Vincent Tan " Forget the fans at your peril. "

Ian Holloway warns Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan 'forget the fans at your peril'
Sunday 29th Dec 2013


Outspoken former Blackpool and Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway has turned his attention to the Cardiff City owner for his latest rant on our sister website Mirror Football


Vincent Tan has come in for criticism from every football quarter in the English League

Bristol born football manager Ian Holloway has never been short of an opinion.

Here he takes a shot at the Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan.

Outspoken manager Ian Holloway

I have always believed that the most important people in football are the fans.

For me, supporters are the very lifeblood of the game, making both a financial and lifelong emotional commitment to a club, thanks mainly to family ties that have been handed down through the generations.

Most of us don’t choose what team we support – our club chooses us. It’s in our DNA.

So, it absolutely sickens me to think that those traditions are now looked upon as being a little outdated in the crazy, mixed-up world that we know as the Premier League.

Supporters have long been regarded as just another income stream by the businessmen who have seen that there’s money to be made from English football.

The problem is that the cash taken at the ticket office these days represents just a fraction of the wealth that a top-flight club in this country generates.

Billion pound television deals and lucrative sponsorship agreements have well and truly made fans disposable assets in the eyes of the men who have no real love for the game.

What has happened at Cardiff City and Hull City this year is proof positive that some football club owners don’t give a damn about the supporters who shell out their hard-earned cash to fill their stadiums every week.

Down in South Wales, a chap called Vincent Tan didn’t think twice about changing the colours of a club, which has been nicknamed the Bluebirds for more than a century, to red.

Last week, Mr Tan sacked Malky Mackay, the manager who guided Cardiff to the Premier League last season after taking them to both the Championship title and League Cup final.

This should have been a season for every Cardiff fan to savour. Instead, it is being played against a backdrop of unrest, with supporters incensed that a billionaire businessman from Malaysia can treat the club’s history with such distain.

Two hundred and fifty miles north east of Cardiff, a man called Assem Allam is trying to change the name of a club that has been called Hull City for 109 years.

He says Hull City Tigers would be a better fit for the marketing men and that the club’s current name was “common”.

Mr Allam, who was born in Egypt, but claims to have deep bonds to the Humberside area, having lived there since 1968, told a protest group, called City Till We Die, that they should go away and do just that.

I have no doubt that Cardiff and Hull are rubbing shoulders with Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal this season because of the money invested by Messrs Tan and Allam.

But, while these gentlemen may own the title deeds of the club, the souls of both Cardiff and Hull reside in the hearts of fans who would follow them whether they were playing Liverpool or Hartlepool.

Having an owner or chairman with an inflated sense of their own worth is nothing new in football. But, for the most part, these men have always taken extreme care to avoid alienating the fans.

That was because supporters had a genuine financial stake in their clubs because they could voice their disapproval by refusing to pay their money at the turnstiles.

Gate receipts played a big part in the bottom line, helping to pay the wages and transfer fees.

It would have taken a brave or foolish chairman to treat supporters with such contempt.

This is an era where the people who pay the subscriptions to Sky or BT Sport are seen as more important customers than those who often make big sacrifices in other areas of their lives to pay the £50 ticket prices at their local stadium.

But, believe me, these billionaire businessmen are operating in a false economy.

Because, while watching players such as Wayne Rooney, Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero may be a major box-office attraction, a big part of the so-called “Premier League experience” comes from those star names performing in front of packed houses and passionate fans.

The quality of the “product” would plummet if games were played in front of empty seats because top players thrive on playing in grounds that are bouncing with excitement and expectation.

My message to any football club owner is: Forget the fans at your peril.


Vincent Tan at yesterdays match booing the team off as they left the pitch.

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Vincent Tan to me has gone way to far on all fronts and the quicker he sells up the better.

One thing he has achieved that is good, he has made us World known and I believe there will be plenty of buyers out there. and at the same time made himself the laughing stock of the world and he deserves to be laughed at and not respected.

Well at least that's Holloway out of the running, anything to add Sven

Am I the only one that read that hearing his voice?

we can rule Ollie out then, thank god!

Ian Holloway warns Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan 'forget the fans at your peril'
Sunday 29th Dec 2013


Outspoken former Blackpool and Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway has turned his attention to the Cardiff City owner for his latest rant on our sister website Mirror Football


Vincent Tan has come in for criticism from every football quarter in the English League

Bristol born football manager Ian Holloway has never been short of an opinion.

Here he takes a shot at the Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan.

Outspoken manager Ian Holloway

I have always believed that the most important people in football are the fans.

For me, supporters are the very lifeblood of the game, making both a financial and lifelong emotional commitment to a club, thanks mainly to family ties that have been handed down through the generations.

Most of us don’t choose what team we support – our club chooses us. It’s in our DNA.

So, it absolutely sickens me to think that those traditions are now looked upon as being a little outdated in the crazy, mixed-up world that we know as the Premier League.

Supporters have long been regarded as just another income stream by the businessmen who have seen that there’s money to be made from English football.

The problem is that the cash taken at the ticket office these days represents just a fraction of the wealth that a top-flight club in this country generates.

Billion pound television deals and lucrative sponsorship agreements have well and truly made fans disposable assets in the eyes of the men who have no real love for the game.

What has happened at Cardiff City and Hull City this year is proof positive that some football club owners don’t give a damn about the supporters who shell out their hard-earned cash to fill their stadiums every week.

Down in South Wales, a chap called Vincent Tan didn’t think twice about changing the colours of a club, which has been nicknamed the Bluebirds for more than a century, to red.

Last week, Mr Tan sacked Malky Mackay, the manager who guided Cardiff to the Premier League last season after taking them to both the Championship title and League Cup final.

This should have been a season for every Cardiff fan to savour. Instead, it is being played against a backdrop of unrest, with supporters incensed that a billionaire businessman from Malaysia can treat the club’s history with such distain.

Two hundred and fifty miles north east of Cardiff, a man called Assem Allam is trying to change the name of a club that has been called Hull City for 109 years.

He says Hull City Tigers would be a better fit for the marketing men and that the club’s current name was “common”.

Mr Allam, who was born in Egypt, but claims to have deep bonds to the Humberside area, having lived there since 1968, told a protest group, called City Till We Die, that they should go away and do just that.

I have no doubt that Cardiff and Hull are rubbing shoulders with Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal this season because of the money invested by Messrs Tan and Allam.

But, while these gentlemen may own the title deeds of the club, the souls of both Cardiff and Hull reside in the hearts of fans who would follow them whether they were playing Liverpool or Hartlepool.

Having an owner or chairman with an inflated sense of their own worth is nothing new in football. But, for the most part, these men have always taken extreme care to avoid alienating the fans.

That was because supporters had a genuine financial stake in their clubs because they could voice their disapproval by refusing to pay their money at the turnstiles.

Gate receipts played a big part in the bottom line, helping to pay the wages and transfer fees.

It would have taken a brave or foolish chairman to treat supporters with such contempt.

This is an era where the people who pay the subscriptions to Sky or BT Sport are seen as more important customers than those who often make big sacrifices in other areas of their lives to pay the £50 ticket prices at their local stadium.

But, believe me, these billionaire businessmen are operating in a false economy.

Because, while watching players such as Wayne Rooney, Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero may be a major box-office attraction, a big part of the so-called “Premier League experience” comes from those star names performing in front of packed houses and passionate fans.

The quality of the “product” would plummet if games were played in front of empty seats because top players thrive on playing in grounds that are bouncing with excitement and expectation.

My message to any football club owner is: Forget the fans at your peril.


Vincent Tan at yesterdays match booing the team off as they left the pitch.

BANG ON.

What Hollaway has not noticed though all the sell outs in South Wales who quickly converted to Red. Thousands of them.

Truth hurts sometimes but it is true.

hollaway-leader

Bang on the money from Holloway but are fans sold out at the time through financial blackmail.
The fans have woken up now at ccfc and now tan has a war on his hands.

We as fans have the power to remove tan just depends on us sticking together as fans and making tan aware of are discontent. I am prepared and have been since the start to fight for my club trouble is are you thats the big question. If yes we will win if no tan wins simples.

Bang on the money from Holloway but are fans sold out at the time through financial blackmail.
The fans have woken up now at ccfc and now tan has a war on his hands.

We as fans have the power to remove tan just depends on us sticking together as fans and making tan aware of are discontent. I am prepared and have been since the start to fight for my club trouble is are you thats the big question. If yes we will win if no tan wins simples.

TOO LATE 18 MNTHS TOO LATE.

Bang on the money from Holloway but are fans sold out at the time through financial blackmail.
The fans have woken up now at ccfc and now tan has a war on his hands.

We as fans have the power to remove tan just depends on us sticking together as fans and making tan aware of are discontent. I am prepared and have been since the start to fight for my club trouble is are you thats the big question. If yes we will win if no tan wins simples.

TOO LATE 18 MNTHS TOO LATE.

Dont think so. Tan is doing an excellent job on himself.

Bang on the money from Holloway but are fans sold out at the time through financial blackmail.
The fans have woken up now at ccfc and now tan has a war on his hands.

We as fans have the power to remove tan just depends on us sticking together as fans and making tan aware of are discontent. I am prepared and have been since the start to fight for my club trouble is are you thats the big question. If yes we will win if no tan wins simples.

you sound like the big I am there mate questioning every other Cardiff City fan, the only fans that have made a real stance against Tan are the ones who didn't renew their season tickets and I am not one of them, are you

Bang on the money from Holloway but are fans sold out at the time through financial blackmail.
The fans have woken up now at ccfc and now tan has a war on his hands.

We as fans have the power to remove tan just depends on us sticking together as fans and making tan aware of are discontent. I am prepared and have been since the start to fight for my club trouble is are you thats the big question. If yes we will win if no tan wins simples.

you sound like the big I am there mate questioning every other Cardiff City fan, the only fans that have made a real stance against Tan are the ones who didn't renew their season tickets and I am not one of them, are you

Yea I have 3 season tickets and I no what you are getting at and I still go for.my kids and to be honest its not the players fault.i choose to stay support the boys and fight to get my club back.
I would get involved in a walk out or anything thats realistic to rid us of tan

Bang on the money from Holloway but are fans sold out at the time through financial blackmail.
The fans have woken up now at ccfc and now tan has a war on his hands.

We as fans have the power to remove tan just depends on us sticking together as fans and making tan aware of are discontent. I am prepared and have been since the start to fight for my club trouble is are you thats the big question. If yes we will win if no tan wins simples.

you sound like the big I am there mate questioning every other Cardiff City fan, the only fans that have made a real stance against Tan are the ones who didn't renew their season tickets and I am not one of them, are you

Yea I have 3 season tickets and I no what you are getting at and I still go for.my kids and to be honest its not the players fault.i choose to stay support the boys and fight to get my club back.
I would get involved in a walk out or anything thats realistic to rid us of tan

Good for you family come first the same as me

Vincent Tan to me has gone way to far on all fronts and the quicker he sells up the better.

One thing he has achieved that is good, he has made us World known and I believe there will be plenty of buyers out there. and at the same time made himself the laughing stock of the world and he deserves to be laughed at and not respected.

^^THIS^^ also BAKED got it spot on. What a

Well at least that's Holloway out of the running, anything to add Sven

Vincent Tan to me has gone way to far on all fronts and the quicker he sells up the better.

One thing he has achieved that is good, he has made us World known and I believe there will be plenty of buyers out there. and at the same time made himself the laughing stock of the world and he deserves to be laughed at and not respected.

I understand what you are saying and your right, he has made so many mistakes, but the media are making things sound worse, and exaggerating everything. They are laughing at the whole club really, we need to get a decent Manager and move forward, then he will then be in a position to leave, and we can move forward. Protesting and helping cause negative press is not going to help our immediate position. We need to focus on getting behind the players and staying up

We have reasonable squad better than five or more others, we now need a good Manager to pull everyone together.

Yes, the good managers will be falling over themselves to work here!

Yes, the good managers will be falling over themselves to work here!

It could be tricky, our PR is poor, but plenty have a go at Chelsea when the average life expectancy of a Manger is less than 12 months. A good Manager should be able to negotiate no interference, a good budget January and for next season, and a well paid contract for himself.

Tan has just sacked Malky and will be judged on his own Manager, he won't want to fail, as Chris Kamara said this morning it is still a good premier League job and they will be plenty of people interested in it.

I was talking to someone yesterday and he said Tan wants a high profile Manager, is OLG a high profile Manager, I don't think so really??

Of he takes any advice at all surely it wouldn't be Sven? It will be interesting to see what happens and who takes it?

Well at least that's Holloway out of the running, anything to add Sven

Nothing to add from me, fella. I've already said I don't want the bloody job!!

Bring back Malky in the first instance; if not, go get Bielsa or Hoddle

excellent post by Holloway...

As much as I can't stand the man, that was very well said by Holloway.

Well said mr Ian Holloway

Holloway is spot on. The only problem is Tan listens to no one. The people that stand around him are a bunch of lackeys. They are constantly looking to him for their cues. He laughs... they laugh. He claps .. they clap. He looks disgusted .. they do also. I guess he is a good business man although some doubt is cast on that since his success is somewhat tied to being friends with gov't officials. But that gives him no qualifications to own a football team unfortunately. It has only given him a Napolean complex.

Well at least that's Holloway out of the running, anything to add Sven