“Don’t go to a meeting unless you know the outcome.” That was Mehmet Dalman’s advise for the chosen few that attended a meeting at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday January 8th, 2015. Cardiff’s chairman was seeking to find a solution for a fragmented club in potentially terminal decline. He admitted that he was going against his motto that night, but the truth was that it was pretty much a done deal. Cardiff were returning to blue.
Cardiff started playing in red on June 6th, 2012 and that lasted for 947 days. During this period, there was record crowds and unprecedented spending, but also record lows, in both attendances and morale. The meeting was not attended by Vincent Tan, who had initiated the rebrand, but Dalman, Ken Choo, Steve Borley and Russell Slade were all present.
I managed to somehow wangle my way in, with representatives of the Supporters Club, Supporters Trust, Bluebirds Unite and the local press. A return to blue was discussed as if it would be quick fix, but as we now know, that proved not to be the case. These are rarely quite so simple and smooth.
Dalman also confirmed what we already knew, that only one man truly wields the power at the club and ultimately everything was in Tan’s hands. Ultimately, an FA Cup tie played out in front of a practically empty stadium a few days earlier felt like a tipping point. Ironically, that has not since changed and Cardiff still draw miniscule attendances for cup games.
At one point, Dalman asked, hypothetically of course: “Let’s assume, by some miracle, we went blue tonight. What do you think the noise would be like on Saturday?” Less than 24 hours later, a statement was released stating that the club would be returning to blue with immediate effect.
In the end, we had Tan’s mother to thank, as he claimed that a period of reflection spent with her over Christmas and the new year afforded them the opportunity to discuss the importance of “togetherness, unity and happiness.” He then paraphrased former US president John F. Kennedy; “Let us never compromise out of fear, but let us never fear to compromise.” It was as close as you’re ever likely to get to an apology and Cardiff subsequently went on to beat Fulham 1-0.
Rather than wild celebrations, there was instead a palpable sense of relief that the nightmare, Cardiff’s personal Brexit, was over. A painful lesson was learned, on behalf of everyone in football, and there were plenty of casualties along the way. For some everything returned to normal, but others never came back. For me, it is a scar that will never truly heal. I’ve forgiven, but I will never forget.
There was no future for Cardiff in red, but being blue again didn’t fix everything. It set them back on the right path, but it took Neil Warnock to truly heal the club. Now the club are in rude health and there is very little to remind you that it all ever happened, aside from a whole stand of red seats of course.
Self-sabotage and a stain on the club’s history, but we got there in the end I guess.