Cardiff set sights on big spending

Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan has confirmed the club will spend big money this summer to keep their newly promoted side in the Premier League – a sign of the Bluebirds’ ambition but still a concern should the plan go wrong.

The Welsh side ended a 51-year wait for a return to the top flight as a dour 0-0 draw with Charlton on Tuesday earned them the promotion many fans in the betting world had been predicting all season. Betting fans’ attention will now turn away from Cardiff, if not to other gaming pursuits like poker and slots (playing in a casino is worth it with the offers Casino Tropez are currently promoting) then at least to the likes of Watford and Brighton, teams still chasing promotion.

It may feel like job done for many Bluebirds supporters but now the task of remaining in the Premier League begins and Tan appears to already be thinking of the next step.

“We need to strategise well and we’d like to spend some money – maybe 20 to 25 million,” Tan told BBC Sport.

“Others have spent a big amount of money and don’t do well, so we will try to spend smartly.”

Indeed, manager Malky Mackay will have to be shrewd if Cardiff wish to avoid buying mercenaries and suffer the crippling failures that have stifled so many clubs in their efforts to stay in the top flight.

As Championship clubs battle for promotion there are Premier League outfits fighting for their financial lives and QPR, Leicester and Bradford are all fine examples of how not to do it. Despite promising to keep the promotion-winning squad together and retaining Neil Warnock’s team spirit, QPR’s hierarchy have spent millions on new playing staff and managers in two years – only to find themselves dead certs for the drop.

The spending came to a crescendo in January when Harry Redknapp confirmed he wouldn’t splash the cash before buying Loic Remy and Christopher Samba for £20m combined.

Leicester also felt the effects of spending too much with no return, falling into administration in 2002, while Bradford have plummeted down the Football League and have had to start from scratch in League Two.

Portsmouth, Coventry and Sheffield United are other clubs to enjoy a brief Premier League soirée and were guilty of spending money they just couldn’t give back.

Cardiff cannot afford to be so blasé with their cash and must keep this team together regardless of what happens next season. Craig Bellamy is still a very good player as is Heidar Helguson, while defenders Matthew Connolly and Andrew Taylor deserve their chance after gruelling seasons.

Give the current crop a chance at the big time and they may prevail. If they don’t then Cardiff will go down with a £60m parachute payment and no debts to pay off for the next decade.