Nathan Blake Blames Tan bonus row for Newcastle Horror Show

Cardiff City hero Nathan Blake insists Vincent Tan bonus row sparked Newcastle United horror show

Tuesday 8th Oct 2013

After Saturday's tame Premier League defeat against Newcastle had many fans asking whether the dressing room rift had filtered onto the pitch, former Premier League striker Nathan Blake admits it must have.



Cardiff City legend Nathan Blake insists the row over bonuses at Cardiff City led to the Bluebirds poor showing on the pitch against Newcastle.

Malky Mackay’s men put in their worst display of the Premier League season so far in the first half on Saturday, trailing 2-0 at the interval and finding themselves lucky not to have conceded more.

Despite a fightback in the second period and goal from Peter Odemwingie, Cardiff still lost out 2-1.

The clash was overshadowed by news that senior players had fallen out with billionaire-backer Vincent Tan over a bonus they believed was due to them this season with suggestions the Malaysian businessman had even been banned from the Bluebirds dressing room by his own squad.

Blake, 41, now a respected pundit , said on this week's Blakey's Bootroom show that the furore must have spilled over on to the pitch against the Magpies.




“You would have to say that what had been in the press had something to do with it,” said Blake.

“As an ex-player I know the players would say the bonus situation didn’t have anything to do with it, but looking from the outside it definitely had something to do with the way they played. Put it this way, it doesn’t help things at all.

“When you are all going in the same direction that’s great, but as soon as you start to create division and something breaks off you create drag.

“It seems strange they are having this discussion during the season and for me anyway it is something that should not be public, but kept between the players, the manager and the chairman. It is quite an easy situation to solve.”






Cardiff go into the international break still well-placed in the table, but Blake issued a stern warning to the Cardiff players ahead of their tough trip to Chelsea on October 19.

Of the poor first-half display against Newcastle the popular former striker added: “I think it was down to complacency. It’s a subconscious thing you do start to believe in your own hype.”

Bollocks

Blake Quote 1: "looking from the outside it definitely had something to do with the way they played. Put it this way, it doesn’t help things at all"

Blake Quote 2: “I think it (the first half display) was down to complacency. It’s a subconscious thing you do start to believe in your own hype.”

Make your mind up, Blakey! Which is it? The 'Tan issue' or 'complacency'?

"Respected" pundit?? Hmmmm

absolutely the worst 'pundit' to ever be given a voice.

I have always said that Blake was a better player than a pundit...his latest outburst confirms my opinion

Shocking nonsense to cover up Malky's tactical ineptness.

At the end of the day, Malky got it wrong. He is continuously getting it wrong and if it wasn't for a few goals out of the blue we'd be struggling massively.

Shocking nonsense to cover up Malky's tactical ineptness.

At the end of the day, Malky got it wrong. He is continuously getting it wrong and if it wasn't for a few goals out of the blue we'd be struggling massively.

Absolutely rubbish, I only hope you are not being serious.

Absolutely rubbish, I only hope you are not being serious.

How is it rubbish? Its the truth. Not my fault if you Malky apologists cant accept the truth.

Absolutely rubbish, I only hope you are not being serious.

How is it rubbish? Its the truth. Not my fault if you Malky apologists cant accept the truth.

You seriously think Malky is tactically inept? We are talking about a man who took us to the League Cup final (and nearly won it) and play-offs in 2012 and to the league title in 2013 and to a decent start in the PL in 2013/14. I know many fans who thought we would do a lot worse than we have so far.

I don't think his tactics have been perfect (name a manager who always gets it right - very few even the best get it wrong sometimes) but I don't think there is anyone who would have done a better job than Malky in any period of time since he walked through the door in June 2011.

I don't disagree with anything he has done in the PL so far. Things like being more attacking could have come off even worse.

Knowing you, you will think he is a genius next week anyway.

He's looking for bites.

Not long ago he was posting from his "Malky Is My God" account.

What a load of shit.

Tan, and the club, have paid these players astronomical wages, far more than they are truly worth, I mean paying players 35k a week in the championship ffs.

Theyve got some nerve and its just another example of footballers not living in the real world.

They should be concentrating on staying in the league never mind a f8ccking bonus for finishing 17th.

In most walks of life you dont get extra reward for being mediocre.

He's looking for bites.

Not long ago he was posting from his "Malky Is My God" account.

Yeah I know, it's hard to tell on a forum and stupid comments like that are hard to leave going unchecked.

bollocks from blake once again

Once again shit reporting by the local rag, for a local so called newspaper, when are they going to get some honest , decent, knowledgeable reporters covering our Capital football team, this problem arose and was solved in September, so any dispute would have affected the team then not last Saturday you clowns, they only ever want to report things when there's a problem, and if there isn't then they make it up.
I have to be really honest about this, the only honest and heartfelt writing worth reading is by Carl, if he's wrong or right it is what he feels, not made up or exaggerated for effect.
There comes a time when the paper is not worth reading, because either the news is out of date, or from personal knowledge, you know it is not true.

What a load of shit.

Tan, and the club, have paid these players astronomical wages, far more than they are truly worth, I mean paying players 35k a week in the championship ffs.

Theyve got some nerve and its just another example of footballers not living in the real world.

They should be concentrating on staying in the league never mind a f8ccking bonus for finishing 17th.

In most walks of life you dont get extra reward for being mediocre.

on the money polo the greedy fuckers had only played 6 games yet their minds were firmly fixed on what happens 32 games later.

Absolutely rubbish, I only hope you are not being serious.

How is it rubbish? Its the truth. Not my fault if you Malky apologists cant accept the truth.

How on earth is it the truth?

if he is tactically inept then we would still be in the championship - We were poor on Saturday in the 1st half this was due to the players being off the pace, nothing to do with tactics

He changed it at Fulham and we won the game & in the 2nd half and we should have got a point at least

Absolutely rubbish, I only hope you are not being serious.

How is it rubbish? Its the truth. Not my fault if you Malky apologists cant accept the truth.

How on earth is it the truth?

if he is tactically inept then we would still be in the championship - We were poor on Saturday in the 1st half this was due to the players being off the pace, nothing to do with tactics

He changed it at Fulham and we won the game & in the 2nd half and we should have got a point at least

Thank You!

Absolutely rubbish, I only hope you are not being serious.

How is it rubbish? Its the truth. Not my fault if you Malky apologists cant accept the truth.

How on earth is it the truth?

if he is tactically inept then we would still be in the championship - We were poor on Saturday in the 1st half this was due to the players being off the pace, nothing to do with tactics

He changed it at Fulham and we won the game & in the 2nd half and we should have got a point at least

The tactics used in the championship are not going to work at this level and a blind man can see that.

Theres too much attacking talent in this league to hope to keep the game nil nil and nick a goal like we did last season. We won a lot of games 1-0 last year yet this year weve only kept one clean sheet in seven so do the math. Last years tactics wont wotrk.

Plus, you hoof the ball to teams in this league it takes a lot longer to get back. Its no wonder as a team we look f*ckedby the 70th minute.We are spending most of the game chasing the oppo around.

Absolutely rubbish, I only hope you are not being serious.

How is it rubbish? Its the truth. Not my fault if you Malky apologists cant accept the truth.

How on earth is it the truth?

if he is tactically inept then we would still be in the championship - We were poor on Saturday in the 1st half this was due to the players being off the pace, nothing to do with tactics

He changed it at Fulham and we won the game & in the 2nd half and we should have got a point at least

The tactics used in the championship are not going to work at this level and a blind man can see that.

Theres too much attacking talent in this league to hope to keep the game nil nil and nick a goal like we did last season. We won a lot of games 1-0 last year yet this year weve only kept one clean sheet in seven so do the math. Last years tactics wont wotrk.

Plus, you hoof the ball to teams in this league it takes a lot longer to get back. Its no wonder as a team we look f*ckedby the 70th minute.We are spending most of the game chasing the oppo around.

We're doing fine so far in my opinion, everyone panics everytime we lose but we are in a really competitive league.

People such as yourself and JB were saying the same thing last season about Malky as well, do you admit you were wrong last season?

Absolutely rubbish, I only hope you are not being serious.

How is it rubbish? Its the truth. Not my fault if you Malky apologists cant accept the truth.

How on earth is it the truth?

if he is tactically inept then we would still be in the championship - We were poor on Saturday in the 1st half this was due to the players being off the pace, nothing to do with tactics

He changed it at Fulham and we won the game & in the 2nd half and we should have got a point at least

The tactics used in the championship are not going to work at this level and a blind man can see that.

Theres too much attacking talent in this league to hope to keep the game nil nil and nick a goal like we did last season. We won a lot of games 1-0 last year yet this year weve only kept one clean sheet in seven so do the math. Last years tactics wont wotrk.

Plus, you hoof the ball to teams in this league it takes a lot longer to get back. Its no wonder as a team we look f*ckedby the 70th minute.We are spending most of the game chasing the oppo around.

We're doing fine so far in my opinion, everyone panics everytime we lose but we are in a really competitive league.

People such as yourself and JB were saying the same thing last season about Malky as well, do you admit you were wrong last season?

No I dont admit to being wrong last season the football was non existant and we got lucky in a piss poor championship, largely helped by Tan throwing millions at it.

I stand by that

I don't know the ins and outs, but if the players have been sh!t on by Tan, would you expect them to then go out and give their all for him? Our first half showing reminded me of a Dave Jones team, not up for it, losing the personal battles, it was as if none of them wanted to be out there!

I don't know the ins and outs, but if the players have been sh!t on by Tan, would you expect them to then go out and give their all for him? Our first half showing reminded me of a Dave Jones team, not up for it, losing the personal battles, it was as if none of them wanted to be out there!

How anyone can describe people on 30,40,50k a week as being "Shit on" is beyond me

Once again shit reporting by the local rag, for a local so called newspaper, when are they going to get some honest , decent, knowledgeable reporters covering our Capital football team, this problem arose and was solved in September, so any dispute would have affected the team then not last Saturday you clowns, they only ever want to report things when there's a problem, and if there isn't then they make it up.
I have to be really honest about this, the only honest and heartfelt writing worth reading is by Carl, if he's wrong or right it is what he feels, not made up or exaggerated for effect.
There comes a time when the paper is not worth reading, because either the news is out of date, or from personal knowledge, you know it is not true.

Qoute (above): "There comes a time when the paper is not worth reading..."

That day has long since passed, fella, and any subscriptions to it cancelled when Tucker started to show the lunatics had taken over the asylum

Don't even read the 'free' web-site nowadays, as any information on there is readily availale on here (ironically almost word for word! ) days before! Funny that, isn't it?

Brilliant from the Eggo. Even getting former players of Cardiff to try and take a shine off Premier League football being in the capital. Really can't take football being the number one sport in Wales

I don't know the ins and outs, but if the players have been sh!t on by Tan, would you expect them to then go out and give their all for him? Our first half showing reminded me of a Dave Jones team, not up for it, losing the personal battles, it was as if none of them wanted to be out there!

How anyone can describe people on 30,40,50k a week as being "Sh!t on" is beyond me

Like I said, I don't know the ins and outs, maybe Tan promised the players huge bonuses for staying up and has now gone back on his word? None of us know, but I worry the players will lose respect for Tan if he has broken a promise. It worries me that the players were banned from giving interviews after the game, that suggests everything doesn't seem rosy.

Hopefully with the international break, it will give the players and Tan plenty of opportunity to resolve things. I must say it surprises me as I think Malky has assembled an excellent group of players with the correct attitude and mentality. But I think if we were all promised something by someone and that individual broke the promise, we would all feel let down. Hopefully it's all been blown out of proportion.

Why are they still employing Blake, he talks utter nonsense every time.

Wasnt the bonus situation sorted out before the Hull game? so why would it effect the newcastle game

Shocking nonsense to cover up Malky's tactical ineptness.

At the end of the day, Malky got it wrong. He is continuously getting it wrong and if it wasn't for a few goals out of the blue we'd be struggling massively.

Whitts goal against Hull out blue? Man city 3 goals out blue? Ncastle out of blue? ! So can't all be out blue Blue! You make Victor meldew seem happy with your constant criticism of malky?

Why are they still employing Blake, he talks utter nonsense every time.

Wasnt the bonus situation sorted out before the Hull game? so why would it effect the newcastle game

I'm not saying you're wrong, but why would the players be allowed to talk to the press after the Hull game but not the Newcastle game?

Sorry but im not having this nonsense that the players wouldnt try because they had a little tiff with Tan.

By all accounts the whole argument centered around them staying up so losing games because they didnt try their best isnt going to get them a bonus full stop.

Why are they still employing Blake, he talks utter nonsense every time.

Wasnt the bonus situation sorted out before the Hull game? so why would it effect the newcastle game

I'm not saying you're wrong, but why would the players be allowed to talk to the press after the Hull game but not the Newcastle game?

Because it only become public this week