TRAUMATIC TIMES ON AND OFF THE PITCH AT CARDIFF CITY AND THEY REACHED A HEAD AS PETER RIDSDALE SEEMINGLY CONDUTED A U-TURN (or was it has final decision) AT HIS WEEKEND THOGUHTS TO DISMISS DAVE JONES.
A SXHEDULED SUPPORTERS OPEN FORM THIS WEEK WAS HI-JACKED BY PETER RIDSDALE TO CONFRONT SOME VERY PASSIONATE AND EXTREMELY ANGRY FANS. MY DATE WITH THE FOO FIGHTERS MEANT I COULD NOT ATTEND BUT DAVID SUGARMAN SUMS IT UP TO www.cardIffcity.com
MESSAGEBOARD. HIS POSTING IS REPRODUCED HERE.
Tuesday night’s meeting at the Municipal Club on City Road came about as a result of another meeting at the same venue on Sunday afternoon. At the first meeting, a number of fans expressed their dissatisfaction with the way the local press have been reporting on the events at Cardiff City in recent months.
Some of those who were present are on good terms with the South Wales Echo’s chief sports writer, Terry Phillips, so he was asked to attend a second meeting in which it was hoped that the fans would be given a chance to air their views to the paper.Terry kindly agreed to forego the annual SA Brain Welsh Football Awards ceremony at the Millennium Stadium in order to hear what the supporters had to say, and arrived at the meeting with one of the Echo’s photographers.
Club chairman Peter Ridsdale had apparently been informed about the meeting at some point during the afternoon. He offered to attend and field any questions the fans had on the day that he and the rest of the Cardiff City board had given their backing to under-fire manager Dave Jones, and he left it up to the supporters to decide whether they wanted him there or not.
After a brief discussion and a show of hands it was decided that Peter should be invited to join the meeting. Cardiff City Supporters’ Club official Vince Alm was given the daunting task of keeping order during a gathering that was always guaranteed to be somewhat lively. Those also present amongst a group of nineteen fans included Annis Abraham, Wayne Anderson, Lee Beames, Paul Corkrey, Gwyn Davies, Keith Morgan, Peter Morgan, Sam Murphy and Chris Nelson.
The chairman answered the supporters’ questions for almost two hours in what was an emotionally charged and occasionally angry atmosphere, and in all fairness to the man the only queries he failed to answer were one or two about the nature of the on-going dispute with major creditors Langston. Peter explained that he was unable to give direct answers to those particular questions for legal reasons.
What follows is a rundown of the topics covered during the discussion:
The Manager’s Position
The main talking point of the evening was, of course, the board’s decision to continue to back manager Dave Jones despite an appalling record of just nine victories in forty four Championship matches during the last twelve months. A quick show of hands revealed that eighteen of nineteen fans present thought the manager should have been sacked after the 0-3 defeat at Charlton, while the one remaining fan said that his feelings were fifty-fifty on the matter.
Peter explained that the club’s three-man board had been unanimous in their decision to stick with Jones. He said the opinions of major shareholders Paul Guy and Mike Hall had been canvassed, and that they too had given their backing to the manager, so the vote was effectively five-nil in favour of Jones, although only three of those votes counted officially.
The chairman revealed he had spent two hours with Jones after the board had reached its decision. He said he had made it crystal clear to the manager that the current run of results is wholly unacceptable, and that he expects to see a rapid improvement in form if Jones is to keep his job. Peter refused to put any timescale on how much longer the manager will be given to arrest the current slide, although the clear inference from his comments was that the forthcoming games against Ipswich and Leicester are now of critical importance. A failure by the team to gain acceptable results in those two matches could well signal the end of Jones’ spell in charge at Ninian Park.
Peter mentioned that he had also spoken to a number of the club’s senior players during the day, including team captain Darren Purse, and said that he had impressed upon them the importance of the next couple of matches and, indeed, the remainder of the season. He reported that the players had given the manager their backing, and had resolved to work hard on putting things right.
Several fans bemoaned the fact that Jones had been given another new contract last summer, and some suggested that he has managed to keep his job despite such a poor start to the season simply because the club can’t afford to pay him off. Peter strongly refuted those claims, and explained that a reasonable severance package had already been negotiated as a part of that new contract deal, so money wasn’t one of the major factors that contributed towards the board’s decision.
The chairman said he agrees that recent results and performances have been totally unacceptable, and admitted the situation cannot be allowed to deteriorate any further, but he added that he doesn’t feel there is anyone available right now who is better qualified to turn things around than the man who is currently in the Ninian Park hot seat. He said he considers it would be a bigger gamble to change the manager than it is to give Jones another chance to arrest the slide.
Peter mentioned the on-going legal dispute with Langston, and hinted that even if the board had decided to dispense with the manager’s services it would’ve been almost impossible for them to attract a high-calibre replacement with such an important court hearing only a month away.Mention was made of the fact that Jones often appears totally inanimate in the dugout during matches. A number of fans said they get irritated by that, and prefer to see managers showing a bit of emotion during matches as they feel that has more of an effect on the players. Peter said he could understand that viewpoint, but added that Jones had stated during his initial interview that he is not the type of boss who jumps around on the sidelines, so we’d have to accept it’s just not his style.
Several supporters said they believed the manager’s conduct in recent interviews had left a lot to be desired, and they felt he’s been making both himself and the club look stupid with the some of the comments he’s been making to journalists. Peter said he has already expressed similar views to Jones, and added that he hopes to see a quick end to the manger’s current rift with the members of the local press.
Peter was asked about the circumstances that led up to Neil Alexander leaving the club during the summer. He said that the goalkeeper had been offered a new contract that involved a 50% pay rise if he was selected for the first team and the same basic wage if he wasn’t. The chairman claimed that Alexander and his agent had rejected the offer out of hand, so it was withdrawn. He denied that any previous contract offer had been made to the player, either verbally or in writing.
This statement led to a particularly animated exchange, during which one fan accused Peter of lying – an accusation he strongly and angrily refuted. He said it was no secret that the manager didn’t rate Alexander particularly highly, and that was obviously a significant factor in the contract negotiations. He reasoned that the club were not prepared to pay out considerable wages to a keeper who might well spend much of the season in the reserves.
The Forthcoming Court Case
This subject was not discussed in any great detail for obvious reasons. Peter stated his belief that the club has a strong case, and said the team of lawyers working on the club’s behalf are extremely confident they will win. However, he added that the case is currently casting a dark shadow over the club, and it could drag on for as long as two years provided it gets past the initial hearing stage next month.
He said he still retains a hope that the issues can be resolved with Langston out of court, and hinted that at least one meeting has already taken place between the relevant parties with that aim in mind.Peter stated that the case has so far cost the club around £225,000 in legal fees, and he revealed the initial hearing that had been set for this month was postponed at the request of the court as opposed to either Langston or the club.Club Finances
Among the many facts and figures that he mentioned during the evening, Peter declared that the club had earned approximately £350,000 from the recent Carling Cup match against Liverpool, and said that this season’s break-even crowd figure is somewhere in the region of 14,000.
The Recent Book Launch
Several fans voiced their disapproval of the fact that Peter had taken the manager, three players and various members of staff with him to London for the launch of his book ‘United We Fall – Boardroom Truths About The Beautiful Game’ last week.
The supporters were particularly irritated that the manager had missed a reserve game in order to attend the book launch.Peter responded by saying that the launch had been organized long before Jones had set the reserve fixture up, and the clash of dates happened because City’s opponents, Cheltenham, could only play on the particular day.
He said the manager felt the game was essential to give some of the squad players a run-out, but he was happy to leave his deputies in charge and rely on their reports regarding those players’ performances. Jones also had the game videoed and was able to watch it the following day.
The chairman said all of the first team players had time off scheduled for the day of the book launch as it came directly after the Crystal Palace match, and two of them had already been in London attending to other matters with their agents during the daytime anyway. He added that they had not touched any alcohol during the party, and were back in training as normal the following day.
Peter has clearly been upset by the criticism that has followed this event. He became quite emotional as he told the supporters that the book launch had raised tens of thousands of pounds for a Leeds hospice which is very close to his heart for family reasons, and he was adamant that the manager and the players were right to attend the party.
Communication with the Fans
A couple of supporters expressed the view that Peter is spending too much time these days talking to, e-mailing and texting fans. They suggested that it might be more beneficial for both the chairman and the supporters if he was to restrict his contact with the fans to monthly open forums or something along those lines.
Peter responded by saying that he is fully able to do all the jobs he needs to do for the football club and to answer questions from fans whenever they are posed, so he is happy to maintain his current open door policy.
The Academy
One of the supporters, who works within the club’s scouting system, spoke passionately about the importance of the academy, and asked if the good work which has been done in that area in recent years is set to continue.
Peter said he regards the academy as an essential element of the club’s future success, and that he intends to ensure it will continue to be properly funded and maintained.
A Supporters’ Trust
In what proved to be the final question, Peter was asked if he would support the idea of a supporters’ trust for Cardiff City, and he gave the scheme his backing.
The chairman will have known in advance that he was walking into a lion’s den when he offered to attend Tuesday’s meeting, and so it proved. If he was in any doubt beforehand, then he can no longer be in any doubt whatsoever as to how a significant percentage of the club’s fans feel about the current situation at Ninian Park.
There were some angry men in that room in City Road, and they let their feelings be known in no uncertain terms.
Whatever you think about him, one thing is clear about Peter Ridsdale: he certainly doesn’t lack for courage. It would have been easy for him to keep a low profile after making what was undoubtedly a difficult and unpopular decision, but he chose instead to spend his evening in a dingy room full of disgruntled supporters.
That definitely says something about the man, although I’m not sure what exactly!
Have he and the rest of the Cardiff City board made the right decision regarding the manager’s position? Can Dave Jones and his team get out of the mess they currently find themselves in? Only time will tell.
The general consensus of opinion at the meeting hadn’t changed significantly after the chairman had left the room. Most, if not all of those present still felt that Jones should have been shown the door this week, and that the club has merely delayed the inevitable by not relieving him of his duties now.
However, a couple of wins against Ipswich and Leicester and things may look altogether different in a fortnight’s time. (Following the open forum, five fans from the group were nominated to talk to Terry Phillips in a one-on-one situation about the manager’s position. Those brief interviews appeared in Wednesday’s edition of the Echo along with a report about the meeting with Peter Ridsdale.)
Dave Sugarman14/11/07
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