EARNIE EYES HIS NEXT ADVENTURE
AS CARDIFF prepare for life under new boss Neil Harris, one former local hero has returned to the capital in search of golden opportunities.
Former Bluebirds favourite Robert Earnshaw is back in the city that made him, having left his role as assistant coach at California-based club Fresno FC.
The 38-year-old was even linked with the Cardiff job before the Bluebirds plumped for ex-Millwall manager Neil Harris to replace veteran Neil Warnock, who stepped down at the start of the week.
“I was among the names being talked about for the job and I had a lot of people drop me messages saying I had been mentioned here and there,” he said.
“I think Cardiff need someone to lift the club, understand the club and the fans, and someone to bring a positive attitude to the club, too – and I’m sure they’re in good hands with Neil.
Project
“From my own point of view, I want the right project going forwards and that has led me back here.
“It has been non-stop for me this year so now it is nice to just have some thinking and breathing time.”
Earnshaw scored more than 100 goals for Cardiff between 1997-2004 before returning for a brief second spell in 2011 and seeing out the tail end of his career in the USA with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
In 2016 he was offered a coaching role within the MLS side’s youth set-up before heading south two years later to become assistant coach at Fresno FC in California, under former Ipswich defender and general manager Frank Yallop.
Fresno finished third in the USL Championship Western Conference this year, a second-tier division of American football, and qualified for the play-offs but after they were knocked out in October, Earnshaw made the decision to leave the club.
But the former West Brom and Nottingham Forest striker is not in any hurry to make his next play and will aim to put the Earnshaw stamp on whatever he does next.
“I am thinking a lot about what the next chapter is going to be, and I will be looking at my options and all future possibilities,” he said.
“Ever since I was a young child, I have studied the small details of the game as well as just watching it and I have been doing that for 25 years.
“I look at Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola and have huge amounts of respect for them, but I want to approach coaching like I did being a player – I want to be my own person and have my own style.
“I think that is even more important to do as a coach because you need to have your core ideas and what you have learnt from studying the game to come through.”
While he was across the pond, Earnshaw kept an eagle-eye on former club’s Cardiff’s fortunes and was impressed with the job the vastly experienced Warnock did.
Studying
“I think that his time spent there can be viewed as positive overall and he can walk away with respect knowing he has done an excellent job,” said the former striker, who moved to Wales from Zambia when he was nine.
“He took them to the Premier League, and they were competitive there – obviously the relegation is disappointing, but I think overall he has done a good job and he is leaving the team in a position where they can still go back up this season.
“I think he has mentioned that he plans to retire at the end of the season, but he has said that before a few times – and that shows the length of time he has been around. I wish him the best of luck.”