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Trust chair Keith Morgan

The Trust today sent the following message to members:

Dear Member

Following on from our statement released on Sunday we formally wrote to the club requesting that a meeting be organised for Cardiff City owner Tan Sri Vincent Tan to meet with fan groups to discuss the current failings in the club that lead us to relegation.

Prior to a response to our email two statements were released by the club, one a club Statement and then a personal message from Tan Sri Vincent Tan both referencing the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust Statement.

In terms of the club statement we note that a review of the overall structures and practices, culminating in the appointment of a new permanent manager and management team, is taking place.

As referred to in our statement there is a lack of football expertise at board level. Consequently, we would want to be assured that people with football expertise are being engaged to advise about that restructuring.

In respect of the personal message from the owner it is encouraging to note that the owner stated that he would “make every effort to be in Cardiff at the next opportunity” but the lack of even a general indication of when is disappointing. It definitely needs to be sooner rather than later. Confirmation of his willingness to meet all fans groups would also be useful.

It is going to be a very important summer if the promised restructure is to take place. The owner must hear at first hand the views of fans about a myriad of concerns. Communication between the fans and the owner is absolutely crucial and it should be ongoing.

Keith Morgan

Trust Chair

We are dedicated fans of Cardiff City FC, some of us have supported the club through thick and thin for more than 60 years. However, we could not let the dreadful relegation to League One after more than 20 years in higher divisions go without comment. Relegation in all honestly has been coming since the 2021-22 season and the failure to address fundamental required changes from the top down has now come home to roost.

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.

Big changes are needed, and needed now, to avoid a further downward spiral in the fortunes of the club that we fans love.

In the wake of comments by Cardiff City manager Omer Riza at a Press Conference yesterday, the Trust issued the following statement.

The Trust said:”Comments that fans are clueless are both disappointing and disrespectful given the need for everyone to be pulling in the same direction as Cardiff City battles to avoid relegation.

“Given the club’s precarious position, the manager, indeed any manager, should expect to receive criticism from fervent supporters who are passionate about the future of our club. We hope Omer will reflect on his ill-judged comments.”

Trust chair Keith Morgan

Trust Chair Keith Morgan today provided an update on the Nantes court case in France.

I have this week had a conversation with Chris Nott, the senior partner at Capital Law, to obtain an update on the current position in the case against FC Nantes, which is as follows:

There was a court hearing in France on Monday of this week to set the timetable for the rest of the case. The club had submitted documents ahead of the hearing to comply with a previous order.

The court decided to fix a final trial for the case of 22 September 2025 to be held in Nantes Commercial Court in front of three judges. The hearing itself will only be for one day, following which the judges will retire to consider their verdict, which should be handed down in the months thereafter.

In the interim period, further submissions are likely from both sides. Of some note is the fact that FC Nantes have yet to respond to CCFC’s court submission (called a Brief) with their evidence that Willie McKay was FC Nantes’ agent (which FC Nantes denied in their defence).

Keith Morgan
Trust Chair

The foodbank collection before the Sheffield Wednesday game organised by Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust was a huge success.

A total of £1,150 was raised and the amount of donated food – including the donations made before the foodbank collection was postponed in December – weighed 423.52kg.

That is enough to provide three day food parcels for 93 people, lasting them 279 days and providing 839 nutritionally balanced meals, together with toiletries and cleaning products.

Liz Pearce, chair of the trustees at the Pontypridd Foodbank said: “Thank you so much to all your members for your support on Saturday. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the supporters’ trust, Cardiff City Football Club and fans.

“This is an amazing donation for us to receive and we ask that you pass on our thanks to everyone who contributed.”

Trust vice chair Mike Spear

Mike Spear, vice-chair of Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust, said: “The amount donated in cash was the highest ever we’ve received. Despite the difficult economic situation, people were so generous.

“We’d like to thank our members, the general fan base, Cardiff City FC, its staff and players for their brilliant support for the foodbank collection. It is really appreciated.”

The Trust plans to organise another foodbank collection before Christmas 2025.