Former Bolton Wanderers head coach Ian Evatt has been heavily linked with a return to management with recently relegated Cardiff City.
The 43-year-old departed the Toughsheet Community Stadium in January after four-and-a-half-years at the helm. His time in Greater Manchester saw him achieve great success, winning the EFL Trophy in 2023 as well as securing promotion from League Two two years prior.
He led his team to the League One play-off final last season, only to fall at the final hurdle when they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Oxford United. As such, they were expected to go one better this season.
A run of one win in five in January saw the Trotters lose ground in the play-off race, ultimately leading to his exit. Steven Schumacher was handed the reins, eventually missing out on a top six finish by 10 points.
Cardiff Set To Turn To Evatt?
It’s been a dreadful campaign for Cardiff. Having made the bizarre decision to extend Erol Bulut’s contract last summer, they started poorly, picking up just one point from their first seven games.
This cost Bulut his job, with Omer Riza stepping in on an interim basis. The 45-year-old initially enjoyed a ‘new manager bounce’, leading to him landing the job on a permanent basis. However, form soon dipped and by Christmas, they were in the bottom three.
A run of just two wins from the beginning of February saw Riza dismissed in April. Midfielder Aaron Ramsey stepped in, but he was unable to halt the slide and the Bluebirds finished bottom of the table.
With their place in League One confirmed, Cardiff know they need to get their next appointment right. Wales Online claim that owner Vincent Tam is keen to opt for a ‘tried and tested’ manager, with Evatt now emerging as the frontrunner.
Other names linked include Michael Beale, Des Buckingham and Steven Gerrard.
Writer’s View
Cardiff could do much worse than Ian Evatt. Although his time at Bolton ended on a sour note, there are few supporters who will forget the contribution he made at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in what was their toughest period in recent history. However, he has so far failed to show that he can get over the line at this level and it would still be somewhat of a risk. Therefore, Des Buckingham may be the safer option, having secured promotion to the Championship with Oxford last season…ironically with a win over Bolton in the play-off final.
