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Trust concerns over club's football knowledge remain

Trust concerns over club's football knowledge remain

Yahoo25-05-2025

Cardiff City Supporters' Trust (CCST) have highlighted their ongoing concerns around the football knowledge at the top level of the club following a meeting with members of the Bluebirds' hierarchy.
Following confirmation of Cardiff's relegation into League One, the club issued a statement in which they stated they would undertake a "thorough period of review across several structures and practices".
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The Fans' Advisory Board (FAB) met with club chairman Mehmet Dalman, executive director and chief executive officer Ken Choo and non-executive director Steve Borley following the conclusion of what was a wretched 2024-25 season for the club.
The CCST says it is "anxious to understand the extent of this review" after confirming the subject of improving the football knowledge at the highest levels within the club was raised during the meeting.
They wrote: "In our view the question of footballing expertise at board level in connection with the review was not answered as positively as we would have liked.
"Firstly, Mehmet Dalman stated that the board of Cardiff City is "unique" in that it cannot decide anything significant without reference to the owner.
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"The minutes make it sound as if this uniqueness is a proud boast whereas our view is that it is a major weakness in corporate governance of the club.
"Mehmet Dalman goes on to say that he would welcome more football expertise but introduced caveats, perhaps to temper expectation."
Cardiff remain hopeful of appointing a new manager before the end of May having already interviewed candidates for the role - with the Bluebirds looking for a ninth boss in four years.
It comes amid what is likely to be a significant squad overhaul at Cardiff City Stadium following relegation into the third tier.
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The statement concluded: "There's not much for Cardiff City fans to be happy about at the moment, but we hope for positive developments whereby the owner will allow the board the leeway to put in place, in the way the club is run, the sort of improvements that will take Cardiff City in the right direction."

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