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Cardiff City fans demand ‘urgent’ meeting with Vincent Tan after relegation to League One

Cardiff City fans demand an ‘urgent’ meeting with club owner Vincent Tan after relegation to League One at the weekend.

The 2025/26 season will be Cardiff’s first season in the third tier in 22 years. The Trust have released a statement criticising the club’s management, citing a lack of specialist football expertise at the board level and Tan’s minimal engagement with fans.

They argue that relegation has been looming since the 2021-22 season due to unaddressed structural issues, with eight managers in four years and poor recruitment exacerbating the decline.

Fans are frustrated by Tan’s decision-making and infrequent communication, with some chanting for his exit during recent matches.

The Trust seeks a meeting to discuss fundamental changes to halt the club’s “downward spiral.”

Meanwhile, interim manager Aaron Ramsey expressed disappointment but praised the players’ effort, while Tan’s financial support—estimated at over £200 million—remains acknowledged but overshadowed by the club’s mismanagement.

CARDIFF CITY SUPPORTERS TRUST STATEMENT:

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.

Cardiff issues statement to supporters with personal message from Vincent Tan

Swansea mock Cardiff’s relegation to League One | Aaron Ramsey makes damning admission

Here’s how Twitter users reacted as Cardiff City fans demand an ‘urgent’ meeting with Vincent Tan after relegation to League One…

@DaiNibs: love the scummers having a meltdown, they’ll be stuck there for years now, every single Swansea fan is so so happy they’ve been relegated!! Couldn’t have happened to a better club, gona be a great atmosphere down the liberty Saturday. Taking the piss out them all game. #swans

@IanParfitt: Get out of the club immediately….. and then nobody gets paid their wages and the club goes into liquidation!! 😂😂

@PembreyView: If you’re all relegated… slap your heads…. if you’re all relegated slap your heads. Aah bless! 😂😂😂

@ley_ashleigh: fair play @ITVWales comedy gold that was 😂👌

@jtgriff: They have taken them to another level 😂😂

@marcosortegarm: Tan has to go. Please, sell the club to someone who cares about the club and the city! Just heartbreaking…

@Martyn_1963: Wrexham and Cardiff are poles apart at the moment and now more than ever every one can see it, I really can’t see Cardiff doing anything next season other than avoid another relegation battle unless things change. And yes I will be renewing my ST.

@Stavross1927: I appreciate you have to be diplomatic with your language if we have any hope of engagement. Ultimately the lack of any football experience and reluctance to delegate any major football decisions has been ongoing since the 2013.But has resulted in £m’s wasted and no long term plan

@amandajones8481: Thank you CCST for once again speaking on behalf of all trust members and sharing our feelings on vitally important club issues. We wait in hope and anticipation for meaningful dialogue with the board and owners to prevent a prolonged stay in League One.

@Gzone77: Spot on but will fall on deaf ears. Tan won’t be told how or what to do, he’s not the guy to hold hands up and listen! Clearly he must do this with his other businesses! Which baffles me further.

@RichLew82: Well written and speaks for the majority of us how we are feeling. I bet that the club ignore it though. Tan is probably sat in his ivory tower laughing at us. The sooner he’s gone the better #TanOut

@Ccfc1925: Day 1 and counting , waiting for a response from our owner #Tanout

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