" VINCENT TAN TO BOOST CARDIFF CITY WITH? "

" Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan could be set to boost Bluebirds with Belgian talent after buying fourth club "

BY CHRIS WATHAN


Friday 22nd May 2015

Tan was formally unveiled as new majority shareholder of Belgium top-tier outfit KV Kortrijk on Thursday and has admitted they could exchange players with Cardiff

Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan could be set to use his latest football empire expansion to boost the Bluebirds with Belgian talent.

Tan was formally unveiled as new majority shareholder of Belgium top-tier outfit KV Kortrijk on Thursday, making them the fourth club in his investment portfolio.

And he has confirmed he could seek to use his position to try and add to Cardiff's ranks from the country that produced the likes of Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany.

Tan, who admitted he had looked at investment in Portugal as he sought a further European club to go with Cardiff, Bosnian title-chasers FK Sarajevo and his minority share in new American MLS franchise LA FC, cited the nation's enviable recent track record for star talent as a factor in his reported 5m Euros stake in Kortrijk.

Eden Hazard
Belgium have rolled out a string of top-class players in recent years, including PFA Player of the Year Hazard, that have propelled Wales' Euro 2016 qualifying rivals to third in the world rankings.

Now it appears Tan's desire to tap in to that talent stream is behind his latest ownership expansion – and it could be to the benefit of the Bluebirds.

Tan has made it clear Cardiff could have first take-up on any emerging talent from the Kortrijk squad, although he did stress he is not looking to asset-strip the team that finished fifth in the Belgian Pro-League.

“I hope we can keep the current core together,” said Tan of his new side, who face Club Brugges in their final game of the season on Sunday.

“Maybe we will exchange players with Cardiff City which is possible. For important players who dream of an English adventure then something can be done. With my good contacts we can make it happen.”

English adventure

English adventure

Yep exactly, our Thai owner should know better.

Kortrijk is closer to the French border than we are to the English border, he wouldn't make that mistake there.

Interesting post this, think we would all love to see some decent players arrive from Belgium and on the cheap

Interesting post this, think we would all love to see some decent players arrive from Belgium and on the cheap

I loved it when we got hold of some talent from Norway and Pain recently but then we let most of them down badly without even giving them a fair shout.

Interesting that most have gone on to shine elsewhere.

Please sell the club as soon as possible, the way you have conducted yourself here has been an embarrassment, disgraced the football club time-and-time again. The sooner you move on to pastures new, the better Tan Out

Not interested in your contacts whatsoever, the idea of venture capitalists gaining advantages over the opposition by owning lots of clubs is a morally bankrupt one. Should be banned before it becomes the norm.

English adventure

Yep exactly, our Thai owner should know better.

Kortrijk is closer to the French border than we are to the English border, he wouldn't make that mistake there.

What mistake?

It doesn't matter how close they are to the French Border, they play in the Belgian League.

We on the other hand don't play in the Welsh League.

Christ we as fans are so parochial and insecure.

At the end of the day we play in the english league so most foreigners will just look at us as being english.

Please sell the club as soon as possible, the way you have conducted yourself here has been an embarrassment, disgraced the football club time-and-time again. The sooner you move on to pastures new, the better Tan Out

Not interested in your contacts whatsoever, the idea of venture capitalists gaining advantages over the opposition by owning lots of clubs is a morally bankrupt one. Should be banned before it becomes the norm.

@FLeagueWorld: NEWS: Pozzo family have invested £20m into Watford since taking over http://t.co/29toMbnNGc http://t.co/ORmnqDfVUd

tan should sell up, hes just playing about with his fortune, hes bored and like a druggy , looking for his next fix

tan should sell up, hes just playing about with his fortune, hes bored and like a druggy , looking for his next fix

I like that analogy I watched Tan with the fans of KV Kotjik or whatever they're called. He absolutely loves the attention from the fans, like you said, he gets 'high' on football club ownership and the attention it brings.

hes likes football doesnts understand it, but wants to be a treasured god at the club

soon gets bored when the buzz fades, fans questioning his decisions etc

English adventure

Yep exactly, our Thai owner should know better.

Kortrijk is closer to the French border than we are to the English border, he wouldn't make that mistake there.

What mistake?

It doesn't matter how close they are to the French Border, they play in the Belgian League.

We on the other hand don't play in the Welsh League.

Christ we as fans are so parochial and insecure.

Cardiff is the capital of Wales, it is actually quite a big mistake to make, especially when trying to rebuild relations with fans.

"parochial, insecure" mmm.. speak for yourself...

Some of the posts above are really sad and self-destructive. Nobody will argue that Vincent Tan made an absolute monumental mistake with his rebrand. BUT he was man enough to admit his mistake and reverse it. For that he should be applauded. What shouldn't be applauded is the continued sniping.

I can respect Vincent Tan for his U-turn but in no way can I respect the repeated abuse that is directed his way, to put it in simple terms its COWARDLY BEHAVIOUR BY 100% GOLD PLATED COWARDS.

Personally I would like to give him a chance and see how the long term plan pans out. If the acquisition of strategically placed European teams as feeder clubs to CCFC then I am happy to go a long with it and see what benefits it can bring.

It is much better to pursue that positive philosophy than to wish for an Armageddon which sees our club liquidated so he can leave.

Honestly at times I am totally bemused at what some fans want.

The comment above is not questioning the strategic logic of buying other clubs, that makes a lot of sense, especially Kortrijk which is less that 10 miles from Lille. It was just identifying what is a monumental error to make when trying to rebuild bridges, especially on the 5 anniversary of his ownership.

I am also quite bemused by your comment "COWARDLY BEHAVIOUR BY 100% GOLD PLATED COWARDS".... don't you think your comment is also "sad and destructive " to quote you again?

I think we should drop the subject, it is getting out of context.

Some of the posts above are really sad and self-destructive. Nobody will argue that Vincent Tan made an absolute monumental mistake with his rebrand. BUT he was man enough to admit his mistake and reverse it. For that he should be applauded. What shouldn't be applauded is the continued sniping.

I can respect Vincent Tan for his U-turn but in no way can I respect the repeated abuse that is directed his way, to put it in simple terms its COWARDLY BEHAVIOUR BY 100% GOLD PLATED COWARDS.

Personally I would like to give him a chance and see how the long term plan pans out. If the acquisition of strategically placed European teams as feeder clubs to CCFC then I am happy to go a long with it and see what benefits it can bring.

It is much better to pursue that positive philosophy than to wish for an Armageddon which sees our club liquidated so he can leave.

Honestly at times I am totally bemused at what some fans want.

If you really think he reveresed the rebrand because he realised it was a mistake then you must be on the silly sniffs... It was purely a buisness decision that he had to make or even more fans would of got fed up with this season and not bothered renewing tickets or next season, menaing he would have to pump more money into the club to keep it a float