An interesting article appeared in Saturday's Independent. It was the first one to mentioned a problem with monies owing to West Ham for Jobi McAnuff.
Cardiff brought to their knees as financial reality bites for Hammam
March 5th. The Independent.
This is one of the very few pieces written by the London press on the matter rather than the local stories that follow from the Echo (who I must say have been working flat out on stories for the paper).
The
A miracle needed to get out of this mess
They also ran the story of a possible take over by Director Michael Isaac.
Mondays Echo looked back at events on the weekend. One piece covered the reaction of the fans to Hammam.
Pride on display all over Ninian
Echo, March 7th.
Of course there were the latest boardroom stories. Firstly Sam Hammam put his side of the argument over
Echo, 7th March
Sam talked about how he was feeling and about his decision to go to
"I feel humiliated, sad. I could walk away tomorrow. But I will worry about how wounded I am after the fight. Whatever I do I am in the mire. I could lose those years I have put in, all the money I have put in.
"I hope the fans will rally round me, I need only fight those in front of me. Truly, I am not raping the club. But at this time it doesn't matter who is right or wrong. I will not abandon the ship.
"The police told me on Friday not to go to
"If somebody had punched me I would have fallen. But at least I would have fallen among my own people."
The news on Tuesday was better. Thankfully the staff were paid, which of course was the first indicator last week that there was a problem. With that problem solved by selling Graham Kavanagh it’s hoped that no more players will have to go this week. Not a definate as rumours still bounce around like Tony Vidmar to
There is talk that Danny Gabbidon, James Collins and even Cameron Jerome are being tracked by Premiership clubs who have advised the City to hang on to them and get a better return in the summer.
The rumours still persist over James Collins. City have turned down West Ham’s £350,000 offer and hopefully that will keep them away from the door. With City facing relegation rivals
The last Echo entry today looks at the meeting today between the council and Sam. That will be followed on Thursday with a meeting with the developers. The story also looks at how the board will need to work together to get the plan to come good.
Cash wait is over as meetings loom
Echo, 8th March
Thankfully the firesale of players looks to have been overted, and thankfully the staff have been paid. But is this just a temporary blip of sanity before we are plunged into more turmoil.
Is the stadium and the future as planned by Sam still viable? Can he win back the trust of the supporters. Will the council trust him to deliver a business plan that can be backed up with the necessary money to get the project under way.
Damage has been done, some think irrepairable damage. The A word, Administration, won’t go away and with such a headstrong man in charge and seemingly in charge to the point other directors can do nothing to influence decisions, we are always going to be walking a fine line between success and failure.
There’s no doubt Hammam is driven by money and the opportunity to make a lot of money from
Well so far he’s come good with the academy and has edged us closer to the top flight of football than we’ve been in 20 years. We must of course maintain our position in this division. The big gamble is the stadium. If it comes off and we are secured then he may again regain the faith of the fans, if it all goes down the drain and we lose our football club through one mans greed then the song “We’ll keep a welcome in the Hillside” will have to be rewritten as he’ll never be welcome in Wales again.
It’s difficult to know what movement the rollercoaster is going to make next.