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Tues 8th Aug 2000 - Bobby Gould. New City manager. |
| August Headlines |
The rumours have been flying around for weeks. Bobby Gould to be director of football at Ninian Park. Even when a press conference was called for 4:30pm this afternoon it was a forgone conclusion. Gould as director of football. It came as a great shock to all when it was annouced that Bobby had been appointed as manager. Rough justice for Billy Ayre? Billy did not looked best pleased but gave his full backing to Bobby and they will be come the management team at Ninian Park. Bobby as manager, Billy as his assistant. Bobby said "This is a colossal challenge. We're in the Third Division and we want to get to the Premiership. There can't be any bigger challenge, but we look forward to it."
Billy said "No one man is bigger than the club. This club has to be taken forward, and I'm just a cog in the wheel. I can fully understand Sam's reasoning. I am completely happy with the situation." The link between Gould and Hammam is obvious. Bobby took Sam Hammam's crazy gang to Wembley and beat Liverpool to win the FA Cup. Gould left Wales under a cloud 18 months ago when he quit as first team coach for the national side. But there is a difference between managing the national team and managing a club team. Bobby has great credentials when it comes to club management, the FA Cup being the pinnacle of his time at Wimbledon. Add to that Bobby's knowledge of the up and coming players in Welsh football. Bobby would have seen hundreds of players while he was Welsh boss. The only gap appears to be Joe Kinnear. He was widely tipped to replace Billy as manager. Maybe now the director of football slot is open for him? So here we stand on a new threshold. Only one thing for the future is certain. Its not going to be dull. Tickets now available for the rollercoaster that is Cardiff City. Report from SkySports.com. The Third Division club were taken over by the ebullient Hammam in the summer, and he has moved quickly to bring in the man who masterminded Wimbledon's famous 1988 FA Cup triumph. In a specially arranged press conference at Ninian Park on Tuesday, Hammam announced that Bobby Gould will become manager with previous incumbent Billy Ayre staying on as assistant. Hammam said: "I realise what we are doing is very tough on Billy, but I told him that if he proves himself, he will be next in line if Bobby ever leaves this club." Ayre was appointed in March but was unable to halt the Bluebirds' instant return to the Third Division. Hammam said: "We need to be recruiting players and Bob can compare with anyone in the land when it comes to recruiting players from the lower divisions. I have put a lot of money into the club. I can afford to make mistakes." Hammam is believed to want to change the team colours to green - but is otherwise considered a most-popular arrival in the blue corner of South Wales. Whether Gould will be as well received remains to be seen - as he was hounded out of the Wales job as the fans turned against his tenure in charge of the national team. He quit as Wales coach after his team were outclassed 4-0 by Italy in a Euro 2000 qualifier in June 1999. Gould is an Englishman, but has extensive managerial experience, with spells at Coventry and West Bromwich Albion. He said: "This is a colossal challenge. We're in the third division and we want to get to the Premiership. "There can't be any bigger challenge, but we look forward to it." Ayre sounded grateful to continue as Gould's no 2. He said: "No one man is bigger than the club. This club has to be taken forward, and I'm just a cog in the wheel. I can fully understand Sam's reasoning. I am completely happy with the situation." The first objective for Gould and Hammam will be to win promotion from the league's basement division for the second time in three seasons. Report from Sporting Life. Gould, 54, is renewing links with former Wimbledon supremo Sam Hammam, whose takeover of the Welsh club is expected to be confirmed later this month. Under Hammam, Gould guided Wimbledon to their finest hour in the 1988 FA Cup final, when as massive underdogs the 'Crazy Gang' beat Liverpool 1-0. "I have remained very close friends with Bobby since we finished working together 10 years ago," said Hammam. "We need to be recruiting players and Bob can compare with anyone in the land when it comes to recruiting players from the lower divisions. "He can organise a superb scouting system at all levels, whether it be for the first team or the youth team. "If we waited too long and started to make changes later we might be 5-10 points behind the leading pack." Wimbledon were relegated from the Premiership last season after Hammam had relinquished his final interests in the club. Gould resigned as Wales boss last year after four years in the job and will take over from Billy Ayre, who steps down to the position of assistant manager at Ninian Park. "This is a colossal challenge," said the former Coventry manager. "We're in the Third Division and we want to get to the Premiership. There can't be any bigger challenge, but we look forward to it." Ayre added: "No one man is bigger than the club. This club has to be taken forward and I'm just a cog in the wheel. I can fully understand Sam's reasoning. I am completely happy with the situation." Report from BBC Online. Billy Ayre, who took charge of the first team after Frank Burrows' departure last February, will become Gould's assistant at the club. It seems likely that Gould will take immediate charge of the playing side, in time for Saturday's league opener with Exeter City. Billy Ayre will be given first refusal on the manager's job, should Hammam's take-over deal fall through. Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Sam Hammam said he had chosen Bobby Gould for his ability to bring quality youngsters to Cardiff. "Bobby is very good at organising the scouting system," Hammam said. "He is a superb organiser." High stakes Gould took former club Wimbledon to FA Cup success in 1988 and it was his proven track record that persuaded Sam Hammam that he was the correct man for the job. "I am investing a lot of money in this club," Hammam said, "and I do not want to take a risk on somebody who I do not know. "I have a very close personal relationship with Bobby and it was very important to me to bring him here." Hammam had words of consolation and thanks for Billy Ayre, who returns to his former role of assistant manager. "Billy has always put the club ahead of himself in this matter. He has conducted himself like a true gentleman," Hammam said. Ayre himself was disappointed by the announcement but pledged his loyalty to the Bluebirds. "It is a bitter pill to swallow for me," he said. "But no individual is bigger than the club and I am happy to do what's best for Cardiff City." Hard work begins The priority now for Gould and Hammam will be to transform potential into results. Gould is believed to have formed a list of players he would hope to bring to Cardiff already, as the club hopes to ensure immediate promotion to the second division. In the meantime, deposed manager Billy Ayre had set this work in motion and was hoping to bring West Bromwich Albion defender Andy Thompson to the club. |
Copyright Michael Morris 2000.
