Cardiff City ready for 'sustainable' Premier League future - Ken Choo
BBC
Friday 15th June 2018
Cardiff City chief executive Ken Choo says the club and owner Vincent Tan have learned lessons from their last Premier League campaign.
Cardiff's time in the top flight in 2013-14 was marred by criticism of overspending and tension between fans and Tan.
Choo says a now-united Cardiff are more prepared for a sustainable future.
"We cannot in the first year spend a crazy amount of money and the whole thing blow up," Choo said.
"We want this club on a sustainable footing for the fans for many years.
"We don't want to go up and down. We want the fans to continue to enjoy this for some time."
The Bluebirds this week started their top-flight transfer activity with the arrivals of winger Josh Murphy from Norwich and Preston left-back Greg Cunningham.
'He knows what he is doing'
Their last Premier League stint three years ago saw an outlay of £30m only to be relegated after one season and have to deal with the financial fall-out.
There was also a disagreement between supporters and Tan over the change of club colours to red.
Tan since reversed his decision - admitting at the end of last season the move had been a mistake - and has seen the club bounce back under the stewardship of manager Neil Warnock, with whom he enjoys a close relationship.
"If you look at the last three years after we converted back to blue the drive is from him (Tan)," Choo told BBC Sport Wales.
"He has learned a lot in the eight or nine years he has been at the club and isn't making those 'foolish' mistakes like someone who is new in football, he knows what he is doing.
"He's spent a lot of time with Neil trying to understand the thinking of the manager. He's not just turning up for a couple of hours to see a game. He spends time away from his business, having breakfast lunch and dinner with the manager to align their thinking. (Their relationship) is the most important part of the club."
No 'prima donnas'
Cardiff won promotion back to the top flight after finishing second in the Championship, doing so after the manager's success in both the transfer market and getting the best out of his squad through team spirit.
Choo says the Bluebirds are confident they can continue in that vein and have devised a bonus system to help them compete but avoid the financial pitfalls.
"The Premier League's pace is very different so we have to reconfigure our squad for the challenges," Choo said.
"But we want players to fit the team not prima donnas. We want players who look hungry and willing to gel with the squad. Not to bring someone from Spain or Italy, just because they have a name.
"So we're not making some of the mistakes we made before. A lot of clubs make that mistake."
Spending wisely
Choo confirmed the club won promotion without breaching EFL rules for profit and sustainability, but said they would remain careful in the Premier League.
"I was in a meeting with the shareholders and chief executives of the other 19 Premier League clubs. Some of the chairmen came on helicopters while I took the train! So it's getting very real, but it's fun. It's good to be with the elite clubs," he said.
"We still have profit and loss, we know our surpluses for the year. In the Premier League you know you've got money coming in but you've got to use it wisely. We don't do things lavishly."
That includes further additions to Warnock's squad, with as many as five new faces still planned after the arrivals of Cunningham and Murphy while the club are waiting on decisions from midfielder Aron Gunnarsson and last season's top scorer Junior Hoilett on contract offers.
Choo said the club remained keen on retaining both, but that the club that "nobody would put a gun to our head."
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