Trust News

The new Trust magazine of the season is out and hitting doormats.,

The 16-page edition of Moving To A Different Beat features a piece by Paul Evans on the City’s squad turnover while Dai Thomas recounts a story of chaotic expatriate football in Peru and David Collins looks back at Wales’ last World Cup adventure in 1956.

Rob Jeffery covers the proposals from the Fan-led Review of football governance and there is the usual brainteaser quiz.

You can join the Trust for just £12 a year. See our website for more details and you can also join on matchdays at the Trust office, near Gate 5. Help us make the voice of fans stronger.

A message to our members

You may have seen in the press that the Club has filed at Companies House the issue of a further 1.9 bn shares at a nominal value of 0.01p. Total value £19m.

The Club has not, as yet, published a reason for this issue. It could be a  conversion of debt to equity in line with previous issues or it could be for further investment by other parties.

As soon as I receive confirmation I will let members know.

Keith Morgan, Chair

Below is a summary of last week’s Trust Annual General Meeting. Thanks to members for their continuing support.

Trust AGM,  July 14^th, 2022

It was Thursday, June 20^th, 2019 when your Trust last held its Annual General Meeting and Chairman Keith Morgan described the period until the latest AGM as a unique and sometimes bizarre one – no face-to-face meetings, no practical ways of organising social events and for a long time, no football matches to attend.

Keith then listed and talked about those issues he considered to be of particular importance.  They were:

1. Fans-led Review of Football
2. The Ukraine Appeal
3. The Trust support for foodbanks
4. Cardiff City FC Museum
5. Trust dispute with the club’s directors
6. Trust registration with the Financial Conduct Authority.

Under 1.  He drew attention to three particular recommendations. They were:

a.The introduction of far tougher checks on who can be owners and directors of football clubs;

b.The requirement for there to be a shadow supporters’ board of directors at each club;

c.That there should be a limit to what owners can do without fans’ consent with particular reference to changing a club’s name, changes to kits and ground relocation.

Under 2.  Keith reported that Trust members were amongst fans’ representatives who assisted in sorting donations for the Ukraine Appeal. A bucket collection at the Stadium resulted in £7, 000 being raised and the Trust, having been asked by the Club, is working with the appeal organisers to ensure that this money is used to good effect. Keith was keen to stress that Club staff, Academy players and, of course, the magnificent, generous Cardiff City fans played a major part in making this a great success.

Under 3.  Your Trust Board members took the lead, at two home games, in organising the collection and distributions of donations to foodbanks. These were very successful and received the support of club players, employees and, again, the magnificent support of City fans.

Under 4.  An area at the Stadium has been identified as a site for a City Museum. There will be no shortage of items for display after successful bids at an auction of City memorabilia. The support of Steve Borley [Club Director] and Wayne Nash[Head of Operations] was crucial in making this a success.

Under 5. Keith did not want to dwell on this issue because he felt that it had been well-documented. It is the outcome that mattered and this has been positive and relations with the Club at director-level have been restored. He stressed that the Trust now has easy and productive access to Steve Borley, the only locally-based club director.

Under 6  The Chairman stressed that your Trust had always had full Affiliate membership of Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), which is a higher level than Associate Membership. The FSA has been a vital source of information, guidance, advice  and support in general. However, it was important that the Trust should formalise its status as an organisation by registering with the Financial Conduct Authority. This application has been successful and the Trust is now registered as The Bluebirds Supporters Society Limited. This is a Community Benefit Society registered under that name. But we will continue to trade as the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust.

The minutes of the June 20^th, 2019 AGM were accepted as a true record.

There were 4 resolutions presented for member approval. They were:

1. Adoption of the accounts for years’ ended 31/12/2019 – 31/12/2020 and 31/12/2021 and all were approved unanimously.
2. Acceptance of the Trust’s FCA registration as a community benefit society and the continuing trading status as Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust. Approved unanimously.
3. Acceptance of the new Board of Directors. Approved unanimously.
4. Resolution 4 was passed but with the amendment (under section 85 of the Model Rules) to allow an Independent Examiner report on the annual accounts rather than a full audit. Again approved unanimously.

The Chairman thanked all present for their support. He stressed the importance of increasing Trust membership to strengthen its hand in discussions with the Club and on the fans’ representation stage in general. Your board will make this a top priority in the year ahead and beyond.

Following the AGM members were treated to a lively question and answer session on all things Cardiff City, led by Chris Wathan, BBC Wales Sport and Tom Coleman of Wales Online.

There was a lot of positivity expressed so – Come on you Bluebirds!

Tom Coleman, Chris Wathan and Trust Chair Keith Morgan

The Trust is very grateful to Tom Coleman, sports journalist on Wales Online and Chris Wathanof BBC Wales Sport who kindly gave up their time to talk to members about all-things Cardiff City following our AGM at the Three Arches pub in Cardiff last night.

We also raised more than £90 for Cardiff Foodbank, the proceeds of a raffle.

Congratulations to Trust Member Richard Holt who is the winner of the Bluebirds Brainteaser Quiz in the April edition of Moving to a Different Beat – the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust magazine. Richard, who commutes to City home games from Poole in Dorset, was drawn out of the hat and wins the £50 prize.

1. We signed this Cardiff City Legend from Scottish Club Burghead Thistle in 1962 the fee being a tractor bought for their use at their home ground – who is he?

This unusual transfer fee brought us the services Don Murray. He arrived at a time when the centre half shirt was mostly worn by Frank Rankmore. Towards the end of the 1962-63 season, at the tender age of 17 he found himself making his City debut away to Middlesbrough where he was marking England International Alan Peacock. The following season he established himself as a regular and he was handed the captain’s armband at the age of 19. The rest is history really. In my youth, you got the impression that Don’s was the first name on the teamsheet each week. His unrelenting attitude, jutting chin and toughness was a feature of the City lineup for many years. After 532 games for the City, he bowed out with a short loan spell at Swansea before signing for Hearts for a season then returning to South Wales to link up with Jimmy Scoular at Newport. One incident about Don that sticks in my mind is the 1971 Cup Winners Cup tie against Dynamo Berlin which went to penalties. All 9 penalties were successful until Don stepped up to the Grange End. It is believed the ball still orbits the Earth and can be seen from the International Space Station. Nevertheless, Don is a City Legend.

2. In August 2010 Cardiff City failed to turn up at Hamilton Sherriff Court in Scotland to which we had been taken over non-payment of a transfer instalment to Motherwell for which player?

Paul Quinn. City signed Paul Quinn in June 2009 from Motherwell for a fee of £300,000 at a time when financial storm clouds were looming. HMRC was at the gates threatening court actions and winding up orders over non-payment of tax bills. So, it was probably no surprise to discover that the City had defaulted on instalments of £100,000 and a further £75,000. Motherwell claimed to be even more infuriated watching our other transfer market activity including the loan of Craig Bellamy. Motherwell issued a writ against us but we did not attend court or submit a defence. Anyway, in August 2010 we stumped up the £100,000 due the previous January and it all got sorted in the end but not without a lot of negative publicity for us. Paul appeared 59 times in total for us and, perhaps, the most memorable moment was his X-Certificate tackle on Swansea’s Scott Sinclair in 2011 in the 1-0 win at the Liberty marked by Craig Bellamy’s spectacular goal. 

3. A former Arsenal player he won 65 caps for Morocco but only managed 2 substitute appearances for us in 2016-17 – who is he?

Marouane Chamakh. Much debate has taken place over the success of Neil Warnock’s transfer dealings. Where fees were involved there were successes and also failures, some with longer term financial implications which we are now getting over. However, there is no doubt that his use of Free Agents was very effective. In October 2016 Warnock engaged 4 such players. Nothing need be said about Sol Bamba and Junior Hoilett but also joining at that time were England International Kieran Richardson and Morocco International Marouane Chamakh. These last 2 players did nothing to persuade Neil Warnock that they were worth engaging and they were both released the following January. Chamakh only made 2 substitute appearances and these turned out to be the  last games of his career and, belatedly, in 2019 he announced his retirement.

4. In 2016 Michael Van Gerwen said that this Darts playing City forward should concentrate on his football after an encounter on the oche with Eric Bristow – who is he?

Lex Immers. Lex joined us on loan in January 2016 from Feyenoord. During his loan period he played 15 times scoring 5 times and he did become a fans favourite. In July 2016 he signed a 2 year deal with us and things did not go so well. The goals dried up and he found himself on the bench. When Neil Warnock replaced Paul Trollope it was evident that he was not the sort of player to fit into the Warnock style of play and in January 2017 his contract was cancelled by mutual agreement. At the age of 36 he is turning out for Scheveningen in the 3^rd tier of Dutch club football. However, his darts career is yet to get off the ground. 

5. As a goalscorer he has been most prolific at Connahs Quay Nomads and Toulouse but he only managed 1 goal for us in 2017 – who is he?

Rhys Healey. Interesting bit of trivia – apart from Aron Gunnarsson Rhys is the only player to play for us in both our Premier League seasons. Signed in 2013 he never really figured for us in a 6 year period that was more notable for 6 loan spells at various clubs. His last appearance for us was the fateful 1-0 defeat at Craven Cottage in April 2019. A must win game to try and preserve our Premier League status, Neil Warnock was criticised for his conservative approach to the game and also for his use of Healey as a substitute. After relegation he joined MK Dons on a permanent basis and now finds himself in Ligue 1 playing for Toulouse where he has been at his most prolific.

6. This City player made a fatal mistake in the 1925 FA Cup Final leading to Sheffield United’s winner – who is he?

Harry Wake. All Cardiff City’s 3 FA Cup Final appearances have been decided by single goal emanating from a defender’s mistake. In 1925 it was Harry Wake who was caught in possession by winger Fred Tunstall who scored past goalkeeper Tom Farquharson. Harry got some stick in the press “Wake not awake” being one headline. Captain Fred Keenor apologised to the Cardiff public over the team’s performance and absolved Harry from any blame although the absence of top scorer Len Daviesin the final  through injury made life more than  difficult for the City.

7. In 1990 Cardiff City were victims of an FA Cup giant killing against a team nicknamed “The Missioners” – what is this team now called?

Hayes and Yeading United. “The Missioners” was the nickname of Hayes FC who we drew in the 1^st round of the FA Cup in 1990. They held us to a 0-0 draw at Ninian Park in front of a bumper crowd of 1,844. The replay was held at Brentford’s ground Griffin Park in front of a crowd of 4,312 where Hayes scored the only goal of the game to go through. Grainy YouTube footage does exist if you want a reminder of how bad things could be for a City team that finished in 13^th place in the old 4^th Division that season. Their win over us that year has gone down in history as one of their greatest achievements and is still commemorated by their fans. It is worth mentioning another Hayes FA Cup moment when, 18 years earlier, they took Reading to a 2^nd Round replay bringing one of the Hayes team, Robin Friday, to the attention of their opponents. However, that’s another story! In 2007 Hayes merged with Yeading FC (Charlie Oatway being a notable former player) to form Hayes and Yeading United FC who currently play in the Southern League Premier South.

8. On 17 March 2022 this former City player scored in the Tehran Derby – who is he?

Rudy Gestede. What is the Tehran Derby and what was Rudy Gestede doing in Iran ? Well, the Derby is Persepolis v Esteghial ( I’ve heard of Persepolis in a historical context but not Esteghial and neither in a football context). Rudy is no longer in Iran however. He signed for Esteghial in October 2021 and parted company with them in June after I set this quiz. The Persian Gulf Pro League was obviously not for him and at the age of 33 he is currently without a club. He had his moments at the City but they were few and far between. 2 goals against Forest in 2013 and a missed penalty in the shoot out at Wembley against Liverpool come to mind as notable incidents. I think it came as a surprise to all of us when he became a prolific scorer for Blackburn Rovers after signing for them following a loan spell. In 2015 this form lead to a £6m transfer to Aston Villa in the Premier League where he found goals much harder to come by. In 2017 another £6m transfer took him to Middlesbrough where his goal scoring record returned to Cardiff City proportions. His 3 year contract at the Riverside was not renewed and he eventually found himself in Iran after short spells with clubs in Australia and Greece. 

9. Cobham FC of the Combined Counties League can count amongst their distinguished former players goalkeeper Bob Willis who thought that cricket might have been a been a better option and2 former Cardiff City players – one a Welsh International – who are they?

Trevor Lee and Rhys Weston. We signed Trevor Lee from Bournemouth in time for him to score the winner on debut against Swansea on Boxing Day 1983. He scored 5 more goals that season but Jimmy Goodfellow released him before the next season. The more memorable Rhys Weston, however, turned out for us 215 times and won 7 caps for Wales. He joined us from the Arsenal Academy and, after leaving us in 2007 did a bit of globe trotting playing in Norway, Iceland and Malaysia. He came out of retirement in 2019 at the age of 39 to play a handful of games for Cobham.

10. The player with most appearances in the Premier League for a certain team 40 or so miles west on the M4 also played for Cardiff City – who is he?

Wayne Routledge. In 2008-09 he played 9 times for us on loan from Aston Villa and made an immediate impact on the team and City fans. We only lost one of those games, his debut at Plymouth and I remember thinking we have to sign this bloke, he’s good. It was thought at the time that he was going to sign but QPR came up with a better offer in terms of wages. There was some bad feeling amongst the City players as he left abruptly from the Vale Hotel without saying goodbye or speaking to City players training nearby. He retired from football in 2021 after 10 years with the club down the road where he proved his pedigree  in the Premier League. As far as the City were concerned Chris Burke filled the role that Routledge might have played. Not a bad second prize but a second prize nevertheless.