SURELY NO MORE BLAME & HAD ENOUGH TIME

” SURELY NO MORE BLAME & HAD ENOUGH TIME ”

By Annis Abraham

It’s been nearly ” Six ” years since Vincent Tan came into Cardiff City.

Most new owners have a business plan of around five years.

The position we are in today on and off the field now lays soley with our present owner Vincent Tan.

All I ever hear from some fans and the present regime is that we are still struggling due to past owners and chairmen.
Any shrewd businessman would have surely six years later or even nearly ten years later have brought our finances under control? But in fact ours have got worse, despite increased Sky Tv money from the Premier League season and increased revenue from increased crowds and should of capatalised on merchandise etc.

Steve Borley left in 2000 with the club languishing in the 4th Div and financially in trouble.

Sam Hammam left in 2006 with the club 5pts clear at the top of the Championship, with attendances at least trebled and the clubs profile now world wide but with the club having a debt of around £24 mill and the the dreaded Tax man at our door, but also leaving the club with assets such as players worth £33mill and out line planning for the current stadium. Those assets outweighed the debt and the new incoming board of directors used those assets to keep the club afloat but regrettably they then added to our debt.

Peter Ridsdale, Paul Guy and Mike Hall used the assets to keep the club afloat and pay high wages for incoming players and due to their mismanagement added to our debt even further. But a new stadium was built and attendances were increased significantly. Though once again leaving us with the dreaded Tax man at our door.

Then TG came in and in my opinion was genuine, meant well and gave his word at the Shareholders meeting our club would keep its pride and identity.

Early in 2010 TG needed financial support and brought in what we were told would Be the Saviour of our football club.
This man had the money to rid our club once and for all of all its debt and had done his homework more than on two occasions and knew every bit of debt the club had and took this on knowing all this.

Tan took a low risk gamble of £6 mill cash injection around the time of the Blackpool play-off final, which his gambled failed.
From that point Tan was chasing his money and spent money unwisely which was a high risk strategy. Tan gambled on the Premier League big time and failed big time.
And at this current stage our club has its highest ever debt in its history, with not enough assets to pay that debt off.
Plus our club has the biggest decrease in attendances in British football in recent times and looking to get worse.
A fan base divided, broken, soulless and our club under a transfer embargo, forced to sell players and still in the high courts for unpaid debts .

So surely after 6 years of running our club even Tans most loyalist supporters will admit that Tan should of got our finances under control and there for regarding the debt to our club he is currently failing, SIX YEARS LATER.