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Summer madness bites at Cardiff

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

By all accounts Malky MacKay is a good guy.  He is certainly a good motivator and tactician, and an excellent communicator, unburdened by the airs and graces normally associated by managers in the self-appointed Greatest Show on Earth.  None of this saved him from the sack, though, accused of running riot with the cheque book in the summer.

Cardiff City certainly ran riot, spending in the region of £50m to help prepare for top flight football.  If, as owner Vincent Tan alleges, the spend was unauthorised, Cardiff have a management control problem, not a problem with the manager, who is within his rights to spend whatever money made available to him.

‘Bluebirds’ fans are united on Malky’s side, they are equally united against owner Tan, who appears wholly unsuitable to control a football club.  Changing their strips from blue to red, as red is the colour most associated with Wales, tells you all you need to know about Tan and where he will ultimately take the club, but the extravagance of the summer has already set Cardiff off on the road to rapid decline.

Every club should anticipating making mistakes in the transfer market, it is part of the territory, but they need to be able to afford those mistakes.  Cardiff’s summer signings allowed for no mistakes. The totem was Andreas Cornelius, recruited from from Copenhagen for an outrageous £10m.  The player received a five year contract worth more than the transfer fee.  He’s only 20.  Cornelius also earns more than seven times his salary at Copenhagen, no one will be able to afford to take him from Cardiff, his 18 career goals, all in Denmark, suggest he’s simply not worth anything like money he’s on.

If you’re Cardiff City, here’s the problem when you try to recruit for top flight football: after 50 years in the wilderness, you’re favourites for the drop.  Players with other top flight options will take them, you’ll have to pay over the odds to convince players to sign on.  You’re also shopping in a market you have absolutely no experience of – making mistakes more likely.

Spending £10m on a striker was possibly a sensible idea for Cardiff (I can imagine how popular it was, any sane voices would have been whistling against the wind) but what striker, genuinely worth £10m, would go there without being ‘bribed’ with copious amounts of cash?  I’m aware of the parallels with Celtic, which £10m striker would come to Scotland?

They could have received 50 knock-backs before doing a deal in Copenhagen.  This pattern was replicated across the rest of their summer spend.  They should have invested their Premier League windfall on long-term development, irrespective of the short-term consequences.

For the sake of the club’s fans I hope they survive but inadequate controls at board level, with an owner seemingly intent on self-destruction, a rapid decline through the leagues seems inevitable, sooner or later.
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  2. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    Glasgowbhoy

     

     

    You will need to ask Paul67 to reset it. You have stored it on your phone and forgotten it for other devices that you have not have stored it on. Or changed it on your phone but have not synchronised it …as you would manually have to do on the other devices.

     

     

    HH

  4. Clashcitybhoy on

    Newradbhoy,

     

    Hope there is a swift recovery

     

     

    Paul67,

     

    Some of the decisions in EPL totally defy logic.

     

     

    There is always lots of speculation about owners / directors interfering in team line ups and formations. My own view is that unless the manager writes the cheques or has access to the BACS system, then he does not have complete control.

     

     

    All,

     

    What do you make of Tom Rogic?

     

    I think the guy deserves a chance, but, I just don’t see him as a creative / attacking midfielder as he is one footed, slow on the turn, and lacks close control.

     

    If we could get him fitter, he looks a prospective wing -back?

  5. hun skelper on

    ryecatcher

     

     

    15:04 on 28 December, 2013

     

     

    What about elbows at ibrokes mate, a central defender who scores hatricks in the best league in the world.

     

    Well 500,000,000 zombies world wide will tell you it is HH

  8. GourockEmeraldBhoy "Supporting Wee Oscar the Warrior" on

    Newradbhoy

     

     

    Shocking news, hope your family are ok. My pals in tenerife just now and text me last night from a bar with an Elvis singer… text him today but not heard back yet..

  10. Steinreignedsupreme on

    ryecatcher 15:17 on 28 December, 2013

     

     

    “Been away from Scotland a long time mate,so haven’t had the footballing heaven of seeing the Sevco Maldini in the flesh or many times on TV for that matter.”

     

     

    Same here.

     

     

    But the Scottish media rave about him, so he much be the berries.

  11. ryecatcher on

    Hunskelper….

     

     

    Think you’re wrong on the best league in the world.

     

     

    The way the Zombies are talking up the Championship for next season.

  14. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    If Cardiff had bought Hooper for 10m would we still be getting the same stuffy PL sermon ? They are becoming pathetically tiresome.

     

     

    How much have we spent on Pukki, Bangura , Lassad, Miki, Balde and Brozek ?

     

    I think if you include the wheeling and dealing for Hooper it us still an incredibly poor return.

     

     

    If Malky had bought them instead would that be seen by Vincent Tan as money well spent ?

     

     

    By a ten million pound player when we can’t keep our own ?????

     

     

    There is nothing to debate here.

     

     

    HH

  18. Stephen Black on

    Been away from the blog for a while…. Good to be back

     

     

    newradbhoy

     

     

    Thoughts and prayers with you and your family.

  22. ryecatcher on

    Awenaw…

     

     

    He really is a fanny of the highest order.

     

     

    If anyone down here ever asked me an example of a stereotypical Hun, it would be him.

  23. hun skelper on

    ryecatcher

     

     

    15:32 on 28 December, 2013

     

     

    Yh next year the championship will be the best but for now it’s league 1 HH

  24. WeefratheTim on

    newradbhoy

     

     

    A terrible situation, our thoughts are with you and your family.

     

     

    Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.

  25. Steinreignedsupreme on

    Only seven months to go before CQN goes into meltdown over a meaningless pre-season friendly defeat.

  27. KevJungle on

    Just in to ask…..

     

     

    Whose keeping Tony Watt oot the team ?

     

     

    Stokes ? So invisible that I think he might be related to Joe ?

     

     

    Sammi ? 7 good games in 7 seasons. imo

     

     

    Balde ? Pukki ?

     

     

    Don’t gie Lennon anymore of the Cellic fans monet to waste – get rid of him and get Jackie in the dug-oot. imo

     

     

    Get the Jungle rebuilt afore CP turns itae ibrokes when Greig was the manager. imo

     

     

    Rant over – Merry Christmas everybody.

     

     

    P.S. Newradbhoy – Thought n Prayers for all who are close.

     

     

    Off oot.

  35. valentinesday on

    Newradbhoy

     

     

    Dreadful news , will light a candle for all affected

     

    before Mass tomorrow.

  36. WeefratheTim on

    hen1rik

     

     

    That page must have been pulled. It does not exist. Surprise surprise. :))

     

     

    Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.

  37. Stephen Black on

    Lennybhoy

     

     

    Yes doing well mate, hectic work schedules just now…

     

     

    Not long till silly season again mate….

  38. Steinreignedsupreme on

    starry plough forza oscar 15:59 on 28 December, 2013

     

     

    I switch off during the ole transfer window. can’t be doing with people getting up to high doe over endless rumours.

     

     

    I used to love going to the Krazy House though.

  42. Steinreignedsupreme on

    KevJungle 15:58 on 28 December, 2013

     

     

    “Just in to ask…..

     

     

    “Whose keeping Tony Watt oot the team?”

     

     

    No one. He’s on loan. Surely you must have read some negative stories about him in your favourite newspaper?

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