Cardiff’s remarkable run of form sees them currently sitting pretty in the automatic promotion places. This has no doubt been aided by the new investors, Malaysians Vincent Tan and Dato Chan.
Cardiff forked out an estimated £10million overall this season which is extraordinary for a club that has for a long time been a selling club. Bringing in experienced players such as Tommy Smith and Heider Helguson, as well as re-signing Craig Bellamy, has proved a huge turning point.
Over the last few years Cardiff flirted with promotion but have ultimately bottled it season after season. But is changing the clubs kit, stadium and badge in search of that elusive Promotion not a step too far?
Yes moving up to compete with the big boys in the Premier League will be a massive windfall for a club with £13million worth of debt, but if Vincent Tan can promise a further £100million in investment then this debt is completely irrelevant to the kit/badge change controversies.
The Malaysian owners changed the iconic kit which has been blue since 1910 along with the clubs badge. The new badge features a big Welsh dragon and the words “Fire and Passion”. The clubs longstanding emblem the ‘Bluebird’ from which the clubs nickname comes from is now dwarfed by this dragon that has no link to the city of Cardiff.
Cardiff and its fans are proud of being Welsh but they have no right to replace the ever present Bluebird. The foreign investors rebranding schemes, provide the only explanation for this move. The rebranding has made club more attractive to market overseas with the Dragon logo specifically aimed at Asian investment.
For me the final straw came in last night’s game against Brighton, where thousands of free red scarves were handed out with the new motto “Fire and Passion”, propaganda worthy of North Korea. It disgusts me that they’re willing to bribe fans to believing their far-fetched fantasies.
Although it’s true many fans have accepted this re-brand because of the short term improvements it has brought, but there are also many disgruntled fans (Especially the older generation) who have no voice to counter with.
Who is to know if these investors won’t end up destroying the clubs finances like Sam Hamman did. The former Chairman’s company is who Cardiff owes this huge debt to.
I for one would rather see the exciting football of a mid-table cash strapped team back on the terraces of Ninian Park than rip the heart and soul of a footballing community.
It is yet another example of the culture of football being destroyed by business minded people and I for one will not be attending any home games in the near future.
Please feel free to comment with your thoughts and opinions.