RED FANS, BLUE FANS, MALKY MACKAY, THE ECHO, TAN....NOW WHAT
Thu Aug 21, 2014 11:10 pm
THIS IS A PIECE I WROTE FOR SOUTH WALES ECHO AFTER WE GOT RELEGATED EARLIER THIS YEAR, (THE EDITOR REFUSED TO PRINT IT). IT, SO I WENT AWAY QUIETLY. 
"IT...IS...WHAT...IT...IS..." KEVIN
RED NOT DEAD. We dreamed, we dared, we all took the deal.
Red is not dead, not at all., not in my world. There is no-one fighting Vincent Tan’s corner, no one has the guts, but I do, and I will. At the Chelsea game I wore my red tracksuit top (my blue t shirt underneath) for I support our team, whatever colour. You see, Cardiff City lads play in red. I saw fans last week (that normally wear red), actually not wear any colour (afraid to show their support amongst all the blue flags). Yes, our club is divided; how did the fans expect our players to play when they wear red and fans are chanting “we’ll always be blue”? Please think about this, how would you play if you play for a football team and your supporters chanted for another colour? The poor guys never stood a chance, club divided, fans divided...players divided on the pitch. Your blue chants since the Malky sacking took the fight out of the players as half of them arrived to the club when we were wearing red. Are you happy now that you got your 10 minutes of fame in front of Sky TV, oh and the loving respect of football fans up and down the country? Truth is, how do we look to the outside world? We made a deal on the red shirt rebrand. A deals a deal. Did we chant “We’ll always be blue when we beat the mighty Manchester City?”. Are we to be known as the fans that welshed on our deal God forbid? We wore the red, we supported our Craig Bellamy in red, for sure we exulted in that Fraizier Campbell 3rd goal against Man City. I stood up and reached out my arms to the heavens and shouted “Thank you God for this day”, the 18 yr old girl behind me and her mum were crying. Incredible! Incredible! Who brought us that day... Vincent Tan.
Can I ask, why didn’t we react more strongly when Ninian Park was sold to Cardiff City directors for housing? Why didn’t we all say “No, we are the fans, we want to keep our beloved Ninian Park!?” I sold out, we all sold out, and there is always a price to pay for your dreams. It broke my heart when we left Ninian Park, a place that will stay with me til my dying day. But, we dreamed, we dared, we took the new stadium and.... “we” took the money.
Our football team was never good enough from the Premiership start. Malky fist pumped his adoring fans while he spent untold millions on second rate players, namely the tall Danish lad, (I can’t even remember his name) £45,000 a week? £10 million? Was this deal done to line two people’s pockets? Think, if we never spent that on him, it could and should have been spent on a strong creative midfielder, a Jermaine Defoe, three experienced premiership players? But Malky was not a creative manager, we played back and sideways for 3 years under his ego; how many times did you see our players play a one, two, three triangle? It was our money, yes it was Vincent Tan’s money, but it was for us, that is what the man did, he spent it on us. And you know why? Because he let his heart rule his head. Mr Tan broke his own rule (and every business rule), he got emotional, he got excited. While Malky spent this money, his team were playing mind numbing negative football, losing 3-0 to Crystal Palace who were terrible at the time, 3-0 to Southampton, to which I stood up and screamed at Malky “why don’t you just go now if your players don’t try?! Other fans around me were muttering the same, the Canton stand were singing his name and Malky did what he did best, he was..the victim. Then Vincent t Tan was made a villain. Yet, Mr Tan continued to add an extension to the stadium. On Radio Wales Sports, Nathan Blake, Rob Phillips, Leighton James all laid into Vincent Tan. I phoned them on a live show after the Southampton game telling them all to resign, that they were a disgrace for non stop highlighting the friction between Vincent Tan and Malky Mackay without knowing the true facts. It was “Tan this, Tan that, the club’s a mess”, Leighton James pleading “Kev, calm down, calm down”. That was the trigger when the blue brigade pounced on Vincent Tan. It was a shock, here was a man who came to Wales and saved our club, and we were going back to the colour of the kit? That was in nobody’s mind, until hero Malky was sacked. Why are Leighton Andrews, The Echo, Nathan Blake, Annis Abraham, Tim Hartley and his Supporters Club (who made Malky honoury something after he was sacked) not screaming blue murder about Malky Mackay and his actions? Why would a manager that says he is owed £3 million not pursue that money? Even on the messageboards his supporters said he deserved his £3 million from Vincent Tan, from Cardiff City. Ask the politician Leighton Andrews, a true blue fan, an international businessman not. Why so blind? In any business if your main management (and I mean with real knowledge of their sector, ie football) has cost you millions of pound notes then wouldn’t you react by sacking them? Simon Lim didn’t really know football deals, we all knew that. Cardiff City and Vincent Tan, and we, the fans trusted in Malky and his best friend Moody. Where is The Echo’s investigation? (or is it only about the blue?), will Leighton Andrews investigate Malky Mackay?.Oh people say, well that’s football, Andy Carroll £35 million, Cornelius (that’s his name) £10 million, difference is, something really bad went on, and that’s why there is a gag in place, and Mr Tan can’t comment. In the real world I wonder if this is a police matter, but no, who cares it’s only Vincent Tan’s money. After all, this money will have to be repaid..by the club, by..the fans.
Yes, this season has been a disaster, but we have learnt so much about ourselves. We are as passionate now about our cause as ever. I am passionate about our team playing creative free flowing football with a strong backbone in defence. I am passionate about Cardiff City moving forward in the strongest connection with the fans. I want so bad for us to succeed, but the disgusting way in which we vilify our owner who has his family and young nephews etc watching makes me ashamed, and that’s why I will stick up for Vincent Tan. The man put his money where his mouth is. You can’t batter a man then tell him he promised this he promised that when you publicly humiliate him. He may be down but he is not out. He is not a quitter, and that’s the type of chairman this club needs. He is our future.
My suggestion is that we learn to have positive dialogue with Vincent Tan, based on mutual trust and understanding. We should all help in this matter. Annis Abraham states, “Tan said red was the colour of belief in his country, but it was not our belief”. “Our”?? I believe in red. I happen to be Welsh/ Asian but I am Welsh first and foremost, this is my country where I was born. Growing up in the Docks I first sneaked into Ninian Park at aged 8, followed The City from New York, LA and Splott, it’s in my blood, it’s in my heart. No-one speaks for me, I don’t speak for anyone. It is a massive dilemma. Almost like a past relationship (blue). I love my new girlfriend (red). My belief in red has been and always will be positive, it’s Welsh blood, it’s passion, like our rugby, it’s not about quitting. But. (my past girlfriend) The Bluebirds we have always been. The question is, am I always going to be thinking about my past girlfriend, or, she who has my heart for the future?
I want to finish by saying this. There are no so called plastic fans, for some our brother and sister fans have died halfway through the season, and have been buried in their red or blue scarfs, God rest their souls. If we are to embrace the future then we must respect the past. Alongside you I scream for every ball and move our players go for. It’s the reason we let out steam from all our problems of the world, we live for it, it makes us feel alive! We should all be doing this together for Cardiff City at the first game of the coming season. You know, minds can be changed as long as there is respect for tradition, change and culture, there must be no take it or leave it. Whatever version of the shirt becomes or returns to, it has to be true to our identity moving forward, a beginning of a new dawn . We have a real chance to show the world and ourselves that we can resolve this by working alongside Vincent Tan. If I am wrong, then I will die on my sword for my club, and I will still continue supporting our boys. “WE ARE CARDIFF CITY”.
"IT...IS...WHAT...IT...IS..." KEVINRED NOT DEAD. We dreamed, we dared, we all took the deal.
Red is not dead, not at all., not in my world. There is no-one fighting Vincent Tan’s corner, no one has the guts, but I do, and I will. At the Chelsea game I wore my red tracksuit top (my blue t shirt underneath) for I support our team, whatever colour. You see, Cardiff City lads play in red. I saw fans last week (that normally wear red), actually not wear any colour (afraid to show their support amongst all the blue flags). Yes, our club is divided; how did the fans expect our players to play when they wear red and fans are chanting “we’ll always be blue”? Please think about this, how would you play if you play for a football team and your supporters chanted for another colour? The poor guys never stood a chance, club divided, fans divided...players divided on the pitch. Your blue chants since the Malky sacking took the fight out of the players as half of them arrived to the club when we were wearing red. Are you happy now that you got your 10 minutes of fame in front of Sky TV, oh and the loving respect of football fans up and down the country? Truth is, how do we look to the outside world? We made a deal on the red shirt rebrand. A deals a deal. Did we chant “We’ll always be blue when we beat the mighty Manchester City?”. Are we to be known as the fans that welshed on our deal God forbid? We wore the red, we supported our Craig Bellamy in red, for sure we exulted in that Fraizier Campbell 3rd goal against Man City. I stood up and reached out my arms to the heavens and shouted “Thank you God for this day”, the 18 yr old girl behind me and her mum were crying. Incredible! Incredible! Who brought us that day... Vincent Tan.
Can I ask, why didn’t we react more strongly when Ninian Park was sold to Cardiff City directors for housing? Why didn’t we all say “No, we are the fans, we want to keep our beloved Ninian Park!?” I sold out, we all sold out, and there is always a price to pay for your dreams. It broke my heart when we left Ninian Park, a place that will stay with me til my dying day. But, we dreamed, we dared, we took the new stadium and.... “we” took the money.
Our football team was never good enough from the Premiership start. Malky fist pumped his adoring fans while he spent untold millions on second rate players, namely the tall Danish lad, (I can’t even remember his name) £45,000 a week? £10 million? Was this deal done to line two people’s pockets? Think, if we never spent that on him, it could and should have been spent on a strong creative midfielder, a Jermaine Defoe, three experienced premiership players? But Malky was not a creative manager, we played back and sideways for 3 years under his ego; how many times did you see our players play a one, two, three triangle? It was our money, yes it was Vincent Tan’s money, but it was for us, that is what the man did, he spent it on us. And you know why? Because he let his heart rule his head. Mr Tan broke his own rule (and every business rule), he got emotional, he got excited. While Malky spent this money, his team were playing mind numbing negative football, losing 3-0 to Crystal Palace who were terrible at the time, 3-0 to Southampton, to which I stood up and screamed at Malky “why don’t you just go now if your players don’t try?! Other fans around me were muttering the same, the Canton stand were singing his name and Malky did what he did best, he was..the victim. Then Vincent t Tan was made a villain. Yet, Mr Tan continued to add an extension to the stadium. On Radio Wales Sports, Nathan Blake, Rob Phillips, Leighton James all laid into Vincent Tan. I phoned them on a live show after the Southampton game telling them all to resign, that they were a disgrace for non stop highlighting the friction between Vincent Tan and Malky Mackay without knowing the true facts. It was “Tan this, Tan that, the club’s a mess”, Leighton James pleading “Kev, calm down, calm down”. That was the trigger when the blue brigade pounced on Vincent Tan. It was a shock, here was a man who came to Wales and saved our club, and we were going back to the colour of the kit? That was in nobody’s mind, until hero Malky was sacked. Why are Leighton Andrews, The Echo, Nathan Blake, Annis Abraham, Tim Hartley and his Supporters Club (who made Malky honoury something after he was sacked) not screaming blue murder about Malky Mackay and his actions? Why would a manager that says he is owed £3 million not pursue that money? Even on the messageboards his supporters said he deserved his £3 million from Vincent Tan, from Cardiff City. Ask the politician Leighton Andrews, a true blue fan, an international businessman not. Why so blind? In any business if your main management (and I mean with real knowledge of their sector, ie football) has cost you millions of pound notes then wouldn’t you react by sacking them? Simon Lim didn’t really know football deals, we all knew that. Cardiff City and Vincent Tan, and we, the fans trusted in Malky and his best friend Moody. Where is The Echo’s investigation? (or is it only about the blue?), will Leighton Andrews investigate Malky Mackay?.Oh people say, well that’s football, Andy Carroll £35 million, Cornelius (that’s his name) £10 million, difference is, something really bad went on, and that’s why there is a gag in place, and Mr Tan can’t comment. In the real world I wonder if this is a police matter, but no, who cares it’s only Vincent Tan’s money. After all, this money will have to be repaid..by the club, by..the fans.
Yes, this season has been a disaster, but we have learnt so much about ourselves. We are as passionate now about our cause as ever. I am passionate about our team playing creative free flowing football with a strong backbone in defence. I am passionate about Cardiff City moving forward in the strongest connection with the fans. I want so bad for us to succeed, but the disgusting way in which we vilify our owner who has his family and young nephews etc watching makes me ashamed, and that’s why I will stick up for Vincent Tan. The man put his money where his mouth is. You can’t batter a man then tell him he promised this he promised that when you publicly humiliate him. He may be down but he is not out. He is not a quitter, and that’s the type of chairman this club needs. He is our future.
My suggestion is that we learn to have positive dialogue with Vincent Tan, based on mutual trust and understanding. We should all help in this matter. Annis Abraham states, “Tan said red was the colour of belief in his country, but it was not our belief”. “Our”?? I believe in red. I happen to be Welsh/ Asian but I am Welsh first and foremost, this is my country where I was born. Growing up in the Docks I first sneaked into Ninian Park at aged 8, followed The City from New York, LA and Splott, it’s in my blood, it’s in my heart. No-one speaks for me, I don’t speak for anyone. It is a massive dilemma. Almost like a past relationship (blue). I love my new girlfriend (red). My belief in red has been and always will be positive, it’s Welsh blood, it’s passion, like our rugby, it’s not about quitting. But. (my past girlfriend) The Bluebirds we have always been. The question is, am I always going to be thinking about my past girlfriend, or, she who has my heart for the future?
I want to finish by saying this. There are no so called plastic fans, for some our brother and sister fans have died halfway through the season, and have been buried in their red or blue scarfs, God rest their souls. If we are to embrace the future then we must respect the past. Alongside you I scream for every ball and move our players go for. It’s the reason we let out steam from all our problems of the world, we live for it, it makes us feel alive! We should all be doing this together for Cardiff City at the first game of the coming season. You know, minds can be changed as long as there is respect for tradition, change and culture, there must be no take it or leave it. Whatever version of the shirt becomes or returns to, it has to be true to our identity moving forward, a beginning of a new dawn . We have a real chance to show the world and ourselves that we can resolve this by working alongside Vincent Tan. If I am wrong, then I will die on my sword for my club, and I will still continue supporting our boys. “WE ARE CARDIFF CITY”.