Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan is furious with manager Malky Mackay.
Following Cardiff City’s 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion last Saturday, Mackay discussed his desire to bring three new players into the club during the January transfer window.
“It would be great if we can bring in three quality additions to the squad,” he said. “I would look to strengthen all three departments in terms of a defender, a midfielder and an attacking player.
“I will talk to my chairman who will then discuss it with his board of directors and our owner and I will take my lead from them. It’s up to them then what financially they want to spend in January. I’ve got my lists of players whether they be targets or loans and for various positions.”
The statement seemed innocuous enough. But not in the eyes of Tan. The controversial owner turned to chief executive, Simon Lim, who drafted the following statement:
“Tan Sri Vincent Tan was extremely upset to read quotes from the manager concerning the possibility of new recruits, before he had been informed whether funds would be made available. He believes that doing so unfairly raises supporter expectations, placing unnecessary pressure on the club.
“His view is that due to the funds already committed, including the originally authorised summer transfer budget of £35m that rose to £50m in total, including add-ons, the manager has been fully supported.
“The overspending of £15 million has upset Tan Sri greatly, resulting in the removal on Iain Moody as head of recruitment. As such, he has stated that not a single penny will be made available in January.
“Having been the highest spending promoted club and the seventh highest spender in the Premier League last summer, the owner believes that the Manager has been given the best possible chance of retaining our Premier League status.”
This is not the first time Tan and Mackay have butted heads.
Last October, Tan drew the ire of Mackay when he fired the Bluebird’s head of recruitment, Iain Moody. Moody, a close friend of Mackay, was then replaced with former groundsman and Tan family friend 23-year-old Alisher Apsalyamov.
That incident prompted wide-spread speculation that Mackay’s days at Cardiff could be numbered but nothing transpired. Until yesterday. No it seems only a matter of time before this incident blows up.
But was Tan’s criticism of Mackay appropriate?
It seems odd that a manager would be given a budget and then spend more than that allotment. Last summer Mackay and Moody brought in eight new players: Gary Medel (£11.5M), Steven Caulker (£8M), Andreas Cornelius (£7.7M) and Kevin Theophile-Catherine (£2.2M), Peter Odemwingie (£2.5M), John Brayford (£1.5M), Simon Moore (£100K) and Maximilianio Amondarian (free) – costing a total of just over £33.5M (or what Lim rounds to £35M).
Tan seems to be arguing that those numbers rose to £50M due to ‘add-ons’. But how are the ‘add-ons’ Mackay’s fault? As a billionaire businessman Tan knew or should have known of the terms of those agreements and therefore the possibility that they could rise to £50M.
Next, Tan fails to consider the savviness of the purchases Mackay and Moody brought in. Medel and Caulker are arguably two of the best transfers this season with the former winning plaudits across the league for his tenacious performances and the latter being the defensive rock and the reason Cardiff won the South Wales derby. Theophile-Catherine has also impressed at right-back where he’s a consistent starter and while Cornelius has only featured four times due to injury the 6’4″ 20-year-old Dane is a highly rated striker.
Without those players it’s safe to say the Bluebirds would be in the relegation zone, opposed to their 15th place spot in the table. It’s a scenario Tan fails to take note of and one that could prove a heck of a lot worse if the season ends without Mackay at the helm.