JOE LEDLEY WHY I LEFT CARDIFF & HITS OUT AT RIDSDALE

Joe Ledley explains his side of the Cardiff City to Celtic story and hits back at Peter Ridsdale 10 years on

Joe Ledley speaks about his controversial move from Cardiff City to Celtic, addresses former chairman Peter Ridsdale's

inflammatory remarks and reveals how close he came to signing for Newport County



Saturday 18th April 2020


By Glen Williams


Joe Ledley reflects on leaving Cardiff City, 10 years on


Joe Ledley has revealed his disappointment at the circumstances which surrounded his controversial Cardiff City exit a decade ago.

There was a cloud surrounding Ledley's Bluebirds exit owing to a bitter contract dispute between the midfielder, who had been at the club for 14 years, and the Cardiff top brass.

Then just 23, Ledley, who had even been entrusted with the captain's armband by manager Dave Jones, was a crucial part of that exciting, promotion-challenging City side of a decade ago.

With stardust sprinkled on that squad, Ledley was the homegrown academy product and the heartbeat in the middle of the park, but a contract row belied his blossoming Bluebirds career.

With both the player and the club at an impasse, and with just one year remaining on his contract heading into the 2009/10 season, he was stripped of the captaincy and Mark Hudson took the armband.

That clearly hurt him back then and now, a decade on, it still stings. He eventually left the club in the summer of 2010, transferring to Celtic on a free. It was a move that left many disgruntled, with the Bluebirds missing out on a big transfer fee as a result.





JOE LEDLEY:


"I was disappointed because I gave a lot to that club," the Wales international said of leaving the club on the EJFOF podcast..

"People can have their own agreements or disagreements on what the situation was, but for me I thought I deserved a better contract, which they were supposed to offer me two years before I left and it didn't happen.

"When you're in a youth setup, they don't see you as... they don't want to give you the money that you deserve.

"I'm not saying I was asking for ridiculous amounts, but for me to be on the same level of the players that were already there.

"I was captain of the club, [we had been to] an FA Cup final and I wanted to stay. My wife was pregnant with my first child, but it just wasn't meant to be.

"I don't think they thought I was serious until the day I left."


Ledley endured months of frustration as his contract talks stalled


City were rampant that season and finished fourth in the Championship, their most successful season in the Football League at that point.

But the Ledley saga was threatening to spill over off the pitch, with then chairman Peter Ridsdale stoking the flames with some inflammatory remarks about the player's commitment.

Following a poor run of results during November 2009, some criticism was turned Ledley's way and Ridsdale commented that, due to his ongoing contract talks, the midfielder was "playing like he is somewhere else already".

"It's a person who's not in the job week in, week out," Ledley said, hitting back.

"As an outsider looking in, he doesn't know what you're doing in training or how many kilometres you're doing, what injuries you're holding.

"I was struggling a lot. I was playing when I shouldn't have been playing. I had an operation which put me out and once I'd had that done I was flying.

"I came back and scored two or three goals, one in the play-off final. Those comments don't affect me at all."

Ledley received backing from both Jones and Hudson during that time, despite Ridsdale's comments. The Welshman underwent an operation on his hip, which sidelined him for a number of months, but he returned in the April in scintillating form.

"I tried," he said. "It was my team, Cardiff. It's where I'm from and I wanted to achieve what they wanted to achieve - promotion.

"When I got back, I got the header which secured the play-offs for us. I scored the penalty as well, in the semis, and I went to the final and scored, so I tried my hardest."

That season, the Bluebirds agonisingly missed out on promotion to the Premier League, losing 3-2 in the play-off final to Blackpool.

Might things have been different if they had gotten over the line that day? Would he have put pen to paper on a new deal?

"Yeah, 100 percent, I would have," he added.

"I don't know what they would have offered me still, but the opportunity to play in the Premier League would have been a dream come true for me.

"If that happened then maybe I'd have left a year or two after and everything would have been fine. But I moved on, they moved on and got promoted. So it worked both ways in the end."

It has been 10 years since Ledley last put on the Cardiff City shirt. He went to Celtic before enjoying a successful four-year stint in the Premier League with Crystal Palace.

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

He moved on to Derby County, of course, where he was released last January and subsequently struggled to find a club.

He admits he still looks out for Cardiff City's results and even as recently as this season he asked Neil Warnock if he could train with the Bluebirds to maintain his fitness.

The Fairwater-born Ledley still holds strong views when it comes to the future of the Welch capital club. Having been there during a time when City brought through so many supremely-talented youngsters, those numbers have fallen off a cliff.

Current boss Neil Harris appears determined to revamp the academy structure to give youth a chance and Ledley believes that simply has to be the model they should revert back to.

"It's got to happen," Ledley said. "Financially, for the club, it's massive. For the fans and for the nation as well.

"Someone told me not too long ago that I am the last Cardiff-born player to play for Cardiff. That's terrible.

"Whether it's true or not, I'm not sure, I'm 33 now and I left at 23. For 10 years there's not been anyone from Cardiff to play for the team.

"I'm dying to see more youngsters get there. Just chuck them in and see what they do."

While WalesOnline were told there was no chance of Ledley signing again for the Bluebirds back in October, there was a very real chance of him moving to League Two club Newport County.

It almost looked to be nailed on, too, with manager Mike Flynn appearing extremely hopeful the Exiles would get the deal over the line.


Newport County boss Mike Flynn was hopeful of signing Ledley this season (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
Alas, it wasn't to be and Ledley jetted off to Australia to link up with Newcastle Jets, managed by Ledley's former Wales team-mate Carl Robinson.








So, how close was he to moving to Rodney Parade?

"Yeah, very close," he said. "I spoke to the chairman a lot, went in every day and saw Flynny.

"I was close to signing, I had my squad number, everything was sorted, but when Carl got the job he wanted me to come over for the end of the season.

"I didn't want to go over there, not enjoy and come home, so I signed until the end of the season and I loved it.

"I felt bad on Newport, because it seems like I used them just to train. It wasn't like that at all.

"They are a great group of boys, professionals and a great manager. I just wanted to try something different.

"I killed myself here, because I said I wanted to stay close to home and I probably couldn't get any further away!"

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

Think that’s Craig Bellamy, but he makes a good point..

Think that’s Craig Bellamy, but he makes a good point..

It's very relevant and I think he probably means the last one to come 'through the ranks' at the club

Either way, I will always feel Joe let the side down and he has a history of 'using' clubs and/or situations to his own advantage

I can't/don't really blame him. He has/had one chance at creating financial security for him and his family and he took it well from that perspective but a Cardiff City legend he isn't

Think that’s Craig Bellamy, but he makes a good point..

It's very relevant and I think he probably means the last one to come 'through the ranks' at the club

Either way, I will always feel Joe let the side down and he has a history of 'using' clubs and/or situations to his own advantage

I can't/don't really blame him. He has/had one chance at creating financial security for him and his family and he took it well from that perspective but a Cardiff City legend he isn't

we should have tied him down mate..my big issue with him is where he went, not Celtic but the SPL...people say Celtic are a huge club which they are but its not a step up in terms of testing yourself...would have sat better with me had it been a Premier league club..

Think that’s Craig Bellamy, but he makes a good point..

It's very relevant and I think he probably means the last one to come 'through the ranks' at the club

Either way, I will always feel Joe let the side down and he has a history of 'using' clubs and/or situations to his own advantage

I can't/don't really blame him. He has/had one chance at creating financial security for him and his family and he took it well from that perspective but a Cardiff City legend he isn't

we should have tied him down mate..my big issue with him is where he went, not Celtic but the SPL...people say Celtic are a huge club which they are but its not a step up in terms of testing yourself...would have sat better with me had it been a Premier league club..

Yup, agree!

Sadly, he went for the money in the main...and I'll leave it at that aware that some have a different view

If he had moved to a club in England, the club would at least have recieved some fee

Think that’s Craig Bellamy, but he makes a good point..

It's very relevant and I think he probably means the last one to come 'through the ranks' at the club

Either way, I will always feel Joe let the side down and he has a history of 'using' clubs and/or situations to his own advantage

I can't/don't really blame him. He has/had one chance at creating financial security for him and his family and he took it well from that perspective but a Cardiff City legend he isn't

we should have tied him down mate..my big issue with him is where he went, not Celtic but the SPL...people say Celtic are a huge club which they are but its not a step up in terms of testing yourself...would have sat better with me had it been a Premier league club..

Yup, agree!

Sadly, he went for the money in the main...and I'll leave it at that aware that some have a different view

He had one chance to secure his family's financial future in a short career. He took it and now is sitting happy. I don't blame him for taking the job at Celtic. Most people would do the same thing the wage increase at the time would have been huge for him plus the opportunity to play champions League football .
Forget Cardiff city look after yourself as they don't care about him only his resale value

His goal at Wembley outs him down as a club legend regardless

Probably the second best Cardiff born player after Toshack that we have produced at the club.Played Champions League, 4 years in Premier League,International Football, one of our hero’s at the Euros.Like Tosh a Cardiff Legend who unfortunately had to go elsewhere to achieve their dreams, let’s hope our club in future hold on to our best players!
Let be truthful, all our so called Legends like Super Kev ,Witts, Joe etc would also have left if they or the club had received a decent offer for their services?

I don't think Ridsdale exactly covered himself in glory during the entire Joe Ledley situation.

I was at a fans meeting with Ridsdale in the Muni in City Road when he was quite critical of Joe and I always thought that was seriously lacking in judgement by him.

That is not the sort of place to comment on a local boy who had given a lot to his hometown club.

Probably the second best Cardiff born player after Toshack that we have produced at the club.Played Champions League, 4 years in Premier League,International Football, one of our hero’s at the Euros.Like Tosh a Cardiff Legend who unfortunately had to go elsewhere to achieve their dreams, let’s hope our club in future hold on to our best players!
Let be truthful, all our so called Legends like Super Kev ,Witts, Joe etc would also have left if they or the club had received a decent offer for their services?

Earnie, for starters, was a 'better' product than Joe and your analogy of Super Kev and Whitts (not too sure why you mentioned Joe again?) would have left had they received a decent offer is well wide of the mark, as both (but Whitts in particular) had opportunities to move elsewhere at their peak but declined, as they were settled in the area

Marshall was another who left (proverbially) kicking and screaming for the same reason. He and his family loved Cardiff and were very emotional on having to leave

You can’t blame him for financially securing his life and I thought that at the time. But he was nowhere near as good as people make out.

He was basically a high level Championship standard player who was a bit part player in a lower half Premier side for a while. He played well for Wales at times, but most international matches are nowhere near Premier League standards. He went to Celtic because no Premier League side thought he was worth the money his agent wanted. That means no one in the Premier League thought he was good enough at the time.

As for the home grown player part to this story, how many top teams have home grown players in the team? Rarely more than one. Even the youth teams at the top clubs are made up of players that they have got in from abroad or stolen from clubs in the lower leagues. Manchester City have had one home grown player in the last 12 years who has started more than 50 first team games ( Micah Richards) . Phil Foden may become the next.

But also have a look at the numbers of our former youngsters who are now making a living in the lower leagues. Not necessarily Cardiff boys but youngsters we helped to bring on - Oshilaja, Joe Jacobsen, Aaron Wildig immediately spring to mind but I’m sure other board members can come up with many more.

For what it’s worth, I think that goalkeeper George Ratcliffe will be the next home development player to get in the first team, provided he doesn’t get snapped up by a bigger club first.

Either he or his agent or both are not good decision makers. It wasn’t just Cardiff, follow him through his clubs and look at his impact and how they felt when he moved on.
How is he not in top level football now? None have been queuing up to sign or play him for a few years now.

Shame he had a lot more to achieve than those few stand out City and Wales moments.

You can’t blame him for financially securing his life and I thought that at the time. But he was nowhere near as good as people make out.

He was basically a high level Championship standard player who was a bit part player in a lower half Premier side for a while. He played well for Wales at times, but most international matches are nowhere near Premier League standards. He went to Celtic because no Premier League side thought he was worth the money his agent wanted. That means no one in the Premier League thought he was good enough at the time.

As for the home grown player part to this story, how many top teams have home grown players in the team? Rarely more than one. Even the youth teams at the top clubs are made up of players that they have got in from abroad or stolen from clubs in the lower leagues. Manchester City have had one home grown player in the last 12 years who has started more than 50 first team games ( Micah Richards) . Phil Foden may become the next.

But also have a look at the numbers of our former youngsters who are now making a living in the lower leagues. Not necessarily Cardiff boys but youngsters we helped to bring on - Oshilaja, Joe Jacobsen, Aaron Wildig immediately spring to mind but I’m sure other board members can come up with many more.

For what it’s worth, I think that goalkeeper George Ratcliffe will be the next home development player to get in the first team, provided he doesn’t get snapped up by a bigger club first.

ive not seen him but everyone seems to think he is the real deal but
sometimes to make it you need a gap to open up... looks very unlikely in that position..

Probably the second best Cardiff born player after Toshack that we have produced at the club.Played Champions League, 4 years in Premier League,International Football, one of our hero’s at the Euros.Like Tosh a Cardiff Legend who unfortunately had to go elsewhere to achieve their dreams, let’s hope our club in future hold on to our best players!
Let be truthful, all our so called Legends like Super Kev ,Witts, Joe etc would also have left if they or the club had received a decent offer for their services?

Earnie, for starters, was a 'better' product than Joe and your analogy of Super Kev and Whitts (not too sure why you mentioned Joe again?) would have left had they received a decent offer is well wide of the mark, as both (but Whitts in particular) had opportunities to move elsewhere at their peak but declined, as they were settled in the area

Marshall was another who left (proverbially) kicking and screaming for the same reason. He and his family loved Cardiff and were very emotional on having to leave

Earnie wasn’t a Cardiff born, actually born in Zambia brought up in Caerphilly and never played Champions League or very successful at International level!
The Legend Joe I referred to is Phil Dwyer known as Joe!
So the club got rid of Marshall because they wanted the money but Ledley should not have left because Ridsdale wouldn’t pay him a Senior Players salary despite him being Club Captain and an International?
The Club would sell any player if they had the right offer including Super Kev and Whitt’s just like they did with Marshall and Rambo ?

Probably the second best Cardiff born player after Toshack that we have produced at the club.Played Champions League, 4 years in Premier League,International Football, one of our hero’s at the Euros.Like Tosh a Cardiff Legend who unfortunately had to go elsewhere to achieve their dreams, let’s hope our club in future hold on to our best players!
Let be truthful, all our so called Legends like Super Kev ,Witts, Joe etc would also have left if they or the club had received a decent offer for their services?

Earnie, for starters, was a 'better' product than Joe and your analogy of Super Kev and Whitts (not too sure why you mentioned Joe again?) would have left had they received a decent offer is well wide of the mark, as both (but Whitts in particular) had opportunities to move elsewhere at their peak but declined, as they were settled in the area

Marshall was another who left (proverbially) kicking and screaming for the same reason. He and his family loved Cardiff and were very emotional on having to leave

Earnie wasn’t a Cardiff born, actually born in Zambia brought up in Caerphilly and never played Champions League or very successful at International level!
The Legend Joe I referred to is Phil Dwyer known as Joe!
So the club got rid of Marshall because they wanted the money but Ledley should not have left because Ridsdale wouldn’t pay him a Senior Players salary despite him being Club Captain and an International?
The Club would sell any player if they had the right offer including Super Kev and Whitt’s just like they did with Marshall and Rambo ?

Good get out on the 'Joe' thing, fair do's!

I don't think you've understood the Ledley bit. He engineered his move by running down his contract an then used Ridsdale (the easiest scapegoat in City history until Vincent Tan's 'Red Gate' thing) to cover his tracks

You may not (want to) believe it but it is what happened and the rebound was that the intended move (we're told to to Stoke City) fell though and City got nothing for their investment in their home-grown product at a time it would have kept the wolves from the door...as was proven not too long afterwards when the club were in the process of being put into liquidation before TG (and others) stepped in and saved the day

Probably the second best Cardiff born player after Toshack that we have produced at the club.Played Champions League, 4 years in Premier League,International Football, one of our hero’s at the Euros.Like Tosh a Cardiff Legend who unfortunately had to go elsewhere to achieve their dreams, let’s hope our club in future hold on to our best players!
Let be truthful, all our so called Legends like Super Kev ,Witts, Joe etc would also have left if they or the club had received a decent offer for their services?

Earnie, for starters, was a 'better' product than Joe and your analogy of Super Kev and Whitts (not too sure why you mentioned Joe again?) would have left had they received a decent offer is well wide of the mark, as both (but Whitts in particular) had opportunities to move elsewhere at their peak but declined, as they were settled in the area

Marshall was another who left (proverbially) kicking and screaming for the same reason. He and his family loved Cardiff and were very emotional on having to leave

Earnie wasn’t a Cardiff born, actually born in Zambia brought up in Caerphilly and never played Champions League or very successful at International level!

The Legend Joe I referred to is Phil Dwyer known as Joe!
So the club got rid of Marshall because they wanted the money but Ledley should not have left because Ridsdale wouldn’t pay him a Senior Players salary despite him being Club Captain and an International?
The Club would sell any player if they had the right offer including Super Kev and Whitt’s just like they did with Marshall and Rambo ?

Good get out on the 'Joe' thing, fair do's!

I don't think you've understood the Ledley bit. He engineered his move by running down his contract an then used Ridsdale (the easiest scapegoat in City history until Vincent Tan's 'Red Gate' thing) to cover his tracks

You may not (want to) believe it but it is what happened and the rebound was that the intended move (we're told to to Stoke City) fell though and City got nothing for their investment in their home-grown product at a time it would have kept the wolves from the door...as was proven not too long afterwards when the club were in the process of being put into liquidation before TG (and others) stepped in and saved the day

If you’re right Sven how were Jay Boothroyd, Matthews, and many others allowed to run down their contracts and leave on a free? If we were desperate for money why didn’t we accept Stoke’s 6m bid? I’d put running down contracts and failing to agree fees down to bad management rather than blame one of our few local players to make the grade!