"We're a mess at the boardroom level" - Big Cardiff City issue raised as uncertainty grows | OneFootball

"We're a mess at the boardroom level" - Big Cardiff City issue raised as uncertainty grows | OneFootball

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·13 November 2024

"We're a mess at the boardroom level" - Big Cardiff City issue raised as uncertainty grows

Gambar artikel:"We're a mess at the boardroom level" - Big Cardiff City issue raised as uncertainty grows

There's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the club of the Welsh capital.

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...


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Cardiff City don't have much clarity or certainty around many of the things going on at the club currently.

Erol Bulut was sacked in September, and the man who has been leading the first-team for the past 50 days since the Turkish boss' departure, Omer Riza, is still operating on an interim basis.

There appears to be a big lack of trust from the supporters in the people making the key decisions at the club. Owner Vincent Tan probably has too much involvement in something like who the next manager will be for many Bluebirds' liking.

Cardiff told to appoint a director of football

Jack Price, Football League World'sCardiff fan pundit, has called on the club to get some properly qualified people to run the show; a director of football, specifically. He considers the club not having one as the most glaring issue at the club.

"The biggest problem at Cardiff right now, and it's been this way for a number of years now, is the total lack of direction and footballing nous at the boardroom level," said Price to FLW.

"So, amazingly, after 50 days we're still looking for our 12th permanent manager in 14 years after sacking Erol Bulut.

"We consistently have a high turnover of the playing squad every single season. There's a new manager almost every season. In fact Erol Bulut was the first manager to go a full season without being sacked since Neil Warnock, when we were back in the Premier League. You're going back five or six years ago there.

"With every appointment we make, there doesn't seem to be an overarching strategy and ethos. Every manager will be a different one, in terms of their profile, their identity, their playing style, and then it's the same with player recruitment as well.

"We sort of flip-flopped in the summer between signing young, talented up-and-comers like Will Fish, Roko Simic, (Jesper) Dalend, Alex Robertson, and then big name, high profile signings like Anwar El Ghazi, Callum Chambers, obviously (Aaron) Ramsey last summer, as well.

Gambar artikel:"We're a mess at the boardroom level" - Big Cardiff City issue raised as uncertainty grows

"I think, as far as recruitment goes, those two types of recruitment couldn't be further away. There's no alignment, and it all points to a complete lack of strategy at boardroom level.

"It seems like, and a lot of Cardiff fans will say this, there isn't a method to our madness. We're purely throwing something at the wall and hoping that it sticks.

"Vincent Tan is very adamant that he doesn't need to appoint a director of football. I'd encourage him to have a look through the managerial history over the last 10-15 years, the amount of money that has been wasted on player signings; we desperately need a director of football to come in and have a lot of control.

"I don't know whether that would be allowed, but a lot of control. Implement a clear and coherent strategy that oversees managerial appointment decisions, implementation of a playing style, recruitment; all of that, because it's very all over the place.

"You even look at right now, we were on the crest of a wave with Omer Riza. It seems like the easiest decision in the world to make, to appoint him, but I don't know what we're playing at with our indecisiveness. We still haven't given it to him and now his situation is really uncertain heading into the international break.

Gambar artikel:"We're a mess at the boardroom level" - Big Cardiff City issue raised as uncertainty grows

"With a director of football, it wouldn't have been allowed to happen, would it? So we really need someone to give the board additional support, because I think we're a mess at the boardroom level."

Cardiff need to get with the times

It's at a point nowadays where it's not even classed as unusual to have a sporting structure at a football club that has a head at the top of it which isn't the manager/head coach.

With all the facets of the modern game, people who run the first-team don't always have the time to take care of academy issues and lead the recruitment push. That's why directors of football are appointed: to be the driving force for off-the-field matters.

But, for some reason, Cardiff's board are unwilling to make that step forward, a step which will make their lives much easier if they get it right, although, with their history, there's no guarantee of them coming good with the appointment of a director of football.

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