An Open letter to Vincent Tan

Dear Mr Tan,

Firstly I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the investment in Cardiff City FC, affectionately known as 'The Bluebirds'. You invested your money at a time where our very exsistance was threatened. For that I am very grateful.

You will have no doubt have realised that the supporters of Cardiff City FC are fiercely proud of their Club's great tradition. Our club was founded over a century ago in 1899, joining the football league in 1920. The People of Cardiff and the South Wales Valleys have followed CCFC through many highs and lows; 57,000 bluebird fans watching Arsenal in 1953, less than a thousand watching games in the old Fourth Divsision. Winning the FA Cup Final in 1927, losing to Blackpool in the Championship Play off Final, amongst the peaks and troughs of being a Bluebird.

You were kind enough to invest millions into our dear Club, with the promise of Premiership football. In return you suggest that we must 'rebrand' to ensure access to the lucrative Asian market. You further suggest that Red is the way forward and that the Bluebird is becoming redundant. A Dragon has become the focal point of our Club badge.

I understand change. Change is inevitable. I understand your hard money has been ploughed into our great club. Moreover we have the promise that the debt, which has stifled our Club for over a decade, will be converted into Equity. The £100 Million that our accounts ( by now) indicate that we are in your debt speaks for itself; you now control the direction in which our club are headed.

We have dreamed of playing football at the highest level since the 1950's. We now have the very real possibly of regular top flight football, potentially at the expense of our identity. The core of our identiy are our fans, the bluebird, our blue kit and our name; Ninian Park left us some time ago. Please understand that we can play at the highest level, we can change but we can also retain the core of our identity.

Your plans are causing serious discord amongst the fans. You might have witnessed the majority of fans on Tuesday wearing Red Scarves, given away at your expense, in our Stadium. As a successful businessman, you must appreciate that you can not isolate your hardcore customers, those who put money in the tills regardless of success, those who stood in Blue on wet and windy Tuesday nights in the old Fourth Divsion playing Halifax.

The new fans, quite rightly attracted by the very real possibility of Premiership football, are also crucial to your success at our club. They inject a new source of income and impetus into our Club. Should we be promoted to the promised land but perhaps return to the Championship, will they remain at CCFC, the Cardiff Dragons or whichever name we are by then known? The Halifax Hardcore will remain, unless driven away in the meantime.

Please understand how important the Bluebirds are to the people of South Wales. You have a potential capitive customer base of over 1 Million in the Cardiff Metropolitian area and the possibility of a larger International customer base. Whilst I bow to your business knowledge and understanding of the Asian market, do you really think that playing in Red, dispensing with the Bluebird & the possibility of a name change will break the Asian market?

Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool & Arsenal all appear to have sold shirts on your doorstep and in your stores. Some play in red, some play in blue. There is however are common denominators which define each of these clubs; their success, history and Identity. None have changed their identity, erased their history, changed their badge, altered their name nor amended their colour to achieve success in the foreign market. Success was earned on the field and through marketing the club's history, players & identity.

There must be a compromise; retain your loyal fan base whilst attracting new fans. An element of change is inevitable but not at the expense of our tradition. The bluebird and our name remain at the very core of our tradition and, of course, our identity. Together we can implement change to the mutual benefit of you and the Fans.

We can be a success together PROVIDED our tradition and identity are preserved. We can work together to achieve both your goal and our aim. We risk the real probability that our present success on the pitch becomes a diversion, with our great club becoming the laughing stock of close rivals and the footballing world.

If dealt with in the wrong way, your success could be very shortlived, your money wasted. The Bluebirds on the otherhand will survive, albeit not in our present form. The Halifax Hardcore will still be there, on the wet and windy Tuesday night wearing the Bluebird scarf, purchased from our Club's shop the the fans hard earned money.

Mr Tan, "Please don't take my Cadiff away"

Yours,

Concerned Bluebird

Dear Vinny

Either give us our identity back or sling your hook you deceitful, spiteful, selfish, money obsessed lunatic.

lots of love

Harold X

do you think tan will read it ?

Another Open (but far more to the point) Letter to Vincent Tan

Dear VT

Thanks for everything you have done so far especially providing the resouces to put us top of the Championship. I fully understand your maketing stratagy in the Far East and I'm willing to go along with it providing CCFC also benefits.

One caveat though, when you are all done and made millions from your venture can we have the blue kit back?

Cheers

TonyBlueWilliams

Dear Vinny

Either give us our identity back or sling your hook you deceitful, spiteful, selfish, money obsessed lunatic.

lots of love

Harold X

Ha ha f*cking love it, you have a way with words Harold mate

do you think tan will read it ?

Of course he will, his primary concern is the feeling of the fans.

do you think tan will read it ?

Of course he will, his primary concern is the feeling of the fans.

good one

Good letter, shame u spelt Cardiff wrong at the end, but well composed mate.

Hope he reads it

do you think tan will read it ?

Of course he will, his primary concern is the feeling of the fans.

good one

Uncle Vinny loves us. He's only removing our identity for our own good. He knows best. We know nothing we are just customers.

Good letter, shame u spelt Cardiff wrong at the end, but well composed mate.

Hope he reads it

Just keeping VT on his toes....

He ain't taking Cardiff away,he's taken Cardiff city away

Letter won't reach him, men like him only receive good news, which is what they want to hear.