"Non-existent" - Cardiff City: Vincent Tan claim made amid spending debate | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

A 12th place finish in the Championship for Cardiff City saw a much improved season under Erol Bulut, having finished 21st the season prior, but there will be hopes of improving once again in 2024/25 as their summer plans begin to take shape.

The Bluebirds will be thankful to have seen major improvement this season, having spent the last two second tier campaigns dangerously close to the relegation zone and burned through four permanent managers within that time as well.

The Welsh club avoided relegation after a turbulent 2022/23 campaign which saw Steve Morison and Mark Hudson dismissed before Sabri Lamouchi guided the club to safety, and the club's spending last summer, combined with Bulut's appointment, has seen the side climb the table to a more comfortable position.

He was fairly well-backed with signings in the summer, with former Arsenal player Aaron Ramsey coming in as the most eye-catching addition. He returned to South Wales on a two-year contract. The 33-year-old last played for Cardiff in 2011 during a short loan stint but left the Welsh capital permanently for the Gunners back in 2008.

The signings were mostly free agents or loans, though, with the likes of Dimitrios Goutas, Nat Phillips, Karlan Grant, and Ethan Horvath amongst the other high-profile additions.

Given the resources at Bulut's disposal, it's been no surprise that they have been much more comfortable in the league, but that also heightened expectation, with fans no doubt keen to see an improvement on their league position from last season.

The verdict on Cardiff City's spending

Even with signings like Ramsey, there was always going to be excitement from the fanbase again, but Bulut was fundamentally going to be judged and defined when the campaign petered out in recent weeks, having flirted with the play-offs for large portions of the season.

Now, the club will look to move forwards, and perhaps invest even further on the foundations of 2023/24. Football League World’s Cardiff fan pundit, Ben Johnsey, spoke to us and claimed that he doesn't expect there to be many changes in terms of the financial outlay of the club.

However, he has called for more stability and planning for the long-term. He said: "Personally, with the current owners, I don't think spending has been an issue.

"I think it's always been the long-term planning, the tactical and strategic atmosphere at the club that has been non-existent. It's always been a sort of merry-go-round of managers.

"The chopping and changing what the plan is from looking to have a young manager to build under, then them not getting that opportunity to build something before switching to an older manager to steer the ship until the end of the season when that younger manager is inevitably sacked. "I think in terms of investment, the club is absolutely fine compared to other Championship clubs. they have always put a lot of money in and Vincent Tan has spent 100s of millions since being at the club. "The issue is where that money was spent, how much value we have now despite it being spent, and the showing of a lack of long-term planning with transfers and managers etc.

"Hopefully, with Bulut now staying, that has the ability to change."

Cardiff City's 2024/25 plans

Over the past month or so, Bulut's future has been up in the air, but clarity surrounding that means that Cardiff can start making plans to strengthen their squad.

However, the question will be if there are funds present to take the club forwards, or they could find themselves dropping down the league again if they fail to build on a mid-table finish that was seen as acceptable given the context to their season.

Tan will be expecting the Bluebirds to move up the Championship table during the 2024/25 season, particularly if Bulut is backed in the transfer window. Cardiff's supporters will remain optimistic that they can look forward to the campaign ahead.