BREAKING: TANS BUSINESS HIT HARD / CCFC COST CUTTING

Cardiff City's summer transfer plans revealed - big names set to leave amid cost cutting measures, the core players McCarthy will keep and who comes in


Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan's business empire has been badly hit by the pandemic, so cost cutting measures at Cardiff City will continue for the third year running, but this time even bigger.


Tan feels the time has come to take stock and for Cardiff to become more of a self-funding club, with the cost base adjusted accordingly.

It is more than likely that Joe Bennett, Sol Bamba, Robert Glatzel, Lee Tomlin will be moved on like Junior Hoilett was recently.

If a good offer comes in for top scorer Kieffer Moore, City will find it hard to resist.

We have learnt that due to Tans empire being financially hit , he will have to cut back at Cardiff City.


By Paul Abbandonato

Thursday 13th May 2021


Joe Bennett has been excellent for Cardiff City and a decision needs to be made on his future

Cardiff City's planning for next season will take place against a backdrop of harsh financial reality after a year in which the pandemic has bitten hard into Vincent Tan's business empire.


However, we understand a number of cost-cutting measures are likely to be implemented in the coming weeks as players come and go under Mick McCarthy's summer transfer plans.





At the end of it, Cardiff still believe McCarthy will have a good enough team to challenge for the top six in 2021-22, but he will be overseeing a more streamlined squad with some high earners likely to leave, Academy youngsters given their chance and a core of key players retained to lead that promotion drive.

Although the Bluebirds have asked Liverpool about the prospect of star No.10 Harry Wilson returning on loan again, the chances of Cardiff landing players of his quality again in this transfer window appear to be slim.

Tan feels the time has come to take stock and for Cardiff to become more of a self-funding club, with the cost base adjusted accordingly.



He is said to be dipping into his own pockets to the tune of well in excess of £2million a month to help pay the Bluebirds' huge wage bill and keep Wales' capital city club ticking over while no income has been coming through the turnstiles. Tan's leisure companies in the Far East have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus crisis. City received £36million last October and that was the final parachute payment. In all City have through two promotions received nearly £500million, but that has now all stopped.

We understand a number of big names could be on their way out as the Bluebirds seek to trim the wage bill, with the futures of left-back veteran Joe Bennett and even club legend Sol Bamba among those still to be determined. He remains keen to play for Cardiff again, too.

Their contracts are up this summer, with another ex-Bluebirds Premier League star, Junior Hoilett, having already announced his departure.



Cardiff have explored the possibility of fans' favourite Bamba remaining in an ambassadorial role, or even a coaching capacity, but as things stand it is understood no agreement has yet been reached.

Two more high-profile Neil Warnock signings, Robert Glatzel and Lee Tomlin, appear less and less likely to feature under McCarthy's management, while Northern Ireland international Gavin Whyte could also depart in order to get regular football.

Tomlin proved last season what he can do in a Cardiff shirt, his mercurial talent winning him Player of the Year, but he was dogged by unfortunate injury issues and only made five appearances this time around, just one of them in the starting XI.

Cardiff will also question whether they need two quality goalkeepers in Alex Smithies and Dillion Phillips, or whether the time has come to push through highly-rated Wales under-21s number one George Ratcliffe as back-up. to one of those.

Offers could also come in for the likes winger Josh Murphy and midfielder Will Vaulks, although ideally McCarthy would prefer to keep hold of them. Big Mick feels £11m Cardiff capture Murphy has the talent to take the Championship by storm next season, but like the fans he remains frustrated by a lack of consistency from the player.

As part of the re-set of the Bluebirds' bumper squad, the plan is for a core of key players to be retained, bolstered by a handful of new signings and youngsters continuing to emerge from the Academy.

As things stand, McCarthy intends to stick with his back three of Sean Morrison, Aden Flint and Curtis Nelson as the foundation upon a which a top-six challenge can be built.

Goal ace Kieffer Moore is another pivotal figure in McCarthy's planning, although if he shines for Wales in the Euros and an offer in excess of £15m comes in, the Bluebirds will find it hard to turn that down.


Moore, however, loves it at Cardiff and wants to play in front of returning Bluebirds fans for the first time next season, knowing the passion they have for their team after witnessing frenzied Welsh support during international matches at Cardiff City Stadium.

Many fans feel Cardiff need a complete overhaul of their one-paced midfield and that it is the team's problem area. However, Joe Ralls, Will Vaulks, Leandro Bacuna and Marlon Pack are likely to feature heavily again as part of that core to McCarthy's side.

Perry Ng looks set to hold down the right wing-back berth, with youngster Joe Bagan ready to try to nail down his spot on the other flank if Bennett does eventually leave.

Despite the possible departures, McCarthy still feels he has the nucleus of a side who can challenge for promotion, but knows newcomers do need to be brought in.

A replacement playmaker for Wilson will be brought on board, albeit almost certainly not as good as the Wales ace, while a new left-back, winger and back-up striker to Moore are also likely to be sought.

The key to the new campaign will be keeping hold of Moore and ensuring there is sufficient creativity around him in Wilson's absence which enables Cardiff to shine as an offensive outfit.

Moore, however, badly needs help up front and a new centre-forward will be signed to help give the Wales ace much-needed rest when required.

Ultimately, though, McCarthy knows he needs to be working with a streamlined squad, with the likes of Max Watters, Isaac Vassell and Mark Harris among others on the books who appear unlikely to get much game time under him. Loan spells at other clubs might get them the regular action they want.


Cardiff are approaching this transfer window in a different way to last summer when, with Moore and Wilson the star turns, but there was real excitement about their dealings.

Neil Harris was given an excellent hand of players, the signings of Moore and Wilson supplemented by loan captures of Sheyi Ojo from Liverpool, gifted Arsenal youngster Jordi Osei-Tutu and Leicester's Filip Benkovic, who arrived with a big reputation after being signed for £13m by the Foxes. Goalkeeper Dillon Phillips also joined to push Alex Smithies for the number one spot.

On top of the quality personnel already at the club, Cardiff felt they had one of the best squads in the division and the onus was very much on then manager Neil Harris to make the most of the talent at his disposal with a proper challenge for promotion.

However, the first half of the campaign proved a disaster, much inferior teams to Cardiff were above them in the table and the club was hurtling towards an alarming relegation battle before Tan finally took decisive action.

Under McCarthy's guidance the players quickly began to show their true worth, even pushing hard for an unlikely play-off spot before falling away at the end, McCarthy having been left with too much to do.

Cardiff have lost only three of McCarthy's 22 games in charge, winning 10, including triumphs over top six duo Swansea City and Bournemouth, and drawing the other nine.

Next season he needs his side to maintain that defensive solidity which makes them so hard to beat, but turn more of the draws into victories so the Bluebirds can properly challenge near the top.

We're told that despite the cost-cutting that will take place and likely lack of significant new signings, Tan remains fiercely ambitious and expects a manager of McCarthy's experience and know-how to push hard for the Premier League.


How the Bluebirds could line up next season under Big Mick: Smithies/Phillips; Ng, Morrison, Flint, Nelson, new left-back ; Ralls, Vaulks; New winger , New No.10 , Moore.






Very good reply by Nigel Blues and he is spot on

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So this equates to an announcement of a for sale sign on Kieffer Moore if true.
And probably a sign to JB they will not offer a better contract to him.

But we remain committed to achieving PL status

Last edited by fred keenor on Thu May 13, 2021 11:37 am, edited 2 times in total.

Here we go again more cost cutting, where did all the money go?

Not many teams will be spending a lot of money this summer.

This will be the case for most other owners' other businesses.

I always say I'll judge the transfer window when it closes and that will be no different this year. It hasn't even opened yet.

Nothing new here.
Any player will be sold if the right price comes in.
I think Moore may even be sold for a little less than 15mil if we get an offer.

It’s a business and we and most other EFL clubs will be doing similar.

Not many teams will be spending a lot of money this summer.

This will be the case for most other owners' other businesses.

I always say I'll judge the transfer window when it closes and that will be no different this year. It hasn't even opened yet.

I agree mate, no different than any other year, weve been cost cutting every year and you can see it.

So this equates to an announcement of a for sale sign on Kieffer Moore if true.
And probably a sign to JB they will not offer a better contract to him.

But we remain committed to achieving PL status

I didn't read it like that and we must remember the above is only the opinion of a media writer and not necessarily the opinion of those at the club themselves

Keiffer Moore is one Mick McCarthy and the supporters would be desperate to keep and the player himself is happy to be here, so unless a massive offer (personally, I'd say £8m+) comes in for him, then it would be a negative action. So far as we are concerned, the guy isn't on a fortune in comparison to several squad (not necessarily team) members

Other than that, are we really surprised at the core content of the report, i.e. belts are to be tightened? It has been hinted at for some time and some of the other names mentioned as departing have been discussed before (Tomlin, Junior, Sol, Bennett, etc.)

Personally, I'd keep Sol and Bennett and offer new contracts with clauses (Sol regarding a coaching role and Bennett surrounding his fitness and appearance bonuses)

Beyond that, the global financial circumstances for corporations like Vincent Tan's Berjaya Corporation have been perilous at best over the pandemic period, so it is only reasonable that all areas of his empire, including his football clubs, will have to take a hit, so it will feel worse for us because we don't have the Premier League 'Parachute Payment' the season

Sadly, as supporters, we need to wake up to this and also realise we won't be amongst the worse affected come next season, as other clubs reassess the damage of the pandemic going forward

On a positive, some decent players going to be desperate for work, so a good recruitment drive may justice us bring in a couple of surprises and either way, I hope to be there at the stadium come kick off in August

Belts will obviously need to be tightened. All clubs will be in similar positions or worse.

There's sure to be a fair few players shown the door and then realising the inflated wage bubble has burst...then realise they will need to accept lower wages.

MM been around long enough to hopefully have loads of contacts and information on who is available and get them down CCS

I question the rumours that Tan has subsidised the club with £2 million a month.. with a £36 million parachute payment that just doesn’t add up. Surely our wages are not £60 million a year??

However, it’s obvious as we have lost this income cuts would need to be made and no doubt they will be quite substantial

It is going to be a huge wake up call to many out of contract players as they won’t be able to make ridiculous wage demands as the clubs are just not able to pay these wages anymore

There’s going to be a mass of very, very good proven championship players scrambling around for any sort of decent contract in the summer

The parasite agents are going to really have to earn their cash this season

I question the rumours that Tan has subsidised the club with £2 million a month.. with a £36 million parachute payment that just doesn’t add up. Surely our wages are not £60 million a year??

However, it’s obvious as we have lost this income cuts would need to be made and no doubt they will be quite substantial

It is going to be a huge wake up call to many out of contract players as they won’t be able to make ridiculous wage demands as the clubs are just not able to pay these wages anymore

There’s going to be a mass of very, very good proven championship players scrambling around for any sort of decent contract in the summer

The parasite agents are going to really have to earn their cash this season

If you believe the story about 2m a month it's been going on for many years including both premier seasons so somebody's accounting needs refreshing...... but we are not as bad off as a lot of championship and there will be good bargains to be had if players and agents are realistic otherwise can see some good players without a club come next season..

I understand that COVID has had a huge financial impact on clubs but this is like the 5th year in a row that we apparently need to cut costs and the die hard City fan in me is getting frustrated

Don't get me wrong, we have always brought bodies in and are always in or around the play offs but if Tan was really serious about Cardiff City he would realise that if you want to be successful in the Championship you've got to

1. Spend
2. Have a squad capable of being rotated after injury

This doesn't have to be 10 players but invest properly in 3 or 4 whilst keeping hold of the majority of the squad and we will be looking good for next season

My understanding is that Smithies is the top paid player on our books , arguably our second choice keeper. Given the choice between him and Phillips he would be one to go.

A couple of other big earners (excluding loanees) are Tomlin and Murphy, neither of whom are regulars nor likely to be, so they can go too even without a transfer fee.

Those wages alone are probably over £4m a year. The parachute payments and Tan's £1-2m a month won't go very far when you look at the playing budget through the first team and under 23s/academy and that's before you even start looking at all the other costs of keeping a top half Championship club going with no crowd, or associated, income.

I don't begrudge Morrison, Bennett, etc., a good wage because they've put the games in and demonstrated how key they are. But some of the wages are a legacy of our Prem and pre-COVID and therefore the club has to try and stabilise and be really careful how many "big" earners we have on the books and, even then, ensure they are value for money.

As others have said, the gravy train for players at this level is over, even if temporarily, whilst clubs recover from COVID-19. That might actually even out the division and could make next season pretty interesting although it will clearly benefit the 3 relegated clubs who will have the parachute payments to call on.

Tan brings in outsider to sort his business interests.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... e=url_link

Last edited by stickywicket on Thu May 13, 2021 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I understand that COVID has had a huge financial impact on clubs but this is like the 5th year in a row that we apparently need to cut costs and the die hard City fan in me is getting frustrated

Don't get me wrong, we have always brought bodies in and are always in or around the play offs but if Tan was really serious about Cardiff City he would realise that if you want to be successful in the Championship you've got to

1. Spend
2. Have a squad capable of being rotated after injury

This doesn't have to be 10 players but invest properly in 3 or 4 whilst keeping hold of the majority of the squad and we will be looking good for next season

But he has been rather successful in the championship

Did the players not have a wage reduction on relegation from the PL clause in their contracts, poor management if they did not.
Enough clubs have been hit by this over the years to have not learned this lesson.

I understand that COVID has had a huge financial impact on clubs but this is like the 5th year in a row that we apparently need to cut costs and the die hard City fan in me is getting frustrated

Don't get me wrong, we have always brought bodies in and are always in or around the play offs but if Tan was really serious about Cardiff City he would realise that if you want to be successful in the Championship you've got to

1. Spend
2. Have a squad capable of being rotated after injury

This doesn't have to be 10 players but invest properly in 3 or 4 whilst keeping hold of the majority of the squad and we will be looking good for next season

We've been promoted twice, including winning the Championship, and been in the play offs 3 other times in our 9 Championship seasons since Tan came in. Would you not call that being successful in the Championship?

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the original WOL article is titled ... Cardiff Citys summer transfer plans revealed....
then goes on to name lots of players but actually reveals nothing at all...... just guessing as he goes on who might and might not stay ..claims Tan is stumping up 2 mill a months and we have a bumper squad....

Chris, just another non story by this waste of space reporter.

I understand that COVID has had a huge financial impact on clubs but this is like the 5th year in a row that we apparently need to cut costs and the die hard City fan in me is getting frustrated

Don't get me wrong, we have always brought bodies in and are always in or around the play offs but if Tan was really serious about Cardiff City he would realise that if you want to be successful in the Championship you've got to

1. Spend
2. Have a squad capable of being rotated after injury

This doesn't have to be 10 players but invest properly in 3 or 4 whilst keeping hold of the majority of the squad and we will be looking good for next season

We've been promoted twice, including winning the Championship, and been in the play offs 3 other times in our 9 Championship seasons since Tan came in. Would you not call that being successful in the Championship?

I'm not saying we haven't been successful?

I said that we need to 1. Spend & 2. Have a big squad.

When we got promoted with Malky we spent a lot and had a big squad.

With Warnock we spent slightly less but got a few good players in and had a squad to rotate.

Yes we got relegated twice, however my point is to escape the Championship you need investment.

We have been very successful over the last 10 years but there is a reason behind it.

I understand that COVID has had a huge financial impact on clubs but this is like the 5th year in a row that we apparently need to cut costs and the die hard City fan in me is getting frustrated

Don't get me wrong, we have always brought bodies in and are always in or around the play offs but if Tan was really serious about Cardiff City he would realise that if you want to be successful in the Championship you've got to

1. Spend
2. Have a squad capable of being rotated after injury

This doesn't have to be 10 players but invest properly in 3 or 4 whilst keeping hold of the majority of the squad and we will be looking good for next season

We've been promoted twice, including winning the Championship, and been in the play offs 3 other times in our 9 Championship seasons since Tan came in. Would you not call that being successful in the Championship?

Probably not. Some people just say what suits them and most often it isn’t close to reality.

I understand that COVID has had a huge financial impact on clubs but this is like the 5th year in a row that we apparently need to cut costs and the die hard City fan in me is getting frustrated

Don't get me wrong, we have always brought bodies in and are always in or around the play offs but if Tan was really serious about Cardiff City he would realise that if you want to be successful in the Championship you've got to

1. Spend
2. Have a squad capable of being rotated after injury

This doesn't have to be 10 players but invest properly in 3 or 4 whilst keeping hold of the majority of the squad and we will be looking good for next season

We've been promoted twice, including winning the Championship, and been in the play offs 3 other times in our 9 Championship seasons since Tan came in. Would you not call that being successful in the Championship?

I'm not saying we haven't been successful?

I said that we need to 1. Spend & 2. Have a big squad.

When we got promoted with Malky we spent a lot and had a big squad.

With Warnock we spent slightly less but got a few good players in and had a squad to rotate.

Yes we got relegated twice, however my point is to escape the Championship you need investment.

We have been very successful over the last 10 years but there is a reason behind it.

Sorry I misread your post, I thought you meant we'd been unsuccessful under Tan due to the 2 criteria you mentioned above not being met.

I understand that COVID has had a huge financial impact on clubs but this is like the 5th year in a row that we apparently need to cut costs and the die hard City fan in me is getting frustrated

Don't get me wrong, we have always brought bodies in and are always in or around the play offs but if Tan was really serious about Cardiff City he would realise that if you want to be successful in the Championship you've got to

1. Spend
2. Have a squad capable of being rotated after injury

This doesn't have to be 10 players but invest properly in 3 or 4 whilst keeping hold of the majority of the squad and we will be looking good for next season

We've been promoted twice, including winning the Championship, and been in the play offs 3 other times in our 9 Championship seasons since Tan came in. Would you not call that being successful in the Championship?

I'm not saying we haven't been successful?

I said that we need to 1. Spend & 2. Have a big squad.

When we got promoted with Malky we spent a lot and had a big squad.

With Warnock we spent slightly less but got a few good players in and had a squad to rotate.

Yes we got relegated twice, however my point is to escape the Championship you need investment.

We have been very successful over the last 10 years but there is a reason behind it.

Sorry I misread your post, I thought you meant we'd been unsuccessful under Tan due to the 2 criteria you mentioned above not being met.

If Tan is struggling financially then we are not going to invest enough to get us to the Premier League. He wanted to be in the Premier League to make money and possibly sell for a tidy sum of money. Now this could be the best time for him to sell the club as there is no chance of promotion without investment.
Tap up that Swedish Billionaire Daniel Ek the Spotify founder who wanted to buy Arsenal but was turned down.

Belts will obviously need to be tightened. All clubs will be in similar positions or worse.

There's sure to be a fair few players shown the door and then realising the inflated wage bubble has burst...then realise they will need to accept lower wages.

MM been around long enough to hopefully have loads of contacts and information on who is available and get them down CCS

Agree

Chris, just another non story by this waste of space reporter.

Jules, you're not wrong; and there are others in the media who either make it up or (worse for me) toe the club line for their own reasons

Chris, just another non story by this waste of space reporter.

Mate, the story is Vinnie is saying through a reporter his business is bad so do not expect any money to be spent and he wants in run like business and we should stand on our own two feet, i am sure Vinnie said the same a few years ago when the dough was pouring in?

If Tan is struggling financially then we are not going to invest enough to get us to the Premier League. He wanted to be in the Premier League to make money and possibly sell for a tidy sum of money. Now this could be the best time for him to sell the club as there is no chance of promotion without investment.
Tap up that Swedish Billionaire Daniel Ek the Spotify founder who wanted to buy Arsenal but was turned down.

Firstly, why can't we get to the Premier League with 'smart' management?

Secondly, as a Gooner, would Daniel Ek want us in red...?

A little tongue in cheek on the second point and no amount of money would see that happen again; or would it?