In what is no doubt intended to be a provocative think piece, this article argues that Cardiff Ciy fans are beginning to have second thoughts about turning down the owners’ plan to have the team play in red. The writer poses a stark contrast: would it be better to have the club playing in red in the Premier League or cease trading altogether?
In what is no doubt intended to be a provocative think piece, this article argues that Cardiff Ciy fans are beginning to have second thoughts about turning down the owners’ plan to have the team play in red. The writer poses a stark contrast: would it be better to have the club playing in red in the Premier League or cease trading altogether?
Of course, as the author himself admits, its not as stark a choice as that. I would argue that the Bluebirds could change their shirt colour and their badge and still end up playing in the Championship. I do not think the marketing strategy associated with the red shirts and new badge was convincing.
Clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid have established big followings in Asia. However, revenues are often not as great as hoped because cash strapped ‘fans’ buy counterfeit shirts in markets.
Leaving that problem aside, Cardiff City would have an uphill struggle to establish themselves in the Asian market. Couch potato followers in the Far East tend to become interested in a club when it is successful.
The first step is to get into the Premier League. When my own team (Charlton) were in the Premier League, I was watching a football show in Kunming in China and to my surprise there was a very intelligent feature on how our then assistant manager worked with the then manager (Alan Curbishley). But you need to get into the Premier League to start getting that sort of coverage.
Even when you are in the Premier League, there is a lot of work to do. Charlton signed the captain of the Chinese national side, the so-called ‘wild man of China’, but that was offset by the fact that the national side went through a bad patch (having visited one of their training facilities I was not too surprised).
Blackburn Rovers have failed to establish a following in India, in part because Venky’s have had a poor marketing strategy, but largely because of their lack of success on the pitch.
What is worrying about the situation in Cardiff is the implication that the owners may pull the plug. But it is the sort of club that interests investors: new stadium; loyal and enthusiastic supporters; potential for getting into the Premier League.
Moreover, Cardiff are playing in a capital city. It is a provincial capital, but that is a status that Chinese people would understand (I was interested to see how people deferred to the provincial governor where I was in Kunming).
I think thar Cardiff fans were right to defend their history and tradition.