MICK DEPARTS... BE NEXT FOR BLUEBIRDS?
County manager is out of work and certainly wouldn’t cost as much to hire as some of the others, which in a period of transition might suit Tan.
At 40 he is a little younger than Lowe and Duff, is on Cardiff’s doorstep and it would be an easy deal to get done.
Whether Cardiff fans would want that, and whether it’s too big a job for Flynn, is another matter..
PROSPECTS: The demands at a club of Cardiff City’s stature are on another galaxy to what was expected of Flynn at Newport.
JODY MORRIS
HE has been mentioned previously when the job was available.
Another younger manager at 42, he has some solid pedigree in charge of Chelsea’s Academy and then as Frank Lampard’s assistant at Chelsea and Derby.
Left Stamford Bridge when Lampard was sacked, but could be ready to become main man in his own right.
PROSPECTS: He’s high up in the betting, Cardiff have mentioned his name previously. A contender
MARK HUGHES
THE natural assumption is Cardiff couldn’t afford Sparky and the backroom staff entourage he would wish to bring with him, but he has been out of football for a while and wants to get back in.
As a passionate Welshman, he knows more than most about the huge fan base Cardiff City could tap into if they really took off.
PROSPECTS: Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman knows Hughes well from their Manchester United connections, but this one might be a step too far.
EDDIE NEWTON
HE’S something of a Cardiff icon, having been part of the legendary Eddie May Class of the 1990s, before going on to coach Chelsea for many years and bring through their youngsters.
Has made it clear this week he would love to manage the Bluebirds, speaking on a podcast with Nathan Blake which appears to have wowed many fans.
PROSPECTS: His name isn’t being mentioned within the Boardroom, I’m told.
MARK HUDSON
ANOTHER Cardiff fans’ favourite. He seems keen to break into management, having worked well with David Wagner at Huddersfield and having brief spells as interim boss.
PROSPECTS: Seems something of an outsider at this stage.
STEVE MORISON
HE is doing a decent job with the under-23s and is viewed by some fans as the man to step into the breach.
But it’s a world away from doing that with little pressure and expectation at that level compared to what Cardiff would expect in the hurlyburly of the Championship.
Morison’s best chance is to impress
with good results as caretaker manager.
PROSPECTS: Chairman Mehmet Dalman appeared to rule this out, but a few good performances and who knows?
BRIAN BARRY-MURPHY
WHO, you might well ask? I had to google the name myself, including checking on the double-barrelled surname.
After a lower league playing career, Barry-Murphy became Rochdale manager for a couple of seasons before quitting to oversee Manchester City’s Academy.
In charge of that Elite Development Squad, he is responsible for grooming some of the finest young talents in world football for the big time.
At 43 he is young and, ridiculous though it may sound, some of the football he tried to play at Rochdale earned comparisons up north with Pep Guardiola’s Man City - albeit clearly several scales lower down!
Tan has always coveted filling the Cardiff City side with young Welsh players and he might see BarryMurphy as a figure who can do that - and, as a bonus, have connections to some of the finest young talent around who he might be able to bring to Cardiff.
Developing young players and selling them on for huge profit has been a Cardiff weakness.
PROSPECTS: This one is a real bolt from the blue, but his name has cropped up.