A Bluebird's call
Words: Tom Reed
Images: Andy Evans
It’s the size of the fight in the dog, not the size of the dog in the fight and although there were only around 250 Cardiff City fans protesting against Vincent Tan on Saturday, the battle for the soul of the Welsh club may only be getting started.
The Bluebirds find themselves one position and three points above the Championship relegation zone and the club’s “direction of travel” is just one of the short and long terms causes for fans gathering outside the Cardiff City Stadium main entrance.
A recent FA Cup tie versus Leeds brought back memories of the 2002 cup classic at Ninian Park when the Bluebirds saw off the Yorkshire club in a showing of no little bite.
Those Sam Hammam years were nothing if not controversial but the team played with bollocks and there was a sense of what Cardiff City were all about. Fast forward to last Saturday and Cardiff went down limply 0-1 at home to Millwall to leave them staring down a real relegation battle.
Alarming stats like four managers in two years are obviously concerning but there are more nuanced issues such as the transfer policy under Steve Morison, who signed a raft of players before being sacked.
©Andy Evans. Cardiff City vs Millwall FC.
The BBC reporting that Cardiff City tried to take out £20m insurance on Emiliano Sala the day after he was killed in a plane crash, only adds a further distressing subplot to the Bluebirds’ script.
Meanwhile, the debacle of the 2012 switch from a blue kit to a red one, said to be a scheme of Malaysian-Chinese club owner Tan, still rankles due to its sheer audaciousness.
With a move of that brass neck you might expect City to be doing better than the poor season they are delivering on the pitch and Cardiff fans are already planning another larger show of direct action vs Middlesbrough on February 11.
City supporters don’t appear to be reaching for their scalps to “do the Ayatollah” but to scratch their heads as to where this proud old club is going.
©Andy Evans. Cardiff City vs Millwall FC.
©Andy Evans. Cardiff City vs Millwall FC.
©Andy Evans. Cardiff City vs Millwall FC.
©Andy Evans. Cardiff City vs Millwall FC.
©Andy Evans. Cardiff City vs Millwall FC.
©Andy Evans. Cardiff City vs Millwall FC.
You can find Andy on Twitter and Instagram: @andythephotos
Tom is on Twitter: @tomreedwriting
