City: my Good Morning Wales interview

RHUN AP IORWERTH: Co-Presenter
Well I don’t normally speak to our next guest about sporting matters, not in a formal capacity at least, but Leighton Andrews, Labour Assembly Member, is a season ticket holder at Ninian Park. Thanks for coming on the programme this morning. Your reflections on what’s happened so far?

LEIGHTON ANDREWS AM: Labour
Well I think all the fans, frankly, are feeling kicked in the teeth, very worried and very angry. There’s no doubt we all appreciate the fact that we’re watching championship football rather than what we would regard as the old fourth division, which of course we were watching only a few years ago, but I think we’re all astounded that things have developed in this way so quickly.

RHUN AP IORWERTH:
And who do you blame?

LEIGHTON ANDREWS AM:
Well at this stage, you know, we don’t have enough information is the reality. I think what we’re all looking… what we all want, of course, is to avoid administration, avoid relegation and not sell any more players but that may not be realistic. I think the reality is that we can only avoid those things if more directors put more money in but they won’t put more money in unless they get more control of the club and that doesn’t seem to be forthcoming at the moment.

RHUN AP IORWERTH:
Sam Hammam was seen as the saviour of Cardiff City, he ignited the dream. Is the dream still alive or do you think we’re on a downward spiral?

LEIGHTON ANDREWS AM:
Well, I think it’s very serious at the moment. I think people appreciated that Sam did manage to turn the club around and bring it to the championship, as I said, but at the moment I think he’s got to come clean with the fans, people want information, they want to know what’s going on, they want an end to the bull and an end to the spin. I’m glad the club published the accounts on Saturday but that’s just got to be the start. We’ve really got to know what’s going on in the boardroom.

RHUN AP IORWERTH:
Do you feel the club has been living beyond its means?

LEIGHTON ANDREWS AM:
Well clearly the club appears to be paying some of the highest wages in the division. A lot of people feel we signed a goalkeeper at the beginning of the season that we didn’t actually need and the rumours are that, for example, he’s another of the players being paid well. I think there’ve been some judgments that have been made about signing players that have been mistakes and I think a lot of fans feel that. We want the club to be run sensibly, we want it to be run prudently, we want it to be run successfully and at the moment we’re not getting any of that.

RHUN AP IORWERTH:
We’re in a position where we’re told that many more key players could be on the way out, though the club say it’s not imminent; do you fear the worst?

LEIGHTON ANDREWS AM:
Well of course we do because last week we were told one day no players would be sold by the weekend and next morning our captain was being sold so it’s very difficult, frankly, to believe what is being said from the club and that’s what they’ve got immediately, they’ve got to stop saying one thing one day and then doing something different the next.

RHUN AP IORWERTH:
Leighton Andrews, thank you. Leighton Andrews clearly angry at what’s happened at Cardiff City Football Club.