supported by guardian reading dreamers. The one thing that Sam did, much like the good lady in the avator gave us, was our pride and a belief, a dream. I for one never imagined that I would be at Wembley supporting CCFC in an FA Cup Final. If I had told you or you said to me back in, randomly, 83/84 that we would we see Cardiff in an FA Cup Final in our lifetime, well fill in the gaps

I've never even met you but I regard you as a mate, likewise other people on here that I think is the legacy of the man. Allah be praised, I frequented Mike's board for years and thought that Sludge Factory was one of the most horrible little twats in the entire world, but his contributions here have totally changed my mind. In fact I love him so much I'm going to dress up in womens underware, stockings sussy's, little thong the works, drive to the airport and fly back to Britain just so I can be there on Sunday evening for the meeting of minds. My cunning disguise will allow me to walk freely amongest the lefties but I will secret a small AK47 in my rucksack just in case things get a bit dodgy. I refuse point blank to wear a berret though, I'd look a right queer or french or egg chaser.......

carl he lost f**k all, it wasnt his money, and he took a massive chunk in wages, it may well have been his dream but it was thousands of city fans dreams before he came along

It was his money Baz because he came in at the beginning and used his £3 million to start the dream and dont forget Sam borrowed the money under his company not Cardiff City therefore not a secured loan and also I agree there were thousands of dreamers before Sam came but he turned our dreams into the reality that it is today, without Sam we would not be where we are right now.

the 3 million was not his money, he had financial backers the same as he had in wimbledon, if you look into the truth he never parted with a penny of his own money, a very clever man wish i had the guts to do it, very similar to what the glazers havve done to man utd(but they donre it on a much bigger scale)wimbledon was raped of all assets and we were warned abour him he almost did the same here, yes he was a good chairman but not with cash best years in citys history, but we are still paying for it, and he split the fans like never before. you will always have the pro and anti hanmann supporters but the truth is he fucked up and fucked up big time

carl he lost f**k all, it wasnt his money, and he took a massive chunk in wages, it may well have been his dream but it was thousands of city fans dreams before he came along

It was his money Baz because he came in at the beginning and used his £3 million to start the dream and dont forget Sam borrowed the money under his company not Cardiff City therefore not a secured loan and also I agree there were thousands of dreamers before Sam came but he turned our dreams into the reality that it is today, without Sam we would not be where we are right now.

the 3 million was not his money, he had financial backers the same as he had in wimbledon, if you look into the truth he never parted with a penny of his own money, a very clever man wish i had the guts to do it, very similar to what the glazers havve done to man utd(but they donre it on a much bigger scale)wimbledon was raped of all assets and we were warned abour him he almost did the same here, yes he was a good chairman but not with cash best years in citys history, but we are still paying for it, and he split the fans like never before. you will always have the pro and anti hanmann supporters but the truth is he fucked up and fucked up big time

Sam took the chance Baz and without chancers this life would be pretty rubbish dont you think. Baz take yourself back 10 years and ask yourself would you rather be there bouncing between division 3 and 4 or where we are now and the journey we have been on innthe last 10 years.

carl he lost f**k all, it wasnt his money, and he took a massive chunk in wages, it may well have been his dream but it was thousands of city fans dreams before he came along

It was his money Baz because he came in at the beginning and used his £3 million to start the dream and dont forget Sam borrowed the money under his company not Cardiff City therefore not a secured loan and also I agree there were thousands of dreamers before Sam came but he turned our dreams into the reality that it is today, without Sam we would not be where we are right now.

the 3 million was not his money, he had financial backers the same as he had in wimbledon, if you look into the truth he never parted with a penny of his own money, a very clever man wish i had the guts to do it, very similar to what the glazers havve done to man utd(but they donre it on a much bigger scale)wimbledon was raped of all assets and we were warned abour him he almost did the same here, yes he was a good chairman but not with cash best years in citys history, but we are still paying for it, and he split the fans like never before. you will always have the pro and anti hanmann supporters but the truth is he fucked up and fucked up big time

Regardless, If he never set foot on Ninian park - we still wouldn't be here as we are today! (no matter what state our club is in - it's been the best few years of supporting city)

Sam built a legacy that will never be forgotten because it is there on a car park in Leckwith for all to see and be proud of, that was Sam.

yes i agree it was the best days being a city supporter, but like everyone else who owned the club he was only here for the money(it backfired a bit) but he was as mad as a hatter, i would love to see him back but leave the key to the petty cash box to someone with a bit of money sense(maybe a woman )

Sam built a legacy that will never be forgotten because it is there on a car park in Leckwith for all to see and be proud of, that was Sam.

I agree that Sam came and got us out of the shit, and also put the foundations in place for the success we have had, and also the stadium and academy etc, i will ALWAYS be grateful to Sam for that.

Ron Nodes was and still is a gypo, Bates is of the same ilk, gypo cunts.

How can you say the 3 million wasn't his and his wife would not let him, do you know her have you met her, and how do you have any evidence to any of these statements. And as for wages the 500 grand a year it was never taken and all written off at the end, he also paid off the 24 million pound debt to citi bank with an unsecured loan from so called Langstones, no interest paid at the time, now do you know of any company or finacial institution that would lend that sort of money with no security and no interest, keep it real lads for f**k sake.

If Sam was a business man in it for just the money, then he wants shooting, how many investors make money from football, me personally I'd have bought property or gold, but deffo not a football club if I was out for profit.

Sam loved the acclaim, he thrived on being the big cheese and doing things his way,he new the name of evry kid in the academy, he would watch games all over the country he had lot's of faults but a great bloke and a loyal friend, do you think Tg if he invests will be doing it for love or acclaim, and will we turn on him if he dares to walk away with a profit on his investment, rather than a loss like Sam has.

Sam could have put us under and out of business any time he wanted to over the last 5 years if he had it in him to be spiteful.

When it comes to Sam it feels like there is a few pieces of the jigsaw missing. At this moment I intend to believe he was stabbed in the back. First by the council then by Ridsdale. Ridsdale involvement with the ST scam furthers my belief Sam was stabbed in the back.

The only question I would like ot be answered clearly is why was Sam so desperate to ask Ridsdale to help him. I have only heard Ridsdale explanation to this and I dont believe it.

i loved sam and always will. he created a dream and hopefully we will live it. sam i salute you

When my 1 year old son grows up and is old enough, I'll be telling him that Cardiff City, the Premiership team he supports was rescued from the dead by Sam Hammam, a passionate yet slightly bonkers businessman who fell in love with our club and had a dream to put it in the Premiership. Thank you Sam

sam was a complete barnpot.......but ya gotta love him.

I have never understood when anyone has said it were'nt Sam's money. Could someone tell me who's money it was ?

i loved sam and always will. he created a dream and hopefully we will live it. sam i salute you

no more to say

I have never understood when anyone has said it were'nt Sam's money. Could someone tell me who's money it was ?

It was his money, mostly. he made a few euro's weelin and dealing in the lower leagues, got to know most of the scouts in London and surrounding area, met the parents of potential top line players. Foolishly thought that he could take one of Ron Nodes' pikey teams to Europe.

Sam made a few euros, but he loved football.

Carl amazing post

so ture ists unreall.

ohhhhhhhh lord sam hammam

I dont believe for one minute sam hammam would ever have deliberately led us to oblivion or shut us down

he clearly loved his time at cardiff city

he loved football

but the facts remain he was responsible for incredibly excessive spending and was his own worst enemy

he was certainly tucked up by the current regime but he was in a position where he could not really do anything about it

and just because wimbledon were a small club it doesnt mean for one minute we should dismiss fabs from that club who have first hand experience of what happened to their club ..and many believe he was culpable for what happened to them

there is a wealth of stuff on the internet about sams time at wimbledon , its worth seeing and reading what they think

I think the test would be if one day he did turn up at the stadium and his name was announced over the tannoy

I reckon we would have a group who would cheer , group who would boo and group that would be indifferent

and I think it would be split equally in numbers

for me the times were great but like the fa cup or the old bob bank sam is now part of our history

but that doesnt mean I would boo the man

carl he lost f**k all, it wasnt his money, and he took a massive chunk in wages, it may well have been his dream but it was thousands of city fans dreams before he came along

Spot on Baz

"After failing to get the new stadium plans agreed by Cardiff Council due to concerns over financial security in 2006, Hammam agreed to a £27 million takeover by a consortium led by new chairman Peter Ridsdale and including lead developer of the new stadia Paul Guy. However, the takeover was in doubt until 22 December 2006 with the club in threat of administration until the consortium agreed to pay Hammam's company Rudgwick an extra £500,000 and £90,000 to Hammam's brother. Ex-Wales rugby captain Mike Hall said after the deal was completed": "That was money which would have been spent on players. But instead it's gone into Sam's pocket. It was the only way the deal was going to be done. I know people say he's a complex character, but at the end it was total greed and self-interest. It was amazing, but football is a murky world."

Let's not forget Sam / Langston have also dragged us through the courts since 2008 and I know for a fact that the clubs legal fees ran into the hundreds of thousands due to this battle! If he had the club's interests at heart would he have done this? Why not negotiate?

I look back on Sam with fondness but in reality it's bitter sweet memories for me....

"After failing to get the new stadium plans agreed by Cardiff Council due to concerns over financial security in 2006, Hammam agreed to a £27 million takeover by a consortium led by new chairman Peter Ridsdale and including lead developer of the new stadia Paul Guy. However, the takeover was in doubt until 22 December 2006 with the club in threat of administration until the consortium agreed to pay Hammam's company Rudgwick an extra £500,000 and £90,000 to Hammam's brother. Ex-Wales rugby captain Mike Hall said after the deal was completed": "That was money which would have been spent on players. But instead it's gone into Sam's pocket. It was the only way the deal was going to be done. I know people say he's a complex character, but at the end it was total greed and self-interest. It was amazing, but football is a murky world."

I am not sure as to the position of pmg in this at the time of that quote from hall and wetehr or not the threat of admin was teh clubs or sams

Let's not forget Sam / Langston have also dragged us through the courts since 2008 and I know for a fact that the clubs legal fees ran into the hundreds of thousands due to this battle! If he had the club's interests at heart would he have done this? Why not negotiate?

I look back on Sam with fondness but in reality it's bitter sweet memories for me....

"After failing to get the new stadium plans agreed by Cardiff Council due to concerns over financial security in 2006, Hammam agreed to a £27 million takeover by a consortium led by new chairman Peter Ridsdale and including lead developer of the new stadia Paul Guy. However, the takeover was in doubt until 22 December 2006 with the club in threat of administration until the consortium agreed to pay Hammam's company Rudgwick an extra £500,000 and £90,000 to Hammam's brother. Ex-Wales rugby captain Mike Hall said after the deal was completed": "That was money which would have been spent on players. But instead it's gone into Sam's pocket. It was the only way the deal was going to be done. I know people say he's a complex character, but at the end it was total greed and self-interest. It was amazing, but football is a murky world."

Let's not forget Sam / Langston have also dragged us through the courts since 2008 and I know for a fact that the clubs legal fees ran into the hundreds of thousands due to this battle! If he had the club's interests at heart would he have done this? Why not negotiate?

I look back on Sam with fondness but in reality it's bitter sweet memories for me....

There was another £500,000 which could have gone towards players but instead it was spent on Ridsdale's 'stab Sam in the back bonus' what would that be called hmmmm self-interest?

Also someone who is acting in self-interest wouldn't right off £14m of their own fortune.

Finally as for the court case again you are looking in the wrong direction, it was Ridsdale and PMG who failed to honour agreements and were brought to the negotation table by Sam's court action.

"After failing to get the new stadium plans agreed by Cardiff Council due to concerns over financial security in 2006, Hammam agreed to a £27 million takeover by a consortium led by new chairman Peter Ridsdale and including lead developer of the new stadia Paul Guy. However, the takeover was in doubt until 22 December 2006 with the club in threat of administration until the consortium agreed to pay Hammam's company Rudgwick an extra £500,000 and £90,000 to Hammam's brother. Ex-Wales rugby captain Mike Hall said after the deal was completed": "That was money which would have been spent on players. But instead it's gone into Sam's pocket. It was the only way the deal was going to be done. I know people say he's a complex character, but at the end it was total greed and self-interest. It was amazing, but football is a murky world."

Let's not forget Sam / Langston have also dragged us through the courts since 2008 and I know for a fact that the clubs legal fees ran into the hundreds of thousands due to this battle! If he had the club's interests at heart would he have done this? Why not negotiate?

I look back on Sam with fondness but in reality it's bitter sweet memories for me....fingers88
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:21 pm

And what 27 million pound take ove was that?
We were told there was huge hedge fund backers buying the club, but that trurned into a favoured few and the 27 mill becoming 6 mill, but that wasn't even invested if you remember, people like Alan Whitely were given shares and investment rites for legal work done, others were also given similar shares such as PR, so in reality nowhere near 6 million pounds came into the club. As for Sam taking 500 grand out at the end, that's hardly a good return for even the initial 3 mill he bought the club for, and as for Mike Hall saying that was half a million pounds that could have been spent on players, do you really believe that or like lot's of us think that was even more bullshit to deflect the blame on Sam whilst the fat cats picked over the bones.

When Sam left we were top of the Championship with a seven point gap,we were promised that new players would come in during the January window and we'd make a push for the Premier, and what happened, yes f**k all.

And as for dragging the club through the courts, what would you do, you get an agreement on a deal and then weeks later the club change the agreement, and PMG get prefferential creditor status in front of Sam, meaning that any money paid back PMG would get first call.

Sam made mistakes, but the huge delays in getting the stadium was the crucial factor, he did spend money on players and pay deals for players trying to rush us into the Premiership, but he didn't pay himself huge bonus's at every chance he had, he didn't drive around in big Bentley's and Austin Martins, he didn't surround himself with cronies on huge wages for doing f**k all, he did pay his own taxes.

"After failing to get the new stadium plans agreed by Cardiff Council due to concerns over financial security in 2006, Hammam agreed to a £27 million takeover by a consortium led by new chairman Peter Ridsdale and including lead developer of the new stadia Paul Guy. However, the takeover was in doubt until 22 December 2006 with the club in threat of administration until the consortium agreed to pay Hammam's company Rudgwick an extra £500,000 and £90,000 to Hammam's brother. Ex-Wales rugby captain Mike Hall said after the deal was completed": "That was money which would have been spent on players. But instead it's gone into Sam's pocket. It was the only way the deal was going to be done. I know people say he's a complex character, but at the end it was total greed and self-interest. It was amazing, but football is a murky world."

Let's not forget Sam / Langston have also dragged us through the courts since 2008 and I know for a fact that the clubs legal fees ran into the hundreds of thousands due to this battle! If he had the club's interests at heart would he have done this? Why not negotiate?

I look back on Sam with fondness but in reality it's bitter sweet memories for me....

With regards to the first part of your statement, you have quoted a piece, probably the echo, also it is Mike Hall being quoted there after a bitter takeover where Sam was being forced out the door by the very man he brought back into football despite his previous failings in a football club. Sam gave the Ridsdale the oppurtunity and the stage to repair his image by helping Sam to deal with the finances at the club thus resulting in the rubber stamping of the stadium. But the one thing Sam would'nt have consdered would have been being stabbed in the back, ask yourself this how would you have felt ?

With regards to Sam dragging us through the courts, dont you think where you borrow £24 million, STOP AND THINK £24 MILLION, that is a hell of a lot of money and very easy to say and type but a lot harder to take out in your name and bankroll a business venture that you didnt start, would'nt you expect to have some of it back ?

My answer would be, I would want it.

The £24 million has been used in all sort of ways by Peter Ridsdale since Sam was forced out. It has been used against Sam, it has been used as the root of all our problems, it has been used to mask how the club has been and is currently being run.

Would you have writen off the £24 million in those circumstances ?

and dont forget to thank him ,very much, for bringing THE RIDLLER here.a stoke of genius !!!!