BLUEBIRDS HIERARCHY SHOULD OUTLINE PLANS GOING FORWARD

Cardiff City hierarchy must outline their vision for the Bluebirds... just like Sam Hammam did

Thursday 26 March 2015

By Scott Johnson
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/foot ... ne-8923276



I’m writing this because I care. I sometimes think I care a bit too much.

What I care about is Cardiff City FC as an institution, not the league form or division they play in.

I want the club to be something the people of Cardiff can be proud of.

So essentially, I’m writing because I’m not particularly proud of the club at present.


Despite this, I will be renewing my season ticket for next season like I always do because I’m a sucker. I’m a glutton for punishment and despite everything, I do still care.

I made it through the rebrand, which I personally found offensive and needlessly divisive, and I will make it through the next drama, because there is always drama at Cardiff City.

But I fear I may soon become a minority, that blind belief is becoming increasingly scarce.



I can’t blame the people that have stopped attending games.

The Premier League was meant to be the golden goose, but the club recorded a substantial loss. Unless Vincent Tan waves his magic wand and makes the debt go away, how do the club hope to pay it back?

Cardiff have spent erratically and reacted erratically to overspending. I winced when they signed Andreas Cornelius like I winced when they put an extra tier to the stadium.

I’m not being clever after the event, it’s just two prime examples of the club trying to run before they’ve mastered walking.

Each were moves you would typically expect from a club firmly established in the Premier League, rather than a newcomer still acclimatising to their new surroundings.

The club has also indulged their managers. How can you justify spending in excess of £10m in the summer ahead of frantically cutting costs a few months on?

Things appear so bad that the club has to loan out Matt Connolly, a first-team regular for the rest of the season, for ‘business reasons’.


If you’re a team rooted in the bottom half of the table and loaning players to a team fighting for the title, you are doing something wrong in my opinion.

The timing of this move coincided with the distribution of letters (Dear Season Ticket Holder, nice and personal) reminding fans to renew their season tickets for next season. This is the problem in a nutshell.

On the one hand the club is asking supporters to invest in their future, but the problem is that supporters have no idea what the future holds.

The very nature of football is unpredictable and that is part of the appeal, but fans take for granted that their club will be sensible and look out for the needs of the team and supporters alike. However, the Connolly transfer highlights has angered a lot of fans.

My trust is gone. If you rebrand a club without consultation, that is the inevitable result.



Some fans will be afraid of is spending a lot of money on a season ticket, only for the cost-cutting to continue and other leading players to be sold.

Cardiff are not getting promoted or relegated, therefore one would imagine that the club has budgeted for next season, so what can we expect?

What is the plan for next season and beyond? What is your manifesto for the foreseeable future?

What do you want the club to be, because we have no idea and you can’t afford to pull the rug from under us once again because you run the risk of losing a generation of supporters.

Bringing back blue and the traditional badge was a good start, but don’t expect that to paper over the cracks when it should never have been changed in the first place.

Reopening the channels of communication is another positive.


However, if you plan to sell players, tell us. Because while we might not like it, we will understand if given some sort of explanation.

Sam Hammam, for his many faults, outlined his vision for the club and sold it to supporters. It’s a goal, something to aim for.

No one knows what Cardiff’s current goal is. If it’s to return to the Premier League, than I would suggest that getting rid of your best players may not be the best idea.

If it’s to cut costs and keep heads above water, don’t expect supporters to like it, but at least they know where they stand.

It will be a hard road back and I don’t envy those that will have to make tough decisions.

But we’re in this together and if we do right by you, you in turn must do right by us.

Very good piece.

Can't see the club coming clean any time soon however.

And as a result, attendances next season will really drop in my opinion.

all the things sensible posters have said countless times on this forum

I (sort of) like the sentiment, but far too many holes in that 'letter' to expect a response; not least of which are several critical remarks aimed at the people/person Scott is trying to build bridges with

It's only my opinion, but we cannot keep bringing the same critiques up every time we refer to Tan or the club in general

We all know he did wrong with the rebrand, but we al know equally well that he (for whatever reason) relented and has rectified that

Lines need to be drawn and we need to look (as Scott rightly points out) at what the FUTURE plans for the club are under Tan or any other prospective owner

As I said, well intentioned, but tone can often be the difference between a positive or negative response from the person(s) from whom a response is required

I (sort of) like the sentiment, but far too many holes in that 'letter' to expect a response; not least of which are several critical remarks aimed at the people/person Scott is trying to build bridges with

It's only my opinion, but we cannot keep bringing the same critiques up every time we refer to Tan or the club in general

We all know he did wrong with the rebrand, but we al know equally well that he (for whatever reason) relented and has rectified that

Lines need to be drawn and we need to look (as Scott rightly points out) at what the FUTURE plans for the club are under Tan or any other prospective owner

As I said, well intentioned, but tone can often be the difference between a positive or negative response from the person(s) from whom a response is required

I agree with that Sven, it does drift into rebrand and the wasted transfer budget that is old news

I (sort of) like the sentiment, but far too many holes in that 'letter' to expect a response; not least of which are several critical remarks aimed at the people/person Scott is trying to build bridges with

It's only my opinion, but we cannot keep bringing the same critiques up every time we refer to Tan or the club in general

We all know he did wrong with the rebrand, but we al know equally well that he (for whatever reason) relented and has rectified that

Lines need to be drawn and we need to look (as Scott rightly points out) at what the FUTURE plans for the club are under Tan or any other prospective owner

As I said, well intentioned, but tone can often be the difference between a positive or negative response from the person(s) from whom a response is required

I agree with that Sven, it does drift into rebrand and the wasted transfer budget that is old news

Yeah. Banging on about the rebrand spoils an otherwise reasonable article. Pretty typical though.

why would a company go public with a business plan? obviously the plan is to be as sucessful as possible but Tan cant exactly come out and say he wants to make the club more appealing to sell on because it will show he wants to sell and would make him seem desperate.

keeping the clubs cards to our chest puts us in a stronger position

actions speak far louder than words.

based on their actions they have scant regard for the fans and next year will be a low expectation season. how can you even pretend to have ambition when you are sending a first team player out on loan because you think your season is over?

actions speak far louder than words.

based on their actions they have scant regard for the fans and next year will be a low expectation season. how can you even pretend to have ambition when you are sending a first team player out on loan because you think your season is over?

the season is over

I (sort of) like the sentiment, but far too many holes in that 'letter' to expect a response; not least of which are several critical remarks aimed at the people/person Scott is trying to build bridges with

It's only my opinion, but we cannot keep bringing the same critiques up every time we refer to Tan or the club in general

We all know he did wrong with the rebrand, but we al know equally well that he (for whatever reason) relented and has rectified that

Lines need to be drawn and we need to look (as Scott rightly points out) at what the FUTURE plans for the club are under Tan or any other prospective owner

As I said, well intentioned, but tone can often be the difference between a positive or negative response from the person(s) from whom a response is required

I agree with that Sven, it does drift into rebrand and the wasted transfer budget that is old news

This is very important - fans have turned their back on the club.

Slades standard of football is driving fans away .

Tan`s unknown policy doesn't encourage fans to buy season tickets .

Awful - doesn't feel like our club anymore

Wasn't Sam's plan to make us bigger than Barcelona?

How did that work out?

We need some honesty and clarity from tan and the board. Stop mugging us off.
Cost cutting is fine but give us a plan FFS

Are we being led smartly now or
Are we being run into the ground?

After the turmoil we have suffered we need to get this reassurance as fans or risk losing more fans

When you have sky tv as competition, a club needs to work with fans to make match day a good craic

But the club have done they got to balance the books and ffp comes in next year and try and build a team good enough for promotion ,seems like most fans want a weekly statement all the time

But the club have done they got to balance the books and ffp comes in next year and try and build a team good enough for promotion ,seems like most fans want a weekly statement all the time

We are in lowest point for a number of seasons and had become used to some successful seasons and continous progress from a number of years.

It now seems unclear where we are going and this affects fans.

I for one am going back to the city and getting a ST for next season after stopping this season.

But can totally understand how the negativity and apparent aloofness on tan can impact.

He is the leader. He needs to lead. If not - he should f**k off

But the club have done they got to balance the books and ffp comes in next year and try and build a team good enough for promotion ,seems like most fans want a weekly statement all the time

We are in lowest point for a number of seasons and had become used to some successful seasons and continous progress from a number of years.

It now seems unclear where we are going and this affects fans.

I for one am going back to the city and getting a ST for next season after stopping this season.

But can totally understand how the negativity and apparent aloofness on tan can impact.

He is the leader. He needs to lead. If not - he should f**k off

When he talks he is criticised. When he is quiet he is criticised.

Same old, same old from City fans.

But the club have done they got to balance the books and ffp comes in next year and try and build a team good enough for promotion ,seems like most fans want a weekly statement all the time

We are in lowest point for a number of seasons and had become used to some successful seasons and continous progress from a number of years.

It now seems unclear where we are going and this affects fans.

I for one am going back to the city and getting a ST for next season after stopping this season.

But can totally understand how the negativity and apparent aloofness on tan can impact.

He is the leader. He needs to lead. If not - he should f**k off

When he talks he is criticised. When he is quiet he is criticised.

Same old, same old from City fans.

But does he lead?
We can criticise each other ad infinitum as fans.
But don't underestimate the power of when the owner talks or doesn't talk. It dictates the scene for the club and the fans.
Take a look around and it's not a fully happy place right now.
And hasn't been for some time.