It’s that time of year, again. Cardiff need a new manager, again, but they don’t really need a manager. They need a hero. A mere manager is not enough, they need a saviour. Suffice to say, there are not too many out there.
The fact that the early favourites included the likes of Dean Smith and Chris Wilder is laughable really. What’s in it for them? Some people say that Cardiff are a sleeping giant will rich, untapped potential, but managers of that calibre are not stupid. Word gets around and Cardiff is not a healthy, functioning club. Everyone knows that and it will put most self-respecting candidates off.
Young, aspiring managers will jump at the chance because it’s a foot in the door, but Cardiff will swallow them whole. Managers eyeing one last pay check might give it a go to. What’s the worst that can happen after all? They can set aside their golf clubs for a few months, safe in the knowledge that when they next pick them up a few months down the line, their reputation will remain intact and they’ll have topped up their pension pot.
Cardiff are in a perilous position, of their own making. Their last three managers have been temporary appointments and the last two were marriages of convenience. They were already in the building, cheap, keen and good to go. They probably know that Darren Purse and Dean Whitehead won’t cut it with supporters this time round, so they have to scour the market.
Most competent clubs will have kept an eye on the market, had candidates in mind and be ready to move. Cardiff will probably be frantically ringing agents, completely unprepared, despite being a sacking club. We all know that they’re at the mercy of one man’s whims, but to not expect that call is unforgiveable. Gross negligence that threatens their Championship status.
So here we are, again. What happens now? Who will be the next victim?
You could make a perfectly valid case for someone like Mark Warburton. A personable, experienced campaigner who promotes youth development and plays attractive football. He ticks all the boxes and might fancy it too. Would he be able to thrive at Cardiff though? Can he also manage upwards and outwards?
If you manage Cardiff, to some extent, you’re also running the club because no one else is. You’re the link between the academy and the board. You’re the only voice for supporters. You’re the director of football, bearer of bad news and left to carry the can for everything.
Suddenly, that shortlist you were compiling gets rather small. In fact, you’re left with one name. Neil Warnock.
We all know what that consists of. Aspirations of playing attractive football end, the pathway from the academy closes and short-termism once again becomes the order of the day. That would be crushing, but Cardiff were never really committed to these aspirations anyway. If they were, they wouldn’t have sacked two managers in six months. They would have had time, patience and support.
Warnock will split the fanbase right down the middle, but the sad truth is that a 74-year-old remains their ideal manager. It took three years to recover from his last spell in charge, but he remains Cardiff’s parachute.
There are many different reasons for this. Firstly, he is well aware that Cardiff need him far more than he needs them, which is just the way he likes it. He has the skin of a rhino, so nothing phases him in press conferences and he keeps the lines of communication open. He is also charismatic enough to have everyone eating out of his hand from the off.
Warnock will strip everything back to basics and make things very simple. He would make Cardiff effective again, absorb all the pressure and criticism. Where some managers might rue a lack of support, Warnock doesn’t need it and would relish having free reign. He would fill his boots and the team would be a great bunch of lads once more.
It’s far from a squad in his image, but it’s patronising to suggest that Warnock can only work with six-foot-four man mountains. He would get a tune out of this lot and represents Cardiff’s best chance of digging themselves out of an almighty hole. That now needs to be the sole focus and everything else will have to wait.
Cardiff City and Neil Warnock are made for each other and I wouldn’t want to inflict them on anyone else, so let’s just get on with it.