Amidst accusations regarding a lack of communication, direction and, increasingly, hope at Cardiff City, I gave Mehmet Dalman a call and he answered all my questions, as best as he can.
To start with the most topical question first, are you able to explain what was behind the decision to sack Mark Hudson? He was appointed after a run of six defeats in eight and was sacked after one defeat in seven, so results were actually better when he was dismissed than when he was hired.
You’re better off asking that question to Vincent Tan, as he makes those decisions. He is better qualified than I am to answer that.
How will Hudson’s departure affect Cardiff’s plans for the transfer window? Will the lack of a permanent manager during the next couple of weeks likely harm Cardiff’s chances of attracting new players?
There is a partial embargo in place, which means we can’t buy players. Long before any managerial changes, the targets were discussed with coaching staff and the executive team. Those targets are still valid because Dean Whitehead was part of that process and there is continuity. From the club’s point of view, we will try and execute the targets we have and we’ve only got two weeks to go until the window closes.
Ahead of Steve Morison’s appointment, you said that you felt that hiring such an inexperienced manager was a risk that you were uncomfortable with. Obviously, Hudson was also inexperienced. Do you still stand by that belief?
Yes, I do.
What is the plan with regards to Mark’s replacement? Are the club once again considering in-house options, or is a managerial search underway?
There is a search underway, but the owner wants to give the current manager a bit of time before we decide.
What are Cardiff looking for in a manager? In recent years, the club has tended to fluctuate between experience and potential. Are Cardiff looking for specific qualities this time round, or are they looking at all options?
We are looking at all options.
There has inevitably been links with Neil Warnock for the role. He still to this day speaks very highly of you and the perception is that you have a regular dialogue with him. Is that the case and is he a consideration? There is both a great deal of support and some opposition to that idea.
Nothing is off the table. On a personal basis, I like Neil and talk to him on a regular basis, but my personal dialogue is very different to my professional dialogue. If it’s not Neil Warnock, I think we probably need a Neil Warnock type that is able to lead this team because leadership is so important right now.
I still find the Emiliano Sala situation very upsetting and I appreciate that it left Cardiff in a very difficult and complex, both legally and morally, situation. The first instalment was recently paid. What is the latest and is there a time frame for the remaining payments?
It’s very complex. FIFA initially ruled against us and found Emiliano to be our player, but when we went to CAS, it was with two very clear arguments. One is that he wasn’t our player and second, if he was, how do we get compensated for paying so much money, having not received the player. At the CAS hearing, they said they could deal with the first point, but were not qualified to deal with the second. We said that was unacceptable and appealed. The appeal came back and said that he was our player, but they were not going to make a decision on the second part of the argument.
We have gone to the federal court in Switzerland and we asked them to review this and make a judgement on who pays the bill. That is what we’re currently waiting for. While we wait for that, the second and third instalment depends on that decision. If the decision goes against us, we will pay these instalments. If the decision is made in our favour, there will be no more payments.
The Premier League are not willing to pay any death in service insurance because he wasn’t registered with them. His contract says you’re a Cardiff City player if you’re registered with the Premier League, so how are we held accountable if the contract is not deemed valid by the Premier League? There is also a criminal investigation going on and if that uncovers anything of substance, the payments are held until the outcome in a criminal court. If we lose the appeal, we are then free to take legal action in the civil court.
Where would that sort of outlay leave the club if they do have to pay? Is administration a possibility? That is the fear of many supporters.
We don’t have that sort of money. We can only go back to Vincent and ask him for it, which given the current economic environment, is not an easy task. Vincent is never going to let the club go into administration, I don’t see him allowing that to happen. What it would mean is that over the next couple of seasons, there wouldn’t be much cash floating around for us to invest, like we have in the past.
If Cardiff didn’t have the money, why was the transfer sanctioned in the first place?
When we bought Sala, we were in the Premier League. I did not support the signing of Sala. He is the only player I never authorised and the reason was because I thought the amount of money was too much. I didn’t think we could afford it. We were throwing the dice in the hope that he would keep us in the Premier League. Don’t forget, we got relegated by only one point.
When Cardiff appealed against Sala’s ownership, did the club consider the reputational damage that might follow, or was it ultimately a matter of principle and financial concern to pursue those claims?
My view is that you’ve got to do what is right. At the end of the day, I sit on the board of Cardiff City Football Club and I’ve got to act in their best interests. Also, in the best interests of the truth. We acted honourably in terms of buying a player, who was put in an aeroplane that was not fit to fly, with a pilot that was unqualified and they both died. I think we’re morally entitled to ask why we’re the only people paying for this.
Out of this money, £3-4m is going to agents. The inquest has already found that David Henderson was guilty and he is now in jail. Willie McKay organised everything and we still have to pay his agent fees. I don’t think that’s right. I said from the beginning that if we have to pay, we will pay, but first of all we have to test that. We will honour and obey the decision of the court. My moral obligation has to be to do the right thing by the club and get to the truth.
On a lighter note, I wanted to ask about the pursuit of Gareth Bale in the summer. It sounds like his representatives reached out to LAFC and then Cardiff. How did that transpire and were Cardiff able to put together an attractive proposal?
The two agents that represent Gareth Bale came to see me and both of them I know. They said ‘here is the proposition, what do you think?’ We all got very excited and between his agents and us, I think we put together what was a very attractive offer for both sides. Quite honestly, we were surprised when he decided to go to LAFC because the conversations we had were so positive. They were very professional and Gareth was brilliant. He rang up to confirm his decision, we respected it and wished him well. We did try, but I think he made a very personal decision and wanted to be in LA.
Since Brexit, Cardiff and other clubs running a category two academy are losing all their best players to bigger clubs, who are no longer able to sign players from abroad until they’re 18. It also appears that Welsh clubs are having trouble loaning players from English clubs as they’re now essentially considered as overseas transactions. If that is the case, shouldn’t Welsh clubs also benefit from protection for their academy?
Of course they should. I think Steve Borley and Ken Choo are looking into this and we’re waiting to hear back.
There is also concern that yourself, Vincent Tan, Ken Choo and Steve Borley all have other business interests and that Cardiff is not anyone’s primary focus. Who is responsible for overseeing operations on a daily basis from Cardiff?
I’m a non-executive chairman, so I have no executive powers and neither does Steve Borley. A chairman is not there to manage the business, the chief executive and executive team have the executive powers. At board level, we can tell the executive team what to do or not to do, but the daily responsibility is with Ken Choo and Philip Jenkins.
There were news reports last year relating to interested parties with a view to buying the club. Is that an ongoing situation, or is there nothing to report on that front?
Vincent has been very consistent on this. He has always said that everything is up for sale, apart from family. He also wants to leave the club in a better position than when he took over. We haven’t really had any discussions with anybody which fulfils that criteria. We’ve had interest, but at a valuation that felt unreasonable.
There have been a few unannounced meetings with representatives from the various supporters clubs recently. A lack of communication and transparency is a long-standing criticism of the club and part of the reason why I have reached out to you. Cardiff are often measured against Swansea, who meet with fans several times a year and have broadcasted meetings on YouTube in the past. Why are the club not more forthcoming with meetings or information regarding the club and their actions?
As you can tell from this conversation, there is nothing that I’m not happy to talk about. We used to have regular meetings with the supporters groups, but I stopped being an executive and a gap developed. There is no reason for why we don’t and I’m more than happy to talk to anyone that supports my club. Maybe we should do a Zoom call where people can ask questions and we have done in the past.
I sat in on a virtual fan forum just after the appointment of Mick McCarthy and you were asked what Cardiff’s plan was at the time. You said the club didn’t have one, but the appointment of McCarthy would allow the club to put one in place and it would be circulated in due course. So, to finish, what is the current plan at Cardiff City?
I think the reason why Vincent went for the likes of Steve Morison and Mark Hudson is because he wants a young, forward-thinking, attacking football manager. What I tried to explain to him and the board is that if that is what you want, that requires a different structure. Warnock’s style of football was very particular and Morison’s was very different. To make that transition is not an easy one. You need to have patience and stay the course.