Tanfastic 10 years? VINCENT’S BLUE DECADE
IT’S been a rollercoaster ride packed with controversy but Vincent Tan is still hanging on as Cardiff City owner after 10 unforgettable years.
The maverick Malaysian has changed the club colours, accused his goalkeeper of not scoring enough goals and has regularly been in the ear of his managers over team selection.
There has been the tragic death of £15million club record signing Emiliano Sala, killed in a plane crash, to contend with.
But in Tan’s colourful reign two promotions to the Premier League have also been achieved, under Malky Mackay and Neil Warnock, with current boss Neil Harris coming under increasing pressure to repeat the feat.
Usually what Tan wants he gets – much of the narrative played out under the glare of the spotlight, aided and abetted by chairman Mehmet Dalman and chief executive Ken Choo.
Russell Slade – who replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after his disastrous spell in charge in 2014 – has vivid memories of working under Tan in South Wales.
He said: “On team selections, let’s say occasionally he had a strong opinion on who should play. He could be quite emotional after a game on Saturday if we hadn’t done well.
“He’d have his say but if I didn’t agree I would try and persuade him that a particular player was doing well in training the following week and deserved to play in the next game.
“Let’s face it, he was entitled to his opinion because he was after all the owner of the football club, someone who came from a different culture, one that you had to embrace.
“There were sometimes strange decisions which you didn’t agree with but the bottom line was that he meant well.”
Slade’s biggest achievement was helping persuade Tan to do a U-turn over the colour of the first-team shirts.
Within two years of taking over, the Malaysian- based owner had i nsisted t he traditional blue was abandoned for red, which in his native Asia was associated with prosperity.
They actually went on to win promotion in their first season in red and whether that assisted
Mackay in taking Cardiff into the Premier League for the first time in their history is open to question.
But under Slade three years later they reverted back to blue in recognition of the club’s nickname, the Bluebirds.
“Let’s just say I’d chipped away at going back to the traditional blue because it was obvious the fans hadn’t liked the change at all,” he added.
“To be fair to him he had only insisted on red because he thought it would change the fortunes of the club because of his beliefs and traditions. It wasn’t done in a nasty way.
“I think his mother also had some influence on the decision because she wanted unity with him and the fans.”
Shortly after buying the club, Tan told then manager Dave Jones that there seemed a lack of goals in the side – even pointing out that Scottish keeper David Marshall had yet to get himself on the scoresheet!
Tan was politely told that goalkeepers are meant to stop goals. Slade added: “He didn’t understand the game in its ent i rety but t here were knowledgeable people around him who acted as support.
“He was very sociable. When he was in the country he would come around to my house for a cup of tea, a drink.
“We had a good relationship. He was very good to my family.
“But his ideas on football didn’t always relate to those of the manager.”
Now the baton has been passed to former Millwall boss Harris – with Tan anxious for another shot at the big time.
Slade added: “He has enjoyed the successes of twice being promoted to the Premier League.
“Even during the periods where you might think he is looking to leave he’ll bounce back because he has got a competitive edge to him.
“Being there for 10 years proves he didn’t come for a quick fix.
“He’s always wanted what was the best for the club.”