Ridsdale confident of paying HMRC this month

Last updated : 08 January 2010 By BBC Sport

The Championship club was issued the petition on 23 December over unpaid tax and will face a winding-up order in the High Court on Wednesday, 10 February.

But Chairman Peter Ridsdale insists: "We have every confidence that all monies owing to HMRC will have been repaid by the end of January."

Cardiff's first winding up order was dismissed by the High Court last month.

The club escaped their initial winding up order on 16 December after agreeing a payment plan with HMRC.

Ridsdale insisted the club was "trading as normal" in a statement on their website earlier in the week when the Bluebirds chief responded to claims the club had a reported £2.7m tax bill.

And now Ridsdale has said in a statement: "In discussions with HMRC at the end of December 2009, we confirmed that we would pay monies owing to them by the end of January 2010.

"HMRC booked a back stop date of 10 February 2010 to go back to court if, for any reason, we had not been able to fulfil our obligations to pay by the end of January.

"We have every confidence that all monies owing to HMRC will have been repaid by the end of January."

He added to BBC Sport: "There is no immediate threat to the club."

The Football League have refused to comment on whether the club are under a transfer embargo due to the apparent financial concerns around Cardiff City.

And Ridsdale, who hopes to pay the debt inside ten days, would neither confirm or deny if the club are under a transfer embargo - adding to the uncertainty surrounding the club.

All he would say is: "Dave has asked for four players to come in - three have been lined up and will come in before the end of the month.

"But in addition to that, I will not add to the liability of the club before the tax bill is paid."

The arrival of Malaysian businessman Datuk Chan Tien Ghee onto the club's board on the day they saw off their first winding up order at the High Court gave hope of fresh investment.

The Bluebirds then reached a settlement over their long-standing £15m debt with former owner Sam Hammam's Langston Corporation as Cardiff fans dreamed of a brighter future with their team flying high in the Championship's play-off zone.

Cardiff boss Dave Jones had hoped to boost his depleted fourth-placed team with squad reinforcements in the January transfer window.

His transfer kitty was inflated by an estimated £3m thanks to their season ticket initiative which the club promised would see supporters gain a full refund on their 2010/11 passes should Cardiff win top-flight promotion.

The Bluebirds sold more than 10,000 season tickets as expectant fans reacted to Ridsdale's promise that the investment would pay for new players in January.

But Ridsdale insisted the season ticket money would not be spent of paying their outstanding tax bill.

Asked if the ticket money would be used to pay the debt, he said: "No, there is money to pay for that."

Cardiff fans will, however, fear that some of their star names, such as defender Adam Matthews and striker Michael Chopra, who have been linked with January moves, maybe be sold to bolster their coffers.

Ridsdale had previously admitted the club needed to "sell a player a year to survive" before this latest financial uncertainty.

However, the former Leeds United chairman expects "new investment" into the club "soon."

Source: BBC Sport