The contenders... a next in line to fill the
CARDIFF City’s next manager search is underway in earnest now and we are another day closer to the new boss being appointed.
It is becoming clearer by the day that, with the candidates being mentioned, there is a real dichotomy between whether they opt for a young manager with fresh ideas or an older head to steady the ship.
Below are some of the top candidates to take the job at Cardiff City Stadium, what they could bring and their chances of being appointed as Bluebirds boss.
CHRIS WILDER
Wilder, it seems, would be the universally accepted choice.
He achieved promotion to the Championship and then the Premier League with Sheffield United, before steering them to a ninth-placed finish in the top flight, their best-ever finish.
He also achieved promotion with Northampton Town before that, too, and clearly knows how to get teams out of divisions.
Wilder has been out of work since leaving Sheffield United back in March this year. It didn’t go unnoticed that he was at the Fulham v Cardiff match last Wednesday, either.
Whether he would be happy taking over a club at which funds are thin on the ground, and more pertinently the transfer kitty is sparse, is the big question mark
It is reported that Wilder’s appointment is “unlikely”, despite him still topping the odds list.
He seems to tick a lot of boxes both for fans and in terms of what the club needs, but whether Cardiff can entice him to take over such a sizeable project is in the balance at the minute.
MIKE FLYNN
Flynn is better equipped than most at rebuilding squads on low budgets and getting results. Quite frankly, that’s exactly what Cardiff City need right now.
Cardiff, of course, is a different beast to Newport County and that’s where some fans are hesitant regarding his name being linked with the job.
But with Vincent Tan understood to be favouring a younger manager, Flynn, at 41, fits the bill. He is right on Cardiff’s doorstep, too, given he is from Newport and has just finished a good four years in charge of the Exiles.
Whoever takes charge will have to oversee a massive recruitment operation next summer, given there are nine senior pros out of contract in June 2022, and Flynn’s experience and success in recent transfer windows could tip the scales in his favour.
MICHAEL BEALE
This is a name that is exciting City fans.
Beale has worked with some of the biggest name managers in the world, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti among them and helped develop youngsters like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mason Mount for stardom.
Currently Steven Gerrard’s assistant at Rangers, he is credited with much of the success they have achieved in overtaking Celtic as Scotland’s number one team.
His name has suddenly entered the frame out of the blue, but at 40 he is a highly rated young coach, plays football the right way and some will view him as the perfect man to develop City’s finest Academy products.
Beale also has connections at some of the biggest clubs on the planet, which could see some top young talent head to the Welsh capital.
An interesting prospect.
JODY MORRIS
This is another interesting one. The former Chelsea and Derby County No.2 is certainly a person of interest to the Cardiff City hierarchy.
Morris was someone the club looked at before they appointed Mick McCarthy back in January, but it was thought that a safe pair of hands was preferred at that time.
Whether that is the case this time remains to be seen, but, as mentioned above, Tan is thought to be open to the idea of a younger manager to take the club in a new direction.
The obvious drawback with Morris, of course, is that he had never been a head coach. That inexperience might count against him if the Bluebirds hierarchy believe them to be in a relegation battle this season.
But the teams with which he has been involved with have played very good football – it’s one of the main reasons he was considered for the Swansea gig before Russell Martin – and that is certainly something Cardiff fans would like to see implemented in the Welsh capital.
He is definitely not one to discount, that’s for sure.
NEIL HARRIS
Former Cardiff manager Harris has ranked highly in the bookies’ odds list since they came out on Saturday night.
Harris guided Cardiff to the play-offs in his first season in charge, winning over swathes of supporters in the process.
However, with a very good squad the
season after, he struggled to get City’s campaign off the ground and was eventually sacked in January following a miserable run of six straight defeats.
Quite how his name emerged in the runners and riders is a mystery, but it is understood that Harris is not among the leading contenders for the job.
STEVE MORISON
The current caretaker manager. Morison’s stock has never been higher following his excellent work with Cardiff City’s under-23s side.
He has coached and brought through a number of exciting talents, many of whom are now in and around the Bluebirds first team.
The likes of Rubin Colwill, Tom Sang, Joel Bagan, Sam Bowen, Isaak Davies, Kieron Evans and Eli King have all benefited from working under Morison.
Morison’s under-23s have also started the season brilliantly, too, having won their first five games on the spin to top the Professional Development League 2 South table.
The former Wales international has the youngsters playing a beautiful brand of football, too, passing quickly and using pace on the counter and on the wings to hit opponents with devastating attacks.
It’s that sort of football many fans want to see at first-team level and they hope we will see that over the course of the next three games with Morison at the helm.
Chairman Mehmet Dalman appeared to be against appointing Morison on a
permanent basis, saying: “I’ve spent my entire career avoiding risk - and that would be a risk.
“If it doesn’t work you’re in a relegation battle, and you have an under-23 manager who’s never done that before. I’m not prepared to take that risk.”
If he wins the next three games playing an eye-catching brand of football, though, he will give the hierarchy a decision to make.
CHRIS HUGHTON
Chris Hughton’s name is always in the mix when a Championship job becomes available and this time is no different.
Just because he had an awful time of it at Nottingham Forest, it doesn’t make you a bad coach overnight.
He is vastly experienced and probably falls into the ‘risk averse’ category Dalman would favour. There is no doubting his record, that’s for sure.
Hughton would be able to manage upwards and has the experience of overseeing many a transfer window over his lengthy career as a manager.
His appointment, though, would likely see a continuation of pragmatic style of football and potentially be seen as a bit of a stop-gap, with no discernible change in philosophy or style.
But, for all the reasons mentioned above, he is certainly someone in the mix and it would be no surprise to see City plump for him.
ROY KEANE
A name which has shot up the bookies’ odds list since Saturday is Manchester United icon Keane.
Keane has made no secret of his desire to get back into management, having not had the top job at a club since leaving Ipswich Town a decade ago.
He has had stints as assistant boss with the Republic of Ireland, Aston Villa and, most recently, Nottingham Forest, but the hunger is definitely there for him to get a manager’s job again.
Keane has a ruthless nature and that is certainly needed, given the squad overhaul which will be needed over the next 12 months.
However, there is nothing concrete as yet to back up just why he has been backed so much in the last few days, so the chances of him getting the gig, at present, remain slim.
CRAIG BELLAMY
It would be remiss to mention the runners and riders without putting Bellamy’s name in the mix.
Some questioned whether there is too much water under the bridge following his departure from the club back in 2019 amid an investigation into coaching standards at youth level following claims of bullying.
Bellamy linked up with Anderlecht’s youth system and was making great strides out in Belgium until he announced in September he would return to Wales after citing mental health issues.
Make no mistake, Bellamy wants the Cardiff job one day. Whether that time is now, though, is unlikely.
Bellamy is back in Cardiff and focusing on himself and family as things stand and it is doubtful he will rush back into anything just yet, especially a job such as the one required at the Bluebirds.
At some point in the hopefully-not too-distant future, when the club is in a better, more stable place, he could be the man to drive it all forward.
RYAN LOWE
The Plymouth manager is certainly someone on Cardiff’s radar, we understand.
He is one of the lesser-known candidates and one who is not particularly fancied at present by the bookies.
He is another who falls into the younger category at 43 and, crucially, has experience in the Football League, steering Plymouth Argyle to promotion from League Two in the 2019/20 season.
The former Shrewsbury, Bury and Sheffield Wednesday striker could be one Cardiff opt for if they do end up deciding on a younger type of manager. Lowe is definitely one who has spoken about.
MICHAEL DUFF
The same can be said for Michael Duff as it could for Lowe.
Duff is a Cheltenham Town legend, having played more than 300 games for the club, and has been the Robins’ manager since 2018.
He is a little out of left field, but he has done extremely well with Cheltenham in recent years.
Last season, not even Tom Sang could get in the Robins’ side as Duff’s men secured their first-ever promotion in the Football League as they shot up to League One.
Another 43-year-old, Duff is again someone who the club would view as a potential “project” manager, who could oversee the changing of the style and philosophy.
He is another who has been mentioned by Cardiff higher-ups.
BRIAN BARRY-MURPHY
Barry-Murphy’s name will have been a surprise to many supporters, but he is someone Cardiff like the look of.
The former midfielder had a rather unheralded playing career, plying his trade in the lower leagues with Preston, Bury and Rochdale, but his career as a coach has caught the eye.
Having managed Rochdale for two years between 2019 and June 2021, Barry-Murphy was snapped up by Manchester City to oversee the Elite Development Squad up there.
He is highly thought of and works closely with first-team manager Pep Guardiola.
It goes without saying that his appointment would open doors to potentially signing some of City’s best and brightest on loan, given the relationship he enjoys with the club, while it would be another nod to a progressive manager.
Anyone who coaches at any level up at City would be implementing an exciting brand of football, too, which is another tick in the box.
He is a contender, even if the bookmakers are not listing him as one just yet.
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