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The_Rev

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Cardiff consider switching to red strip from blue in Asian rebranding

Cardiff City's Malaysian investors are giving serious consideration to changing the team's colours as part of a highly controversial rebranding exercise that would see the Welsh club play in red from the start of next season and bring to an end 104 years of wearing a blue strip.

It is the sort of story that normally appears on April Fools' Day, but it is understood the Championship club's backers are serious about a proposal that is likely to go down badly with Cardiff's supporters and which shows little regard for the club's history. Cardiff's nickname of "the Bluebirds" would seemingly be redundant if the changes come into effect, and there is speculation that a red dragon will become the new emblem.

Money would appear to be the motivation behind a radical overhaul that the club's Malaysian owner, Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, is prepared to oversee, with red said to be viewed as a more dynamic colour in Asia when it comes to marketing merchandise.

One theory is that fresh investment would come in on the back of the rebranding, giving Cardiff another shot at reaching the Premier League after suffering defeat in the play-offs in each of the last three seasons. Whether Cardiff fans buy into that trade‑off remains to be seen.

In another development in the Welsh capital on Tuesday, the football club have released Cardiff Blues from their long‑term lease at the stadium, meaning the rugby union side will return to the Arms Park from next season.

Alan Whiteley, the Cardiff City chief executive, said: "Satisfactory financial terms have been reached with the Cardiff Blues to allow their exit, which, coupled with the Premier League aspirations of this football club and a need therefore to be in sole control of our stadium, makes this a good solution for both sides." (link to article)

Coincidentally I was reading an article the other day about other clubs who changed their traditional colours. Leeds and Palace most famously did it, Leeds from blue to white in the early 1960s (to be more like Real Madrid apparently) and Palace in the early 70s from claret & blue to a Barcelona style red & blue, Palace also changed their nickname from The Glazers to The Eagles. Graham Taylor changed Watford's kit from gold & black to yellow, red & black. Bill Shankly changed Liverpool from red & white to all red. None of their fans seem particularly bothered now.

I'm curious to how fans of those clubs felt at the time, and how they feel about it now. I wouldnt be thrilled if anybody tried to change the Villa's traditional colours, but would I still be pissed off about it ten years later? Hard to say.

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Villa had a purple home shirt on 2001-2002. I seem to rememeber many villa fans were not happy about it.

At first fans wont be happy, but 15 years down the line, people wont care.

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who's club is it then?

Fecking awful decision IMHO.

Shows a distinct lack of appreciation for heritage, the fans, and the proud history of an old club. All about marketing to those luck obsessed Chinese (who wield the power in Malaysia, not the Malays themselves.)

If China is going to be calling the shots a lot from here on, and they start buying up a lot of English teams, we'll see a lot more of this... All Premier League teams in red in ten years lol!

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it'll probably mean they'll have to change all the blue lego bricks in the stadium to red ones as well...

I've spoken to the 2 bluebird fans in the office - 1 was best described as outraged, the other was non-plussed about it all.

And I can hardly see Wrexham being overjoyed at another Welsh team playing in red with dragons splashed about on their badges!

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I think if there were a more legitimate reason behind it, people wouldn't mind as much.

But when the reason is just to make a bit more money, just seems like selling out.

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It's the classic moral dilemma though, isn't it?

Imagine some obscenely rich oil sheikh wants to buy the Villa. He's willing to finance the playing squad on a scale that would make Manchester City look like Halifax Town. All we have to do is scrap claret and blue, and play in red.

Personally, I'd rather see us slide down to the Conference and keep the colours, but perhaps I'm a minority?

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If I'm entirely honest, I'd take a colour change even if it just put us on a par with Man City, never mind dwarfing them.

Supporting Villa has never been particularly exciting (for me) and I'd happily take a change of kit colour if it was going to add some trophies into the cabinet.

That said, in Cardiff's case, the kit change is being done to raise what will probably be a relatively small amount of money, it's clear the owners arent going to plough billions into the club. I would be pretty upset If I were a bluebird (soon to be Robbin).

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I know a Palace fan who would have been one back then. I'll ask him next time I see him. It's an interesting discussion. My immediate reaction is that it's an abhorrent thing to do. But they've had decades of underachievement so in their situation might it be seen as a 'fresh start' by some of their fans; probably. I think there would be lynchings in B6 if the same was proposed at Villa.

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For me there are three "givens" (OK, four if you count our goalie):

1. The club's name is 'Aston Villa'

2. The stadium is Villa Park (not to be relocated or renamed in any way)

3. The colours are claret and blue

Change those at your peril.

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Aston Villa should always be claret and blue. But 2 of my favourite kits from the past were the stripey ones.

I would love Villa to have a stripey kit again. That 99/2000 kit was awesome.

*ducks for cover*

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For me there are three "givens" (OK, four if you count our goalie):

1. The club's name is 'Aston Villa'

2. The stadium is Villa Park (not to be relocated or renamed in any way)

3. The colours are claret and blue

Change those at your peril.

1. Yes but we should have changed it in 1911

2. Yes but if we needed a bigger stadium then we could move

3. Yes these must not be changed

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For me there are three "givens" (OK, four if you count our goalie):

1. The club's name is 'Aston Villa'

2. The stadium is Villa Park (not to be relocated or renamed in any way)

3. The colours are claret and blue

Change those at your peril.

1. Yes but we should have changed it in 1911

notagain.jpg

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