CARDIFF CITY: THE SLEEPING GIANT THAT WON'T WAKE UP

For years Cardiff City have been described as a 'sleeping giant', the capital club, an incredible youth system, new state of the art training on the way, one of the biggest stadiums in the EFL and a plethora of other things. The fear of mine, and the Cardiff City fan base, is that rather than fulfilling the club's current potential, Cardiff continue to fall deeper and deeper into a situation that will soon become unsalvageable.

A disheartened Calum Chambers.

Lack of Accountability:

No-one ever wants to take accountability for the problems. Whether that's the Board, players or fans. Cardiff City are in a collective rut. A lot of the responsibility lies with the Board, there's no doubt of that. You can't constantly make promises that you can't keep, and then disappear when you don't fulfil the promises. Seven managers since relegation. In what world is that sustainable or logical?

The players also need to take accountability. There's a handful of members in the squad on their fifth manager in just over two years; there's some who have been here longer and worked under six or seven. Does that not tell you a great deal? It can't always be the manager.

Fans also have a minor part to play. Cardiff City's support away from home is phenomenal. You look back and, even this season, the feeling stood in the Swansea away end was pride, the feeling that this is my football club. At the Cardiff City Stadium it is another story. The CCS is hushed unless there's a corner, a close effort or, of course, a goal. I think back to Swansea at home last season, the supporters essentially sucked the ball into the goal with the noise they made. It really can be the difference in those tight, scrappy games. But as I said, the City fans attending games in the bigger picture are a minor problem in all this.

Growing Toxicity:

A chunk of the Cardiff City fan base has turned toxic. If we lose, then a lot of noise is made, but when Cardiff win, it's slightly quieter. This has caused an ever growing divide amongst the fan base. The slogan 'City As One' has never applied less than it does now. Why must it be the end of the world every time Cardiff lose? Or every time a player has a bad game? If City ever go on a bad run it's 'The protests must start'. I don't believe these people represent all of us, however their voice is far more prominent in the fan base.

This has begun to pour out onto the pitch. Against QPR, Jak Alnwick, Calum Chambers, Yakou Meite and Omer Riza headed straight for the tunnel at full-time. Against Coventry, Yakou Meite shushing his own fans. If this doesn't show that the toxicity is reaching the players, then I don't know what does. I fully understand supporters spend their hard earned money to attend games, and therefore are entitled to an opinion on what they see, but surely there are better ways to vent frustration than abusing the players.

The toxicity between the Board and fans is one that continues to brew. Mainly Vincent Tan, Mehmet Dalman, Ken Choo and occasionally, Steve Borley are called out by supporters. I fully understand the frustration with the lack of care those individuals have shown our football club which is simply indefensible. My problem comes when the Board tells us what we want to hear, then we don't see any of them for months until the next crisis hits.

The Manager Situation:

The current crisis that has sparked supporters into life is the managerial situation. We were told, at a push, Omer Riza would have three games in charge to see us through to the international break; we now sit here in December with Riza set to oversee his thirteenth game as Cardiff City's interim boss.

How is this fair on anyone? How many times do Riza and the players have to voice their concern before something is actually done? 73 days and counting and no closer to any decision. What have the Board been doing for the best part of two and half months? I fail to see how uncertainty for a club who looked destined for another relegation battle helps anyone, but perhaps that's me being myopic.

Cardiff City Football Club need a manager, and a good one given the wait. No more of this trying to get by on the cheap. If Tan wants to make money from a football club (which is delusional in itself), then Cardiff need to be playing in the Premier League, however Cardiff sit in a position where the Premier League is an air castle.

Conclusion - We just want credible answers!

The powerful Fan Advisory Board letter has sparked this for myself, and there's nothing I can say that will hit home more than that. But the one thing I will say, Cardiff City's fall from grace and the current state of the football club is nothing short of depressing, and a lot of that falls on those above. Do they care?

My message to the Board would be, you've lost a big chunk of this fan base already, but for what has now become the minority that fully back you, if you lose them then this will become a situation no-one wants. You've had time to fix the problems, probably more than other supporters at other clubs would allow, and still no answers. Why?

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