Cardiff City have been searching for a new permanent manager since firing Omer Riza at the conclusion of the season, and EFL Analysis can exclusively reveal that the Bluebirds may have found their man.
Cardiff had a genuinely awful season, falling into the relegation zone under Omer Riza, prompting the club to cut company with the 45-year-old with only two games left in the season.
Aaron Ramsey, Cardiff’s young coach, took over until the conclusion of the season but was unable to arrest the rot, and the club ended last in the Championship.
Ramsey has hinted at problems behind the scenes at the Welsh club, and with League One to prepare for, getting the next management selection right is critical for under-fire owner Vincent Tan.
Michael Beale is dominating the battle to become the new Cardiff City manager.
In an EFL Analysis exclusive, we can reveal that Cardiff are focussing on one managerial target, with Michael Beale likely to make a surprising comeback to English football after a stint in Saudi Arabia.
We understand Beale is currently the main prospect for the Cardiff position this summer, however he is just one of several choices the club is exploring at the moment.
The Wasserman agency is currently handling the search process and has compiled a shortlist for the position. Along with Beale, we could see Mark Allen, the former Rangers and Swansea City sporting director, becoming a part of Cardiff’s backroom system going ahead.
Allen is employed by Wasserman and is involved in the search for a new manager, but we are informed he could end up as Cardiff’s new technical director.
Michael Beale’s Career to Date
Beale had been in Saudi Arabia since November, working with Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq, but they left at the end of January and have been out of job since.
As Sunderland supporters will recall, Beale previously had an unsuccessful time at the Stadium of Light, lasting only 12 games in the 2023/24 season.
| Statistic | Michael Beale for Sunderland |
|---|---|
| Games managed | 12 |
| Games won | 4 |
| Games drawn | 2 |
| Games lost | 6 |
| Points-per-game average | 1.17 |
That situation swiftly unravelled, with sporting director Kristjaan Speakman acknowledging that hiring Beale was a mistake in the first place.
Beale also spent little under a year with Rangers in the SPL, as well as a brief stint with QPR before that. While Steven Gerrard has been connected with Southampton, it appears that Beale could still return to the English game, albeit at a lower level.
Leave a Reply