Vincent Tan,Ken Choo and Mehmet Dalman are all involved in

Vincent Tan,Ken Choo and Mehmet Dalman are all involved in the transfer decisions

Neil Warnock hints at wanting more transfer control at Cardiff City as he asks Vincent Tan to trust him

By Chris Wathan

Media Wales

Saturday 5th February 2017

Neil Warnock has hinted he wants Cardiff City to ditch their transfer committee after asking owner Vincent Tan to trust him when it comes to summer spending.

Cardiff have operated a four-man committee to identify and agree on signings since the club's relegation from the Premier League almost three years ago.

It sees owner Vincent Tan, chairman Mehmet Dalman and CEO Ken Choo involved in agreeing on plans and pushes for players, along with the manager.

Ken Choo, Vincent Tan and Mehmet Dalman are all involved in transfer plans


The notion was set up in the aftermath of the transfer tension between Tan and former boss Malky Mackay, yet has not stopped a number of misses in the market.

But Warnock believes it is not solving Cardiff's issues on the field – and is hoping to earn the trust of Tan and other club chiefs to take more of the responsibility when it comes to signings.


“I speak to Mehmet quite a lot, I spoke to Vincent on Thursday so we do talk a lot and catch up,” said Warnock ahead of Saturday's visit of Norwich, the Cardiff City clash coming on the back of a midweek home win over Preston that puts the Bluebirds a point closer to the play-offs than they are the bottom three.

“But I think there's probably got to be more put into my court on the football side of things. In the past you had to go around a number of people before you can sign somebody and in that space of time you lose transfer targets. We have to have more planning about how to take things further forward. I want to show them they can trust me to do what I can do on the football side.”

Warnock has brought in six senior players since replacing Paul Trollope in October, two of which – Keiran Richardson and Marouane Chamakh were released after short-term deals that effectively doubled as trials.

Sol Bamba has proven a huge hit since his Bosman arrival while Junior Hoilett has impressed following a similar move, while Greg Halford's move from Rotherham and Allan McGregor's loan switch from Hull have given the squad a stronger feel.

He admitted his disappointment at not being able to add an attacking option on deadline day , but had already accepted that financial constraints meant he was better keeping his purchasing powder dry until the summer, praising club hierarchy efforts for making sure FFP (Financial Fair Play) does not impact on close-season plans.


Still, Warnock has repeatedly stated he will wait to check the club's promotion ambition before committing his future to a club he clearly believes are capable of more, and again stressed that all parties are on the same page.

And he hopes that his efforts to work with what he's got – and the evidence of what he can do within budgets – means he can have more of a free hand when it comes to planning next term.

“I can work to budgets and things but they have to try and work hard – which they are doing – with the FFP to give me the ammunition,” Warnock said. “I'm not talking like Norwich and spending £7m on a player (Yanic Wildschut from Wigan) and things like that, but a few quid to be able to bring my three or four players in in the summer.”

Asked whether it was hard to gain Tan's trust on transfers given the owner seeing previous managers struggle with nailing signings, Warnock said: “It's difficult to talk about it and how I feel about it without being critical. But however they've gone about it in the past few years it's not been successful has it?

“It's tough to dedicate all their time to the football when they have so many other businesses on their mind, it's difficult, but they have to trust people. It's easy for me to say because it's not my money.

“What I'm saying that while there is an opportunity and I've got my health, they should try and take advantage of it. I want to do well, the fans want me to do well and I know Vincent and Mehmet want me to do well. We can all work towards it.

“The one thing we can't do is say something one minute and something else the next. We need it to be continuous and I think they know that with me. To be successful you've got to have a steadiness.

“The top teams, like Brighton, have been improving for a couple of years – we've been at it since October and we're not far away.”

Still, Warnock did again bat away any suggestions of his side being good enough this term, despite averaging play-off form since his arrival.

“If we get nine points in the next three games I'll say 'Let's have a go for promotion' – but I'll be in cloud cuckoo land,” he laughed.

Kenneth Zohore sealed a 2-0 win over Preston to make it three straight home wins for the Bluebirds (Photo: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
“I don't mind fans dreaming, it's what football is all about and why, at the start of the season, nearly every fan thinks they'll get promotion.

“But there will also be a lot of fans who are not dreamers, they are more realistic, and I think they'll understand we're a bit short at the minute, especially after deadline day.”

That said, Warnock is adamant it would not take much to make the difference. Insisting defence is often the area most difficult to get right, he believes he already has the platform at the back of a team aiming to reach the Premier League. He also hailed the impact of Aron Gunnarsson in midfield, though did suggest he wanted to see whether he could be as effective further up the pitch.

Warnock added that he wants plans nailed down in order to bring players in ready to start pre-season – something he says would be essential to challenge hopes – and is already challenging the current squad to show that they should also be there.

“People are on trial,” he warned, assessing a trio of fixtures that sees Cardiff head to Leeds and Derby after this weekend's visit of the Canaries. “It's a great test because they're a side that should be going up this year – or going close – and we want to pit our wits against them.

“We're looking at the squad to see whether they can be in a promotion-winning side. They have to have that thing about them when we go to places like Elland Road next week, when we need character. I will look at my players and see whether they're up for it.”





Vincent Tan ,Ken Choo and Mehmet Dalman are all involved in transfer plans

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

"The one thing we can't do is say something one minute and something else the next"

That was the one sentence that really jumped out at me from that article. I would say that would tend to suggest that perhaps Warnock was told when he arrived that money would be available in January (otherwise why would he have come here in the first place?) and perhaps he was then told that money would not be available after all.

I may be completely wrong but the comments coming from Warnock recently would seem to suggest that Warnock and the hierarchy may be looking for very different things.

And that's a big worry.

the most worrying aspect of this transfer committee...is their lack of football knowledge.....it was these 3 i believe who have had the say in appointing Solksjaer, Slade and Trollope may be somewhat less for Choo... I think the only thing they have got right is appointing Warnock
And if they don t back Warnock and allow him to have more control with transfers then that will be just as big a mistake as the previous appointments

just my opinion

"The one thing we can't do is say something one minute and something else the next"

That was the one sentence that really jumped out at me from that article. I would say that would tend to suggest that perhaps Warnock was told when he arrived that money would be available in January (otherwise why would he have come here in the first place?) and perhaps he was then told that money would not be available after all.

I may be completely wrong but the comments coming from Warnock recently would seem to suggest that Warnock and the hierarchy may be looking for very different things.

And that's a big worry.

its very difficult to get a bearing from what Warnock has said this week tbh.
this statement suggests involvement if not interference from the 3 degrees.
yet most of what i had read prior was abot agents not ringing HIM back, having 20 missed calls,and HE wasnt going to pay over the odds.there was even mention of a swap with Ipswich for Emyr.

"The one thing we can't do is say something one minute and something else the next"

That was the one sentence that really jumped out at me from that article. I would say that would tend to suggest that perhaps Warnock was told when he arrived that money would be available in January (otherwise why would he have come here in the first place?) and perhaps he was then told that money would not be available after all.

I may be completely wrong but the comments coming from Warnock recently would seem to suggest that Warnock and the hierarchy may be looking for very different things.

And that's a big worry.

its very difficult to get a bearing from what Warnock has said this week tbh.
this statement suggests involvement if not interference from the 3 degrees.
yet most of what i had read prior was abot agents not ringing HIM back, having 20 missed calls,and HE wasnt going to pay over the odds.there was even mention of a swap with Ipswich for Emyr.

That's not too hard to decipher. Neil Warnock (and/or his team) make the calls and do the groundwork. Then he has to go through 'the system' to get things signed off and that is where the club are missing out on players when they play brinksmanship by leaving crucial business to the very last minute and with a game on too

My interpretation of what Neil Warnock said was simply that he wants to know he can make a decision 'within agreed boundaries' that he appears happy to work within. No one, including Warnock himself, believes he should have a free rein but if the current system is hampering the recruitment process then it is reasonable for it to change

Neil Warnock is not renowned as 'big spender' and Vincent Tan will have known that before he employed him, so hopefully they will come to some sort of agreement where all concerned are happy with what goes on