The Joe Ledley fiasco
Posted: Thu May 21, 2020 10:16 am
The Joe Ledley fiasco
By Glen Williams
Thursday 21st May 2020
A big bone of contention still for Cardiff City fans is the manner in which Joe Ledley moved to Celtic in 2010.
There was a cloud surrounding Ledley's Bluebirds exit owing to a bitter contract dispute between the midfielder, who had been at the club for 14 years, and the Cardiff top brass.
Then just 23, Ledley, who had even been entrusted with the captain's armband by manager Dave Jones, was a crucial part of that exciting, promotion-challenging City side of a decade ago.
With stardust sprinkled on that squad, Ledley was the homegrown academy product and the heartbeat in the middle of the park, but a contract row belied his blossoming Bluebirds career.
With both the player and the club at an impasse, and with just one year remaining on his contract heading into the 2009/10 season, he was stripped of the captaincy and Mark Hudson took the armband.
That clearly hurt him back then and now, a decade on, it still stings. He eventually left the club in the summer of 2010, transferring to Celtic on a free. It was a move that left many disgruntled, with the Bluebirds missing out on a big transfer fee as a result.
"I was disappointed because I gave a lot to that club," the Wales international said recently.
"People can have their own agreements or disagreements on what the situation was, but for me I thought I deserved a better contract, which they were supposed to offer me two years before I left and it didn't happen.
"When you're in a youth setup, they don't see you as... they don't want to give you the money that you deserve.
"I'm not saying I was asking for ridiculous amounts, but for me to be on the same level of the players that were already there.
"I was captain of the club, [we had been to] an FA Cup final and I wanted to stay. My wife was pregnant with my first child, but it just wasn't meant to be.
"I don't think they thought I was serious until the day I left."
The club's decision not to improve Ledley's contract essentially cost them millions in transfer fees.
By Glen Williams
Thursday 21st May 2020
A big bone of contention still for Cardiff City fans is the manner in which Joe Ledley moved to Celtic in 2010.
There was a cloud surrounding Ledley's Bluebirds exit owing to a bitter contract dispute between the midfielder, who had been at the club for 14 years, and the Cardiff top brass.
Then just 23, Ledley, who had even been entrusted with the captain's armband by manager Dave Jones, was a crucial part of that exciting, promotion-challenging City side of a decade ago.
With stardust sprinkled on that squad, Ledley was the homegrown academy product and the heartbeat in the middle of the park, but a contract row belied his blossoming Bluebirds career.
With both the player and the club at an impasse, and with just one year remaining on his contract heading into the 2009/10 season, he was stripped of the captaincy and Mark Hudson took the armband.
That clearly hurt him back then and now, a decade on, it still stings. He eventually left the club in the summer of 2010, transferring to Celtic on a free. It was a move that left many disgruntled, with the Bluebirds missing out on a big transfer fee as a result.
"I was disappointed because I gave a lot to that club," the Wales international said recently.
"People can have their own agreements or disagreements on what the situation was, but for me I thought I deserved a better contract, which they were supposed to offer me two years before I left and it didn't happen.
"When you're in a youth setup, they don't see you as... they don't want to give you the money that you deserve.
"I'm not saying I was asking for ridiculous amounts, but for me to be on the same level of the players that were already there.
"I was captain of the club, [we had been to] an FA Cup final and I wanted to stay. My wife was pregnant with my first child, but it just wasn't meant to be.
"I don't think they thought I was serious until the day I left."
The club's decision not to improve Ledley's contract essentially cost them millions in transfer fees.