Sam Hamman

I heard today that Sam Hamman has sold Cardiff and has now left the club. After selling Wimbledon to Norwegians for £22 million back in 97, he bought Cardiff shortly afterwards. During his period in charge at Wimbledon he never seriously looked for another ground despite the Council having given permission for a 20,000 stadium in Wandle Valley. Sam always blamed Merton Council for this, when it was mostly his failure. OK, in hindsight Merton Council may have been unwise to have lifted the covenant on Plough Lane(it was many years before I became a councillor) but it was on the understanding proceeds from the sale would be used to build another ground. The proceeds of the ground sale to the then Safeway group(about £8m) certainly did not go back into the club and Merton Council was used as a convenient scapegoat.

As a kid I supported Wimbledon, and effectively I lost my club when it became MK Dons and upped sticks to Milton Keynes. This is in part is due to Sam Hamman. Although a backer of AFC Wimbledon it very sad to see what has happened to a once great club that won the cup in 1988. Every time I pass Plough Lane in Wimbledon and see the cranes working on the huge residential development(which happened after Safeways was turned down) I feel what a great loss it is to the Borough and what the site could've been.

Cardiff should be glad to see the back of him, though I hope they are vary of Peter Ridsdale who sent Leeds to the point of bankruptcy through his financial dealings.