"Don't help ourselves" - Clear message sent to Cardiff City supporters as key Vincent Tan decision looms | OneFootball

FLW's Cardiff City fan pundit described his most unpopular opinion about his club

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Cardiff City have had a litany of contrasting managers in charge of the side in recent years, a damning indictment of the club's overarching lack of ethos, strategy and continuity.

Indeed, current boss Omer Riza - who was only appointed full-time in December following a nervy, extensive two-month spell at the helm on an interim basis - is the 13th permanent manager in Vincent Tan's 15 years of owning the club.

Last time out, former manager Erol Bulut was the first to complete a full campaign in charge since Neil Warnock back in Cardiff's 2018/19 Premier League term, but he was relieved of his duties following a disastrous start to the current season.

In recent years, many supporters have lamented the club's shortage of footballing nous and strategy at boardroom level. It's difficult, it must be said, to pinpoint exactly what the philosophy actually is at Cardiff, with a significant turnover of both managers and the playing squad since relegation from the Premier League in 2019.

After Warnock's exit in November 2019, Cardiff have had seven different managers.

Naturally, there has been a contrast in coaching profiles; the likes of Mick McCarthy and Sabri Lamouchi were both short-term appointments who achieved initially but either fell short of, or were never going to, lead the club into a prosperous long-term future.

Mark Hudson and Steve Morison were both appointed internally and the latter was perhaps the most progressive-minded coach Cardiff have had in recent times, but he also failed to deliver. The club banked heavily on Bulut, and the Turkish boss sealed an all-too-rare mid-table finish last term, although their fingers were left badly burnt in the end.

Neil Harris, who succeeded Warnock, is undoubtedly Cardiff's most successful managerial hire since the Yorkshireman and guided the Bluebirds into the play-offs in his first season in charge. Eventually, though, his time in the Welsh capital also turned sour.

Then you've got Riza, who has often divided opinion since stepping into the job in September.

The general consensus now, however, is that the ex-Watford first-team coach is out of his depth and should be dismissed in the summer regardless of whether Cardiff stay up in the Championship.

With a lot of different managers and a lot of different playing styles, there are a lot of different opinions among the City fanbase - as you would imagine, of course.

Unpopular opinion claim made on Cardiff City supporters' reactions to managers

FLW spoke to our resident Bluebirds fan pundit, Matt Hall, to ask him to name one unpopular opinion he holds regarding his club.

Matt discussed what he believes to be a reactive nature from certain supporters towards the manager. According to Matt, Cardiff fans can be "very quick to get the pitchforks out" and don't truly know what sort of manager they want in charge.

"I do have an unpopular opinion and I do think, as fans of the club, we don't help ourselves some of the time," Matt told FLW.

"In essence, I think we are very quick to get the pitchforks out and for it to turn into a disaster, and our fans sometimes don't really know what they want.

"When we have a manager like Mick McCarthy, we clamor for good football. When we get a manager who wants to try and play good football, we don't give them time and therefore want to clamor for a short-term fix.

"It seems to be an endless loop. It's not just the fans' fault because the board don't really have anything in place that allows for that kind of football and any form of project to be put in place.

"However, I do think we don't help ourselves sometimes and the same would go for home games. If we start passing the ball around when we're not in a winning position or a good place in the table, you hear the moans and you hear the groans."

Cardiff City should appoint ex-Oxford United boss Des Buckingham this summer

Much has been said about Riza's future at Cardiff, with the 45-year-old only contracted until the end of the season. Cardiff will therefore be presented with the opportunity to look in a fresh direction and while it's not yet clear what Tan intends on doing - it rarely is, in all fairness - some supporters would definitely get behind the appointment of Des Buckingham.

A product of the City Football Group model, Buckingham made his name with Mumbai City before taking charge of boyhood club Oxford United and leading them to promotion from League One in his first season in charge.

Rather controversially, the 40-year-old was sacked in December with Oxford battling against the drop, although the low budget he worked with at the Kassam Stadium meant that was always likely to be the reality this term.

In particular, Matt wants to see progressive, attacking football at the Cardiff City Stadium and is just one of a fair portion of fans who would warmly welcome Buckingham.

His Oxford side were adept at keeping hold of possession and controlling games - naturally more so before promotion - but often used quick transitions to hit opponents with pace, and that's what Cardiff have lacked all year.

His ability to coach, at its best, an exciting brand of attacking football while incorporating young players could make him a good fit in South Wales, and he has remained out of work since his dismissal at Oxford. Cardiff should certainly be keeping one eye on someone like Buckingham as we head into the summer.