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Football News: Cardiff's return to blue will get the fans back on Tan's side

Cardiff's return to blue will get the fans back on Tan's side
Image from: bloguin.com

Now that Vincent Tan has relented and returned Cardiff City back to their traditional blue kits, I really feel he can begin to win the Bluebirds' fans over to his side. They really seem to want to like Tan, he has pumped money in leading to promotion to the Prem, and continued to put his money where his mouth is after relegation. The problem is that he needs to learn how to work with the fans, rather than dictating to them how things will be.

It is particularly odd that a man so clearly proud of his own culture and traditions can be so lacking in empathy for other people's. He just showed a complete lack of understanding of just how Cardiff fans felt about the kit colours and the name. It did not help that he was so heavy handed in his dealings with, then, fan favourite Malky Mackay.

All he needed to do with Malky was to be open and honest with people, as has been shown afterwards, people will understand. Instead he was like an irritated parent snapping at a small child that has been bugging them all day with questions.

If he can learn from the experiences, then he can still win the fans over completely, as fans will forgive misunderstandings if success follows. Though I am not sure the appointment of Russell Slade shows that he has the best advisors around him. Following on from the bizarre appointment of the clueless Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, it does make you wonder who on earth is advising him about football matters.

Unless his mother does more than tell him what colour kit the team should play in? Only it is an appointment made by someone looking at the game on a superficial level, just at results and not how they were attained. Did no one look at the type of players Cardiff had in the squad to see if they were suited to Slade's style of football?

Do clubs not do that any more? Do they not assess the squad, the playing style they wish to see the club employ, and then pick their manager accordingly? Or is it a case of just seeing one manager has been getting good results so we will give him a go? That would explain why so many managers are moved on so quickly in the modern game, as they are just unsuitable for the team employing them.

Written by Tris Burke January 20 2015 08:37:46