Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan makes promise to fans after club’s relegation

I wish to acknowledge the open letter that has been issued by our Supporters’ Trust. We hear your words and I share your hurt and frustration. Not all decisions when it comes to the First Team have worked as I had hoped for us.

To lose our place in the Championship is upsetting. The important thing is that we regain it at the earliest opportunity and I would like to take this chance to tell you that I am committed to getting us back. A period of review is being undertaken; a permanent manager and management team will be appointed in the coming weeks. As a point of developing strategy, our Board of Directors have begun internal discussions with executive management and staff to strategise and plan for the summer and new season.

To say I don’t care is wrong and I strongly push back on that. I watch every game and speak to the Board and manager before and after each one. My family will tell you: I kick every ball!

We have enjoyed good times together. I can tell all Cardiff City supporters that it is my intention to support correcting the situation we find ourselves in. I want us to all pull in the same direction.

I will make every effort to be in Cardiff at the next opportunity that my scheduling allows. I am sorry that we are where we are this summer. It is now time to rebuild.

Unless these matters are tackled urgently, the downward spiral on and off the field will continue and fan support will continue to drift away at an even faster rate than it has already.

Of course we appreciate the enormous financial support from the club owner Vincent Tan which has led to promotion to the Premier League on two occasions. But there has been a complete failure to address the “elephants in the room” of a lack of specialist football experience and knowledge at club Board level and the lack of any full time Board director at the club, leading to an apparent lack of advice and knowledge to pass on to the owner.

As the season has progressed and it quickly became evident that things were not going to plan on the pitch, it has been far from clear who on the club Board, if anyone, has been advising the owner on footballing matters. If any such advice and recommendations have in fact been given, it is unclear if any notice has been taken of such advice and recommendations. Sadly, this has proved to be a critical element in the club`s relegation in our view as the seemingly absolute and unchallengeable power of the owner in all major decisions has failed to work to the club`s benefit.

The appointment of a club Board member with specialist football knowledge and experience has been raised by the Trust with the club CEO Ken Choo and club Chair Mehmet Dalman and has also been raised by the other elected official fan bodies Cardiff City Supporters Club, the Fan Advisory Board (FAB) and the Disabled Supporters’ Association. Those officials have stated in meetings with fan bodies that they would be in favour of such an appointment but that the owner has been steadfastly against the idea, and he remains the sole decision maker. It seems to us that most of the strategic decision making at the club by the owner has been made in what is, effectively, an empirical knowledge and information vacuum.

After the worst start to a season in the club`s history and the expected departure of manager Erol Bulut, we believe it was a mistake to appoint such an inexperienced Championship manager as Omer Riza when there many experienced managers available to recruit. We are also unclear as to whether the permanent appointment of Omer Riza after an inordinate delay and after a series of poor performances and results was based on a Board decision/recommendation or was solely a decision by the owner and on what criteria that decision was made.

We thank Aaron Ramsey for stepping into an ultimately unsuccessful position as caretaker manager for the last three games of the season. However, we strongly believe that for the next season in League One we need an experienced manager at that level, possibly with Aaron playing a part in an assistant role to pick up experience (similar to Craig Bellamy under Vincent Kompany at Burnley and Anderlecht).

We are also disappointed that Vincent Tan has made only minimal and very infrequent contact with the club fans to discuss issues and listen to fans views and concerns. There has therefore been virtually no opportunity for fans to speak to the person who appears to be the sole decision maker on key issues at the club. As a matter of urgencywe are requesting a meeting between Vincent Tan and the elected fan bodies to discuss the failings which have culminated in our relegation to hear what fundamental changes are going to be put in place throughout the club from top to bottom to avoid further failings in future. Continuing the failings of the past that have lead to us celebrating our 125th anniversary with a relegation are not going to turn around our fortunes on the pitch.