The trend in US politics is to replace a president with someone who represents the complete opposite to the person they’re replacing. We’ve had enough of that, so let’s try this. Cardiff City tend to follow this model when firing and hiring managers.
It is not a particularly popular model in football because most clubs try to stick to a certain philosophy, which any incoming manager has to incorporate rather than the other way round. Trying to instead make everything fit around the new manager often makes for a jarring transition and is also a more expensive way of doing things, as it tends to result in a high turnover of playing staff.
You could argue that this approach has led to where Cardiff are now, which is on their uppers with no plan of attack. The list of runners and riders provided by the bookmakers is certainly a random mix of seasoned veterans and young upstarts, with very little in between. It therefore resembles a list of Cardiff managers from the last decade.
Since Malky Mackay, you’ve had Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Russell Slade, Paul Trollope, Neil Warnock, Neil Harris and Mick McCarthy. This bunch have very little in common, but you could certainly separate them out into these two very distinct groups.
READ MORE: The very latest news in Cardiff's hunt for a new manager
Well, it’s that time again. Cardiff are back in the market for a manager and we’re all waiting to see where they go next. Until Cardiff shortlist, we are left to speculate and offer our own individual preference. You tend to find that there is rarely one outstanding candidate who everyone gets behind, so there are usually as many favourites as there are opinions.
The closest you will probably get to a unanimous choice is Chris Wilder. He has a proven track record, with four promotions and was the Premier League Manager of the Year less than 18 months ago. He reportedly turned down Nottingham Forest recently due to finances and their lowly league position, so you wonder why Cardiff would be any different.
The current favourite is Mike Flynn, which appears to confirm my suspicion that the appointment will more than likely be a free agent, rather than someone currently attached to a club who would require compensation. Flynn did well with Newport County, but the Championship is a huge step up from League Two.
Jody Morris, who has been Frank Lampard’s number two in recent years, is also high in the running, but those with a long memory, like myself, still remember him turning us down as a player, like Neil Harris before him.
Taking someone on with little or no managerial experience is a huge risk at the best of times, but particularly in the heat of a relegation battle. The stakes are very high and the margin for failure is very small.
There appears to be a trend of head coaches or assistant managers being linked this time round and on the one hand, that makes a great deal of sense. If Cardiff have no money to spend anytime soon, as appears to be the case, then bringing in a coach who can improve this group may be the way to go. The flip side of that though is that some number twos occupy that role because they’re not charismatic or assertive enough to be number one.
Craig Bellamy is always in the mix and remains the magic bullet. He would unite supporters and have big ideas for not just the team, but the club as a whole. It will surely happen at some stage, but maybe not in the current set-up.
In a similar vein, there is a lot of love out there for Mark Hudson and Eddie Newton, both of whom represented the club with distinction as players. I can understand why and they would certainly be candidates to get behind. There are also some names linked who make your heart sink, like Roy Keane, Alan Pardew, Mark Bowen and Tony Pulis. The less said about these options, the better.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Thierry Henry, who is probably the Premier League’s best-ever player and a rank outsider for the job. He did his coaching badges in Newport and has already accumulated some managerial experience. He is certainly the most glamorous name to grace the list.
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As far as I’m concerned, Steve Morison is in the seat and if he does well enough, he should keep it. The club is taking their time to survey their options, but this situation did not exactly creep up on them. They should have been prepared for all eventualities, but they’re not and that presents Morison with an opportunity he may not have otherwise got.
Morison’s record with the under-23s is exemplary and he knows the young players breaking through. I was not exactly singing his praises after an hour on Saturday, with Cardiff three goals down, but they clawed it back and that reflects well on him. It will take time for him to make his mark and I’m rooting for him in the next couple of games. I would be loathe to lose him as a youth team manager, but better the devil you know.
There is also a certain irony in James Rowberry leaving the club recently to take charge at Newport, where he has won his first two games. He was at Cardiff a long time in a coaching capacity without ever getting a look in when the main position became available. Should he take County up, it will reflect badly on Cardiff, who don’t always make best use of the talent at hand. If they want a manager rich in promise, they may have let one of the best candidates slip through their fingers.
It is hard to predict how Cardiff will play it. Maybe Morison will be tarred with the Trollope brush, as an assistant who stepped up and was a pretty epic failure, but that would be unfair. In many respects, it got so bad under McCarthy towards the end that anything else is preferable, but this is an extremely important decision.
Cardiff have rarely been less attractive, in terms of their league position, finances and a squad that looks set to be dismantled in the summer. Yet they remain a sleeping giant with rich potential ready to be realised. The problem is, as ever, that Cardiff don’t just need a manager, they need a hero and they are always in short supply.
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