"Never been that convinced" - Cardiff City urged to snub ex-Sunderland manager in Bulut replacement hunt | OneFootball

FLW's Cardiff fan pundit has made it clear that Neil wouldn't be the right fit for the Bluebirds and has indicated a progressive young coach is needed

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 are still on the search for Erol Bulut's successor, with former Stoke City, Preston North End and Sunderland manager Alex Neil emerging as one of the many candidates to replace the Turk.

The Bluebirds are enjoying a brief spell under interim boss, Omar Riza, who had a brief stint as Leyton Orient manager in 2017, and he guided the South Wales outfit to their first win of the season recently against Millwall.

There is still a desire to bring in an outside hire though, with Steven Schumacher appearing as one of the front-runners.

But according to The Mirror over the weekend, Tony Mowbray and Neil have both emerged as Bulut's potential replacement.

After Neil's most recent spell as Stoke boss was unsuccessful, where he was sacked in December 2023, the Scotsman has taken a break from management, although he held talks over the Birmingham City vacancy this past summer before it was handed to Chris Davies.

Now, Neil seems keen to re-emerge back onto the scene, potentially with Cardiff, but would this be the right decision for all parties?

Cardiff City verdict issued on potential Alex Neil appointment

FLW's Cardiff City fan pundit, Jack Price, has made it adamant that appointing Neil would be the wrong decision moving forward, and is keen on the idea of Schumacher instead if he wants the jo.

"Alex Neil is seemingly another name rumoured to replace Erol Bulut. I'm not 100% convinced he would be the right appointment," Jack told Football League World.

"There was a report in The Mirror linking Neil, Nathan Jones, Tony Mowbray and Steven Schumacher. I would definitely prefer Schumacher to someone like Neil.

"It's important we hire a young, upcoming manager who is on the way up, instead of somebody who is on their way down.

"Neil built a solid foundation at Preston and stabilised them, but he didn't really pull up any trees. I've never been that convinced by his brand of football, especially after his time at Stoke City.

"With the nucleus of our squad, surrounding young players like Rubin Colwill, Ollie Tanner, Alex Robertson and Isaak Davies when he's back, we need to hire a progressive-minded young coach who is going to play front foot football - I don't think we'd get that with Neil.

"He can be quite pragmatic, he did well at Sunderland, and was the man who finally guided them out of League One, but that's a different ball game to the second tier, and obviously he didn't do the job at Stoke.

"We're similar to Stoke in our appointments, recruitment and the rest of it, we both have a high turnover of managers, and given the similarities and the club culture, I don't think Neil would be the right fit.

"I would prefer Neil to Riza, our interim boss, but I would definitely prefer Schumacher, Mowbray or anyone that comes into the fold.

"It's an appointment that wouldn't excite supporters, and fundamentally, we need to be looking at a progressive manager."

Alex Neil's tactical approach isn't what Cardiff City need

There is no doubt that Neil has had success in his managerial career. He made Preston a stable Championship side who almost cracked the play-offs in 2018, and endured success with the Mackems too in the third tier of English football.

But his Stoke tenure ultimately let him down, with his approach not gaining consistent results, and the Potters were hard to watch at times under the Scotsman.

Cardiff thought Bulut's regime would've hit its peak this season, but it turned out to be the complete opposite, and now the Bluebirds need to reignite their flames in an attacking, aggressive way.

Neil wouldn't suit this and Cardiff should be looking at the likes of Schumacher or Mowbray, who provide that attacking system that could not only entertain, but provide winning results..

If they're after stability, Neil could be the man, but Cardiff are seemingly after more than that, and the 43-year-old wouldn't exactly be an exciting, barnstorming name to come in and turn things around.