How can the Cardiff City roller-coaster be stabilised?

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It is a tough time to be a Cardiff City fan. The highs of the Premier League seem a distant memory, with the club showing no signs of challenging for a return there.

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What right do we have to moan, though? This is the worst that it has been for Cardiff fans for many years. Admittedly, the Welsh outfit were relegated from the Premier League, but at least they were still able to actually realise the dream of reaching the promised land. Furthermore, to have finished 11th and 8th in the last two seasonsl is not that bad.

Particularly when you look at the turmoil at other clubs, you can realise just how lucky you are. Bolton, for example, are in a much worse state, as they have been on a downward spiral for many years. For Cardiff City, the potential is there. The fan-base is certainly present and correct, the playing staff are not of a poor standard, and the stadium is hardly lagging behind the rest. However, it is underwhelming as a Cardiff fan and the roller-coaster is set to continue.

The Re-brand

When Vincent Tan first bought into Cardiff City, there was a sense of optimism around the club. Finally rid of Peter Ridsdale, the debt to former owner Sam Hammam would be paid off and the club would receive significant investment.

The signs were initially good. Tan paid off some debt, invested money into the club’s facilities, including a new training ground, and gave the managers some money to spend. Then however, it all went downhill.

He re-branded the club from traditional blue to red – it’s a lucky colour in Malaysia if you didn’t already know. At first, whilst there was resistance to the re-brand, success on the pitch focused fans elsewhere. As long as Cardiff were winning, Tan’s re-brand was at least acceptable.

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The club gained promotion to the Premier League under popular manager Malky Mackay and Vincent Tan invested heavily in new signings, with Gary Medel, Steven Caulker and Andrea Cornelius the big name arrivals.

Life was good as the club looked set to avoid relegation. In fact, I honestly still believe that Cardiff would indeed have done so if Malky Mackay had kept his job. As is common knowledge now though; and indeed the reasons behind it, the Scotsman was sacked, fans were outraged, and Vincent Tan was the villain.

It was a dark day in the club’s history. Fans revolted against Tan, unaware of Mackay’s actions, and the Malaysian almost went into hiding. He stopped attending games and became a peripheral figure.

Mackay’s successor; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was viewed as a good appointment at the time, but failed to continue Mackay’s good work. His recruits, including Juan Cala, Kenwyne Jones and a number of Norwegians, failed to keep Cardiff in the Premier League.

Although a nice man, Solskjaer never won over the Cardiff faithful. Everything the Bluebirds loved about Mackay – his passion, commitment, drive and even aggressiveness – the former Manchester United forward lacked.

Relegation was followed by a summer overhaul of the squad, which lead to an underwhelming start to life back in the Championship.

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Russell Slade

After the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in mid-September, the club needed a man to reignite the passions of the capital fans. The likes of Tony Pulis announced that he was interested in the job, whilst Craig Bellamy was rumoured. Both men loved the club and would provide a spark to the season.

The man tasked with replacing Solskjaer though, was Russell Slade. A man struggling at Leyton Orient, who had never managed any higher than League 1, and a man the fans quite simply did not want. Talk about an underwhelming appointment.

Slade was instantly forced to cut the playing budget as part of Vincent Tan’s cost-cutting measures, which saw the likes of Kenwyne Jones, Mats Daehli and more leave the club. On one hand, you have to feel sorry for Slade. He was finally given a chance at a higher level, but from day one he was fighting a losing battle.

On the other hand though, perhaps he does not deserve such sympathy, as he simply did not help himself. His football was boring, he himself failed to ignite any fight or passion amongst the fans or the players and he was simply missing a backbone – Tan’s yes man if you please.

His first season ended with an eleventh placed finish, whilst his second campaign climaxed with a failed play-off push, falling just short in eighth position.

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Paul Trollope

With Craig Bellamy again linked to the job, this time joined by the likes of Nigel Pearson, David Moyes and Steve Clarke in the running, it was thought that Cardiff would finally get a top class coach ready to take the Bluebirds back to the Premier League.

Instead, Vincent Tan promoted from within by hiring coach Paul Trollope as manager. It has been a move met with disdain by the fans with many feeling that it is another cost-cutting measure by Tan.

However, do I think that Paul Trollope is the right appointment? Yes. Am I excited by it? No.

Whilst Trollope may be the best man for the job, his appointment is another underwhelming one for the Cardiff fans.

There is still hope that Trollope will prove everyone wrong, though. With the right kind of summer additions, he could well Cardiff to the Premier League with exciting, attacking football, with young, Welsh players at the centre of it. This could all come about if he is charismatic and engages with the fans, just like Malky Mackay did.

For now though, his appointment continues the underwhelming rollercoaster that is Cardiff City.

By Scott Salter | @ssalter_ftbl

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