As Cardiff City prepare for their first match after the sacking manager Erol Bulut, we asked our friends at DragonBet for their odds on who will succeed the departing Erol Bulut as Cardiff manager after his sacking last week.

As well as giving you the latest odds on who will be in the hot seat at the Cardiff City Stadium, Sportin Wales will also give you a potted history of each candidate so you can impress your mates when Cardiff hire James Rowberry or Steven Schumacher.

So, let’s get into it!

James Rowberry – 11/4 on DragonBet

Rowberry is a pure coach’s coach. A former youth player with Bristol City and Newport County retired from playing aged 21 to pursue a career in coaching instead.

Rowberry gained his UEFA Pro Licence – the highest coaching badge available – at the age of 29, becoming one of the youngest to ever earn one. Before his earnt the Pro Licence, Rowberry was already working in Newport and Cardiff’s academies set ups, and was promoted to first team coach under Russell Slade.

Fast forward to 2021 and Rowberry had his first experience of management when he took over as boss of his boyhood club, Newport County. Replacing legendary manager Brian Flynn, the then-36-year-old led Newport to 11th place in League Two in his first season, but was sacked 13 league games into his second.

Following a spell at Newport, Rowberry worked for the FAW as Head of Elite Coach Education before his appointment as assistant coach of the Wales women’s team under new coach Rhian Wilkinson in February 2024.

When Craig Bellamy was appointed Wales men’s head coach in August, Rowberry made the switch to the men’s team where he remains today.

Mark Hughes – 4/1 on DragonBet 

Mark Hughes’ legend does need much introduction. A Wales legend as player and manager, he has been a part of elite football for over 40 years now and has considerable managerial experience under his belt.

Hughes’ first steps into management were similar to Bellamy’s: their first job as a head coach was that of the Wales men’s national team. After five years in charge of Wales, Hughes managed Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, and Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League.

His spent the most time as manager of Stoke City, guiding them to three 9th place finishes in a row. Following Stoke, Hughes had a short-lived and ill-fated spell at Southampton before taking a four year break from management.

In 2022, Hughes was appointed boss of Bradford City, making it the first time he had coached outside of the Premier League.

Omer Riza – 4/1 on DragonBet

Riza is the current interim manager at Cardiff City, having stayed behind after Bulut and much of his staff were dismissed last Sunday afternoon.

The 44-year-old, who was not slow to admit that he was “very disappointed” not to get the Watford job in March 2024 after Valerin Ismael was sacked, joined Cardiff in the summer after six years at the Hornets.

Riza had a modest playing career, starting out at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger before settling into coaching in 2013.

The one-team Turkey U-23 international is a highly regarded coach who has worked with England U16s and U17s teams. He will have the chance to stake his claim as Cardiff boss in their away match at Hull City on Saturday.

Nathan Jones – 9/1 on DragonBet

While his spell at Southampton in the Premier League was widely ridiculed, Nathan Jones is an accomplished coach who had previously done brilliantly with Luton Town in two separate spells.

Following his sacking at St Mary’s, Jones joined Charlton Athletic and is enjoying a positive start to the 2024/25 league season. Charlton lay in fourth at this early point in the season and look well placed for a promotion battle with the likes of Wrexham and Birmingham City.

Jones has openly admitted that he would love to coach Cardiff City, saying recently that he would “really, really love” to coach the club he supported as a boy.

“When this kind of stuff comes up I’m very flattered to be linked with that. One day – I’ve made no secret and been totally open – I would like to manage Cardiff. It is my home town club – my dad lives close,” Jones said of the links to the Cardiff job.

Steven Schumacher – 10/1 on DragonBet

An early favourite, Schumacher’s popularity with the bookies has waned slightly in recent days.

The former Bradford and Bury player was recently sacked by Stoke City, following their own poor start to the Championship campaign and is reportedly keen to get straight back into management.

Schumacher had spells coaching at Everton, Bury, and interim manager at Southport before he was appointed manager of Plymouth Argyle in June 2019.

Following a successful spell at Plymouth, where he won League One in 2023, Schumacher was given the job at Stoke and tasked with keeping them in the Championship. The 40-year-old was successful, but following a poor run at the start of this season, was dismissed from his role at the club.

The Outsiders

So there you have the five favourites for the role, now for those slightly left of field:

Rob Page and Neil Warnock are both priced at 16/1, while Wales captain Aaron Ramsey is 18/1.

Former Wales striker Robert Earnshaw is priced at 18/1, while Alex Neil is 14/1.

Chris Coleman and Frank Lampard are 25/1 as are Sam Allardyce, Osian Roberts, and Slaven Bilic.

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