Neil Warnock seems first Cardiff City appointment in a while that could bring success – but club still suffering lack of identity
Neil Warnock been announced as the new Bluebirds boss, replacing Paul Trollope who was sacked after a shocking start to the campaign - but is he the right man to lead us out of trouble?
Cardiff are just one spot above the foot of the table and they suffered their sixth loss in seven games at the hands of newly promoted Burton Albion on the weekend.
The appointment of Warnock certainly shows ambition, having won seven promotions across his 30+ year career - but it only seems to be a short-term appointment and that may tell a story in itself.
Fans have accused the club of lacking ambition in recent years after appointing the famously unsuccessful Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before replacing him with League One boss Russell Slade and then choosing to appoint from within with Paul Trollope.
Both the appointment of Slade and Trollope were labelled the "cheap option" by fans and it’s easy to see why, although Slade didn’t do such a bad job at the club.
Paul Trollope, however, turned out to be disastrous. The club made him Head Coach with the view of having continuation from Russell Slade and in the belief that the former Bristol Rovers boss could use Slade’s managerial style but take things one step further tactically.
This certainly wasn’t the case and Trollope decided to oversee a complete overhaul in tactics which saw Cardiff attempt to embed the Wales 3-5-2 formation - which is a disaster when paired in the Championship.
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The result was horrific and Cardiff have won just two games so far this season - and aside from results, the football has simply been awful to watch.
Bringing Warnock to the club seems to tick the majority of boxes – the appointment will thrill fans and why not? He’s arguably the most successful Championship manager there is and he’s already stated he wants that record breaking eighth promotion before he "hangs up his boots."
Warnock's experienced head is just what’s needed, as the club is still struggling to clean up the mess left by ole Gunnar Solskjaer despite the best efforts of Slade, and I think fans now believe Warnock, with all his experience, can play a huge part in leading the club out of the woods.
The only issue with appointing him is that it’s a short-term contract both literally and metaphorically. The former Leeds boss is likely to retire within the next few years and his contract is only expected to run until the end of this season.
With the colour change and all the other issues at the club in recent years implemented by Vincent Tan, we must make sure planning for the future gives fans a sense of identity and a sense of association to the club.
Calls for Craig Bellamy as manager, I think, are a little unrealistic but there should be a real focus on getting people like him coaching around the development squad and even the first team in the coming months.
Young coaches Kevin Nicholson and James Rowberry also have a lot to offer and they should be seen as the future as far as coaching staff go.
The club have worked hard to put the pieces back together, but there’s still a real sense of detachment between fans and club and that must be put right by giving the fans that identity in the squad and coaching staff.
Just down the M4, Swansea rose through the divisions with that sense of identity, creating an ethos which fans could associate with - and that must be the next step for Cardiff.
Warnock is a brilliant appointment for the time being and no one has any doubts whether he’ll succeed at the club - but a plan must be put in place to make sure the next steps at the club are the correct ones.
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