Managers and fans alike have gone from scratching their heads to firmly planting their faces in their palms. The reason for this is the increasing involvement of uninformed owners who don’t really know a thing about the game that they are lending their millions. One of the many examples of this, certainly the most talked about in recent weeks, is Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan.
Typing Vincent Tan’s name into Google News gave quite an interesting insight into the controversial Malaysian businessman. The first story that came up had the headline “Vincent Tan is not a pantomime villain according to Malaysian experts”. The second was a collection of pictures featuring the Cardiff City owner looking like a Bond villain. I think the second one is probably closer to the truth.
The traditions of a football club run deep within the local community and within the clubs fan base. They were there long before Vincent Tan or any of the other owners and should remain untainted long after the owner leaves. No one is bigger than the club, or so they say. But Cardiff will forever carry the shadow of Vincent Tan, even long after he has departed.
The Bluebirds no longer have a Bluebird prominently as their club badge. It has been changed by Tan to include a more noticeable red dragon instead. Of course it makes no sense to give a club who have historically always played in blue a red emblem. But then Cardiff don’t have to worry about that clash of colours anymore. Tan took the decision to change Cardiff’s shirt from blue to red as well.
The decision was made with a view to making the club more marketable in Asian markets. Ignoring the fact that a blue shirt would have made Cardiff City stand out nicely in a market that’s already saturated by the giants of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United, Cardiff’s colours are their identity. It’s who they are.
None of the fans of the club wanted the change but apparently that mattered little to Tan. He wanted it to happen so it did. It’s reported that Tan was angered that his team could not wear their red shirts away at Arsenal, Liverpool and the like. A strong indicator that he simply doesn’t get it.
Another prime example of this worrying trend is Hull City AFC. Wait, sorry, did I say Hull City AFC? I meant Hull Tigers. A name change, like the colour change of Cardiff, to be made against the fans wishes with the aim being commercial gain. Vincent Tan gave the impression that he was not interested in the views of the fans, but Hull City owner Assem Allam went one step further and said as much. And that’s where the problem lies.
These are football clubs, not business ventures. The history of the club is what makes it unique and what fans find special about it. One sign at a Hull City protest simply and brilliantly read ‘Hull City AFC: A Club Not A Brand’. When news of Hull's name change began to gather pace Hull fans responded by voicing their displeasure. And why shouldn’t they, it’s their club. Chants of ‘city till I die’ echoed around the KC Stadium. But Mr Allam’s response was blunt and to the point.
“They can die as soon as they want, as long as they leave the club for the majority who just want to watch good football”. Maybe I’m misinterpreting Assem Allam’s comments and/or maybe I’m a cynic. But I interpret this comment to be saying the fans can go, they are irrelevant. As long as there are people to come and fill the seats, keeping the money coming in, then who cares?
Football fans should be outraged by their club being prostituted in this manner. Especially fans of clubs like Hull and Cardiff, who have had to watch their teams toil in the lower leagues for so long. Cardiff City fans should be allowed to enjoy this season, their first in the Premier League after so many near misses over the last two decades. They shouldn’t have to worry about protests, they shouldn’t have to worry about disharmony. They shouldn’t have to worry about a good manager who brought them that long awaited success being told inexplicably and publicly that he needed to either resign or face the sack.
“We’re Hull City, we’ll die when we want” sung the Hull fans in retort to Assem Allam’s comments. Fair play Hull. They don’t deserve to have their club’s legacy and identity stripped away from them when they have done nothing to deserve it.
If this were a movie then Tan and Allam would be held accountable by their actions as Samuel L Jackson threw on his eye-patch and assembled The Avengers. But this is not a movie, this is real life. And I’m sure it feels oh so real in Cardiff and Hull at the moment.