Given that I have covered all of the main news to come out of the club over the past week or so in other posts, this isn’t going to be a very long piece. On the financial side, there was another statement put on the club’s official site which outlined a debt for shares agreement with PMG (one of our secured creditors) which also saw the reappointment of former Wales centre and PMG partner Mike Hall to the Board of Directors. Hall had stepped down from his position originally due to “a conflict of interests” when Sam Hammam, sorry that should read Langston, first announced they were taking the club to court four years ago – speaking of Langston, the statement also reaffirmed the club’s desire to investigate, through the use of forensic accountants, the loan note debt of £24 million they were saddled with in September 2004.
Although I came across this piece on an excellent Ipswich site linking us with Sheffield United’s Ched Evans, I think that we are going to see very few credible reports as to who we might be signing until the manager situation is resolved and, on that score, here are the latest odds on who will be the next manager of Cardiff City. As Chris Hughton is the name being mentioned in dispatches more often than any other, his name at the top of the list should come as no surprise, but I must say that the identity of the second favourite does. Former Barnsley boss Mark Robins has been odds on favourite over the past few days, but there has been little from those who claim to be “in the know” to indicate why this should be.
Of the others, Roberto Di Matteo is someone who has a lot of supporters. With the club, seemingly, wanting to keep most of the current backroom staff in place, his desire to bring in former City loanee Eddie Newton and Olympic athlete Ade Mafe, who both worked with him at MK Dons and West Brom, might work against him though. Neil Ardley’s name is still cropping up and it seems pretty clear that, even if he doesn’t get the top job, there would appear to be a higher profile role at the club in the offing for the man who is currently youth team manager.
Normally, you would expect there to be all sorts of rumours and theories flying around in the Sunday press about a vacant manager’s job at a high ranking Championship club, but, apart from this story in the People linking us with Watford’s Malky Mackay (would we be willing to pay compensation to his club for him?), there doesn’t seem to be anything – maybe the powers that be are actually managing to keep their plans a secret at a club that usually leaks like a colander?
