THREE YEARS AGO THIS WEEKEND VINCENT TAN MADE THESE PLEDGES

Ive put my comments by the sides

But theyve forgot the main one " DEBT TO EQUITY/A DEBT FREE CLUB " Totally Failed.


" THREE YEARS AGO THIS WEEKEND VINCENT TAN MADE THESE PLEDGES "

By Gareth Rogers

Thurs 11th June 2015

" The Pledges "

" Premier League football in the Welsh Capital - Delivered " But not there now

For all the criticism Vincent Tan received in the 2012/13 season, he delivered on his most important promise, to return Cardiff City to the top flight for the first time since the early 1960s.

In the summer of 2012, he said: "We hold aspirations to bring Premier League status to the Welsh capital and should strive to make this a reality for all to cherish and enjoy."

And to be fair, Malky Mackay's super-efficient team did it with plenty to spare, racking up 87 points, eight more than nearest challengers Hull, sparking stunning scenes at the Cardiff City Stadium.


The night they secured promotion against Charlton, Vincent Tan paraded around the pitch with his red shirt on and was applauded as loudly as anybody.




" A substantial investment in squad strengthening - Delivered " Hmmmm? We now have a massive debt


In fairness to Tan, it is difficult to criticise his monumental investment in players, even if it did slow down last season.

The 2012/13 campaign saw a £12m spend on transfer fees alone and once Premier League promotion was secured, £45m was spent in transfer fees and a whopping £47m on wages.

In the season that followed the rebrand, Nicky Maynard was brought in for £2.75m, Kim Bo-kyung for £2.6m, while Jordon Mutch and Craig Noone arrived for just over £1m each.

Nicky Maynard on the day he signed for CardiffNicky Maynard on the day he signed for Cardiff
Once promotion was sealed, a raft of internationals were brought in for huge money.

Gary Medel arrived for £11.5m, Steven Caulker for £8m and Andreas Cornelius for £8m. Mats Daehli, Peter Odemwingie, Kevin Theophile-Catherine and Manus Wolff EIkrem also arrived for between £2m and £2.5m each.

So, whether every signing was wise or not and even though though few of the high-profile players remain, the amount spent on players and wages has been little short of remarkable since 2012. Tan pledged money to strengthen and he certainly gave plenty to Malky Mackay and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.




" £12m to increase the stadium capacity to 35,000 - Delivered "

Even though the Ninian Stand extension wasn't delivered in time for the Bluebirds Premier League adventure and has been mothballed next season, nobody can argue that its very existence is a sign of the investment Tan has made in Cardiff City.

In 2012, he said: "We have budgeted £12m to increase the stadium capacity by an additional 8,000 seats to 35,000 seats."

Building work was carried out through the back end of the Premier League season and last summer and the imposing extension, which cost the £12m earmarked, was completed in time for the Uefa Super Cup final between Real Madrid and Sevilla, which Tan attended.


At 33,280 the official capacity of the Cardiff City Stadium is a little short of the 35,000 hoped for, but should Cardiff City regain their Premier League status, they will be playing in a stadium that would not look out of place in the top flight






" Expand televised coverage of the club in Asia - Delivered "

Once the rebrand had been pushed through, Tan and his team made speedy work of tying up a ground breaking television deal in his native Malaysia and surrounding countries.

In his statement, he said: "We are currently working on expanding televised coverage of the club in Asia for the seasons ahead, strengthening the already growing awareness of Cardiff City."

A new TV gantry was swiftly erected in the grandstand and by the kick off of the successful 2012/13 season, the Bluebirds' had done a deal with the Football League to ensure matches were being beamed across south east Asia.

But, once the club reached the Premier League, rights issues mean they weren't allowed to continue with the filming and it is yet to be seen whether a successful start to a Championship season would see it return.






" The debt to Langston to be successfully negotiated - Ongoing " Hmmmm?

Once Premier League promotion was sealed in 2013, Cardiff City had apparently settled on a deal with long-term creditors Langston, which saw Sam Hammam given an honorary life presidency and his aide Michael Filiou given a place on the Bluebirds board.

The settlement was quoted at the time as being £15m in cash and a further £7m in installments.

But while Tan welcomed Hammam back to Cardiff City on the day they picked up the Championship trophy, that wasn't the end of the matter.

By the start of 2015, the two organisations were in the High Court, with the mystery Swiss based company claiming the club had defaulted on their installments while a counter-claim was filled by Cardiff City claiming they'd over paid.

The legal battle is still being played out behind the scenes but a summary judgement is expected from the High Court in due course.

In the meantime, there is talk of Cardiff City holding an EGM to get rid of Hammam's representative on the board.

For whatever reason, this matter has clearly not been satisfactorily concluded. Yet.




" £10m for Premier League standard training ground - Not Delivered " Hmmmm?


Three years on, many Bluebirds fans have forgotten that a Premier League standard training ground was on the agenda.

But at the time, Tan had grand plans, saying: "We have budgeted £10m for new Premier League standard training facilities.

A site has since been agreed, adjacent to the club's current training ground in Hensol, and plans have been submitted to Vale of Glamorgan council, but not a brick has been laid as planning permission is still being sought.

In fact, the council claim planning permission is "unlikely" to be granted until at least September.

The £10m development been held up by an ecological report, which will determine the potential effect on wildlife that currently occupies the proposed site.


A spokesman for the council said this week: "The ecological survey work being carried out by the applicant has yet to be submitted, and once it is it still needs to be considered by both the Council and Natural Resources Wales.

"It’s unlikely that the application will be reported to the planning committee in July."

There is no meeting of the council's planning committee scheduled in August, so the earliest they are likely to discuss the application is mid September.

As the club looks to rebuild itself for another Premier League push in 2015/16, the issue the club would most like to see resolved in the conversion of Vincent Tan's loans into equity, to make the club debt free.

This issue was never raised in Tan's 2012 statement, but The latest published accounts, in February, say the club currently owes Tan £130m, but chairman Mehmet Dalman admitted he wouldn't advise the owner to convert his loans into shares "at this moment in time."

So if read correctly 1 pledge done, 1 in pipeline, and 1 to be sorted at a suitable time?

3 years later we are back to where we were.

3 years later we are back to where we were.

And a club divided,fan base broken and the debt horrendous.

So if read correctly 1 pledge done, 1 in pipeline, and 1 to be sorted at a suitable time?

DEBT TO EQUITY? ?

Plus like Rydo says back to where we started,but with an horrendous debt.

3 years later we are back to where we were.

And a club divided,fan base broken and the debt horrendous.

Im sure it will be fixed over time being back to blue is a start.

If dolman is telling tan now is not good time to swap debt to equity does that mean its Still on agenda at later date?

Don't forget 30 odd million of it is due to Langston/sam being paid off?

One of the worrying things for me under Tans stewardship is the drop in the standards of our academy. Also the network for trawling South Wales and beyond for young talent seems to be not as high a standard as previously.

I think it underlines his lack of knowledge of football and what is needed to make a club successful.

I hope he finds a buyer and leaves as soon as possible

Back to where we were?So we are about to be wound up again are we?Divided fan base?


In other news a WWII bomber was found on the moon.(you have to be a certain age to get that)

When he invested we were days from liquidation with debts to numerous companies and most importantly HMRC. We are nowhere near that at this point in time.

From FB


Nathan Lee Oyler-burgess
Invest the 12 mill he trimmed of the wage bill into players and go again come January put a little more in makes sense as we get 90 odd mill + if promoted


Chris Morgan
No players will come to us with tan or slade there we need decent manager to start players like whits and gunnar out of date now div one may be

Who says the fan base is divided? Divided over what? Pure drama.

Who says the fan base is divided? Divided over what? Pure drama.

I tend to agree.
I had more arguments over Dave Jones lol.

He has delivered on some but this was for red. We shouldn't expect anything further now back to blue and that's fine for me.

Who says the fan base is divided? Divided over what? Pure drama.

I tend to agree.
I had more arguments over Dave Jones lol.

He has delivered on some but this was for red. We shouldn't expect anything further now back to blue and that's fine for me.

Exactly. Debates over owners, managers, formations and players are part of what football is about. A difference of opinion doesn't divide the fans.

Also agree, fine for me too.

Back to where we were?So we are about to be wound up again are we?Divided fan base?


In other news a WWII bomber was found on the moon.(you have to be a certain age to get that)

Back to being in blue and in the championship and with a less expensive squad and still having a big debt but more substainable at least but it makes the whole rebrand episode worthless.

Who says the fan base is divided? Divided over what? Pure drama.

I agree the fan base has always been divided especially in the Sam hamman and risdale days no more than we are today ,we are in debt to the owner not anyone else are we really in trouble ?

Back to where we were?So we are about to be wound up again are we?Divided fan base?


In other news a WWII bomber was found on the moon.(you have to be a certain age to get that)

Back to being in blue and in the championship and with a less expensive squad and still having a big debt but more substainable at least but it makes the whole rebrand episode worthless.

I've no problem with the way you put it.

Back to where we were?So we are about to be wound up again are we?Divided fan base?


In other news a WWII bomber was found on the moon.(you have to be a certain age to get that)

Back to being in blue and in the championship and with a less expensive squad and still having a big debt but more substainable at least but it makes the whole rebrand episode worthless.

I've no problem with the way you put it.

3 years later we are back to where we were.

And a club divided,fan base broken and the debt horrendous.

Agree.

Who says the fan base is divided? Divided over what? Pure drama.

I agree the fan base has always been divided especially in the Sam hamman and risdale days no more than we are today ,we are in debt to the owner not anyone else are we really in trouble ?

We are selling players we want rid of not our best player and captain for 200k to pay the wages.

On the pitch it has been worse, off the pitch it has been worse also.

When he invested we were days from liquidation with debts to numerous companies and most importantly HMRC. We are nowhere near that at this point in time.

You really are naive Neil. You and a few others.

When Tan appeared on the scene we were pushing for premiership. An attractive offer we were. Hence why the likes of Tan came on the scene. He came to make money out of us. Unfortunately for us he has screwed it up. He is now trying to get back as much as he can. When he is done he will count his losses, leave us where we were 10 years ago hardly an attraction, sell us to status of the Riddlers who will take us nowhere.

The bottom line is Tan has screwed up and will sell us to such a status being who will take us back to the tax man knocking again because we will not be an attraction anymore. Guys like you will one day wake up.

Who says the fan base is divided? Divided over what? Pure drama.

I tend to agree.
I had more arguments over Dave Jones lol.

He has delivered on some but this was for red. We shouldn't expect anything further now back to blue and that's fine for me.

Luke, I think you are correct on this one. Tan said "for red" and we are now seeing his reaction to the return to blue!

I can also live with that, but certain (rather racist and disingenuous) fans need to remember the part they played in making it difficult for Tan to even attend games at the CCS and I'm not too sure what reaction they truly expected from the man?

Many an owner would have walked away by now, leaving us up the proverbial 'Shit Creek' with no realistic candidate to replace him!

One of the worrying things for me under Tans stewardship is the drop in the standards of our academy. Also the network for trawling South Wales and beyond for young talent seems to be not as high a standard as previously.

I think it underlines his lack of knowledge of football and what is needed to make a club successful.

I hope he finds a buyer and leaves as soon as possible

How have the standards dropped?

One of the worrying things for me under Tans stewardship is the drop in the standards of our academy. Also the network for trawling South Wales and beyond for young talent seems to be not as high a standard as previously.

I think it underlines his lack of knowledge of football and what is needed to make a club successful.

I hope he finds a buyer and leaves as soon as possible

How have the standards dropped?

Many examples really:

Swansea mopping up hundreds of local kids in Cardiff, Merthyr, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Pontypridd....Why isn't our academy at least competing for these kids in what has traditionally been Cardiff City territory?

Staff cutbacks have seen key people leave the club; scouts, coaches etc

Where is the local talent breaking through? They are certainly not breaking through with Cardiff City. There is an issue here; either we don't have enough talented kids coming through or we don't have a good enough progression route through to the first team for them. Declan John, has obviously stalled in his development ... Why?

Whats happened to Josh Yorwerth ( Ispswich?), Oshilaja? O'Sullivan? The system from top to bottom isn't working

One of the worrying things for me under Tans stewardship is the drop in the standards of our academy. Also the network for trawling South Wales and beyond for young talent seems to be not as high a standard as previously.

I think it underlines his lack of knowledge of football and what is needed to make a club successful.

I hope he finds a buyer and leaves as soon as possible

How have the standards dropped?

Many examples really:

Swansea mopping up hundreds of local kids in Cardiff, Merthyr, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Pontypridd....Why isn't our academy at least competing for these kids in what has traditionally been Cardiff City territory?

Staff cutbacks have seen key people leave the club; scouts, coaches etc

Where is the local talent breaking through? They are certainly not breaking through with Cardiff City. There is an issue here; either we don't have enough talented kids coming through or we don't have a good enough progression route through to the first team for them. Declan John, has obviously stalled in his development ... Why?

Whats happened to Josh Yorwerth ( Ispswich?), Oshilaja? O'Sullivan? The system from top to bottom isn't working

No offence mate but I think your answer is all guesswork.

One of the worrying things for me under Tans stewardship is the drop in the standards of our academy. Also the network for trawling South Wales and beyond for young talent seems to be not as high a standard as previously.

I think it underlines his lack of knowledge of football and what is needed to make a club successful.

I hope he finds a buyer and leaves as soon as possible

How have the standards dropped?

Many examples really:

Swansea mopping up hundreds of local kids in Cardiff, Merthyr, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Pontypridd....Why isn't our academy at least competing for these kids in what has traditionally been Cardiff City territory?

Staff cutbacks have seen key people leave the club; scouts, coaches etc

Where is the local talent breaking through? They are certainly not breaking through with Cardiff City. There is an issue here; either we don't have enough talented kids coming through or we don't have a good enough progression route through to the first team for them. Declan John, has obviously stalled in his development ... Why?

Whats happened to Josh Yorwerth ( Ispswich?), Oshilaja? O'Sullivan? The system from top to bottom isn't working

No offence mate but I think your answer is all guesswork.

None taken mate.. You're right of course, it's just my opinion. But I've based my opinion on no youngsters coming through, Swansea expanding ( with success) into our heartlands, and some seemingly promising academy youngsters being snapped up by our Championship rivals. Maybe it is just that we have no Ledleys, Matthews , Gunters or Ramseys coming through at the minute but it seems to me that we should have at least one breaking through each year IMO

One of the worrying things for me under Tans stewardship is the drop in the standards of our academy. Also the network for trawling South Wales and beyond for young talent seems to be not as high a standard as previously.

I think it underlines his lack of knowledge of football and what is needed to make a club successful.

I hope he finds a buyer and leaves as soon as possible

How have the standards dropped?

Many examples really:

Swansea mopping up hundreds of local kids in Cardiff, Merthyr, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Pontypridd....Why isn't our academy at least competing for these kids in what has traditionally been Cardiff City territory?

Staff cutbacks have seen key people leave the club; scouts, coaches etc

Where is the local talent breaking through? They are certainly not breaking through with Cardiff City. There is an issue here; either we don't have enough talented kids coming through or we don't have a good enough progression route through to the first team for them. Declan John, has obviously stalled in his development ... Why?

Whats happened to Josh Yorwerth ( Ispswich?), Oshilaja? O'Sullivan? The system from top to bottom isn't working

Good point well made.
From what Bellamy said about the academy in his Q&A evening, it seems we are neglecting our youth system at a time when Swansea are actively developing theirs.

Who says the fan base is divided? Divided over what? Pure drama.

I tend to agree.
I had more arguments over Dave Jones lol.

He has delivered on some but this was for red. We shouldn't expect anything further now back to blue and that's fine for me.

Exactly. Debates over owners, managers, formations and players are part of what football is about. A difference of opinion doesn't divide the fans.

Also agree, fine for me too.

I also agree with the above comments. The rebrand is now dispensed to history and those who continue to drag it up are nothing more than serial shit stirrers.

It is these fans and not Tan who are the biggest danger to our football club. 99% of the fan base want to see our club thrive and go forward with the aim of establishing ourselves as a top ten Premiership club. Unfortunately due to bitterness and spite there are those who would prefer to see us struggle so they can blame Tan for all the ills that we encounter.

I'm so glad that there are a number of posters who have the strength of personality to recognise this and point out how absurd this attitude is. Of course there will always be the sheep who will follow my leader no matter what the true circumstances are, but fortunately there numbers are not growing

When he invested we were days from liquidation with debts to numerous companies and most importantly HMRC. We are nowhere near that at this point in time.

You really are naive Neil. You and a few others.

When Tan appeared on the scene we were pushing for premiership. An attractive offer we were. Hence why the likes of Tan came on the scene. He came to make money out of us. Unfortunately for us he has screwed it up. He is now trying to get back as much as he can. When he is done he will count his losses, leave us where we were 10 years ago hardly an attraction, sell us to status of the Riddlers who will take us nowhere.

The bottom line is Tan has screwed up and will sell us to such a status being who will take us back to the tax man knocking again because we will not be an attraction anymore. Guys like you will one day wake up.

So as well as someone who changes the past you can also predict the future?

Ian you are wasted in your current job.

The simple FACT is that we were knocking and knocking on the door of the Premiership, didn't make it and there was little prospect of getting there. We had run out of money pushing for it and had we somehow survived liquidation by HMRC we definitely would have received a ten point penalty by going into administration. We had no players to sell as those of value had all been sold. However Tan took us over and two years later we were top of the Premiership. FACT. Anything else is conjecture.

Who says the fan base is divided? Divided over what? Pure drama.

I tend to agree.
I had more arguments over Dave Jones lol.

He has delivered on some but this was for red. We shouldn't expect anything further now back to blue and that's fine for me.

Exactly. Debates over owners, managers, formations and players are part of what football is about. A difference of opinion doesn't divide the fans.

Also agree, fine for me too.

I also agree with the above comments. The rebrand is now dispensed to history and those who continue to drag it up are nothing more than serial shit stirrers.

It is these fans and not Tan who are the biggest danger to our football club. 99% of the fan base want to see our club thrive and go forward with the aim of establishing ourselves as a top ten Premiership club. Unfortunately due to bitterness and spite there are those who would prefer to see us struggle so they can blame Tan for all the ills that we encounter.

I'm so glad that there are a number of posters who have the strength of personality to recognise this and point out how absurd this attitude is. Of course there will always be the sheep who will follow my leader no matter what the true circumstances are, but fortunately there numbers are not growing

I like you. You post well.