'Malky locked in 3hour talks with Key Board members '

' Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay in three-hour talks with board in attempt to clear uncertainty '
10th Oct 2013


Mackay met with senior officials – not including Vincent Tan or chief executive Simon Lim – as the club moved to ease the uncertainty.



Malky Mackay has been locked in three-hour talks with key board members as Cardiff City attempted to calm the storm surrounding his future as Bluebirds manager.


Mackay met with senior officials – not including Vincent Tan or chief executive Simon Lim – as the club moved to ease the uncertainty around his position created in the wake of the suspension of right-hand man Iain Moody.


And it is understood part of those discussions included an offer for Moody – who was placed on gardening leave after his initial suspension was withdrawn – to permanently leave his post as head of recruitment.


The transfer chief, who has worked side-by-side with Mackay during the Scot’s successful two years in charge, is now thought to be considering that offer and is expected to return to the club with a decision after the weekend.


Moody’s suspension has still not been officially confirmed by the club and no reasons or statement have been given on why he was suddenly relieved of his duties – with previously unknown 23-year-old Kazakh Alisher Apsalyamov stepping into his role.


But it is now understood that at least one of the factors for his departure is over the Bluebirds’ summer transfer spending. It has been claimed the disagreement surrounds a £35m transfer budget and whether it was to include all transfer fees, wages, bonuses and signing-on fees – rather than just the transfer fees paid to other clubs to bring stars such as Steven Caulker, Gary Medel and Andreas Cornelius to South Wales.


Cardiff’s attempts to bring a semblance of order to the events of the past week are hoped to bring a period of quiet as Mackay is allowed to focus on preparing his side for the trip to Chelsea next weekend.


Despite odds being slashed on him being the next Premier League manager to leave his post, it is thought Mackay has every intention of carrying on as Cardiff manager until told otherwise and will be more determined than ever come the clash at Stamford Bridge.


Yet doubts will remain in the eyes of some fans over his long-term future, especially following the appointment of Apsalyamov in such a key role, albeit it in an acting capacity.

Apsalyamov, who has no known football experience and is friends with Tan’s sons, declined the opportunity to discuss his appointment when contacted.



Fans held an emergency meeting to discuss recent events at the club and to throw their support behind manager Malky Mackay.

Committee members of supporters’ group Bluebirds Unite – which was formed by fans opposed to the rebranding of the club – met at Canton Sports Bar on Leckwith Road.

Bluebirds Unite founder Sian Branson said the group was dismayed at the club’s decision to suspend their head of recruitment Iain Moody and replace him with Kazakh Alisher Apsalyamov – an unknown 23-year-old.

The move has subsequently fuelled speculation on Mackay’s future.

Branson said: “If we lose Malky Mackay I think it would be a disgrace.

“We have had no reasonable explanation as to why Iain Moody was placed on gardening leave or why the position was handed to a friend of Vincent Tan’s son who has no footballing experience.“

To us, Malky Mackay is the best thing at our football club, he is responsible for taking us to the Premier League and he has a place in fans’ hearts.

“We are concerned about the way our club is being run, but we are also concerned about the manager.”

why should the club give an explanation as to why they have suspended a employee of the club ?
If its the manager or player its the done thing that an explanation is given but a background job like h o r ?
If he wants to make changes because somebody fucked up in his job then its his right to do that , if one of my employees leaked information or cost me money id do exactly the same thing !

Tans in the right here in my eyes at the moment and i cant stand the man .

why should the club give an explanation as to why they have suspended a employee of the club ?
If its the manager or player its the done thing that an explanation is given but a background job like h o r ?
If he wants to make changes because somebody fucked up in his job then its his right to do that , if one of my employees leaked information or cost me money id do exactly the same thing !

Tans in the right here in my eyes at the moment and i cant stand the man .

spot on

why should the club give an explanation as to why they have suspended a employee of the club ?
If its the manager or player its the done thing that an explanation is given but a background job like h o r ?
If he wants to make changes because somebody fucked up in his job then its his right to do that , if one of my employees leaked information or cost me money id do exactly the same thing !

Tans in the right here in my eyes at the moment and i cant stand the man .

Tan is not right at all. If Tan had grounds to sack him then he would have done so by now and would have simply given the relevant justification and reasons for doing so. I think you will find that Tan cannot simply sack him because he may not actually be in breach of his contract hence why Tan (in a fit of temper) did suspend him initially but later had to choose the lesser sanction of gardening leave and then later (in a bid to try and get out of jail) had to make an offer of a package.
Tan is not the type of guy to make someone an offer to leave if he could sack him and save the money.

You also state that if one of your employees leaked information or cost you money that you would sack him also but this issue is not so clear cut is it. I bet even if you did sack one of your employees who was a critical member of your staff then I doubt you would be stupid enough to replace a key employee with someone who had absolutely no experienced and knew nothing about your business who was likely to cost your business more money in the long run due to them being incompetent.

My final point is that considering the position is extremely important to the future of our club then what chance would a young inexperienced lad have of negotiating future deals with some of the streetwise savvy agents that now represent the modern player. Surely this has disaster written all over it?

why should the club give an explanation as to why they have suspended a employee of the club ?
If its the manager or player its the done thing that an explanation is given but a background job like h o r ?
If he wants to make changes because somebody fucked up in his job then its his right to do that , if one of my employees leaked information or cost me money id do exactly the same thing !

Tans in the right here in my eyes at the moment and i cant stand the man .

As an outsider looking in,I'm a derby fan ,who's lived in Cardiff for 20 years.
I think Vincent Tan is making a laughing stock,of the club.
Obviously,I have an affection for CCFC,after being here this long.
Now forgive me if I'm missing something here,what does Simon Lim,actually do at the club?
Who signs the cheques?
If there is a financial imbalance,it was obviously started by the guy ,signing the money off,and I'm sure as hell,it wasn't Ian Moody !
Looks like another foreign owner,who fancies himself as a manager.
Best of luck to you all,and hope this debacle gets sorted ASAP.

Tan is not right at all. If Tan had grounds to sack him then he would have done so by now and would have simply given the relevant justification and reasons for doing so. I think you will find that Tan cannot simply sack him because he may not actually be in breach of his contract hence why Tan (in a fit of temper) did suspend him initially but later had to choose the lesser sanction of gardening leave and then later (in a bid to try and get out of jail) had to make an offer of a package.
Tan is not the type of guy to make someone an offer to leave if he could sack him and save the money.

You also state that if one of your employees leaked information or cost you money that you would sack him also but this issue is not so clear cut is it. I bet even if you did sack one of your employees who was a critical member of your staff then I doubt you would be stupid enough to replace a key employee with someone who had absolutely no experienced and knew nothing about your business who was likely to cost your business more money in the long run due to them being incompetent.

My final point is that considering the position is extremely important to the future of our club then what chance would a young inexperienced lad have of negotiating future deals with some of the streetwise savvy agents that now represent the modern player. Surely this has disaster written all over it?

great post that

why should the club give an explanation as to why they have suspended a employee of the club ?
If its the manager or player its the done thing that an explanation is given but a background job like h o r ?
If he wants to make changes because somebody fucked up in his job then its his right to do that , if one of my employees leaked information or cost me money id do exactly the same thing !

Tans in the right here in my eyes at the moment and i cant stand the man .

It's not the suspending of Moody that concerns me as much as his temporary replacement being a 23 year old with no football experience!! Surely you see that is a ludicrous decision from Tan?!

why should the club give an explanation as to why they have suspended a employee of the club ?
If its the manager or player its the done thing that an explanation is given but a background job like h o r ?
If he wants to make changes because somebody fucked up in his job then its his right to do that , if one of my employees leaked information or cost me money id do exactly the same thing !

Tans in the right here in my eyes at the moment and i cant stand the man .

It's not the suspending of Moody that concerns me as much as his temporary replacement being a 23 year old with no football experience!! Surely you see that is a ludicrous decision from Tan?!

The problem is nobody knows the full story behind this . How can people slate tan for making a decision they know nothing about ?
How do you all know this guy isn't a financial wizkid who tan plans to put in place helped by a experienced person in a director of football role ?
IF moody fucked up and tan lost faith in his abilities then he's right to look for a replacement isn't he ? .
The fact this guy is 23 makes no difference whatsoever

How old was Villas boas at Porto with bobby Robson ? Answer 16 then went on to manage his first team at 21 now is a premier league manager . What experience did he have ?

Karen Brady at Birmingham ? Answer 23 and is now vice-chairman of west ham , she is also the first female to hold such a high position in the English game . What did brum fans think about that appointment ?

Neither of those examples had much football experience what they started but are now highly regarded and respected in the football world !

Give the kid a chance , with a more experienced guy next to him like a lennie Lawrence type figure he could end up being a huge asset to the club , or he could be a total flop !
Who knows I just wish somebody at showed that much faith in me at that age

why should the club give an explanation as to why they have suspended a employee of the club ?
If its the manager or player its the done thing that an explanation is given but a background job like h o r ?
If he wants to make changes because somebody fucked up in his job then its his right to do that , if one of my employees leaked information or cost me money id do exactly the same thing !

Tans in the right here in my eyes at the moment and i cant stand the man .

It's not the suspending of Moody that concerns me as much as his temporary replacement being a 23 year old with no football experience!! Surely you see that is a ludicrous decision from Tan?!

The problem is nobody knows the full story behind this . How can people slate tan for making a decision they know nothing about ?
How do you all know this guy isn't a financial wizkid who tan plans to put in place helped by a experienced person in a director of football role ?
IF moody fucked up and tan lost faith in his abilities then he's right to look for a replacement isn't he ? .
The fact this guy is 23 makes no difference whatsoever

How old was Villas boas at Porto with bobby Robson ? Answer 16 then went on to manage his first team at 21 now is a premier league manager . What experience did he have ?

Karen Brady at Birmingham ? Answer 23 and is now vice-chairman of west ham , she is also the first female to hold such a high position in the English game . What did brum fans think about that appointment ?

Neither of those examples had much football experience what they started but are now highly regarded and respected in the football world !

Give the kid a chance , with a more experienced guy next to him like a lennie Lawrence type figure he could end up being a huge asset to the club , or he could be a total flop !
Who knows I just wish somebody at showed that much faith in me at that age

I admire your optimism and hope that turns out 2 be the case. I'm not so convinced though

why should the club give an explanation as to why they have suspended a employee of the club ?
If its the manager or player its the done thing that an explanation is given but a background job like h o r ?
If he wants to make changes because somebody fucked up in his job then its his right to do that , if one of my employees leaked information or cost me money id do exactly the same thing !

Tans in the right here in my eyes at the moment and i cant stand the man .

It's not the suspending of Moody that concerns me as much as his temporary replacement being a 23 year old with no football experience!! Surely you see that is a ludicrous decision from Tan?!

The problem is nobody knows the full story behind this . How can people slate tan for making a decision they know nothing about ?

Haven't you just undermined your point on why a statement should a statement be given? Although we are not shareholders, we are fans and we are seen as key to the clubs future success and development. If the consumer is losing faith in your ability to run the business correctly, because of rumour or Chinese whisper, surely as a business, you want to put out a calming statement stating what you believe to be the facts.

The fact they haven't seems to suggest to me as a "consumer" that what I am hearing on messageboards, TV and newspapers is correct, and therefore worrying. Just my opinion.

But these board members have no clout whatsoever in the club, what can they do chances are they will all be forced out soon

As for Moody if he has indeed fucked up completely with the 35m all spent on fees when should have been wages etc reserevd in that figure which seems obvious that there should have been, then he has lumbered Tan with millions of pounds of 3 or 4 year long contracts over the top of his alloctaed budget- I'd be fuming too wouldn't you??? (i'm not a Tan supporter by the way)

why should the club give an explanation as to why they have suspended a employee of the club ?
If its the manager or player its the done thing that an explanation is given but a background job like h o r ?
If he wants to make changes because somebody fucked up in his job then its his right to do that , if one of my employees leaked information or cost me money id do exactly the same thing !

Tans in the right here in my eyes at the moment and i cant stand the man .

So how do you justify the replacement? tell me that

quote]
The problem is nobody knows the full story behind this . How can people slate tan for making a decision they know nothing about ?
How do you all know this guy isn't a financial wizkid who tan plans to put in place helped by a experienced person in a director of football role ?
IF moody fucked up and tan lost faith in his abilities then he's right to look for a replacement isn't he ? .
The fact this guy is 23 makes no difference whatsoever

How old was Villas boas at Porto with bobby Robson ? Answer 16 then went on to manage his first team at 21 now is a premier league manager . What experience did he have ?

Karen Brady at Birmingham ? Answer 23 and is now vice-chairman of west ham , she is also the first female to hold such a high position in the English game . What did brum fans think about that appointment ?

Neither of those examples had much football experience what they started but are now highly regarded and respected in the football world !

Give the kid a chance , with a more experienced guy next to him like a lennie Lawrence type figure he could end up being a huge asset to the club , or he could be a total flop !
Who knows I just wish somebody at showed that much faith in me at that age[/quote]

How I know that this lad is no financial whizkid is easy to answer. By 23 if he was destined for great things in business then some financial institution would have taken him on by now or at least he would have been holding some sort of position in a business related environment especially as his rich father could have pulled some strings or set him up running one of his own businesses.
The fact that Tan could only find him a position painting the stadium speaks volumes and if you think that this youngster is in anyway capable of negotiating with the street wise agents that represent the modern player then you must be deluded.
Personally given the importance of this position to our clubs future, I would not be prepared to take the chance and neither would Malky by the sounds of it.