" Cardiff City were nearly bought by "
Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:47 pm
DIRECTOR Clive Holt has revealed that Burnley considered buying Cardiff City in 1987 to become the Football League's first franchise club – 16 years before Wimbledon's controversial relocation to Milton Keynes.
Monday 2nd March 2015
The Clarets came within a whisker of dropping out of the Football League at the end of the 1986/87 campaign, as they avoided relegation on the final day of the season.
There were real fears for the future of the club, and Holt has now revealed that Burnley spent time considering a contingency plan to buy Cardiff and move them to East Lancashire.
They would have become the country's first franchise club, some time before Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes in 2003 and later became MK Dons.
Holt, who has been on the Burnley board since 1986, told the Clarets’ matchday programme: “Cardiff were in administration in those days and in the last fortnight of the season, when we were rock bottom of the Fourth Division, we investigated the possibility of buying the club.
“We would have been the first franchise club had we lost our league status, because we felt we couldn’t survive in non-league.
“Cardiff were looking for new owners and we were looking to move them here.
“Whether the Football League would have let us do that we never found out because we survived, but we had started looking into it.”
Monday 2nd March 2015
The Clarets came within a whisker of dropping out of the Football League at the end of the 1986/87 campaign, as they avoided relegation on the final day of the season.
There were real fears for the future of the club, and Holt has now revealed that Burnley spent time considering a contingency plan to buy Cardiff and move them to East Lancashire.
They would have become the country's first franchise club, some time before Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes in 2003 and later became MK Dons.
Holt, who has been on the Burnley board since 1986, told the Clarets’ matchday programme: “Cardiff were in administration in those days and in the last fortnight of the season, when we were rock bottom of the Fourth Division, we investigated the possibility of buying the club.
“We would have been the first franchise club had we lost our league status, because we felt we couldn’t survive in non-league.
“Cardiff were looking for new owners and we were looking to move them here.
“Whether the Football League would have let us do that we never found out because we survived, but we had started looking into it.”
Re: Cardiff City were nearly bought by
Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:57 pm
They still could,nt muster more than half a dozen supporters ...lol
Re: Cardiff City were nearly bought by
Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:59 pm
We've never been in administration as far as I know, or maybe im wrong
Re: Cardiff City were nearly bought by
Mon Mar 02, 2015 3:32 pm
mr'mogreenz wrote:We've never been in administration as far as I know, or maybe im wrong
Correct!
Re: " Cardiff City were nearly bought by "
Mon Mar 02, 2015 3:43 pm
Is this satire or has he lost the plot? 
Re: Cardiff City were nearly bought by
Mon Mar 02, 2015 4:11 pm
mr'mogreenz wrote:We've never been in administration as far as I know, or maybe im wrong
I think he may be mistaking us for the club down the road!
Re: " Cardiff City were nearly bought by "
Mon Mar 02, 2015 6:03 pm
Cardiff City could have relocated to Burnley!' Director makes astonishing claim Bluebirds could have become the Clarets
Mon 2 March 2015
By Jon Doel
Burnley director Clive Holt says the Clarets considered buying Cardiff in 1987, relocating them 225 miles and making them football's first franchise club
Cardiff City could have been moved to Burnley, claims a Clarets directorCardiff City could have been moved to Burnley, claims a Clarets director
Cardiff City could have been bought out and moved to Burnley 30 years ago.
That is the astonishing claim of a Burnley director who has revealed the Clarets considered buying the Bluebirds at the end of the 1986/87 season as they faced the threat of relegation from the Football League.
The Clarets came within a whisker of dropping out of Division Four that year, only avoiding the drop on the final day of the season.
And they held board level talks about purchasing the cash-strapped Bluebirds with the intention of relocating them 225 miles north.
At the time, Cardiff were struggling financially under owner Tony Clemo, with Ninian Park in a state of disrepair and an average crowd of just 2,826 turning up to watch matches as the team toiled in the bottom league.
Frank Burrows and Tony Clemo celebrate Welsh Cup success in 1988Frank Burrows and Tony Clemo celebrate Welsh Cup success in 1988
More: What happened when Vincent Tan returned to Cardiff
Cardiff finished 13th that season under new manager Frank Burrows, going on to win promotion to Division Three the following year on a shoe-string budget.
And now Burnley director Clive Holt has claimed: “In the last fortnight of the season, when we were rock bottom of the Fourth Division, we investigated the possibility of buying the club.
“We would have been the first franchise club had we lost our league status, because we felt we couldn’t survive in non-league.
“Cardiff were looking for new owners and we were looking to move them here.
“Whether the Football League would have let us do that we never found out because we survived, but we had started looking into it.”
If the move had come off they would have become the country's first franchise club, some time before Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes in 2003 and later became MK Dons.
Cardiff legend Jason Perry, who made his debut for Cardiff in March, 1987, described the claims as bizarre.
"This is an incredible story and I've never heard anything like that before," he said.
"There was certainly no talk of anything like that happening at the time. We certainly wouldn't have fancied playing our home games in Lancashire!
"To be honest, looking around the players' car park at the time, I don't think half of the old bangers would have made it to Burnley.
"Nothing surprises me in football but I have to admit that is one of the weirdest things I've heard."
Mon 2 March 2015
By Jon Doel
Burnley director Clive Holt says the Clarets considered buying Cardiff in 1987, relocating them 225 miles and making them football's first franchise club
Cardiff City could have been moved to Burnley, claims a Clarets directorCardiff City could have been moved to Burnley, claims a Clarets director
Cardiff City could have been bought out and moved to Burnley 30 years ago.
That is the astonishing claim of a Burnley director who has revealed the Clarets considered buying the Bluebirds at the end of the 1986/87 season as they faced the threat of relegation from the Football League.
The Clarets came within a whisker of dropping out of Division Four that year, only avoiding the drop on the final day of the season.
And they held board level talks about purchasing the cash-strapped Bluebirds with the intention of relocating them 225 miles north.
At the time, Cardiff were struggling financially under owner Tony Clemo, with Ninian Park in a state of disrepair and an average crowd of just 2,826 turning up to watch matches as the team toiled in the bottom league.
Frank Burrows and Tony Clemo celebrate Welsh Cup success in 1988Frank Burrows and Tony Clemo celebrate Welsh Cup success in 1988
More: What happened when Vincent Tan returned to Cardiff
Cardiff finished 13th that season under new manager Frank Burrows, going on to win promotion to Division Three the following year on a shoe-string budget.
And now Burnley director Clive Holt has claimed: “In the last fortnight of the season, when we were rock bottom of the Fourth Division, we investigated the possibility of buying the club.
“We would have been the first franchise club had we lost our league status, because we felt we couldn’t survive in non-league.
“Cardiff were looking for new owners and we were looking to move them here.
“Whether the Football League would have let us do that we never found out because we survived, but we had started looking into it.”
If the move had come off they would have become the country's first franchise club, some time before Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes in 2003 and later became MK Dons.
Cardiff legend Jason Perry, who made his debut for Cardiff in March, 1987, described the claims as bizarre.
"This is an incredible story and I've never heard anything like that before," he said.
"There was certainly no talk of anything like that happening at the time. We certainly wouldn't have fancied playing our home games in Lancashire!
"To be honest, looking around the players' car park at the time, I don't think half of the old bangers would have made it to Burnley.
"Nothing surprises me in football but I have to admit that is one of the weirdest things I've heard."
Re: " Cardiff City were nearly bought by "
Mon Mar 02, 2015 6:40 pm
So we could take advantage of their massive fan base 
and huge affluent catchment area What a load of old cobblers
and huge affluent catchment area What a load of old cobblers