Four years ago I was approached to come to Cardiff by the then owner to discuss a way forward for Cardiff City Football Club.
Having spent some time discussing the 'unfunded' new stadium proposals, the level of debt, and the team then struggling to stay in the Championship, I went back home and said that the Club had no chance of survival and that the stadium scheme was a pipedream.
Four years on, it is easy to take any bad news out of context. As for good news, it seems that some of our local media hate it and find it difficult to give it similar prominence to the odd hiccup, just in case, God forbid, we actually are successful and defy the critics.
I originally came to Cardiff for three months, I'm still here. I agreed to stay to build the new stadium, keep the Club in the Championship and to pay off the debt.
There have been many occasions when I wondered why I was here and many more when I wondered why I was staying. Every week there was a crisis and every week new twists and turns on our road to salvation.
My job is almost complete. The stadium is built, the training ground a reality. We can see a way to pay off the remaining debt and the team, far from just surviving, has been to its first FA Cup Final for 81 years and had its highest finish in the League since the Seventies.
This week brought two pieces of news, one good, the other even better.
Since we had our High Court flirtation with Langston in 2008, our ability to undertake 'normal' business financing routes disappeared. We have therefore had at all times to be self sufficient in cash terms. This is difficult at the best of times in football and even more so while funding a £60m Stadium complex.
Against this background therefore, to have reached an agreement with Her Majesty's Revenue And Customs so that our tax affairs can be at all times on an agreed footing with them is better than a number of football clubs, and against the challenges that we have faced, is a monumental success. The demands on our finances are challenging and the balancing act of new stadium, team building and ensuring that all creditors are satisfied is an interesting exercise. We are lucky - many local businesses have borne with us and been more than helpful in ensuring that we continue to progress. Some parts of the media must however be excluded from this thank-you.
The second piece of news, which was a long time coming, but nevertheless well worth waiting for, was that Dato' Chan Tien Ghee (TG) had agreed to join our Board of Directors. There is no doubt that whether directly or indirectly, TG will be able to access routes to funding that have not been open to us in the past. The opportunity in Asia is huge and with TG's contacts, we are well positioned to bring new routes of funding into the Club.The announcement regarding his appointment was therefore this week's big news story. This was recognised by some but not by others.
As I mentioned above, my job is almost complete. Until it is, I will remain focused. We will complete the task of paying off our debts and then it will be time to hand over to someone who can take the club to the next stage.
Throughout the last four years, the one constant has been the support that the Club has enjoyed from you, our supporters. For that, I and my colleagues are eternally grateful.
When Cardiff City are playing in the Premier League and our supporters are enjoying the rewards that they justly deserve, I hope that the 'knockers' will have their eyes opened long enough to share in that success.
Peter
