Mehmet Dalman: "What has gone wrong at Cardiff City"

What has gone wrong?

MEHMET DALMAN:

A lack of stability. We have to choose well and I’m not sure we have chosen the best managers in the past. You have to get the manager right.

I don’t like the word gamble, but is it a risk? Any manager you bring in is a risk. Alex Ferguson is a risk. But it has to be a calculated risk.

It’s exciting and a new direction for the club. Do I think there will be more colour in the way we play football? I think so.

You don’t have to be a genius to do better than what we did last year! We do have a game plan.

Dalman

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What are your targets?

We made a decision not to just improve the team. This is an effort for us to start a new initiative and really have a go. I would be doing the manager a disservice to talk about my targets, the manager’s targets are my targets.

This isn’t an exercise in getting a football manager in. This is not a cheap hire. We have targets, strategy and a vision. Erol will be a key in that strategy.

I don’t want a season like last season - it was horrible.

Dalman

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Fire in the eye, can you go through the search for a manager?

Because it was the end of season, we didn’t have to rush. This time we had a process in place.We tried to approach Erol two years ago, or 18 months ago, we tried to work with him. We went through the process and had some very good candidates - more European than English.

We went through several interviews on the same candidate. I flew Erol to Monaco which was the first time I met him.

What distinguished Erol for me was two things, one, his desire to win something and establish his own reputation. That’s a good motivation I can tag along with.

Many years ago when I went to work in the city, these investment banks came in and all said the same thing and I asked the hedge fund manager how he decided, and he said it was the one he could have a relationship with. That’s the relationship I feel I can have with Erol.

His ambition was important but his personality was important, those are the two real factors.

Dalman

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Why Erol?

KEN CHOO:

We interviewed several managers. Between Mehmet and me, almost a dozen. He came across as a person who has fire in the eyes. The same characteristics as Vincent, so we knew they would get along. He has that determination and fire in him to succeed.

Bringing a family over to Wales is not an easy position for Erol, but he has decided and we will support him. It’s a no-brainer.

Ken Choo

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What guarantees Vincent won’t pull trigger?

Who knows? No guarantees. Vincent will always be Vincent and do what he wants. He is the one driving this. He is the one who made the decision to do this.

One of the things we always fail on with this club is being able to manage upwards. Every manager that comes on board, I tell them to ring Vincent, not me. He believes he understands football. One of the first things I said to Erol was to be involved and be part of it. I think as long as we work with Vincent as an integral part of decision making, I’m pretty confident of that.

Dalman

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What state is the club in?

Transition. We are trying to start afresh. A completely different direction, this is a wildcard.

Ken Choo

The club is pretty stable. The football needs to change.

Mehmet Dalman

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Keeping the club alive in the Championship? How hard was it?

Mehmet Dalman:

I’m not so sure. A lot of people say you were lucky because Reading got six points deducted. If they hadn’t had six points deducted we’d have played different. Birmingham was the turnaround game when Perry Ng scored that free-kick. You could see the confidence change.

I think just seeing that team lose momentum in previous years. I could see successive managers who didn’t know how to win a game. If you look at Erol’s track record, he wins games. He doesn’t give many points away. If he doesn’t win, he doesn’t lose.

What is the Cardiff way? When I saw the style of football Erol plays, he is not a million miles away from the way Cardiff play historically.

Dalman

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10 years at Cardiff, how do you assess that period?

MEHMET DALMAN:

Probably a 5 or 6/10. This is a privately-held company with one shareholder. We have a board, in a single ownership, it’s difficult. I’ve done it before. You can only recommend and execute.

Everything else in the middle is not the board’s decision. How well have I judged myself recommending, probably more than five or six, what about executing that recommendation? Well, that last 18 months I sort of gave up. Now this is a new incentive for me. I have a consistent team here and Ken and I work very well, within the remit of our owner. I am re-engaging myself because this man (Erol) is here.

Dalman

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"Every manager that come is I tell them to ring Vincent. HE BELIEVES HE UNDERSTANDS FOOTBALL"

And in those two sentences you see exactly what is wrong with our football club.

"Every manager that come is I tell them to ring Vincent. HE BELIEVES HE UNDERSTANDS FOOTBALL"

And in those two sentences you see exactly what is wrong with our football club.

I was just typing ' OUCH ' LOL.

"Every manager that come is I tell them to ring Vincent. HE BELIEVES HE UNDERSTANDS FOOTBALL"

And in those two sentences you see exactly what is wrong with our football club.

Hear hear. Certainly seems like the 2 at the top do not see eye to eye

Is it me or are they hanging Tan out to dry here

Is it me or are they hanging Tan out to dry here

I thought that as well!

Is it me or are they hanging Tan out to dry here

I don't think so; he could certainly get rid of Ken Choo and probably dispense with Mehmet Dalman, if he really needed to...

What I think we are seeing here is Mehmet Dalman telling Vincent Tan that if this is to work they have to pull together and I have no issue with that. It's well overdue...!

"Every manager that come is I tell them to ring Vincent. HE BELIEVES HE UNDERSTANDS FOOTBALL"

And in those two sentences you see exactly what is wrong with our football club.