Cardiff owners change colours!

[-V-]

Yeah but on the other hand they could have continued losing millions and eventually going bust, then there would not have been a club for them to support

[Kenneth]

They'll get used to it quick enough. A lot of people going Ott about it imo.

[lickedlollipop]

crazy stuff. but if they come to PL, they'll soon forget anything happened

[cled the red]

Weren't you cled the blue?

Once a red, always a red Neil - however, I've always had a soft spot for Cardiff since playing against them at Ninian Park in the Welsh FA Youth Cup so them changing their shirts to red is a result!!!

Joking aside, it's a bloody ridiculous decision - mate of mine at work is a big Cardiff City fan and season ticket holder and he is gutted!!!

[nebbers]

I'm from Cardiff and and by no means a Cardiff fan, I'm not happy about this. The £100m is going on anything except the squad by the looks of it. All he's doing is investing in physical assets and cleaning up the balance sheet. The training facilities are OK, but the stadium is big enough as it is.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18445138

Cardiff City's Malaysian owners outline £100m investment plan

Cardiff City's Malaysian owners have detailed for the first time the £100m investment pledge for squad strengthening, debt repayment and upgrading facilities.

In a statement, owner Tan Sri Vincent Tan said a further £35m would be pumped into the club over the next 12 months, taking the investment to £75.8m.

Around £10m is to be earmarked to settle the outstanding Langston debt.

And £22m will go on training facilities and increasing the stadium capacity.

The announcement comes just days after the Championship club said they were going ahead with plans to rebrand the club, including changing the kit from blue to red and introducing a new badge incorporating a Welsh dragon.

The colour change, which has divided opinion among fans, is part of the investment pledge, with the owners insisting the use of a dragon will expand the club's appeal in "international markets" and "will give this club a new focus and dynamism".

Tan insisted he appreciated the change was "extremely emotional and for some quarters remains difficult to understand".

But he said: "I would like to emphasise that I hold no desire to trample on club history or heritage and would be saddened if supporters thought that this was my intention."

And he added: "There is no reason why any existing supporter needs to feel disenfranchised. This is and always will remain your club."

Cardiff City have missed out on promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs in the last two seasons.

The owners hope the significant cash for squad strengthening will help their bid for top-flight status and end what they say is an operating loss of £1m a month.

In the statement, Tan confirmed: "Cardiff City is expecting a cash injection in the amount of £35m to meet its financial obligations for the period from now until May 2013, including a substantial amount for squad strengthening within budgets.

"Of this amount, £10m has been earmarked to settle the longstanding Langston debt, which if accepted by Langston will go a long way to cleaning up the balance sheet of the club.

"This further £35 million cash injection coupled with my earlier investment of £40.8 million will add up to a very sizeable £75.8 million invested in the club.

"In addition to this, we have budgeted £10 million for the new Premier League standard training facilities and £12 million to increase the stadium capacity by an additional 8,000 seats to 35,000 seats.

"Add this further £22m CAPEX [capital expenditure] and our investment in Cardiff City will have ballooned to £97.8m. With a contingency provision of another £2.2m and our total investment will reach £100m."

Cardiff manager Malky Mackay has already urged the fans to back the revolutionary plans and Tan said he hoped this latest investment would help Cardiff realise their Premier League dream.

"Over the course of the last two years, including some memorable home games and two trips to Wembley Stadium for matches being watched by millions worldwide, I sincerely believe that my investment has not been wasted even though we are still chasing that dream of making it to the Premier League," he said.

"I believe that our club has great potential, but in order to realise that potential real world business and financial decisions need to be made at the appropriate and opportune time."

Who is Vincent Tan?
•On the Forbes billionaire list with an estimated worth of $1.3bn (£800m)
•He is chairman and chief executive of Berjaya Group and it is a portfolio which includes golfing, property, resorts and gambling
•Owns social networking site Friendster.com and has shares in Facebook
•Operates Malaysia's MiTV pay-TV service
•Bought Malaysia's McDonald's franchise in 1982 and in 1985 bought Sports Toto lottery agency

[Chazza]

Changing them back

Cardiff to wear blue again as Vincent Tan caves in to fan protests

Malaysian owner forced change to red two years ago but fans revolted

Cardiff City are to return to playing in blue, with the owner Vincent Tan finally acceding to fans' demands to ditch the red rebrand after an emotional meeting on Thursday night. They hope to wear blue when they play Fulham on Saturday.

Tan was not at the meeting which was convened following ever-growing bitterness at the club's colours, which Tan controversially changed in 2012 after 114 blue years, citing red as being "lucky". But on Friday morning, the Malaysian spoke to members of the board who had talked with the supporters - including chairman Mehmet Dalman and the chief executive Ken Choo - and agreed with their recommendations for an immediate switch back.

Approximately 50 supporter representatives, local MPs and business leaders addressed the board and made a seemingly compelling case for an end to the red which has caused such acrimony and a return of the bluebird as the dominant image on the club crest.

Since Tan gave the green light, the club have already been in talks with the Football League about the possibility of playing in blue in Saturday's home Championship game against Fulham and beyond. However, it is believed that the away team must agree.

Russell Slade, the Cardiff manager, cloud barely contain his glee during the morning's weekly press conference. Since arriving in South Wales in September after the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Slade has been caught in the middle of the row which saw fans boycott last Friday's FA Cup third round win over Colchester.

With an average attendance of more than 20,000, the attendance only just topped 4,000 and it was clear that the campaign to return to the traditional blue was gaining more and more impetus.

Season ticket renewals have reportedly been hit and Slade claimed that the negative atmosphere has had an effect on the team which last year tasted its first season in the Premier League but which now labours in 12th place in the Championship, without a League win in seven games.

“It was an excellent meeting people said what they thought in an intelligent and eloquent way. It was in a passionate way too,” said Slade.

“It was a giant step forward for the club. I think the club will switch back and it would be nice if it is for the Fulham game. The board still have to confirm that. If that is the case it would be a wonderful opportunity for us all to express our gratitude to the club and the owner.

“If we can play against Fulham in blue I suspect it will be the best atmosphere at a game since I’ve been here and probably some of the players have felt for a long time.

“For me it is the right decision because if you are going to successful in any company or football club you need everyone pulling together as a unit. Only that way can you sustain success. You need unity that’s always been my take.

“We are looking for momentum and there’s no doubt that could give us it. It could lift a little weight off our shoulders.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/cardiff-city/11335427/Cardiff-to-wear-blue-again-as-Vincent-Tan-caves-in-to-fan-protests.html

[john316]

What a debacle in the past 12 months at Cardiff

[baitman]

fit and proper owner.