In last week's Dragon and Bluebird post, I somewhat casually mentioned that "...Mackay's odds [of getting fired] are more likely [than other current managers] because of backroom tension with Cardiff City ownership with which I've elected not to weigh down this blog." Well unfortunately, that tension has boiled over and I can't fairly report on my first season watching the Premier League without sharing the situation with you.
Hold your noses, dear readers, because something is truly rotten in the state of Denmark...er...Wales.
This is Cardiff City majority shareholder Vincent Tan...
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| Don't mess around with the guy in shades (Image Credit: WalesOnline) |
Below are two scenes of Cardiff City fans taken at this week's match...
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| With the lights out, it's less dangerous... |
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| ...Here we are now, entertain us |
How did we get to this point? Here's what you need to know...
1. Cardiff City stank for decades
2. Tan bought a majority stake in the club in 2010 and proceeded to dump millions of pounds into it
3. Cardiff City no longer stank
4. Tan changed the jersey color and badge of one hundred years to cater to his desired Asian fanbase
5. Cardiff City fans went ballistic
6. Cardiff City won the Championship League (i.e. 2nd tier of English soccer) and got promoted to the Premier League (i.e. 1st tier of English soccer) for the first time in almost 60 years
7. Cardiff City fans still pissed about changes, but distracted by the promotion excitement
8. Tan builds new training facilities, negotiates a long-standing debt settlement, and authorizes $35M to buy new players in the summer
Below is a list of Cardiff City's summer signings and their base transfer fees. I put ranges for most of these numbers because different sites report different exact values.
Gary Medel: $11M-$13M
Steven Caulker: $8M-$9.15M
Andreas Cornelius: $7.5M-$8.7M
Peter Odemwingie: $2.25M-$2.9M
Kevin Theophile-Catherine: $2.1M-$2.5M
John Brayford: $1.5M-$1.74M
Simon Moore: Undisclosed (estimated at $0.175M)
Maximiliano Amondarain: Free
Total Base Transfer Fees: $32.55M-$38.17M
OK, so Tan authorized $35M and the club spent $35M +/- $3M depending on who you believe. So what's the issue? Well, the base transfer fees are only part of the equation. That money goes to the club from which you're getting the new player. There are "add-ons" and "other fees" that go along with each player transfer. According to most sources, these added costs came to $15M for the eight new players, bringing the grand total spent over the summer to approximately $50M.
I don't mean to bore you with these numbers, but that $15M over Tan's publicly-stated, authorized amount of $35M is the cited reason for firing Cardiff City's head of recruitment Iain Moody in October.
Moody has since stated that he had full approval from ownership for every signing and has yet to hear a legitimate explanation for his firing. Oh by the way, Tan replaced Moody with a 23 year old intern who had spent the summer painting the stadium.
Yes, seriously.
Fast forward to earlier this week when Bluebirds' manager Malky Mackay told reporters that he had a wishlist of new players to add to the team and that he planned to ask for approval from the owners. Tan promptly sent an email to Mackay demanding that he resign or be fired.
Tan felt that Mackay had overstepped in mentioning to the press that new player acquisitions were even a possibility. Among the other reasons cited, Tan reiterated his unhappiness with the overspending, with Cardiff City's playstyle, and with the club's performance to date.
Whoa whoa whoa. The Bluebirds are in 15th place in their debut Premier League season. Why are we even discussing FIRING the man who got them there?
That my friends is a point of confusion that absolutely no one other than Vincent Tan can clear up.
I've given you the facts. Everything else you read about the situation is conjecture. But conjecture is more than enough to try one in the court of public opinion, and Tan has been found guilty. Premier League managers and owners, fans of other clubs, and the press of several nations have been united in slamming Tan's actions.
For those of you who may not have watched a Premier League match, the first thing you'll see in the televised program are live shots of the players lined up in a tunnel to the field. And if you had been watching this particular week, the first think you would have heard were Gladiator-esque chants of "Malky Mackay" from the crowd outside. This is particularly impressive considering there were only about 3,000 traveling Cardiff City fans and roughly 40,000 home fans present.
In addition to the very audible chanting, two other things surprised me. First was the fact that Malky was even the manager for this match. He had delegated the traditional pre-match press conference and the media were confident in reporting that he was likely to be stripped of his duties prior to the match.
The second thing that surprised me was that the Bluebirds were dressed in their BLUE away jerseys that rarely get used.
So we have gone from a very public "resign or be fired" email to a stadium screaming Malky's name, in a game at which he wasn't even expected to manage, leading a team dressed in Tan's least favorite color.
What the heck?!
That brings us right up to the start of Cardiff City's match against the Reds of Liverpool...
Liverpool 3 - Cardiff City 1
- Suarez (LIV) 25'
- Sterling (LIV) 42'
- Suarez (LIV) 45'
- Mutch (CAR) 58'
The Bluebirds kicked off this match fiercely. Well, fiercely defensive at least.
This match was another "Miracle if they manage to draw" situation. I don't like thinking that way, but the sport is what it is and I'm in deep enough that I do find myself pleased when Cardiff City walk away with one point.
At this time, I should probably acknowledge the Uruguayan elephant in the room. His name is Luis Suarez and he scores goals. Lots of goals.
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| ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?! (Image Credit: Getty Images) |
I don't think you understand how many goals this man scores. After lighting up Cardiff City this past week, Suarez has scored a total of 19 goals. There are eleven TEAMS with less than 19 goals!
Suarez's (what is the possessive form of "Suarez"?) first opportunity came less than two minutes into the match. Then fourteen minutes in, Cardiff City's Craig Noone had their only legitimate shot of the first half. No luck.
The Bluebirds' defense was up to the challenge and survived constant pressure from the Reds. That is until Suarez's first goal at 25 minutes. The commentator mentioned that a goal from Suarez was "inevitable".
After that goal, Cardiff City looked punch drunk. Suarez followed his first goal with an assist to teammate Raheem Sterling 42 minutes in, and then added another goal of his own at 45 minutes.
The first half ended with the Bluebirds outshot 16-3 and out possessed 75%-25%.
At halftime it was awkward to hear commentators discussing Malky's replacement candidates and speculating that he'll surely be fired at the end of the match.
In the second half, Cardiff's City's defensive form improved. Or maybe Liverpool just didn't bother trying anymore since they were up 3-0. It's hard as a novice soccer viewer to tell the difference.
A spectacular, although ultimately meaningless, Bluebirds goal did finally arrive at 58 minutes into the match. And that goal came form none other than rising star Jordon Mutch.
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| On my signal, unleash hell. (Image Credit: WalesOnline) |
Done deal bud, I'm buying your jersey. Just need to settle some personal qualms over what color...
It was sad to see the cameras cut to the sideline to show Malky's reaction to the goal. Normally he's animated and fist pumps, but this day he just looked distracted.
The match ended 3-1 with the Cardiff City fans screaming Malky's name. They hadn't stopped since that moment in the tunnel.
Malky Mackay is a class act. He really believed this was his last time on the field as the Bluebirds' manager. As soon as the match ended, he went over to the away section and applauded the fans...
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| More class than a university. (Image Credit: Getty Images) |
The only word I can find to describe the scene is "adulation".
Mackay left the field and I'm told that the away fans sang "Don't Sack Malky" 225 consecutive times AFTER the match, before the Liverpool stadium attendants and police finally managed to get them to leave.
I cannot say whether it was the massive outpouring of public support, the actions of a few trusted advisors, or a change of heart, but somehow as of the time I'm writing Mackay is still Cardiff City's manager. There have been no public meetings between Tan and Mackay, but the understanding is that he will remain in charge for the foreseeable future.
The drama isn't over, and the season continues.
The Bluebirds remain in 15th place with 4 wins, 5 draws, and 8 losses. The table below captures the full Premier League standings as of 12/25/13. The table columns are: Current Position (POS), Last Position (LP), Club Name (CLUB), Matches Played (P), Wins (W), Draws (D), Losses (L), Goals Fielded (GF), Goals Allowed (GA), Goal Differential (GD), and Rankings Points (PTS).
In fantasy news, the Cardiff'rent Strokes had a very slight dip in the standings, but overall I'm very pleased with their performance to date...
- Rank (Last Week): 1,351,143
- Rank (This Week): 1,358,010
- Total Players: 3,113,472
Next week the Fantasy Cup tournament begins. The top 2,097,152 ranked players, of which I am one, qualify for the tournament. Each week, random pairings of the qualified players are made. Whoever has the most points in that week wins and moves on, the loser is eliminated. Very excited to see how this plays out and I'll keep you posted as the tournament progresses.
That's it for this week readers. Cardiff City have two games coming up in the next week. First they will host Southampton on December 26th and then they host Sunderland on December 28th.
I want to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas! Thank you for reading and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @dragon_bluebird!
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