IT takes a smart man to turn a profit in football these days.
Most investors tend to be either so filthy rich that the loss of a few million barely makes a dent in their money pit, or so blinded by loyalty and devotion to their chosen club that seeing a return on their investment was never part of their plan. The rest? Pfft, say the cynics, they'd be as well throwing their cash down a drain.
Cardiff City might just be the exception to the rule. Clubs that have attracted serious money in recent years – like Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Malaga – have all met certain criteria; namely that they are underachievers based in densely populated areas with scope for growth. It does not take the financial smarts of Bill Gates, therefore, to see the potential in Cardiff, a club based in a busy capital city who this year marked the 50th anniversary of their last season in the top division.
Unlike the aforementioned trio of clubs, it is Malaysian rather than Middle Eastern businessmen who have alighted in Cardiff with a view to taking the Welsh club into the English Premier League. They have not been afraid to step on some toes to achieve that objective, most tellingly during the summer when they took the bold step of changing the club's colours from blue to red. It did not sit well with the traditionalists – Cardiff's nickname, after all, is the Bluebirds – but with the controversial "rebranding exercise" came significant investment that has helped improve the club's footing, both on and off the pitch.
In this tale of diverse nationalities and cultures, it is a Scot who has been charged with restoring this proud club to former glories. Malky Mackay, lured from Watford 17 months ago, is shrewd enough to appreciate both the sensitivities of the supporters as well as the financial input needed to make the club a success. So far he is doing a more than a decent job. In his first season he took Cardiff to the Carling Cup final – they lost to Liverpool only on penalties – and to the npower Championship play-offs, where the club would fall short for a third successive season. This season, after a summer spent drastically overhauling his squad, Mackay has Cardiff sitting top of the league and in good shape for another tilt at promotion. He now finds himself having to temper rising expectations, something that wasn't the case when he first arrived.
"They only had 10 players left on the books at that time so when we arrived expectation was lower than it probably had been in seasons gone by," Mackay told Herald Sport. "The fact we then ended up making the play-offs and reaching the Carling Cup final raised those expectations again. There was also some extra investment in the club in the summer and that sends things up a notch further.
"The people down here are very passionate about their football and they desperately want their club to get into the Premier League. We're getting on average around 23,000 every week and the atmosphere has been fantastic. The stadium has been a good place to come and watch football."
If a manager's most important relationship is with his chairman, then it doesn't do any harm to stay onside with the supporters as well. Mackay understands the anger and frustration of some of the fans after the drastic re-imaging of the club's colours and crest to make them more appealing to an international market – a dragon rather than the bluebird is now the most prominent feature on the badge – but felt that without owner Vincent Tan's significant backing, his and the club's ambitions could not be realised.
"What happened had a huge impact on the club and on the area in general," he added. "I understand traditions so for the club to switch from blue to red was something completely different for our fans. The owner came over and explained that he was going to do it but was also going to invest in a new £10m training ground, deal with the club debt – which is a substantial amount of money – and address the football team as well. When it came down to it, 99% of the fans realised that the way football is just now it was the only course of action.
"It won't please everybody but I think people understand that for the club to succeed and go forward we need backers. At the moment banks are not lending to football clubs so you need an individual to back you and there aren't an awful amount of them around. Our owner has invested heavily and has never taken one penny out of this club."
Mackay's remit stretches far beyond the first team. In his interview for the post he laid out his plans to modernise every department at the club and that programme is now starting to come to fruition. "Last year was very much a rebuilding job in terms of putting in structures and processes for recruitment, sports science, medical and coaching facilities, and changing the academy around," he said. "So I had certain thoughts about the way I wanted to do that and at the interview it was one of the reasons that got me the job. They wanted me to go ahead with all those plans. Doing that, and getting the right staff for each department, takes time. Now, a year down the line, a lot of those things are in place and starting to work."
A familiar face awaits Mackay this afternoon, when he takes Cardiff to face a Bolton Wanderers side now managed by fellow Scot, Dougie Freedman. "We know each other really well. We played against each other for 10 years or so down here and then more recently in management we've come up against each other a few times, including the semi-finals of the Carling Cup. Hopefully we can grab a drink together after the game."
INTERVIEW Mackay is altering more than just the strips at Cardiff City, writes Graeme Macpherson
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