TAN IS NO FAKE FOR BLUEBIRDS
IT’S been a rollercoaster ride – but Vincent Tan is hanging on as Cardiff
City owner after 10 years.
The maverick Malaysian has changed the club colours, accused his goalkeeper of not scoring enough goals, replaced the head of recruitment with a friend of his son on work experience and has regularly been in the ear of his managers over team selection.
And 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 under increasing pressure to repeat the feat.
Russell Slade (below) replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who presided over just nine wins in 30 games as the Welsh club slipped out of the Premier League in 2014.
Slade said: “On team selections, 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 and deserved to play in the next game.
“Let’s face it, he was entitled to his opinion because he was the owner, someone who came from a different culture, one that you had to embrace.
“There were sometimes strange decisions but the bottom line was that he always 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 Malaysiabased owner had insisted the traditional blue was abandoned for red, which in his native Asia was associated with power and good fortune.
“I’d chipped away at going back to the traditional blue because it was obvious the fans hadn’t liked the change at all,” Slade added.
“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.”
Shortly after buying the Bluebirds Tan told then manager Dave Jones there seemed a lack of goals – even pointing out that keeper David Marshall had yet to find himself on the scoresheet!
Slade added: “He didn’t understand the game in its entirety ent but the there were k knowledgeable people around him which acted as support.
“He was very soc 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 didn’t always relate to those of the manager and you had to find common ground.”
Now the baton has been passed to former Millwall boss Harris, with Tan anxious for another shot at the big time.
Slade said: “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 a competitive edge.
“Being there now for 10 years proves he didn’t come to Cardiff for a quick fix. He has always wanted what was the best for the club. It’s never been boring.”