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Cardiff City: Championship nearly men to Premier League new boys

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cardiff-city-promotionTuesday night finally saw Cardiff City long farewell to the Championship and introduce themselves to the English Premier League.

The Bluebirds’ goalless draw with Charlton Athletic secured promotion to the top flight after a 51-year absence.

Achieving promotion has ended a difficult relationship with the Championship where the Welsh side have had three successive play-off heartaches.

Manager Malky Mackay has had supreme backing from the Malaysian consortium led by millionaire Vincent Tan, whose investment of over £60 million has allowed Mackay to mould his own squad.

The former Watford boss sealed promotion with just two players in his starting 11 – goalkeeper David Marshall and right-back Kevin McNaughton – that appeared in Cardiff’s Wembley disappointment against Blackpool in 2010.

But in previous years, it wasn’t so easy to throw cash around and for things to suddenly fall into place.

The Bluebirds have embarked on a tough journey since their arrival into Division One 10 years ago after Division Two play-off triumph against QPR.

After five years of flirting with the newly-named Championship middle table, Cardiff started to push for the play-offs.

In the 2008/09 campaign, the South Wales club were on course for a top six finish but a 6-0 hammering by Preston North End saw the Lancashire team pip them to sixth position.

A season later brought a move to a new home as Cardiff moved to the Cardiff City Stadium from Ninian Park in July 2009.

The move, architected by former chairman Peter Ridsdale, ended a 99-year stay at Ninian Park but showed the ambition of the board to reach the Promised Land.

In their first term of the stadium switch, the Bluebirds finished in 4th place only to lose 3-2 to Blackpool in the play-off final.

Just a few weeks later they narrowly avoided a winding-up order over an unpaid tax bill thanks to Tan’s money.

It was their fifth visit to the High Court in seven months.

Play-off semi-final losses in the next two seasons to Reading and West Ham respectively made it seem to Cardiff fans that they would never make it out of the Championship – upwards at least.

It hasn’t always been doom and gloom at the Cardiff City Stadium though.

The club has formed two successful cup runs in recent years.

They reached the 2008 FA Cup Final going down 1-0 to Portsmouth before making the 2012 Carling Cup Final against Liverpool; missing out on silverware via penalties.

The Cup Final against Liverpool was in Mackay’s first full season in charge of Cardiff who appointed the Scotsman after the sacking of Dave Jones.

Jones, in charge since 2005, was largely unpopular amongst a majority of the Cardiff faithful but was given the chance to prove to Tan and his consortium that he could be the man to fire them to the big time.

His bid to succeed saw Cardiff-born and Welsh captain (at the time) Craig Bellamy join from Manchester City in a flurry of loan signings.

However despite their talented squad containing England capped Jay Bothroyd and midfield ace Peter Whittingham, it was curtains for Jones following the play-off defeat to Reading.

Malaysian owner Tan’s subsequent appointment of Mackay began the increased spending.

Star man Bellamy returned permanently, this time from Liverpool, and the signings of Matthew Connolly, Tommy Smith, Kim Bo-Kyung, Heidar Helguson and Frazier Campbell added top flight experience and skill in the club’s mission to go up.

However, the money spree came at a cost – the club’s identity.

Tan decided that a change of the club’s colours was in order which angered many supporters who voiced their strong opinions about the transformation; some vowing never to return.

Despite the views of some fans, record crowds at the Cardiff City stadium have rallied Mackay’s men to the top.

Leading the division since the end of November, Cardiff haven’t looked back and haven’t choked as many suggested they would similarly to previous seasons.

The club’s rise to the top flight reignites their rivalry with Swansea City.

The return of the fierce South Wales derby makes the English Premier League 10% Welsh; a testament to both sides and Welsh football as a whole.

Owner Tan has declared he could give Mackay up to £25 million in the summer to guarantee Cardiff become competitive in the Premier League.

For a club of Cardiff’s history, £25 million is a lot of money to play with to ensure the Bluebirds aren’t the team that ‘nearly’ survived.

Find me on Twitter: @L_Hancock6

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