Next Cardiff City Manager Odds

Cardiff City are on the lookout for a new manager following the sacking of Mark Hudson in the aftermath of the Bluebirds' 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic on the weekend, a result that sees them sit 21st in the Championship with 29 points from 27 matches.

Hudson was previously Cardiff’s captain in his playing days, making 144 league appearances for the Bluebirds between 2009 and 2014, helping them earn promotion to the Premier League in 2012/13. However, his managerial record at the Cardiff City Stadium has seen his former club win four and draw seven of his 18 games in charge, equating to a win percentage of just 22.22%.

The 40-year-old’s dismissal means that the Bluebirds will now be looking to appoint their third manager of the season having sacked Steve Morison in late September.

Neil Warnock has emerged as the favourite to become Cardiff City’s next manager, having said that he’d be willing to manage a club until the end of the season.

Warnock is a legendary coach of the English Football League, having earned a record eight promotions, while also managing 15 different clubs.

His last managerial role came at Middlesbrough between June 2020 and November 2021, where he won 29 of his 75 matches in charge, before being sacked and replaced by Wilder, while his last promotion came with Cardiff City in 2017/18, finishing as shock runners-up in the Championship.

During his time at Cardiff, he stabilised a club that looked relegation-threatened before earning promotion with them in the following campaign. During his time at the Cardiff City Stadium between October 2016 and November 2019, Warnock won 59 and drew 29 of his 144 matches in charge, equating to a 41% win rate.

Despite being sacked by MK Dons on 11th December, Liam Manning is also in with a shout of getting the managerial vacancy at Cardiff according to the bookmakers.

MK Dons missed out on automatic promotion by just one point in Manning’s first season in charge (2021/22) before losing out in the play-offs. During his first season at Stadium MK, Manning won EFL League One Manager of the Month in both September and January.

The 37-year-old was sacked by MK having seen his side accumulate just 15 points from 20 matches which is in stark contrast to that of his first campaign in charge. Overall, Manning finished his time at MK Dons with a 48% win percentage, having won 40 and drawing 15 of his 83 matches in charge.

Prior to his role at the Dons, Manning had been West Ham’s Under 23s head coach between 2015 and 2019 before joining City Football Group, where he would take up coaching roles at New York City FC, which then lead to him being transferred over to Belgian second-tier side Lommel SK as head coach between 2020 and 2021 - Manning would lead them from bottom of the table to a third-place finish in his only season at the club.

Leam Richardson is a manager that many clubs are looking at, having provided Wigan Athletic with stability during some tough times at the football club.

The 43-year-old had done a good job at Wigan, having saved the club from relegation in League One 2020/21 following financial troubles, before getting the Latics promoted to the Championship last season as they won the league title.

But, following a run of six losses in seven games this season, which saw Wigan sit in the Championship’s relegation zone, Richardson was sacked to the disappointment of many Wigan fans - notably, results on the pitch haven’t improved since his departure.

Richardson ended his time at Wigan with 49 wins and 30 draws from 117 matches across all competitions, equating to a 42% win rate.

Cardiff City’s current Assistant Manager Dean Whitehead is reportedly in the frame to step up as manager.

The 41-year-old is an established name from his playing days, having played in the Premier League and Championship while at Sunderland, Stoke City and Middlesbrough and has had some interesting experiences on his CV when it comes to coaching.

Whitehead has previously been an assistant manager at Shrewsbury Town before joining Port Vale as a first-team coach in July 2021, being part of a coaching team that saw the club promoted to League One. Following this achievement, he was approached by Turkish Super Lig giants Besiktas, however, he departed them after the sacking of Valerien Ismael as manager.

Despite only joining Cardiff’s coaching staff in November, Whitehead has been given the role as the club’s interim manager and could be in the frame to take the job on a permanent basis if results go well in the Bluebird’s forthcoming matches.

Chris Wilder is also on the lookout for a new job having been sacked by Middlesbrough earlier on this season.

The 55-year-old won 18 of his 45 matches in charge at the Riverside Stadium with his record being significantly worsened following a run of two wins in his last 11 matches which left Boro in the relegation zone. However, despite this setback, Wilder will be fondly remembered for times at other clubs he has managed.

Notably, Wilder took Sheffield United to the Premier League via finishing as runner-up in the Championship during the 2018/19 season, this was after winning League One with the Blades in 2016/17. On top of this, he has also managed promotions with the likes of Alfreton Town, Oxford United and Northampton Town.

Wilder would likely be a good pick-up for any Championship outfit that is on the lookout for a new manager, due to his records at every club he has managed and his experiences of earning promotion at varying levels of the English game.