This
evening, Cardiff City will kick off their 2012/13
Championship campaign against newly-promoted Huddersfield Town. It will be the first Bluebirds
home game that I have missed in all competitions since December 1994 and only
the third since March 1975.
In recent
months, I have lost count of the number of people who have expressed their
surprise that I am prepared to give up on a lifetime of supporting Cardiff over the colour of their new
shirts. I have expected those kinds of comments from people who aren’t football
fans themselves, but I’ve been genuinely surprised to hear the same sort of
things being said by other City supporters, both in person and the on the
internet message boards.
For me,
this is about much more than just a colour. For those who are interested and
unable to work them out for themselves, the reasons that I am turning my back
on the Bluebirds after 37 years as a season ticket holder are as follows:
The Principle
Until the
recent changes were implemented, blue had been Cardiff City’s primary colour ever since the
football club became professional in 1910. In my opinion, the board’s decision
to completely bypass the fanbase and simply flush away more than a century of
tradition without any kind of consultation was not only nonsensical but also
hugely disrespectful to the generations of Bluebirds supporters who have
followed the club throughout its long and troubled history.
Nobody
would expect the fans to be consulted on any of the day-to-day decisions the
club’s officials have to make during the normal course of its business, but
what we are talking about here is a different situation altogether. This
re-branding exercise was not a standard business decision by any stretch of the
imagination. Instead, it was a radical transformation of the club’s identity
and one which appears to have no commercial justification whatsoever. The
change to red shirts and a dragon emblem was guaranteed to prove hugely
divisive and for many supporters it has altered the very fabric of the club. The
Bluebirds hierarchy were fully aware that would be the case but nevertheless
they didn’t deem it appropriate to canvass the opinions of their core customers
before embarking upon such a drastic course of action. Sadly, the fact of the
matter is that the personal preferences of a wealthy Malaysian businessman who
apparently watched his first game of professional football in May 2010 are now
considered significantly more important than those of many thousands of lifelong
Cardiff City fans.
All of
the evidence suggests that these changes are being implemented simply because
the club’s major shareholder has demanded them. Indeed, Chief Executive Alan
Whiteley has freely admitted that there is no actual business plan attached to
the re-branding, while Chairman Dato Chan Tien Ghee failed to volunteer any
kind of justification for it during yesterday’s general meeting of shareholders.
Despite vague hints about worldwide marketing strategies and commercial
activities in the Far East, club officials have thus far offered no suggestions as to what tangible
benefits the exercise is supposed to bring apart from the continued support of
Tan Sri Vincent Tan. Meanwhile, a number of experts in the field of marketing
have publicly dismissed the notion that the Bluebirds will reap any financial
rewards by playing in a red kit as opposed to a blue one. This act of corporate
vandalism appears to be little more than a rich man’s whim and is one which has
fractured the club’s fanbase for no discernible reason.
A short
while after the changes were confirmed, the club announced it was initiating a
supporter consultation process which will involve “looking at key areas of
future brand development within existing parameters,” such as the kit and the
crest. If ever there was a textbook example of shutting the stable door after
the horse has bolted, then this must be it. In my opinion, the club’s owners
have treated its fans with contempt in recent months and this damage limitation
exercise by local officials is little more than lip service. Alan Whiteley and
his staff undoubtedly have honourable intentions and are trying make the best
of a bad situation, but the fans have already been told the team will play in
red and have a dragon as its emblem in 2013/14, so any consultation is likely
to be severely limited.
Of
course, the Bluebirds hierarchy are under no obligation to consult with the fanbase
on any issue. By the same token, the supporters are under no obligation to
endorse the way in which the current regime is conducting its business. No
doubt the vast majority of fans will carry on supporting the club regardless of
recent events, but for some of us there is a principle at stake here. Cardiff City’s Malaysian owners have clearly
demonstrated they are content to ignore the supporters and trample on the club’s
traditions. Consequently, they will not be getting another penny from me.
The Cardiff City ‘Brand’
In his
one and only public statement regarding the football club he has effectively
owned for two years, Tan Sri Vincent Tan said: “I have the greatest respect for
the Welsh national symbol of the red dragon. I believe it to be a symbol of
great strength and I was surprised it had such little coverage on the club’s
badge. It was for this reason that I suggested the improved focus of the Welsh
dragon, and this despite suggestions by a Welsh designer to use a more modern
version of the dragon instead.”
As far as
I’m concerned, Tan’s comments serve only to demonstrate how out of touch he is
with the supporters of the club he controls. Maybe his advisors should have informed
him that those of us who live in the Welsh capital already have a football team
who play in red and wear a dragon on their chests. They are called Wales and they represent us in
international competitions. Although Cardiff City Football Club has often
acknowledged its Welsh heritage, the simple fact of the matter is that the
Bluebirds do not represent the people of Wales. They represent the people of Cardiff and its surrounding areas, while
the red dragon is the emblem of our country and not our club.
Using Tan’s
twisted logic, teams such as Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham should be playing in
white and wearing three lions on their shirts simply because they are based in
the capital city of England, but of course they don’t. Those
clubs evidently have considerably more pride in their individual identities
than Cardiff City does at present.
Tan
continued: “I have been told that the Welsh dragon was in fact on the club’s
badge when it last won the FA Cup in 1927.” He is indeed correct, although he conveniently
failed to mention the crest worn by Keenor and Co at Wembley in both 1925 and
1927 also contained a seahorse and a goat. Perhaps the club should resurrect
the latter instead of the dragon and replace the motto ‘Fire and Passion’ with
‘Climb Every Mountain’. It would seem more appropriate under the circumstances.
As soon
as it was decided that Cardiff City would play in red this season, one would
have assumed that City’s officials would have attempted to ensure the new strip
was as stylish as possible, especially as the owner apparently wanted an image
that would “give the club a new focus and dynamism.” A radical change of
colours was always going to be contentious, but the blow could have been
softened for many supporters if the new kit had looked attractive.
When the
re-branding plans were initially leaked, fans on the message boards quickly
produced several shirt designs that involved a striking fusion of red and blue.
So, what did the club itself manage to come up with? Well, the home strip for
2012/13 can best be described as a counterfeit Manchester United kit which
appears to have originated from the budget section of the Puma catalogue. A cheap
and nasty red and black affair, it looks about as dynamic as a doornail. There
will be sides playing in the lower divisions of the Cardiff parks leagues this season who
will have better-looking kits than the Bluebirds.
To
further compound matters, the away strip is blue, white and yellow, while a
black and gold third kit is apparently in the pipeline. God knows who dreamed
up this car-crash colour scheme, but it goes to prove that the decision-makers
at the Cardiff City Stadium can occasionally be clueless where such
matters are concerned.
I have
already outlined my feelings about the new ‘beer mat’ badge in a previous entry,
but the appearance of it in recent weeks in prominent positions on the side of
the stadium has further underlined what an ill-conceived mess this exercise has
been. I witnessed the new stadium branding for myself yesterday and it’s a real
pig’s breakfast, although I’ll concede the pictures of the players on display
outside the main entrance do seem rather apt. After all, what could be more
symbolic of what is fast becoming a Mickey Mouse club than a couple of huge cartoon footballers?
In
keeping with everything else in recent months, last weekend’s free event at the
Cardiff City Stadium bordered on the bizarre. As far as I can ascertain, a
ceremony was held to mark the re-opening of a stadium that had never closed, while
celebrations were staged to commemorate the club’s sole ownership of a ground
that it has always owned solely. Those who attended this event were apparently
treated to dancing oriental dragons, a hog roast and a fireworks display. It
seems that in this bold new era of fire and passion, the club literally has
money to burn.
During
the last few months, Bluebirds officials have made numerous references to what
they describe as the Cardiff City ‘brand’. For example, Alan
Whiteley recently stated: “The changes to the home kit and badge are designed
to help the club develop its brand and allow it to appeal to as wide an
audience as possible,” while Chairman Dato’ Chan Tien Ghee described the
exercise as “a springboard for the successful commercialisation and promotion
of the club and its brand.”
The truth
of the matter is that these gentlemen are talking about developing and
promoting an entirely new ‘brand’ which Tan Sri Vincent Tan and his associates
have recently created. Rewind to April and the idea of Cardiff City playing in a red and black home kit
with a dragon for an emblem would have seemed utterly ridiculous to every
Bluebirds fan. Plenty of us still feel that way, but it appears the majority of
supporters have been either coerced or manipulated into believing this
so-called ‘brand’ is not only acceptable but in some cases even appealing.
Many City
fans may be willing to embrace the notion that the traditional identity of the
football club they support is nothing more than a marketing tool for a
Malaysian businessman to mess around with, but I find it abhorrent. The plastic
monstrosity which the current regime has created bears little resemblance to
the club I have supported for the last 37 years and I feel no affinity towards
it.
Emperor Tan and his Minions
When Tan
Sri Vincent Tan’s name was first connected with Cardiff City, I was both intrigued and
excited. He was obviously a very wealthy man and his representative, Dato’ Chan
Tien Ghee, seemed honourable, knowledgeable and genuinely respectful of the
club, its supporters and its traditions.
TG was
hugely impressive when he spoke to the shareholders during a General Meeting at
the Cardiff City Stadium in May 2010 on the day that he officially became the
new Bluebirds chairman. He said he felt “deeply privileged” to serve a club he
described as “a Welsh institution that is now representing two nations.” He
claimed the club was committed to another promotion challenge but added that the
fans must not forget Cardiff City needs to be operating within
sensible financial guidelines.
He was
similarly impressive when he spent an evening with members of the Supporters’
Trust at the stadium in November 2010, and was once again in good form when he
addressed the shareholders in July 2011 during his second General Meeting. On
that occasion, the Chairman stated his belief that Cardiff City is an institution rather than a
business and one which must be maintained for future generations to enjoy. He
described the club as “a sturdy ship that has been in existence for more than
100 years,” and said he was determined it would be here for another 100 years.
TG
suggested that football is like no other business and admitted that he and his
Malaysian colleagues had been on a steep learning curve since they first got
involved in the club. He assured the shareholders that the board was doing
everything possible to cut out unnecessary spending and talked of building firm
foundations for the future while remaining competitive at the top of the
Championship.
Although
the record financial losses revealed by the publication of the 2010/11 accounts
in March 2012 started the alarm bells ringing, I nevertheless retained a great
deal of respect for the Chairman up until the point where the news of the
re-branding plans broke. Since then, the quotes attributed to him on the club’s
official website have been extremely disappointing, while his performance at
yesterday’s General Meeting, although charming and disarming, was far less impressive
than his previous appearances in front of the shareholders. To say he has gone down
in my estimations would be something of an understatement.
Having
said that, I would love to know what TG really thinks about this re-branding episode.
Although it’s just a hunch, I have a feeling that, much like the local club
officials, he has merely been spinning the company line and his personal
viewpoint is somewhat different to the one outlined in his public statements. I
believe this ridiculous exercise is essentially the work of just one man,
namely Tan Sri Vincent Tan.
According
to the current Chief Executive, Tan only stepped up his involvement in the
running of the club around seven months ago. Before then, he had been something
of a silent partner, although the writing was clearly on the wall in June of
last year when it was announced the Bluebirds would have Malaysia plastered across the front of their
shirts for the 2011/12 campaign.
At the
time, former Chief Executive Gethin Jenkins stated: “The club had some very
attractive shirt sponsorship options to link up with a number of commercial
partners and brands in the UK and abroad, but after speaking with our investors
and knowing the commitment from Vincent Tan and TG, we knew that the best way
to highlight our affinity with Malaysia was to wear the message with pride on
our kits.”
Tan
allegedly paid the club £350,000 for the privilege of having his country’s name
emblazoned across the team’s shirts. Coincidentally, £350,000 is the figure the
club accrued in annual interest on the £5 million debt that Tan failed to
convert into equity following the July 2011 General Meeting (see my blog entry
from 20 June for details).
The Malaysia sponsorship deal, which will continue
in 2012/13, is a weird one to put it mildly. I suppose it could be argued that it
is an attempt by the club to promote itself in the Far East, but I have little doubt that
Tan’s primary intention is simply to curry personal favour with Malaysia’s political and business leaders
and thereby increase his standing within his homeland.
On the
handful of occasions that he has attended Bluebirds matches, Tan has invariably
had a group of Malaysian dignitaries in tow. He clearly views Cardiff City as a status symbol and I suspect
he will continue to use it to promote himself within the Far East during the
coming months. As for his long-term intentions with regard to the Bluebirds, I
wouldn’t care to speculate about those, although the evidence of what has
happened so far in 2012 would suggest that pretty much anything is possible
given the fact that the re-branding exercise apparently came out of the blue,
if you’ll pardon the pun.
Of
course, although Tan Sri Vincent Tan is the major shareholder and clearly has a
huge influence behind the scenes, he is by no means the only decision-maker at Cardiff City. Indeed, the club currently has
the largest board of directors in its entire history. Although the backgrounds
of the five local directors have been fairly well-documented, very little is
known about Malaysia-based directors Derek Chee Seng Sing, Len Win Kong, Meng
Kwong Lim and Danni Rais other than the fact that they are all employees of
Tan’s Berjaya Group and were appointed to the Bluebirds board by him.
Meanwhile, Cypriot-born investment banker Mehmet Dalman is another director who
was introduced to the board by Tan, although he is based in the UK. The role of these five gentlemen
in terms of their involvement with the club remains a mystery.
As I have
already outlined, when they took control of Cardiff City Football Club during 2010,
the spokesman for the new Malaysian regime talked of cutting out unnecessary
spending, operating within sensible financial guidelines and building firm
foundations for the future. It all sounded very encouraging, but the reality
has been record financial losses and additional debts totalling more than £35
million which have been accumulated within the space of just two years.
Nevertheless, everyone at the club seems very relaxed about the situation
simply because the largest shareholder is an extremely rich man.
Tan Sri
Vincent Tan’s solutions to these ongoing problems are apparently what he
describes in his statement as “making real-world business decisions” and
“exploring international markets” in order to prepare for the club’s “next
evolutionary phase”. In layman’s terms, that seems to equate to playing in red
as opposed to blue and replacing the traditional Bluebird with a Welsh dragon
while trying to attract the attention of millions of television viewers on the
other side of the globe.
Many Cardiff City fans are apparently happy to
accept Tan’s so-called vision and put their trust in him simply because he is a
successful business mogul who has made a fortune in the Far East. I, on the other hand, firmly
believe that the re-branding exercise is a complete waste of the club’s time
and money and, while I don’t believe he has any evil intentions, I wouldn’t
trust Tan as far as I could throw him.
The Supporters
The
aspect of this summer’s fiasco which has disappointed me the most has been the
reactions of the club’s supporters, or at least a considerable percentage of
them. I can fully understand the feelings of fans who are reluctantly putting
up with these changes as they fear for the club’s future without Tan Sri Vincent
Tan’s backing. I can also empathise with those who are opposed to the
re-branding but will continue to support the team as they feel unable to give up
doing so. Nevertheless, I have found the levels of shoulder-shrugging apathy,
bootlicking servility and mind-numbing stupidity displayed by large numbers of
Bluebirds fans in recent months to be not only staggering but also nauseating.
Meanwhile, the threats of violence that were issued against those who simply
wished to peacefully protest about the systematic destruction of their club’s traditional
identity were truly sickening.
I used to
be very proud to count myself as a Cardiff City supporter, but such feelings have
rapidly diminished since the re-branding reared its ugly head. I’m finding I
can no longer relate to people I previously had a good deal of respect for,
while there are others I now hold in genuine contempt, and I’ve no doubt there
are those who feel exactly the same way about me. Regardless of their
reasoning, I simply cannot identify with any Bluebirds fan who has welcomed
what has happened to their club in recent months and I have no desire whatsoever
to either sit or travel alongside such people.
If a
sizeable percentage of the fanbase had voiced opposition to these changes, then
I have little doubt I would have been there this evening supporting the team
regardless of what colours they are playing in. However, as far as I’m
concerned, the way in which the club’s true identity has been tamely
surrendered with barely a whimper from its fans has been very difficult to stomach.
Ultimately,
I believe the supporters who have either meekly accepted these changes or actively
embraced them will get the club they deserve, although I very much doubt it
will be the one they currently envisage.
Blue really is the Colour
Whenever
I think of Cardiff City’s greatest goals or most significant
victories, and even their most desperate defeats, I picture the players and
supporters wearing blue, which is hardly surprising considering the fact that
blue has been the club’s primary colour for more than a century.
Whether
it be Fred Keenor lifting the FA Cup at Wembley, Brian Clark scoring the winner
against Real Madrid, Nathan Blake knocking Manchester City out the Cup at
Ninian Park, Scott Young doing likewise to Leeds United, Andy Campbell’s
play-off final winner at the Millennium Stadium, Ben Turner’s equaliser against
Liverpool in the Carling Cup final or Mark Hudson scoring from his own half
against Derby last season, I see blue.
Although
the side has worn just about every colour of the rainbow away from home,
whenever I envisage the greatest triumphs and despairs during my 37 years as a Cardiff supporter, I see the Bluebirds in
blue. I certainly don’t see them in red. For me, the teams I immediately
identify with red are Wales and Bristol City, not Cardiff City.
I guess
I’m the same as almost all of the football fans in the United Kingdom. Regardless of whether they
actually support the club or not, if a British football supporter thinks of Cardiff City, he or she will invariably think
of blue. But none of that matters anymore, because a wealthy man from Malaysia prefers red, and he seems to
believe that millions of other people from his continent prefer red too. The
fact that those people have never watched or supported Cardiff City in their lives and don’t even
know of the club’s existence is neither here nor there. Red is apparently
considered a lucky colour in the Far East, so red it is.
Tan Sri Vincent Tan has managed to do something that
no other Bluebirds owner or chairman has done during the last 37 years. He has
cured me of my Cardiff City addiction. In terms of consultation,
communication, implementation and justification, his pointless re-branding
exercise has been a nightmare and it has proved a personal watershed for me.
Although I may return to support the club at some point in the future, I know
that I will never feel the same loyalty or affection towards it again and I
very much doubt that I will ever buy another season ticket. Sadly, it feels as
if the spell has finally been broken. Supporting the Bluebirds has always been an emotional rollercoaster, but the ride is rapidly moving in a direction that I don’t
wish to travel, so I’m getting off.