New LA MLS Team Has 22 Owners

Yay! Los Angeles still has no NFL team, but in 2017, they'll have Major League Soccer.

And...if all of the owners attend a home game, they are guaranteed great attendance---ha!---just kidding.

Seriously though, the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) really does have 22 owners. They range from Magic Johnson, who owns half of L.A to Mia Hamm and her husband Nomar. Tony Robbins (the motivational guys) is an owner and so is one of the guys who founded YouTube. Oh, and Vincent Tan a guy who owns Cardiff City in the Premier League and was called by USA Today "The Worst Owner in Sports".

But the group is led by a grouping including Henry Ngueyn, Peter Guber and Tom Penn

So there is that.

The LAFC has a website...but no stadium. They have owners, but no team. But if you look at the website, hey, they are lobbying for fans and corporate sponsors. The 2017 start date will coincide with new MLS franchise in Atlanta, giving the league 22 teams and the intention of adding 2 more by 2020.

Here's a live feed of the presser. Maybe they'll keep the video up at this link too?



KNX1070's Claudia Peschiutta was there as well...


The larger hope of the HQ is that Vincent Tan gets kept as far away as possible from the day-to-day operations...

OSG Prem: Was Vincent Tan Right The Whole Time...???

((HT: Sky Sports))

The prevailing thought was the Malky Mackay was the frontrunner for the vacant Crystal Palace manager's position. But in a quick turn of events, Mackay's offer was pulled from the table and his buddy, Iain Moody, CPFC's Sporting Director resigned in a hurry from his post.

Seems Tan sent a series of documents to the Football Association for review that show Mackay's alleged lack of tact, abusive, homophobic, bigoted language in e-mails, and lack of respect for the game- three things the FA doesn't take too kindly to... 70,000 e-mails and 100,000 texts worth while Mackay and Moody worked at Cardiff City.

The Daily Mail has the full story hyah...

Here's the update from Sky Sports


A statement from Palace about Moody read: "In light of the events of yesterday, sporting director Iain Moody has tendered his resignation and it has been accepted with immediate effect. There will be no further comment from the club on this matter."

Remember, Mackay launched a £7.5m legal claim against Tan for compensation and wrongful dismissal after he was sacked. But he dropped the claim in May and issued an apology to Tan.

Why, the HQ is unsure...

Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood is now the favorite to take over.
But, at the same time, Mackay is ready to defend himself in the matter...

OSG Prem: Fulham and Cardiff Relegated, Sunderland Clearing

((HT: NBCSN/BPL/BBC Sport))

Two down, one to go...

And there is a lot of prevalent thinking that the first two teams heading to the Championship couldn't happen to more deserving owners- Shad Khan and Vincent Tan. Five managers between the two teams, alienating a fan base by changing decades of traditional colors in kits and just not getting it overall...

Fulham put up an embarrassing performance with Stoke- losing 4-1. Manager Felix Magath actually apologized for the club's demotion.


Cardiff didn't do much better losing to Newcastle 3-0, but the larger issue happened in the 69th minute as Newcastle fans protested their owner and manager, Alan Pardew. The larger issue is that the fans feel their isn't the proper amount of reinvestment to bring in better players to improve their lot. The last title the team won was in 1969- the then-equivalent of the Europa League.

Thus this in the 69th minute
((HT: Newcastlevideo))


Elsewhere, Wet Ham secured their place with a 2-0 win over Tottenham. Kaboul's red early on put Spurs on their heels and they couldn't get untracked offensively. Southampton beat punchless Swansea 1-0. Aston Villa gives their fans some reason for optimism with a 3-1 over Hull. But the two interesting results came from the Manchester squads.

Sunderland almost secured their place in the Premier League with a win at Old Trafford for the first time since 1968. The problems that the Red Devils had before Ryan Giggs became caretaker manager are still there as the Black Cats won 1-0.

Giggs thinks his players were flat at a really bad time in the season...


And the night cap was Manchester City spotting Everton a 1-goal lead before coming back and winning at Goodison Park, 3-2. Edin Dzeko almost had a hat trick after Sergio Aguero left with an injury in the 22nd minute.

Ross Barkley's golazo, however, got things started for the good guys...

OSG Prem: Tan Says He May Leave Cardiff

((HT: Fox Sports))

Receiving the same kind of grief that Hull City's Assem Allam is getting these days, Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan is now saying that he will check out if the "abuse" he is receiving from the fan base doesn't stop...

He did so in an interview with the BBC


In the interview, he slams Malky Mackay and still firmly believes that a vocal minority are spoiling it for the rest of the true fans who didn't mind when he changed everything from blue to red...

Yeah... about that...

There's a reason they're called "bluebirds..."

And there's also a good chance they'll get relegated- Cardiff City play Spurs this weekend...

OSG Prem: Surely, Vincent Tan Wasn't Doing What We Think (Plus, It Doesn't Look Like Solskjaer)

((HT: BPL on NBC))

Okay...

Let's take this a step at a time...

First, Cardiff City had a 2-0 lead over bottom-dwelling Sunderland at the Cardiff City stadium the day after owner Vincent Tan sacked popular manager Malky Mackay.

So, everything's looking rosy, right...???

Wrong...

Steven Fletcher and Jack Colback both come off the bench to salvage a 2-2 draw in the last seconds of stoppage time to give the Black Cats a much needed point to get closer from the drop zone...

Which led to this from the owner's box...


Now, the question is...

Was Tan booing the officials or his own...???

That's what's up for interpretation...

Listen to the replay here from our friends at TalkSport...

And, in other news, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reported not to be interested in joining Cardiff in an interview on the network:

Jan Aage Fjortoft has told talkSPORT there is no chance that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will take over at Cardiff after Malky Mackay was sacked.

The former Manchester United legend has been installed as the bookmakers favourite to take over in the Welsh capital and is frequently linked with Premier League jobs.

But ex-Middlesbrough player Fjortoft told Keys and Gray: "[It] won’t happen. I understand that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won’t pick a club, he will pick a owner so Cardiff won’t happen. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did an interview some weeks ago and said if he goes to England he will be very aware of what owner he’s going to work with.

"He will pick an owner and not a club. Based on what I know there’s no chance he’ll go to Cardiff City."

OSG Prem: Malky Mackay's Prepared Statement On Sacking From Cardiff City FC

((HT: Sky Sports))

After Cardiff City FC owner Vincent Tan sacked manager Malky Mackay, Tan came out with a statement that either was creepy or just wrong that loosely referenced his lack of involvement in getting Mackay sacked as well as their relationship and how much Tan loves his club...

Start retching at the first impulse...

As have, probably, a lot of CCFC fans...
((HT: Sky Sports))


As was the smart play, Mackay gave off a statement of his own that reinforces him coming out of this as the good guy and not being unemployed for long...

"It is with the deepest and most sincere regret that I today confirm my sacking as manager of Cardiff City FC," Mackay said.

"As disappointing as today's decision is, I am already able to look back at my time at Cardiff City FC with immense pride and joy given the number of milestones the club achieved during the last two-and-half years.

"A League Cup Final appearance followed by promotion to the Premiership for the very first time, achieved as winners of the Championship, allowed the club a move back to this elite level after a 51-year absence.

"I have enjoyed my time immensely at this fine club, in this great city, and throughout I've always attempted to put my own personal stamp on specific areas that I believe to be all-important such as the implementation of a progressive culture as well as a complete professional approach to all aspects of day-to-day management that are required if you are to become a top club - and more importantly to remain as one.

"I would like to thank my players, all of my direct footballing staff, all the people behind the scenes at the club and most importantly the people of Cardiff, who have stood behind me resolutely throughout my time here and especially in these recent turbulent months.

"I leave with my head held high having gained a level of experience that, upon reflection, I suspect would have been difficult to find anywhere else in British football.

"The foundations laid at Cardiff City FC will provide a solid platform for my successor, and for the sake of the club, I hope that all of the progress that has been made so far will not be impaired in any way by today's enforced changes."

The fan's chairman at Cardiff is also less than pleased...
((HT: BBC News))

OSG Prem DEVELOPING: Yep, Mackay Got Sacked (UPDATED W/Tan Statement)

More when we know more, obviously...

But Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan pulled the trigger and gave the Premier League a Christmas exchange...

Manager Malky Mackay was sacked and relieved of his duties at the club after the 3-0 loss to Southampton yesterday...

Here's Mackay's post-match interview from then...
((HT: BBC Sport))


Let's face it, the HQ thinks it gave Tan the out he needed...

According to Sky Sports, the two were set to meet on Saturday, but Tan pulled the trigger anyway:

"The Board of Directors at Cardiff City Football Club have today relieved Malky Mackay of his duties. A new first team manager will be appointed and announced in due course."

The two betting favorites to replace Mackay are Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and some Turkish coach by the name of Yilmaz Vural... Vural last managed at Elazigspor in the Turkish League, but quit his post in May.

Tan himself is a 100-1 play on the boards and most Bluebirds fans right now think Tan should just go screw...
And they're probably right...

UPDATE: Tan himself has released a statement about the sacking...

"There has been a good deal of publicity generated by and about Mr Malky Mackay over the last few months.

"Indeed far too much dirty linen has been exposed to the public gaze. But, I stress, not by me. Indeed, I have deliberately not responded to this, hoping that the Club can be judged on its football rather than personalised arguments about who said what to whom.

"I have, however, regretfully concluded that it is no longer fair to the Club, its players, its fans, or the public more generally, for this uncomfortable state of affairs to continue. Cardiff City Football Club means far too much to us all for it to be distracted by this."

The HQ would like to know what manager would like to be employed by an owner such as Tan considering his meddling...

And the HQ would also like to know who released the e-mail in the first place about the issues Tan had with Mackay that started the whole cascade- surely didn't seem like a Mackay act considering how meticulous he is about his work. Mackay's focus is always on the pitch and not in the media- until, apparently, provoked...

OSG Prem: Boxing Day Recap Borders On The Wacky

((HT: BPL on NBCSN))

Let's start with the less eventful...

An own goal saved Manchester United's hind-quarters at Hull City FC, 3-2...

Chelsea scored once and beat an offensively-crippled (at the moment) Swansea, 1-0...

Tottenham and West Brom tied at ones...

Arsenal took care of a tiring West Ham squad in the second half, 3-1, but are concerned over an Aaron Ramsey injury as the weekend continues...

Tony Pulis' turnaround with Crystal Palace continues with a stoppage time goal win over Aston Villa...

Fulham needed a win over Norwich to start a climb out of the bottom of the table and got one, 2-1...

And now for the final four matches of the day...

We'll start with Cardiff and Southampton since the HQ is under the impression that the porous defensive showing in the first half in a 3-0 loss may have buried manager Malky Mackay in the eyes of joke of an owner Vincent Tan. Protests by Cardiff City fans outside the stadium before the match numbered in the hundreds, and there were a lot of fans wearing the team's original color, blue, in the stands...

Here's Mackay's post-match interview...
((HT: BBC Sport))


Everton keeper Tim Howard was sent off for the first time in ten years after getting a red against Sunderland- the team at the bottom of the table. And one goal was all that the Black Cats needed as Gus Poyet continues the team's climb from the basement...


Stoke was leading 1-0 until all hell broke loose, The Potters went two men down on red cards, manager Mark Hughes exploded and was sent to the stands and Newcastle scored 5 in a row to win 5-1.

Here's Hughes eviscerating everyone in ref's colors...
((HT: BBC Sport))


And the finale was Liverpool and Man City...

After Liverpool got the early lead, the rest of the game was Man City's with goals from Kompany and Negredo for the three points and a 2-1 win...

Reds manager Brendan Rodgers was less than pleased...
((HT: BBC Sport))


And that's the beginning of the weekend...

OSG Prem: Vincent Tan Buys Into Bosnia, Still May Fire Mackay

((HT: Pro Soccer Talk/Farley))

Okay, the HQ admits to a little blending here...

Farley has come out with a piece where it has been announced that Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan... the same guy who went after Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay for telling people publicly that he wanted to improve his team by bringing in talent in the January transfer window... had apparently decided as far back as September that he was going to invest close to US$2-million into Bosnian soccer champion franchise FK Sarajevo...

From Farley- and it gets better:

According to outlets in Bosnia, Tan will not change the club colors, something he controversially did with his investment in Wales. While Cardiff City has historically worn blue, Tan changed the team’s main color to red, though the team continues to be colloquially referred to as the Bluebirds.

“We have signed an agreement which defines the investment and management rights in accordance to the club’s statute and legislation that is in force in Bosnia,” FK Sarajevo’s general director Dino Selimovic told Reuters, as reported by The Guardian.

Here's what FK Sarajevo and Zeljeznicar- the top two teams in the country's league this year- look like when they play each other


Now, the Cardiff City update...

Chairman Mehmet Dalman has admitted to Sky Sports that there are options that don't involve Mackay if the manager and owner can't get together to hash out their issues. Which is difficult since, according to Mackay, the two haven't met in three months. Mackay has also said that he has tried twice to have "peace talks," but has been shown the hand:

"Every effort that can be made is being made to allow the club to move forward. We will do everything humanly possible to maintain the status quo but if not we will move fast to repair the situation.

"If that means bringing in a new manager, we will, but for the time being, we believe that's premature and we will work together to fix the predicament we're in."

Mackay will not resign and here's the ultimatum...
((HT: Sky Sports))


So, Vincent Tan will spend money in Bosnia, but not in the Premier. He'll change team colors in the Premier, but not in Bosnia.

The HQ understands... completely...

Tan's ownership fits Bosnia perfectly and has no business being in the Premier League...

OSG Prem: Mackay Defiant After Liverpool Loss

((HT: BPL on NBC))

As well he should...

Full disclosure...

The HQ is vested in the Swansea City Supporters Trust, so saying anything in support of Cardiff City is like a Georgia fan saying they like the Gators...

But we have come to full support of current CCFC manager Malky Mackay because, let's face it, he's getting screwed by an owner in Vincent Tan who knows nothing about the sport he's an owner in.

Let's see:

You change the base color of your kit, slapping a hundred years of history, because you want to appease a main sponsor...

You swap out your Director of Player Development, who is well-respected in the business, for a 24-year-old who is a friend of your son's... well, because...and he's not even qualified to have the job...

You slam your manager publicly for saying what every other manager in the Premier League says this time of year because he wants to IMPROVE your club to keep them from relegation...

And, then, you tell him to resign of be fired because of his insolence...

Right...

Vincent Tan is now, officially, worse than Jerry Jones... and about elevendy-billion times dumber...

The fans supported Mackay before the 3-1 loss to Liverpool and want the owner gone...
((HT: BBC News))


Brendan Rodgers was asked about the win post-match...
((HT: BBC Sport))


And the fans supported Mackay even more in a humbling display after the match...
((HT: NBCSports))


When asked about it afterwards in his interview, Mackay wasn't backing down:

"I am someone who will absolutely not resign, I don't think there is any need for that to happen.

"Crystal clear there will be absolutely no way I will be resigning from Cardiff City."

OSG Prem: Mackay Not Quitting At Cardiff, Sacked...??? (UPDATE: Front Office Meeting Tonight)

Despite all that has gone down with Cardiff City's egomaniacal, unintelligent football owner Vincent Tan, it looks like CCFC manager Malky Mackay won't just walk out the door...

Mackay has been given an ultimatum by Tan to either resign or be fired because of what Tan calls "overspending" and by, as Sky Sports says: "... accusing his manager of unfairly raising the expectations of the club's supporters by suggesting he was looking to sign three players in the January transfer window."

Whatever in the blue hell that means...

Mackay missed a Friday morning presser involving this weekend's match with Liverpool, which his assistant David Kerslake took over. Mackay wasn't made available to the media leading to speculation that he has been sacked...

Here's a little of the Kerslake presser


Mackay took Cardiff into the Premier League this season for the first time since 1962. They are currently 15th- four points clear of relegation.

Hull City FC boss Steve Bruce backed Mackay this week, as did Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers yesterday


Word from Talksport is that Tan is meeting with the team chairman this evening (GMT) to discuss Mackay's future. Mackay has boarded the team flight from Wales with other team personnel heading to Liverpool for Saturday's match.

OSG Prem: Brendan Rodgers Defends Malky Mackay

((HT: Daily Mail Online))

And slams Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan as someone who "knows nothing about football..."
Evidence below...


Liverpool knows they'll have their hands full with Cardiff this weekend...
Rodgers said as much in the press conference...

But for other managers to come to the defense of one of their own in extraordinary circumstances as these is unheard of...

Good for Rodgers... and even better for Mackay

OSG Prem: Cardiff City Disintegrating

And everyone is pointing their collective fingers at owner Vincent Tan and his lack of understanding what it means to be a successful franchise in the Premier League...

First, Tan decided that the Bluebirds would change their colors to red...
Which angered the fans no end... and a lot of them still wear blue at home games...

Then, Tan let Iain Moody go as (what Americans would call) Director of Player Personnel... inserting a friend of the family who was in his mid-20's and didn't have his proper paperwork to even be qualified in the job...

Here's manager Malky Mackay talking about that at the time of the rearrangement...


Then, with Cardiff City being in the middle of the table and Mackay looking to make additions in the January signing period, Tan went off on his manager who, he feels, is asking for too much:

From Cardiff Chief Executive Simon Lim:

"Tan Sri Vincent Tan was extremely upset to read quotes from the manager concerning the possibility of new recruits, before he had been informed whether funds would be made available."

"He believes that doing so unfairly raises supporter expectations, placing unnecessary pressure on the club.

"His view is that due to the funds already committed, including the originally authorised summer transfer budget of £35m that rose to £50m in total, including add-ons, the manager has been fully supported.

"The overspending of £15m has upset Tan Sri greatly, resulting in the removal on Iain Moody as head of recruitment. As such, he has stated that not a single penny will be made available in January.

"Having been the highest-spending promoted club and the seventh-highest spender in the Premier League last summer, the owner believes that the manager has been given the best possible chance of retaining our Premier League status."

With all of this angst going on in the headlines, the question was asked whether or not Mackay would be sticking around or if he thought that Tan was going to fire him, too...

Watch the end...


Mackay was interviewed on BBC Radio Wales: "I will not resign from my post. I was surprised obviously, but at the same time my job doesn't change.

"It's a job only three-quarters done as far as I'm concerned - making Cardiff a sustainable Premier League team.

"I have a great group of players who are competing at this level and enjoying this level. The fans are enjoying being at this level and my duty is to make sure we continue to do that.

"It would be wrong of me to walk away from a job because the owner doesn't want to give me more money in January."

So, odds are that Tan will execute another short-fuse act after another illogical loss- and Mackay will end up on another sideline very soon...