Cardiff City news 11/07/00

Tues 11th July 2000 - Cardiff Celts? - Green kits?

Sam Hammam has given details of his dream of seeing Cardiff City transformed into Cardiff Celts with a new Celtic image and a Celtic force. He suggests changing the club colours to green and white and to change the nickname of the club to the Dragons. Of course there is a new badge to be designed as well. Hammam has already outlined his idea of the new badge as a Celtic cross with a bluebird, a cedar tree, a daffodil and a sword at the various points.

Sam wants to push the clubs Welshness an create a Celtic force to wage a footballing war on all English teams that stand in the way of success.

Sam is looking for the cooperation of the fans so the whole club can go forward as one family. He says "I want the supporters to back my idea's otherwise it will not happen. They are the key to everything, but I am also prepared to listen".

Sam Hammam will hold 16.5 million shares if the deal goes through, that will give him just over 80% control. 4.5m shares are available now and an EGM to ask the 567 shareholders to release a further 12 million will see Hammam at the helm of a ship sailing into a future that will be different to say the least

August 12th could be that start of the "Crazy Celts" attack on the football league and ultimately Premiership. Impossible dream? Wimbledon did it. (Although they did not change their identity. personally I'm not afraid of change but no more City, no more bluebirds, no more blue shirts - maybe a bit too drastic. I think our away kit should symbolise the new force. The mighty bluebirds at home, the mighty Celts on the road. There has to be a balance.

Tuesdays Echo had a couple of indepth strories on Hammam's plans. Here they are.
11/07/2000.
PROSPECTIVE Cardiff City owner Sam Hammam has a dream - a Celtic soccer invasion of England.

Speaking exclusively to the Echo, he revealed plans to turn the

Ninian Park club upside down - if the supporters agree.

Hammam proposes to change the club’s name to Cardiff Celts, with a new look badge centred around a Celtic Cross, change the playing strip to green and white, and nickname the club The Dragons.

Hammam said: “I have a dream and Wales has a dream, and that is to make its capital city a Celtic force every time we cross the Severn Bridge to England.

“This has to be a Wales thing. It’s not just a Cardiff thing or a football thing, but a Welsh identity, a Welsh force.

“Cardiff is the Welsh capital and must unite under the Celtic Cross with the heart of the cross being the red dragon of Wales and playing in the strip of its national colours: green and white.

“The Celts have been pushed back through the ages and its time to hit back.”

11/07/2000
SAM Hammam spent four hours at Ninian Park yesterday, talking through ideas and future plans with the club’s chairman Steve Borley and board directors Kim Walker and David Temme.

The former Wimbledon owner then had a tour of the Ninian Park ground that will become his second home by the end of August, if plans progress with legal parties in the next couple of weeks.

Hammam has a masterplan to unite a Celtic force to wage a football war on every English club that stands in its way of success.

The 52 year-old said: “I have a dream, but I’m not stupid enough to know that other people have had that dream in the past at this club and failed.

“I want the supporters to back my ideas otherwise it will not happen. They are the key to everything, but I am also prepared to listen.

“This club is their responsibility as much as anybody else’s and they are ambassadors of this club.

“I want this club to represent Wales, the motto on the Celtic Cross will read ‘Mae Cymru’n Galw’ - Wales Is Calling. If the fans come up with a better idea I will listen to them.

“The clubs nickname The Bluebirds sounds too tame, too gentle. It’s a swallow - it sounds too pretty and nice.

“Yes, we will keep the pretty bird on the badge with its club’s heritage, but ‘The Dragons’ has more bite, more passion, as if we really mean business.

“I want this club to carry the hope of the nation. We are on a Celtic invasion trip across the border. If everything goes well one of the first jobs is to put a giant Celtic Cross on the gates of this club.

“The supporters must under-stand it has to be a family concern, a united Wales.

Swansea, Newport, whatever, - they must be part of this club. We are all Celts together - end of story. I do not want any divide - we must welcome the small clubs and big ones.

“I don’t want this Cardiff v Swansea nonsense, the only time we do battle is when we play them on the field for the 90 minutes - not before or after. We will have no trouble at this club.

“When you are a leader you have to be brave to win battles. If we are to succeed against all the odds, it is a tall order but there is always a chance we might just do it.

“There is a dream for Wales and Cardiff, and we must reach every corner of Wales to make the dreams come true, even the man on the tip of Anglesey must support the Celts every Saturday afternoon.

“I’m a foreigner asking people to back the club and give it a Celtic flavour and at some point in time I will have a base in Wales to be one of them.

“Otherwise I will not get that Celtic feeling and emotion - I have to be one of them to make this whole thing work.

“If I am to be the father or mother of this family I need to assume its character and realise the dream of the nation.

“If I don’t I will fail. You cannot run a club so far away - you need binoculars.

“If we succeed then we do together as Celts. If we drop to the non-league we do that together as well, myself included.”

Hammam’s visit to the capital was summed up by one passer-by, who said: “It looks like Sam’s coming in. I’d better get a season ticket while I am passing.”