THE OPPRESSED - Bluebird Unite

Most people will have someone they love and cherish. Someone who makes the dark days bearable, who you look forward to spending time with and keeps you sane in a world of madness.

But what would happen if they changed their appearance ? Not just adding highlights here and there, but radically altering the way they looked. Could you still love them? Intrinsically they are the same, but no longer do they resemble the person you were first attracted to. Could you still love them unconditionally or would you yearn for their return to the way you have always known? Well, that the question that has recently faced me, and many thousands of my brethren, who worship at the alter of Cardiff City Football Club.

Having been perennial underachievers throughout my lifetime, the arrival of new owner Vincent Tan appeared to herald a new dawn. But what we didn't know at the time was that we were making a bargain with the devil. For all the filthy lucre he was prepared to invest, Tan wanted his say on the running of the club and more precisely the way we appeared to the outside world. So in June 2012, and without consulting the fans, Tan announced a major rebrand. In a blink of an eye, 104 years of tradition were obliterated overnight. Not only was the iconic Bluebird relegated to a place of insignificance on the club badge, but more heinously the home strip was changed from our historic blue to red, apparently the colour of good luck in the far east. Whilst a storm of protest ensued, Tan resolutely ignored all requests for consultation and continued on his egotistical way, despite the revulsion of a large majority of the fan base.

Whilst the furore has somewhat abated, with fans placated by the allure of promotion to the Premiership, a few diehards remain steadfast in their belief that Cardiff will never be Cardiff until they play in blue again. These rebellious upstarts have formed a pressure group with the aim to continue to fight the good fight - Bluebirds Unite. In a show of solidarity, notorious Cardiff antifascist Oi band, and long time CCFC fans, THE OPPRESSED have joined forces with those awfully nice chaps at All Systems Go records to provide the movement with an anthem. Not only that, but £1 from each CD goes towards swelling the coffers of the group in their quest to make Vincent Tan see sense.


Ex-terrace hoodlum, and band leader, Roddy Moreno has reworked two old tracks -"United We Stand" and "CF3" into "Bluebirds Unite" and "Blue Army". In so doing, not only do the Oppressed serve up a fine portion of street punk, but also sum up the feelings of many fans that yearn for the good old days of Ninian Park.

And whilst I'm sure many of you will be saying what has this all got to do with me, just remember similar situations occurring with foreign owners at Hull and Southampton and ponder on the fact that it could be your club next! So get your hands in your pockets (yes, even you Jacks) and instead of adding more to the Swiss bank accounts of foreign Premiership owners, give your money to a worthwhile fan run group fighting a real battle with authority!

Bones

www.facebook.com/groups/BLUEBIRDSUNITE/?ref=ts&fref=ts
http://bluebirdsunite.org.uk/wp/
https://twitter.com/bluebirds_unite
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Oppressed-sharp-attitude/108930239188615
www.facebook.com/groups/530986416929276/?fref=ts

Jack Army!