Prank call to Everton Football Club

Dennehy A-Loane Again

Darren Dennehy (or Darren Who? most Cardiff City fans would ask) is off on his loan travels again ... this time to Gillingham.


Dennehy, snapped up as a free gamble prospect, by Dave Jones in the summer of 2008 has never progressed with The Bluebirds and clearly will be sold or released - whichever comes first.

Without ever appearing for Cardiff, he was sent on loan spells totalling 9 months to Hereford United last and this term but that was hardly a wild success either with the centre half amasssing just 11 appearences in total.

He will be hoping for better fortunes in Kent. Good Luck Darren.

You Are Not A-Loan

Four Cardiff City players were out in loan in December but each of them are now back at the club, exactly what Peter Ridsdale and his Board don’t need in the current climate.

Warren Feeney hoped for a break at Sheffield Wednesday but even at a side in no form and serious relegation bother, he managed just 13 minutes of substitute football in 1 month.

Darcy Blake has several run outs at Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle, a red card and a couple of injuries but made a favourable impression and it is understood the Pilgrims would like him back. However they have a transfer embargo so forget it anytime soon.

Darren Dennehy was a gamble signing from Everton who has never worked out. In his 2nd season at City, he’s not even got close to being an unused sub yet and was sent back to Hereford United where he also spent time last term. However he never featured after early October leaving City with a player that don’t want and a player with a decidedly uncertain future.

The last to return this week was left sided defender and long throw merchant Tony Capaldi who had league and F.A. Cup games with Leeds United but was an unused sub in their shock F.A. Cup win at Old Trafford at the weekend. Both player and City were under the impression that a permanent deal was in the offing, Capaldi himself spoke of his desire to stay in Yorkshire but he has been sent back with White’s boss Simon Grayson declaring he was surplus with other players fit again after injury.

Peter Ridsdale and Dave Jones promised 4 new players in January ... looks like we got them then!!

Another day, another load of Cardiff City rumours

Once again, the newspapers are speculating over imminent arrivals and departures at Cardiff City but leading the way is the Hull Daily Mail who report that Hull City are set to bid upto £10M for the Bluebirds duo of Ross McCormack and Joe Ledley and that the club expect to have two players for medicals on Wednesday.

Tigers boss Phil Brown directly named the players but was non-commital over whether they are in his sights saying, "Joe Ledley, Ross McCormack and Daryl Murphy are all names who have been bandied around but it is important that we do our business behind the scenes. "

Hull may find competition in the form of long-term Ledley admirers Everton and Stoke City, both understood to be ready to make their move ... according to the papers of course.

And if Ledley goes, The Daily Mirror have reported Dave Jones already has a replacement lined up in the shape of Liverpool's French 21 year old midfielder Damien Plessis. Cardiff are said to want him on a 1 year loan. He played 5 times for Liverpool last season - twice in the Champions League, twice in the Carlign Cup and 1 Premiership start.

Let's see what tomorrow brings

The Rumour Rounadbout Hits Full Speed

If specuualtion isn't bad enough in the week, you can always rely on the Sunday papers to take it to another level. Once again, they haven't let us down with Cardiff City news.

Of current personnel, it's two big stars and one fading star in the news.

Everton, long-time suitors of Joe Ledley but who have never made any approach, are reported to be ready to bid £3M to £3.5M for the midfield star but they now apparently face stiff competition from fellow Premiership side Hull City who are ready to gazump them and meet Cardiff City's current asking price of £4.5M.

Yesterday, Ross McCormack declared on his Facebook account that "I am staying at Cardiff City until 2013!!!!". Of course, the new 4 year deal also makes sure Cardiff get the price they want sure anyone make a move for the hot property and 24 hours on, it is being reported that Hull City are also ready to bid £3.5M for him after their key terget and exp-loan success Frazier Campbell dumped them at the 11th hour for Sunderland.

City are known to be looking to offload several other players to bring in new faces and it is being reported that Paul Parry is closing in on a move to League One outfit Norwich City whose assistant manager Ian Butterworth knows him well form his time at Cardiff. That deal is being speculated as a possible swap with Canaries midfielder and early summer linked player, Sammy Clingan, coming to South Wales.

If Cardiff sell Ledley and.or McCormack, they they have funds to build and players linked include Wayne Routledge, Dos Santos of Spurs, Zheng who has just left Charlton, Ched Evans to name just a few.


Meantime, the entire City squad - including McCormack, Ledley and Parry - flew out to Portugal for a week's training and 2 informal games. Which perhaps makes it unlikely much, if any, business will be done this week.

Ledley to Stoke, Routledge back to Cardiff - wild rumours or soon to be realised?

Rumours are gathering momentum tonight that a deal for Joe Ledley may be close to fruition.

Ledley, out of contract next sumnmer and rated, has not seen offers materialise to date as Cardiff hiope for £5M but Premiership clubs are holding back to increase their chances of a knock-down price.

Joe is believed to favour a move to Everton who have tracked him for some time and are believed to be playing a waiting game but speculation has it that Stoke - who had a £6M offer declined in January - may be making their move now and a deal is close.

Could it be rumour or fact?


While the Ledley rumour sounds believeable, a more unbelieveable rumour is developing that Wayne Routledge could be returning to the club. Routs proved a massive success on loan from Aston Villa last season and Cardiff certainly played their best football when he was around but after verbally agreeing a permanent stay, he drove off without warning to sign for QPR which caused ill feeling but their salary was double Cardiff's money and it was closer to his family home.

However after a blistering start with the R's, Routledge struggled to hold down a place by the end of the season and with a change of manager, it could be the R's want changes of personnel. I can't see his happeneing but, clearly, if Joe is sold and the club have funds, they will wnat to invest in midfielders and wide men. I'll believe it when I see it but speculation is rife at present so watch this space.

Joe Set To Be A Toffee??

The silly season starts right here, right now and while Cardiff City are not being linked with any arrivals yet, the departure door is having WD40 applied to assist exits right now.
City have long accepted skipper Joe Ledley would make the Premiership next season if they didn't and with only a year of his contract remaining, interest is hot.


Cardiff will hope to have a bidding war with Everton, Wolves, Birmingham and Stoke all showing interest of sorts but Everton have shown the biggest interest - boss David Moyes making a couple of personal checks last season - and irt's being reported they are indeed favourites to get him with a deal maybe only a matter of days away.


It would be a great move for Joe - joining a higher ranking club with European football next season - and after his service for City, who could possibly begrudge him the chance? The fee will be interesting,


Cardiff turned down £6M from Stoke in January and City will surely look for that at least but does his contract ticking down have an impact. Another issue is that City may look for Everton players coming on - on loan or permanently - as deal makeweights. Striker Voctor Anichebe is being mentioned in dispatches as a possible loan.

Now it's Wigan cash + Koumas for Ledley

The Daily Mirror reports that Wigan Athletic are the latest club to be ready to make an offer for Joe Ledley with a £6M package deal, £4M cash plus Jason Koumas. The Latics needs players and have funds available having just sold Palacios and Heskey for £17.5M but whether that offer will be made and, more to the point, whether it meets City's valuation is a different matter. The Bluebirds have made it clear that they are fighting to keep Joe at the club and put a £8M asking price on his head but Wigan are stated to be interested after previous target, Reading's Steven Hunt, is believed to be have turned down the club.

Monday's South Wales Echo also stated that Peter Ridsdale turned down a weekend bid from the player with hints that it may have been Fulham who need to replace sold star Jimmy Bullard, who joined Hull City, and require a replacement for him.

As for Joe himself, his only words are he hopes to play in the F.A. Cup replay at Arsenal - that game coming the day after the transfer window closes - and that he's happy to stay unless City accept an offer for him to consider.

The line of suitors for Joe is getting bigger if you believe the press. By my reckoning, it's Spurs, Everton, West Ham, Fulham, Aston Villa, Wigan, Stoke, Portsmouth and Newcastle. No interest yet from Accrington Stanley however.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/01/26/wigan-to-offer-jason-koumas-to-land-cardiff-star-joe-ledley-115875-21071947/



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Geordie Joe???

Newcastle United are the latest club to be linked with an imminent bid for Cardiff City local hero Joe Ledley.

Ledley, currently captain of the side having rediscovered his very best form, is reported in the North East as being one of three Championship players coveted by Magpies boss Joe Kinnear, the others being Reading striker Kevin Doyle and Wolves striker Michael Kightley.

Spurs, Everton and Stoke have long been in the running and City are bracing themselves for bids in respect of a player that Dave Jones and City fans alike would love to see stay and help for a serious tilt at the play-offs or promotion in the second half of the season but if a £6M+ bid arrives, can Cardiff seriously decline it again for a player out of contract in 18 months.

The only official words so far are from Peter Ridsdale saying that no bid has been made since August while Ledley himself told today's South Wales Echo, "I have heard nothing from the club or my agent and I don’t believe that Plymouth was my last game for the club. I have an 18-month contract to run and I have always said that my ultimate dream would be to play for Cardiff in the Premiership, that dream has not changed".

Let's hope he stay but, without question, expect more developments.

South Wales Echo Ledley story:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballnation/football-news/2008/12/30/ledley-i-m-still-a-cardiff-player-91466-22570977/

LATEST CARDIFF CITY TRANSFER GOSSIP

I can't be bothered commenting on them lately as there's so much of it and nobody will know what is happening unil the transfer window opens next week but here's the latest snippets doing the rounds.



Stoke City will offer Cardiff City £7m for winger Joe Ledley in January. (Daily Telegraph).


Cardiff City defender Roger Johnson is attracting the interest of Everton, Stoke City, Tottenham, and Bolton. (The Times)

'I'm Horney' thinks computer says no to Joe for Everton

Writing his weekly Everton column in the Liverpool Echo, ex-Toffes player and Welsh premy haired international Barry Horne expresses his doubts that the Merseysiders will make a transfer window move for Cardiff City's Joe Ledley.

Hi rationale is that Everton have 4 strikers unfit or struggling at the club while Eveton are blessed with a strong and quality midfield so any funds and moves in teh transfer window will have to be for a forward.


Horne wrotes:
Given Yakubu and James Vaughan are out injured long term, with Victor Anichebe having also been sidelined and Louis Saha’s fitness unreliable, it is crystal clear the manager’s priority in the transfer window is to sign another striker if his good work is to continue.
Which is bad news for Cardiff City’s Wales international Joe Ledley.
I have long been an admirer of Joe. He has a great work ethic and can score goals. For me, he would be a great signing for the Blues but the club is already blessed with several quality attacking midfielders.

Everton boss David Moyes watched last week's Cardiff City game at Burnley. It begs the question that if he was watching City men, was it a personal check on Joe or could he have been thinking of Michael Chopra? ( ... or is he stupid an wants to look at Eddie Johnson!)


Barry Horne's full column can be seen here.
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0400evertonfc/0100news/tm_headline=barry-horne-goodison-side-will-need-all-their-team-spirit&method=full&objectid=22503868&siteid=50061-name_page.html

Led or MisLed? Joe Show or Joe Go?

The trials and tribualtions of whether Joe Ledley will stay or go continue and is set to run and run until there is definitive news.

After yesterday's splash that Everton are set to bid £6M for the player in January with Toffees boss David Moyes taking a personal check in City's 2-2 Tuesday night draw at Burnley, national media have claimed that Stoke - who made a final declined £6M offer in August - are set to return with a similar bid or possibly increase it to £6.3M in January.

On the local front however, City are set to open new contracts talks with Joe whose current deal ends in June 2010. Despite his clu and international success, he is believed to be well behind other players in terms of pay. Some say Joe is on £7k a week basic at City, much less than half Eddie Johnson earns for considerably less contribution while Chops is on at least £20k.

Whether Joe is interested in any further deal with City is another matter altogether and, as if to emphasise that, his agent has entered the mix with his comments that Joe won't leave in January and wuill walk away on a free when his current deal expires.

No way could City allow that to happen so it does appear to pave the way for his imminent departure. Football, contracts and politics is quite nauseous but this needs to be sorted out fast.


Joe Ledley's agent dismisses prospect of £6 million move to Stoke CityTelegraph.co.uk

City splash the cash in bid to keep ace LedleyWalesOnline

Tony Pulis says there are funds availableTimes Online

Joe Ledley - The January Sales Talk Starts Here

According to today's South Wales Echo, Everton are poised to offered £6M for Joe Ledley when the next transfer window opens which is 3 weeks today.

The Toffees have been long rumoured suitors of Joe but failed to move for him and instead opted to try and take Aaron Ramsey who was prised away by Arsenal for £5M.

Newspapers have also speculated that Spurs may bid for Joe who could then team up with the North London Taffia of Ramsey, Chris Gunter and Gareth Bale. It also seems inevitable that Stoke City whose £6M bid was declined in the August window will try their luck again too.

All of this makes it tough, if not impossible, to hold onto a player who is out of contract at the end of next season and who had been unsettled by summer rumours only recently rediscovering his form. When it is rumoured that Stoke were willing to more than treble his Cardiff City salary and dangle the carrot of Premiership football, it is easy to understand why he may have been distracted but it also suggests City have next to nil chance pf gettign him to sign a new deal too.

Of course, it may be mutually beneficial to club and player to sell as City would love to keep Wayne Routledge and Michael Chopra plus add a midfielder to the squad for the run-in. Publicly, they may say they wish to keep Joe but, privately, I can imagine Joe being sold if the only way to raise funds to give them any opportunity to do such deals. .

Cardiff City braced for £6m Everton bid for Joe LedleyWalesOnline

SMOKESCREEN or SMOKE SIGNALS? CITY CLAIM TO TURN DOWN HUGE BIDS

With the current transfer window set to slam firmly shut on Monday, instead of hoping (against forlorn hope) that Ridsdale would deliver us a quality new signing or two, the club have instead decided to sanction news that they called an emergency board meeting to decline a £5M written offer from Joe Ledley (believed to have come from either Everton or Stoke) plus a £4M bid for Roger Johnson with WBA or Hull trailing him.

Cardiff City reject £5m offer for Joe LedleyWalesOnline
Bluebirds turn down double swoopBBC Sport

It's a sign of the times that in a very informal poll on CardiffCity.com, there's roughly a 50/50 split of 150 fans over whether this is really true or not. The only external supporting stories so far are that Stoke are considering whether to persue Ledley while Hull admit they made a tentative enquiry only for Johnson which hardly sounds like a confirmed bid. (City cool on Johnson bid Hull Daily Mail)

While it may be true, I'm a cynic but seem to have increasing numbers of City fans for company. I've now passed the stage where I just cannot take what Peter Ridsdale says at face value because of his record. It's a sad state of affairs when my very first thought at a club, whose words rarely correspond with its actions these days, is that it may just be the latest example.

At a time, when questions should be asked about City's lack of promised spending (including all the recent excess Glen Loovens sale funds), the story instead is deflected onto how we're determined to hold onto our stars and how good are our club for doing that. How convenient!

CARDIFF CITY AGM REPORT

The AGM for the club was held at Ninian Park today and attended by many shareholders. Overall, it seems to have been reasonably upbeat.

This despite the ongoing Langston dispute and club debt, questions over the lack of investment in the team, some angst about Peter Ridsdale's 'fat cat' pay and, more starling in my view, City reporting a small profit only for 2007/08 despite above break-even crowd, the sales of three players for almost £8M, £400k from a Carling Cup last 16 match at Liverpool and, of course, that magical F.A. Cup run all the way to two appearences at Wembley and the final itself.

Dave Sugarman a.k.a. The Long Gunman posted his thoughts and report on the Cardiff City website which is reproduced below.

The top table at today's AGM, which took place in the Canton Suite at Ninian Park, consisted of chairman Peter Ridsdale, directors Alan Whiteley and Steve Borley, team manager Dave Jones, outgoing finance director Tony Brown, Keith Harris of Seymour Pierce Ltd and the club's auditor, Gareth Jones, from Chantrey Vellacott DFK LLP. Also present, although not sitting at the top table, were major shareholders Paul Guy and Mike Hall of PMG Ltd.


The chairman welcomed the shareholders to the meeting and introduced those at the top table. He announced that Keith Harris would be joining the Cardiff City board as a non-executive director directly following the AGM. In response to a question as to whether the new director holds shares in then club or not, Peter Ridsdale confirmed that his company, Seymour Pierce Ltd, already have a shareholding.Ridsdale also announced that a successor for departing finance director Tony Brown is currently being sought by the club, and when that person takes up their position they will also join the board.

Ridsdale outlined the position at the club at the moment and painted a very positive picture of the direction in which the club is heading, thanks in particular to the new stadium development and the new training facilities.He spoke of the management team's financial strategy in terms of their attempts to compete in the Championship and gain promotion to the Premiership. That involves selling players each year in order to raise enough revenue to pay the club's annual wage bill, which he suggested needs to be almost twice the amount that can be covered by the current gate receipts and commercial revenues.

He stressed that the latest set of accounts, which show a loss of almost £5 million for 2006/07, do not include any player sales as Cameron Jerome was sold just before the relevant period began and Michael Chopra was sold weeks after it ended.Ridsdale said the accounts for the period covering June 2007 to May 2008 were in the process of being signed off and would show that the club made a profit of approximately £750,000 during that time.

He stressed that the sale of Aaron Ramsey and the revenue from a record 14,000 season ticket sales are not included in that figure as they will be covered by the following year's accounts (ie: June 2008 to May 2009).

The chairman mentioned the club's success in avoiding summary judgement in the Langston court case and he also confirmed that Langston's recent appeal had failed. He estimated that the court case had cost the club approximately £400,000 and stated that regular dialogue with Langston's representative, Sam Hammam, is now very much ongoing. He said he is extremely confident that this business will be sorted out once and for all in the very near future.

Ridsdale then threw the meeting open for questions from the floor. The first question concerned his wages and bonus payment during 2007, which it was suggested were far too big for a company of the football club's size. The chairman defended his right to his level of earnings by outlining the progress the club has made since he took over his position. He was backed up by Keith Harris, who claimed Ridsdale's basic wages are in line with chief executives at other Championship clubs. He said there are other chief executives in this division who earn far more and stated his belief that Ridsdale's bonus was well deserved given the situation the club was in when he first arrived.

The chairman was asked a question regarding a debt write-off of almost £2 million that was contained in the 2005 accounts. He explained that this money was written off in agreement with Rudgwick Ltd, a company owned and controlled by former chairman Sam Hammam, who were the club's parent company at the time. The figure largely related to management fees which had been charged to the club by Rudgwick in previous years but had never actually been drawn as the club could not afford to pay them. Tony Brown mentioned that this debt write-off was crucial in order for the council to pass the club's stadium project business plan.

A question was asked regarding a large loan, believed to be in the region of £1.5 million plus interest, which is due to be repaid to former vice-chairman Michael Issac fairly soon. The chairman reported that friendly talks with Isaac are underway in a bid to renegotiate the terms and repayment date of that loan.

In answer to a question about the size of the club's current players wage bill, Ridsdale stated there are ten to twelve teams in this division whose wage bills are in excess of £12 million pa, six to eight whose wage bills are between £7 million and £12 million and the rest whose wage bills are less than £7 million. He said City are in the second bracket with a players wage bill of approximately £8 million pa at this current point in time.

The chairman fielded a question about people who had apparently bought season tickets for the forthcoming campaign but had then attempted to cancel their payments following the FA Cup final. He said they number less than a dozen in total and that includes a couple of genuine cases where people have either unexpectedly moved due to work or have passed away. He said the situation is absolutely nothing to worry about.

Ridsdale spoke briefly and proudly about the club's Academy set-up. He stated the current crop of Under 16's are particularly promising and suggested the manager already has his eye on a couple of them with a view to involving them in the senior set-up in the not too distant future.

The chairman was asked about the fee involved when Aaron Ramsey moved to Arsenal. He stated that the agreement made with the Gunners stated that they should pay £2.5 million immediately and then a further £2.5 million one year later in what was effectively a straight cash deal and was not dependent upon appearances. However, he added that Arsenal have in fact reached a further agreement with City since whereby they have already paid a little over £4.8 million in one lump sum to complete the transaction early.

One shareholder complained that the fee for Ramsey was too small by today's standards. Ridsdale explained that Liverpool and Arsenal both initially offered £1 million up front with a further £2 million based on appearances. Manchester United then moved in with a bid of £4.5 million plus a further payment of £500,000 if he made a set number of appearances for City this season as a part of a loan-back agreement. Arsenal effectively topped that with a straight £5 million cash bid. Liverpool dropped out of the running at that stage. Everton then made a late entry into the market and said they were prepared to match the £5 million deals being offered by Arsenal and Man Utd. Agents working for Arsenal, Man Utd and Everton indicated they were not prepared to improve upon those bids, so Ramsey was given permission to speak to all three clubs, which he duly did.

Ridsdale and Dave Jones both stated the club wanted the player to stay here for another season and then go on to Man Utd, but he and his family eventually chose Arsenal and were very clear in that choice.

The chairman then moved on to the formalities of asking the shareholders to vote to accept the 2005, 2006 and 2007 accounts, and reappoint Chantrey Vellacott DFK Ltd as the club's auditors. All present with the exception of former chairman Tony Clemo voted to accept the 2005 accounts, the 2006 and 2007 accounts were accepted unanimously, and Chantrey Vellacott were reappointed with only one shareholder voting against.Overall, I felt the mood at the AGM was a very positive one.

Ridsdale's performance as chairman of this meeting was probably the finest I have witnessed from him since he arrived at the club. He dealt with all of the questions asked of him patiently and confidently and the answers he gave were generally plausible. Once again today he demonstrated just how good he is at public speaking and how comfortable he is with dealing with questions from supporters.

The permanent involvement in the club of Keith Harris can only be a good thing in my opinion. He is a real high-flyer within the British game and is certainly not known for backing losers, so his becoming a member of Cardiff City's board must be seen as a step forward for the club.

Dave Jones needed to say very little during the meeting itself but he spoke to a number of shareholders afterwards and seemed far more relaxed than he has done previously in public situations.

Bent signing for Cardiff City

CARDIFF CITY have announced the signing, subject to Monday medical, of Marcus Bent from Charlton Athletic for an undisclosed fee.

City were declined with a £1M bid for the player, apparently with £500k paid up front, last week so whether they have offered a higher price or more money in advance is a matter for speculation.

Marcus Bent and Gemma Atkinson

sunning themselves at Barry Island as the new Gavin and Stacey

(*ok, it's not Barry Island really)

It will be Bent's 11th club and the fee means the 30 yr old strong 6 foot striker will have been sold for a value of over £10M during his career. He is set to sign a 3 yr deal with City.

Most opinions are favourable as he is a strong hold up the ball player that City need as a pivotal point of attacks but chief grumble is that his goalscoring record, especially in recent years, is nothing to get excited about.

On loan at Premiership Wigan last season - a deal agreed after Charlton dropped out of that division - he notched 7 goals in 25 games plus 6 sub outings but that included a hat-trick and he has failed to score since last November - a run of 18 games. Prior to that, he scored just 4 times in 46 games for Charlton in the Prem and 7 in 38 (+ 17) sub outings with Everton.

However his record is much better than 1 in 3 at all previous clubs played for at this level including Ipswich, Sheffield United and Dave Jones will be hoping that's how it works with City.

Cardiff fans are also delighted as Bent is a favourite of the WAGS and is currently dating Gemma Atkinson. Doubt we'll see her eating a Clarks Pie on the Grange End but you never know!

PETER RIDSDALE DEFENDS RAMBO SALE AND THE FEE

Peter Ridsdale attampts to justify why he accepted the fee for Ramsey to go from Cardiff City to Arsenal or Everton or Manchester United as news emerges Rambo may be opting for life in North London and United completely jumped the gun.

Peter Ridsdale defends Ramsey sale

AARON RAMSEY TRANSFER ROADSHOW OVER, DECISION EXPECTED WITHIN 48 HOURS

Having completed talks with all three clubs chasing his signature following a meeting with Arsene Wenger on Saturday night, Rambo will have mulled over options with family and advisors yesterday and in his own mind, maybe heart too, will know what he wants next. It is being reported that he will give a final decision by no later than this Wednesday.

Manchester United jumped the gun last week announcing he was on the way via their official website when that was not the case. They still believe themselves to be favourites, especially as Ramsey is a lifelong United fan. It is the preferred choice of Cardiff City too since they hope to retain the player on a season's loan and strike some form of partnership with United. However don't count on things falling naturally into place.

There are rumours that Ramsey is not keen to stay on at Ninian Park and it is understandable that if he is sold, then it is time to move on too. Everton are Arsenal are also believed to be offering him first team chances next season which has to be attractive while Rambo's best mate, Chris Gunter, being at Spurs may make Arsenal an attractive proposition.

Could it be that City's eagerness to sell to Man United at a fee they appear to have agreed when the bidding war was hotting up and set to go higher will prove costly in more ways than one?

RAMSEY - WHY DID CITY STICK AND NOT TWIST??

It's the question every Cardiff City fan has been asking and has either got confused or angry about.

£5M for a teenager with barely 20 games behind him is a fantastic deal but then you recall the fees well in excess of £10M that Southampton got for fellow Welshman Gareth Bale and also Theo Walcott which, right or wrong, seems to be a yardstick to use.

City had at least 6 Premiership clubs chasing Ramsey and bids were flying in so why, when that oprocess was hot and active, did they just agree to sell at £5M when there was every indication that bids would go higher again?

The fact that the moment City first accepted Manchester United's bid of £5M, three more clubs in Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton matched in within 24 hours shows that he was undervalued and sold too cheaply.

Ridsdale doesn't come out of this looking good - three of the big four clubs were at the table and we showed them our full hand. I hope he explains why he did this as, maybe there are reasons. Right now however, City fans will feel let down.

Of course, there's also the small matter of any fee only being worthwhile if it's significantly reinvested in the team and there's been scant evidence of that in recent years.

The Race to sign Ramsey - Two becomes Four, it may yet be more

What a crazy 5 months in the life of Aaron Ramsey, not quite yet 17 and a half.

Since getting his Cardiff City full debut in January, he's had 20 games for City, been the youngest ever Welsh Under 21, called into the senior squad and been in a F.A. Cup Final and now has every big club in the land rushing to want to hand over multi-millions to Cardiff City to sign the lad. Talk about having the world at your feet.

Yesterday it was revealed that Manchester United and Arsenal had agreed a fee with Cardiff City. United were quick to jump the gun making an announcement that the player was on his way to Old T. Today, they've announced they've agreed terms with the player. Ramsey and his family are believed to be Manchester United fans and it still seems certain he'll sign for the Premiership and European Champions who were the first to show interest and would look after him well.

However Rambo will speak at Arsenal too before committing and now will be adding the Mersey duo of Liverpool and Everton to his list as both today agreed the same fee with City, thought to be between £5M and £6M as a package. Spurs may yet do the same.

This could drag on for another week or more but it's only right Ramsey speaks to all and takes his time making a life changing decision. Not quite the choices I had at his age!