EXCLUSIVE: NOTHING IS OFF-LIMITS WITH DAVE JONES

The revelations, regrets and fight of Dave Jones, the former Cardiff City boss who's ready to answer everything

By Ben James

Wednesday 5th June 2019


Former Cardiff City manager Dave Jones

"Listen Ben, you can ask me anything you want and I'll answer it."

Nothing is off-limits with Dave Jones.

It's been just over eight years since Cardiff City dispensed with the services of the Liverpudlian after yet another failed promotion bid to the Premier League.

In the years that followed his sacking, Jones has had jobs at Sheffield Wednesday and Hartlepool - bringing the same amount of drama as there was in his six years at the Bluebirds.

Meanwhile, Cardiff have done what they never quite could under Jones - reached the promised land of the Premier League. Twice.

On those facts alone, it's easy to say Cardiff were right to dismiss Jones when they did. He admits as much himself.

But, as is ever the case, there's far more nuance and depth to this story than just that easy-to-swallow narrative of a miserable nearly man.

All I have to do is ask and Jones will answer.

A GRUMPY PERCEPTION BROKEN DOWN

The exhaustive two-hour conversation starts by touching upon the sad passing of former WalesOnline journalist Steve Tucker.

It's no secret that Jones and Tucker rarely saw eye-to-eye during his time as Cardiff boss - but the 62-year-old is glad they buried the hatchet when they had the chance.

"Steve and myself patched up our differences a long time ago," says Jones. "He wrote a piece about me and I wrote him a letter (you can read the letter here).

"Rumours were always flying around so we fell out once or twice. There was never any real animosity. That's football. It's what people perceive it to be."



DAVE JONES:

Much of Jones' time at Cardiff was defined by his interactions with the media. He was often portrayed as a grumpy figure.

"Nobody really knows you as a person," he explains. "It's how they perceive you. But I've lived with that all my life.

"There was a lot going on behind the scenes that wasn't really written about.

"It was never about me. It was about protecting the club and the players. What was written about me never bothered me.

"There are things I said that I regret. You end up fighting and arguing when you should just keep quiet. But you want to defend the club when you know things are being said that aren't true."

"Nobody really knows you as a person. It's how they perceive you."

When assessing that need to fight things that aren't true, it's hard not to be drawn back to the abhorrent false allegations of child abuse that Jones suffered in 1999 while in charge of Southampton. The horrific ordeal almost certainly changed his trajectory as a manager. It perhaps also explains why he often felt the need to take the media to task on matters.

"It can harden you to lies," he adds. "I don't think I changed as a person.

"But if someone is saying things about you that aren't right, what would you do? Would you accept it or would you come out and defend?

"Maybe that plays a factor into how I defended the club.

"I'm not trying to justify what I said because there's a lot of things I said that I shouldn't have.

"A lot of the time I thought I was doing the right thing when I wasn't. Sarcasm becomes a defence mechanism at times but there was so much going on that I couldn't talk about."

FIGHTING FIRES BEHIND THE SCENES

The stuff that Jones couldn't always talk about was the mess unfolding behind the curtain.

His arrival in 2005 was a sign of what was to come.

"They offered me the job while Lennie Lawrence was still in charge. I wouldn't speak to them. Maybe that's old school but I didn't think it was right.

"When it happened, Peter Ridsdale invited me to the Langham in London which I thought was ridiculous. People knew who I was and I was meeting Peter Ridsdale and Sam Hammam in a hotel in London. Talk about keeping it quiet!

"I was with them for about four or five hours. The club was in trouble but they spoke about big ideas and going forward. I didn't know they were in £60 million debt - that wasn't mentioned!"

Jones was in for a shock when he accepted the post.

"I walked into mayhem. Sam was at loggerheads with the fans. The club was at loggerheads with the supporters.

"For all that Peter Ridsdale got mauled by fans, he did a fantastic job keeping it going with the debt they were in." (Image: Getty Images)
"Players were having to leave as we were in financial difficulty. There was no training facilities.

"The best thing about Ninian Park was the pitch. I couldn't say much else about it.

"When they started to knock it down, they peeled down wall after wall after wall in the changing room. It was about six foot bigger! People had just come in and put more plasterboard over plasterboard!"

If he wasn't aware of the task at hand when he walked in to the club, his first pre-season trip up to Scotland informed him of the full picture.

"The coach that turned up was older than my grandad! We were driving all the way up to Scotland in that to stay in some hotel I'd never heard of and play at some training ground I'd never heard of.

"I'd arranged for us to stop and play Accrington on the way. On the trip up there, we were selling players. Jobi McAnuff went, so did Danny Gabbidon.


Dave Jones on the challenges he faced at Cardiff City

"I was looking around the dressing room saying if you're not here tomorrow, I wish you the very best. They were clearing the decks to get money. I went up to Scotland with about 12 players. I probably had more staff than players.

"That was the starting point.

"Even when we did well in the first season and you think you're turning a corner, you have Sam wanting to sit in the changing room and incite people. It was a madhouse!"

Indeed, Jones' early exchanges with Hammam were tumultuous to say the least.

"When I went to the club, Sam sacked me three times within a month because I wouldn't do what he wanted me to do.

"It was pie in the sky. He had two teams in his mind - his dream team and the one he could actually get. I said you dream and I'll work on the one we can get.

"He sacked me the first week I was there. I picked my wife up from the airport and she nearly had a heart attack. He wanted me to sign a player who was £90,000-a-week out of our remit. I would have looked stupid so I didn't do it!

"When I went to the club, Sam sacked me three times within a month because I wouldn't do what he wanted me to do."
"He was testing me by doing it - saying I'd do for him as I didn't say yes to him. I didn't have time for that given what we were up against."

It's little wonder Jones had no patience for being tested. He was being tested enough as it was.

"I remember being in the motorway services on the way to Coventry waiting to hear if the club were going into administration. We were sat there eating, not sure if the game was going ahead.

"We couldn't afford £25 for Christmas decorations.

"For all that Peter Ridsdale got mauled by fans, he did a fantastic job keeping it going with the debt they were in. Look at them now in the new stadium and training facility. It was all done on the back of selling players.

"It certainly wasn't an easy job."







WAIFS AND STRAYS

Yet despite the trials and tribulations of the club's financial problems, Jones proved himself an astute firefighter in the transfer market - picking up a series of bargains as the Bluebirds were forced to dismantle their team after every near miss.

He didn't have millions to spend. Only twice in his six years did the transfer fee stray into seven figures.

As such, Cardiff targeted the rejects that other clubs wouldn't go near.

"We had to take whatever we could. We had to find players that were being discarded by other clubs and bring them in.

"We brought them in knowing that we'd give them another opportunity that they wouldn't have got otherwise. That was our sales pitch.

"It was their chance to prove people wrong. We could give them that stage. We always had to think outside the box with how we did deals."

Bringing in the "waifs and strays", as Jones calls them, did come with some adverse side effects. Jeff Whitley and Michael Chopra were just two who had their personal problems during their time at the club.

Jeff Whitley was just one player who had his personal struggles while at the club
The baggage that put other clubs off was something Jones and Cardiff knew they had to deal with to get the best out of their players.

"They still fall into their traits now and then, but there was more good than bad that they did.

"The human side of football is massive. Everybody wants to be a coach but that's easy. Anyone can do that. It's the man-management side of things that is hard.

"The players I brought in, I was told not to touch. Don't go near. But until you know them yourself, you don't know what they're like.

"I'm the only manager that two of my players have turned into monks! Was I doing something right or did I do something wrong to turn them into monks?"

Jones succeeded by selling the dream to the club, often avoiding taking players to the training ground in a bid to not put them off.

And so often, it worked.

The successes are impressive. Chopra, Jay Bothroyd, Jason Koumas, Peter Whittingham, Roger Johnson, Glenn Loovens, Kevin McNaughton; almost all were secured for modest price-tags or on loan. All have cemented their place in Cardiff history.






THE NEARS MISSES AND THE LOW POINT

The astute business ensured Jones and Cardiff improved year on year. As the club grew, so did resources and expectations. A new stadium was built towards the latter end of his reign, while an improved training ground was also built at the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel.

"That training ground came about from a game of golf," explains Jones. "I played golf with (Vale of Glamorgan owner) Gerald Leeke and his son and I said 'look at all this land, you should build us a training ground'. So he did."

From finishing 11th in his first season in charge, he soon had them in the promotion race on a regular basis.

There was an FA Cup final against Portsmouth in 2008. A Championship play-off final against Blackpool in 2010. Both ended in defeat. Ultimately, that is how Jones will be judged on for his time in Cardiff.

The man who came so close, but not quite close enough.

"We were better than Blackpool but it didn't pan out. That was our best chance and the best team to do it. Unfortunately the luck didn't go with us.

"Jay Bothroyd went off injured and that deflated everybody. It was hard to swallow because I knew the team would be dismantled afterwards.

"I did a report for the board after the final and I think certain members took offence to it. I told them we were putting plasters on things rather than healing them. We were dismantling the team rather than building."

"That was our best chance and the best team to do it. Unfortunately the luck didn't go with us."
There was one hidden subplot that scuppered another promotion bid - one that Jones calls the "lowest point" of his time in south Wales.

An early bird ticket scheme came with the promise that the money raised by the fans would be put towards new signings. As Jones says, it was the time the club was "really going to push".

Except, the players never came in. Instead, loans and free transfers were sought after. Little did Jones or the fans know that the club was actually under a transfer embargo.

"I'd put myself out there and the fans had too," he explains. "They'd raised three times as much as we'd expected. Everybody sensed this could be the year and then we were hit with that.

"I remember when we were told. The ticket office was flying and then I was told that the squad was underachieving. Alarm bells. I could read between the lines on that one."

You sense that Jones knows he should never have had to leave the Premier League with Southampton - something that he was forced to do following the court case that threatened to ruin his career.

Instead, he was made to work his way up from the second tier. It never quite worked out though.






AN IGNOMINIOUS ENDING

In 2011, after six years at the club, Jones was sacked following a play-off semi-final defeat to Reading.

Yet his card had looked marked before that semi-final defeat after the club had missed out on automatic promotion following a 3-0 defeat to Middlesbrough. The kicker was that several squad members had been out drinking at an end-of-season awards event a couple of days before the crucial fixture.

It still rankles with Jones.

"How the coaching staff can be blamed for that is beyond me. That's on the individuals.

"I actually saw Vincent Tan the year after and he asked why I left. I told him you got rid of me! He said he didn't - I told him you did!"
"I felt let down. Some of the players felt let down. It's an individual's decision. They were trying to blame people for arranging the awards do, but it wouldn't have mattered. I didn't want that dinner but I still expected them to do it the right way.

"I can't remember exactly what actions I took, but it wouldn't have been light."

Despite the fact that Jones was handed his P45 less than a month later, he doesn't believe that it had any bearing on his fate at the club.

"We still had games to get up. The people who made the decision left the club not long after. I never had any feedback on why I was sacked.

"I actually saw Vincent Tan the year after and he asked why I left. I told him you got rid of me! He said he didn't - I told him you did!"







HIS LEGACY?

Jones has been out of management for two years since leaving Hartlepool.

He's keen to make his return, working as a consultant to younger managers as he seeks the opportunity to get back into the dugout.

As yet, that opportunity hasn't arisen.

Jones wasn't always a fans favourite in Cardiff. He certainly wasn't the media's darling. But as the dust settles on a second season in the Premier League since his departure, how would Jones like to be remembered by the Bluebirds?

"I think Steve Tucker, the guy everybody always thought I was always at loggerheads with, summed it up best. I brought a brand of football to the club they hadn't seen for a long, long time and I left the club in a far better position than I started with.

"I didn't take them to the promised land but I think there's reasons for that and I'll stand by them.

"In hindsight, had I been given what Malky had been given, I have no doubt I'd have got promotion. But we'll never know.

"What I built there is what I'd like to be remembered for. Some people might say differently. I can't change that.

"As long as I left them in a far better position, I'm happy."

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Always liked Dave Jones, played some great football under him and in difficult times. I think some fans don't give him some of the credit he deserves because he want one to butter up the fans, said it how it was which personally I liked.

Different to the new generation of managers we had after him who sound like they have answered every question from a book given to them when they got their badges (Warnock aside of course)

An interesting article from a very 'Marmite' manager; one who I personally appreciated for what he did for this club during some dark days

Interesting to hear what he had to say about Ridsdale and also that night where a number of important senior players decided to go on the lash thinking they could blame someone else

Think his days as a manager are probably gone now; but his legacy at our club should be seen as a positive one

Good bloke and also shows that Mr Tan didn't know what was going on in the early days ,glad he got his eye on the ball now!!

Met Dave one evening when I lived down the marina him and his missus were sitting on the bench by my house just before he left had a good chat on his plans ,what players he would like, the players who let him down obviously didn't have a clue what was around the corner.

But like him or loathe him the lies spread about the abuse was disgusting.

He had a tendency (in my opinion) to have some shocking defences but I always loved the attacking forces he constructed - McCormack, Chopra, Bothroyd, Whittingham, Parry etc. and although frustrating, his style of football I always found attractive we never got promoted or won anything major but we were always a force to be reckoned with within the championship and in the cups

An interesting article from a very 'Marmite' manager; one who I personally appreciated for what he did for this club during some dark days

Interesting to hear what he had to say about Ridsdale and also that night where a number of important senior players decided to go on the lash thinking they could blame someone else

Think his days as a manager are probably gone now; but his legacy at our club should be seen as a positive one

He was a very good Manager and had an awful lot of bad luck.

He was doing really well at Southampton before that false allegation, and to come back from that shows real character, he did a fantastic job here especially when you consider the players he had to keep selling, and the financial restraints he was under compared to Malky and Warnock.

It was alleged that Bothroyd wouldn't risk an injection that could have allowed him to play through injury at the Blackpool playoff final, I am not sure if it's true, but I think we would have won the game with Bothroyd on the field for the whole game, and things may have been a lot different for Jones and Cardiff?

Was an excellent Manager for the first 2/3 years and built a great attacking team with very little resources

However, his attitude to the fans was shocking at times and he pretty much alienated the bulk of the fan base with some of his comments and his constant moaning

He and the Riddler took millions out of the club in wages and bonuses at a time when the club was on its knees financially

Left the club as a very wealthy “nearly man”

Was an excellent Manager for the first 2/3 years and built a great attacking team with very little resources

However, his attitude to the fans was shocking at times and he pretty much alienated the bulk of the fan base with some of his comments and his constant moaning

He and the Riddler took millions out of the club in wages and bonuses at a time when the club was on its knees financially

Left the club as a very wealthy “nearly man”

he was a football manager not a fan so got offered a contract, signed it, got paid...as did all the players and groundstaff..

Was an excellent Manager for the first 2/3 years and built a great attacking team with very little resources

However, his attitude to the fans was shocking at times and he pretty much alienated the bulk of the fan base with some of his comments and his constant moaning

He and the Riddler took millions out of the club in wages and bonuses at a time when the club was on its knees financially

Left the club as a very wealthy “nearly man”

he was a football manager not a fan so got offered a contract, signed it, got paid...as did all the players and groundstaff..

That’s true, however it helped that he was Riddlers mate and he got a massive contract that he ultimately didn’t deserve

Also, he didn’t need to treat the fans(who ultimately paid his huge wages) with such contempt

Was an excellent Manager for the first 2/3 years and built a great attacking team with very little resources

However, his attitude to the fans was shocking at times and he pretty much alienated the bulk of the fan base with some of his comments and his constant moaning

He and the Riddler took millions out of the club in wages and bonuses at a time when the club was on its knees financially

Left the club as a very wealthy “nearly man”

he was a football manager not a fan so got offered a contract, signed it, got paid...as did all the players and groundstaff..

That’s true, however it helped that he was Riddlers mate and he got a massive contract that he ultimately didn’t deserve

Also, he didn’t need to treat the fans(who ultimately paid his huge wages) with such contempt

That's your opinion, not all fans agree.

I didn't feel treated badly by him in anyway, I liked his honesty and party agreed with some of his comments about our fans.

Were we the early snowflakes before it became a comman phrase

Was an excellent Manager for the first 2/3 years and built a great attacking team with very little resources

However, his attitude to the fans was shocking at times and he pretty much alienated the bulk of the fan base with some of his comments and his constant moaning

He and the Riddler took millions out of the club in wages and bonuses at a time when the club was on its knees financially

Left the club as a very wealthy “nearly man”

he was a football manager not a fan so got offered a contract, signed it, got paid...as did all the players and groundstaff..

That’s true, however it helped that he was Riddlers mate and he got a massive contract that he ultimately didn’t deserve

Also, he didn’t need to treat the fans(who ultimately paid his huge wages) with such contempt

That's your opinion, not all fans agree.

I didn't feel treated badly by him in anyway, I liked his honesty and party agreed with some of his comments about our fans.

Were we the early snowflakes before it became a common phrase

I agree on his honesty and also his sarcastic rebukes of certain media reporters

He said it as it was and often you could see the bemusement in his face, as he looked in disdain at some of the daft questions he was being asked

The best football I've seen us play was under Dave Jones and even though Warnock gets a lot of credit for finding gems Dave Jones record in that area was phenomenal tbh. Players like Marshall, Heaton, McNaughton, Hudson, Roger Johnson, Glenn Loovens, McPhail, Ledley, Whittingham, Ramsey, Chopra, Bothroyd, and McCormack. One of my favourite teams to watch was Dave Jones sides, and in all fairness I don't think I've particularly enjoyed our style of football since he left tbh. However under his management we were always defensively fragile and he never came across as likeable and we seemed to bottle the big occasion all the time under him, however we were unlucky a few times.

Sometimes I always think what would have happened if Bothroyd hadn't have come off against Blackpool and if Dave Jones would have put Ross McCormack on instead of the useless Kelvin Etuhu. Our Future might have looked so different and I do think we would have probably stayed in the prem with the team we had and could have improved it but its all ifs and buts I guess.

Was an excellent Manager for the first 2/3 years and built a great attacking team with very little resources

However, his attitude to the fans was shocking at times and he pretty much alienated the bulk of the fan base with some of his comments and his constant moaning

He and the Riddler took millions out of the club in wages and bonuses at a time when the club was on its knees financially

Left the club as a very wealthy “nearly man”

he was a football manager not a fan so got offered a contract, signed it, got paid...as did all the players and groundstaff..

That’s true, however it helped that he was Riddlers mate and he got a massive contract that he ultimately didn’t deserve

Also, he didn’t need to treat the fans(who ultimately paid his huge wages) with such contempt

we had our best finishes in 40 years and reached an fa cup final for the first time in 70 years which personally I think helped far more than being mates , make no bones about it if he was doing a shite job PR would have sacked him...that's how football is, mates or no mates....btw it was a lot less than we then payed a manager with little experience and had just finished a season at Watford with just 1 win in 9 ..?
the contempt...I never thought that ..he didn't suffer fools.. think most of us could see that..

Good manager for us he’s right he made the club a much better place.

But there’s only so many times you can fall at the final hurdle before it’s time to leave and he had a fair amount of time.

Shows how much of a meddling fool Hammam was as well. We are much safer in the hands of Vincent Tan than we ever were when he was around. If red never happened he’d be worshipped by our fans.

The best football I've seen us play was under Dave Jones and even though Warnock gets a lot of credit for finding gems Dave Jones record in that area was phenomenal tbh. Players like Marshall, Heaton, McNaughton, Hudson, Roger Johnson, Glenn Loovens, McPhail, Ledley, Whittingham, Ramsey, Chopra, Bothroyd, and McCormack. One of my favourite teams to watch was Dave Jones sides, and in all fairness I don't think I've particularly enjoyed our style of football since he left tbh. However under his management we were always defensively fragile and he never came across as likeable and we seemed to bottle the big occasion all the time under him, however we were unlucky a few times.

Sometimes I always think what would have happened if Bothroyd hadn't have come off against Blackpool and if Dave Jones would have put Ross McCormack on instead of the useless Kelvin Etuhu. Our Future might have looked so different and I do think we would have probably stayed in the prem with the team we had and could have improved it but its all ifs and buts I guess.

And don't forget Koumas!

Have to agree with almost everything you say. If we had beaten Blackpool I'm sure that we would have stayed up quite comfortably with that squad and one or two quality additions.

Not sure about us being defensively fragile - Jones could certainly spot a centre half. Loovens and Johnson were a great pairing. Darren Purse did well for us as did Gabor "Rugby Tackle" Gypes.

If nothing was "off limits" then perhaps he should have asked Jones if he still enjoys watching the local netball games!

I was not a fan of his. His last season with us he was given a great chance to get us up but he blew it. I recall after stuffing Leeds 4-0 at their place someone posted on the Leeds forum we were a mid table Premier side ready to go up. I believed that so was very frustrated we didn't go up.

Its not all bad from me though as when we played good football it was good with him. Since his departure we have not played that level of good. What we have done is be consistant which Dave Jones was anything but and was his downfall.

He should remain retired now.

I've always been critical of him and still say he would never have got us promoted, even if he'd have stayed another five years.

We did play some great football at times - in fact, we haven't played more attractive football since the Dave Jones days. But we were also very hit and miss, he seemed incapable of keeping it going.

Who can forget the year we fell out of the top six on goal difference, in a run that included losing 6-0 to Preston - the team that ended up getting 6th?

But I will also add that he had a lot of back luck. Will always respect him for coming back after the horrible things he was falsely accused of.

Wanted him to be successful after he left but it wasn't to be. Think his management career is probably over but still has a future as an advisor.

Not his biggest fan, but he does have my respect.