Jones & Cardiff City Fans Pray For Far East Cash

Cardiff City boss Dave Jones has reveled he is praying the imminent Malaysian investment goes through as quickly and painlessly as possible and revealed he is confident that the ongoing talks will be conclusive.

After months of apparent stalemate, things came to a head last week when CCFC director Steve Borley flew to malaysia for late stage talks over a deal. It was apparent that the interest had not waned from the group, led by property tycoon Dato Chan Tien Ghee (TG) and he appears to have financial backing from Billionaire businessman Vincent Tan.

TG and a delegation arrived in South Wales last night and spent this morning outlining plans to finalise an immediate £6m investment. If agreed, the investment would see the group take a large shareholding in the club, in return for sercuring wages until the end of the season, and payment of the outstanding debt on the taxbill. In the summer, a series of costcutting measures will be enforced and the club will also be able to sell players to balance the books and reduce the wage bill.

All this is very positive, and with administration the only possible alternative - we are fortunate that talks are at a late stage. What has become absolutely clear is that the Malaysian group, and TG himself is a very serious man with a good understanding of business and a clear plan. This is music to the ears of fans who have suffered a long history of money mis-management and would dearly love financial stability. If we can acheive that, and remain competitivew - the new stadium, the academy and the fanbase become influential factors in a brighter future. The deal hinges on whether the major shareholders e.g. Paul Guy, Mike Hall, Steve Borley, Sam Hammam and Peter Ridsdale will accept the share offer - thought to be around 9p each. The reality is that it's 9p or nothing given our perilous position.

In the most public indication yet to come from a genuine club official, Dave Jones told BBC Sport:

'They are keen. We're waiting for the investment, everyone is praying it all goes well and we can get things sorted.'

'We've been talking about pre-season in Malaysia so I'd be very surprised if things don't go right.'


Don't count those chickens yet Bluebirds fans, but this deal is very very close, and will be a monumental step in the right direction for our club. In truth, we don't know a great deal about the Malaysians, and whilst that could mean they could have any number of plans for the future - all the indications are that they are serious, diligent and passionate. That is more than enough for now.

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