One of the Premier League’s biggest conflicts so far this season has been ended shockingly by Vincent Tan, after he sacked Cardiff City’s manager Malky Mackay, to conclude the on-going dispute between the pair. The two have fallen out over a number of issues since the Malaysian gained sole control of the club. These included the suitability of the manager to his job, and the changing of the badge and kit colour, issues which have angered fans as well.
Many from outside the club have been shocked by the owner’s treatment of Malky Mackay, with him often being ridiculed for knowing little about the club or football as a sport, seeing the club as a simply business opportunity, hence his rather odd decsisions. He is one of the newest foreign managers in the Premier League, and has done nothing to improve a neutral’s perspective of foreign ownership of English clubs.
Just last week, Vincent Tan revealed that the Scottish manager was to stay with the Bluebirds for the foreseeable future, seemingly bringing a cautious truce between the two. However, on the back of a 3-0 home loss to Southampton on Boxing Day, Tan has gone back on his previous statement, to terminate the former Watford manager’s contract and leave the Welsh club managerless.
I do wonder if this might be the incident that implodes Cardiff’s season. Malky Mackay was a very good manager for the Bluebirds during his tenure, getting the club up to the Premier League and making some very shrewd summer transfers. However, after the treatment of the Scot by his now ex-boss should ward away most managers of a similar calibre, with money being one of the only likely motives for moving to the Cardiff City Stadium as a manager. It is a shame that their season is going this way after so much was promised at the beginning of the campaign.