My thanks to all those at the club and the fans who have supported me during my time in Wales. If I have caused any offence to anyone during this time, especially to Vincent Tan, then I apologise without reservation.
Moody:
Wherever mistakes were made during my time at the club, I wish to apologise for any part that I played in them, and for any offence I might have caused, particularly to Tan Sri Vincent Tan and all City fans.
You get the feeling that Tan wanted the unreserved apology more than anything else, he seems the type to get off on having somebody making a nauseating grovelling apology to him, probably just before releasing the hounds.
The key phrase in both those statement is "I have reached a settlement" which tells you Mackay and Moody are probably happy to take the momentary embarrassment for a lot of cash and, in the latter's case, the chance to move on to a new job.
It's telling that Tan and his lackeys claimed to have damning evidence against them of wrongdoing which we'll never hear, probably because it doesn't exist.
Reaching a settlement usually means neither side is entirely confident that they will win. For the plaintiff, sufficient damages to beat the defendant's Part 36 offer, which is basically an off the record offer from the defendant. For the defendant, it usually means losing or the plaintiff's similar offer being lower than the eventual award.
If the matter goes to Court, after the judge makes his ruling, the off the record offers are shown to him and they have an affect on how costs are apportioned, and whether they're on an ordinary or indemnity basis. The latter is punitive for wasting the Court's time punitive in continuing to litigate after rejecting what turned out to be a reasonable offer.
Simon Burnton
theguardian.com, Thursday 18 September 2014
Fare thee well, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Fare thee well, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
… AND SOLSKJAER HAS LOST IT
Not long ago – about nine months, to be precise – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sitting smugly behind a table in Cardiff, getting unveiled as their new manager. Someone asked if he’d learned much from Lord Ferg, the man who while both were at Manchester United taught him the incredible knack of scoring with wild abandon despite spending almost all of almost every match on the subs’ bench. “I had the best teacher there can be,” he deadpanned. “So of course I am looking through my diaries. I always used to write notes. I was a boring man, but a reflective man.”
His new employer was Vincent Tan, the red-obsessed, near-permanently-sunglassed, mustachioed Cardiff owner. Many words can and indeed have been used to describe Tan, but “boring” and “reflective” are not two of them. Nine months later Solskjaer has gone, citing a “difference in philosophy”. His failure to spot this difference might be one of the things that Solskjaer has to reflect on this evening, boringly.
He might also reflect about that time in May 2012 when Aston Villa called and asked if he’d mind awfully if they made him their manager. He said he’d rather not. “It wasn’t the right time,” he explained soon afterwards. “My family didn’t fancy moving and it would not have been right for me to come to the Premier League after winning two league titles.” Later that year he appeared on Blackeye Rovers’ shortlist after the departure of Steve Kean-out and was by way of bonus linked with Bolton. “There will always be speculation when someone in England needs a new manager,” he said at the time. “Bolton’s not for me. [These] rumours crop up all the time. But I’m not that bothered about them.”
Towards the end of 2013, after Molde finished fifth in the league, 19 points behind champions Stromsgodset, his chairman suggested he might look for employment elsewhere. “For Ole, it is obvious that this can be good timing if he wants to further his career,” prodded Tarje Nordstrand Jacobsen. Even so, he turned down Legia Warsaw and West Bromwich Albion. But when Cardiff City called in January, Solskjaer jumped. Turns out it was right for him to come to the Premier League after winning two league titles after all. “It’s a fantastic challenge,” he correctly analysed. “Cardiff are ready to take the next step up. I hope I can help them.”
Turns out Cardiff’s next step would be down. Quite a long way down. Tonight they sit 17th in the Championship table, precisely one division lower than they were when he arrived, Solskjaer having helped them to five wins in 25 matches. Turns out his decision-making wasn’t up to much, which everyone could probably have worked out from his career choices. The club, on reflection, should learn from this. The problem is, what they should learn is that anyone who wants to manage Cardiff City probably isn’t the right kind of person to manage Cardiff City. The other problem is that, now Solskjaer’s gone, the only reflective thing at Cardiff City is the owner’s sunglasses.
He should have realised his time was short the moment he found himself in the same division as Middlesbrough. And even shorter when the fixtures computer supplied a home match with Middlesbrough in early September. Because losing 'to a team like Middlesbrough' seems to be the ultimate disgrace at the end of a run of mildly bad form. It's not that long since Blackburn used to always sack their manager after losing Middlesbrough. Perhaps it's the the real reason Steve Gibson has always held on to managers for longer than most clubs, not through any sense of giving the manager time, more that in the time he's been in charge we've never managed to lose to Middlesbrough.
We also have a tendency for managers on a losing streak to be sacked just before they play Middlesbrough, so in many respects OGS did well to last until after playing Middlesbrough.
I genuinely have a strong feeling they could go all the way, i.e. out of business.
Tan proved his vindictiveness with the Mackay affair and has long complained about the support's "ungratefulness" (despite the fact that most of them rolled over for him without whimper) so with the club owing him £120m odd already it doesn't look good if he pulls the plug.
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