Cardiff City are finally close to appointing their next manager.
Cardiff City sacked Omer Riza on April 19. A week short of two months later, a new manager has yet to be installed. On Wednesday evening, fans received the much-anticipated communication from the team.
It was left to club director Steve Borley and academy director Gavin Chesterfield to keep supporters informed about the process. Borely stated, “We recognise that concerns have been raised about the duration of the process, and while the initial objective was to have the manager and his staff in place by now, proper due diligence, however long it took, was critical to the club’s ongoing success. This is one of the most significant appointments in Cardiff City’s recent history.
“We have been quite impressed by the calibre of candidates who want to run our football club. We are happy to provide an additional good update on the selection of a new management team once the appropriate talks are completed.
“I would like to express my gratitude to Gavin Chesterfield, Mark Allen, and the Wasserman Agency on behalf of our board of directors, Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Mehmet Dalman, and Ken Choo.” With former Manchester City and current Leicester City coach Brian Barry-Murphy currently in talks to take over at Cardiff City Stadium, it looks like we are in end-game territory.
Former Oxford United manager Des Buckingham is also interested and has been approached, although Barry-Murphy appears to be the front-runner.
Barry-Murphy, the former Rochdale manager, has a good track record of dealing with and cultivating youthful talent, having done so at Manchester City.
Speaking after leaving the club before to joining the Foxes last Christmas, Barry-Murphy stated his philosophy and what he hoped his next team will be.
“To sum it up best, I want to find somewhere that gives me the exact same feeling as when joined Man City,” stated the former Liverpool player.
“I had this sensation that it was the ideal location for me to be at that point in my career, based on what I’d done and where I wanted to go.
“I’ve never had a professional roadmap. I’ve been more present and focused on enjoying myself while constantly developing. I’d like to work for a club that puts together a team that plays in the style that I prefer. I want to see something that reflects my ideals and my style of play, which I believe can develop a successful football brand more than ever before. I believe I proved that during my three years at City.”
Barry-Murphy may need to modify the club’s approach in order to flourish in south Wales, but having a manager who values youth, with a number of young players in Cardiff’s ranks already grabbing the eye, is undoubtedly a plus.
Having worked with Pep Guardiola, he will have learnt from one of the best in the business, but he has already stated that he must be his own man and not a Pep clone.
“You have to be yourself,” he explained. “I’ve always felt different [from Guardiola] because of my background.
“I am not scared to admit that; I played in the lesser leagues and had to be adaptable in certain situations. I still believe in a possession-based style of play, but when I was younger, I was obsessed with building a style that made players feel at ease in possession.
“When I moved to Manchester City, I was able to adjust by increasing the attacking threat by quickly passing the ball to (Cole) Palmer or (Oscar) Bobb in the final third and understanding what it looks like for such guys to attack well and quickly. My strategy now is to attack in the most effective manner possible.”
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