Cardiff City

Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England

Image source, Getty Images

The 2024-25 Championship season might be over but there are many ways to analyse and reflect on the campaign that has gone before us.

Not every club can go up but if there are signs a team is moving in the right direction, it can still be considered good progress - or quite the opposite if things are on the slide.

Here is a look at how each of the 18 sides who were in the Championship for the past two seasons got on points wise compared to the 2023-24 campaign.

It perhaps comes as no surprise that Sunderland, who won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, recorded the most significant improvement after finishing 16th in 2023-24 and picked up 20 more points.

Despite a tumultuous season off the field, Blackburn were the second most improved side in the division, gaining 13 points on the previous campaign as they missed out on the play-offs by just two points.

Leeds racked up 90 points in 2023-24 but somehow still managed a 10-point improvement as they hit the 100 mark on their way to winning the title in their best-ever season in the second tier.

Millwall's seven-point improvement was enough to help them finish five places higher in eighth, but they fell short of the top six by two points.

Meanwhile, Bristol City were only six points better off but managed to climb five places and claim a play-off spot, recording their best Championship finishing position since 2007-08.

Coventry also only improved by five points but were able to jump from ninth to fifth, perhaps showing just how fine the margins can be in the Championship when it comes to securing a play-off berth.

At the bottom...

Image source, Getty Images

You might want to look away now, Hull City fans.

The Tigers went backwards more than any other side compared to the previous season under Liam Rosenior, dropping from seventh place and three points outside the play-offs to only escaping relegation on goal difference on the final day.

Cardiff went from mid-table in 2023-24 to rock bottom and will drop down to League One for the first time in 22 years. It is pretty clear to see why as the Bluebirds picked up 18 fewer points compared to the previous season.

Norwich tumbled to 13th place after finishing in the play-offs a year before - an underperformance which ultimately cost Johannes Hoff Thorup his job as head coach.

Preston were 10 points off the play-off places in 2023-24 but picked up 13 fewer points under Paul Heckingbottom in what was their worst season since they were relegated from the Championship in 2010-11.

The Lilywhites' downturn was largely due to a major dip in form in the latter stages of the campaign, picking up only one win from their final 15 games (D7 L7) to avoid the drop by just one point.

West Bromwich Albion endured a disappointing season - for a club which always harbours ambitions of plying its trade in the top flight - with an 11-point drop off.

Albion's final points tally of 64 was their worst in the Championship since 1999-2000.

Plymouth may have only been five points worse off than they were in 2023-24 but having survived on the final day that season, there were to be no such heroics this time around and their two-year stint in the second tier is over.

And the rest...

Image source, Getty Images

*All data based only on teams who were in the Championship in 2023-24 and 2024-25

Image source, FAW

Harry Wilson says Aaron Ramsey still has plenty of offer as a player as uncertainty continues over what will come next for the midfielder.

Ramsey, 34, sees his Cardiff City contract expire this summer and there is no word yet on whether he will be offered a new deal by the managerless Bluebirds.

Ramsey ended the 2024-25 season as Cardiff's caretaker boss following the dismissal of Omer Riza, but was unable to save the club from relegation to League One.

Despite taking the managerial reins at his boyhood club, Ramsey indicated he wanted to carry on playing in 2025-26 in the hope of going to next year's World Cup with Wales.

As it stands, the former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder is his country's captain – though he is not in Craig Bellamy's squad for World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein on Friday and in Belgium next Monday.

As managerial uncertainty at Cardiff continues, there has been speculation Ramsey could be offered the chance to take over on a permanent basis.

For the moment, however, former Cardiff loanee Wilson says he views Ramsey as a Wales team-mate.

"He's definitely still got something to offer," the Fulham forward said.

"You see that when he turns up, with his quality in training and in games.

"He's still captain when he's here. It'll be up to him to decide what he wants to do, but for sure if he's fit and available he'll definitely be here."

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Getty Images

Cardiff City are still waiting to discover who their new manager will be as owner Vincent Tan mulls over his final decision.

The Bluebirds are looking for a ninth manager in four years as they prepare for life in League One following their relegation from the Championship this season.

After a sub-committee compiled a longlist of names and whittled it down to a shortlist of around six, chairman Mehmet Dalman and chief executive Ken Choo have spoken to the candidates and presented their recommendations to Tan.

Des Buckingham and Ian Evatt, former bosses of Oxford United and Bolton Wanderers respectively, have both been interviewed.

Cardiff have also held talks with Leicester City assistant coach Brian Barry-Murphy and Wales captain Aaron Ramsey, who took charge of the Welsh club's final three games of this season on a caretaker basis.

But Ruben Selles, who was considered for the job when Cardiff sacked Erol Bulut last year, has ruled himself out as he wants to stay in the Championship following his recent dismissal by Hull City.

Sources have indicated to BBC Sport Wales that some board would like to see Tan appoint an experienced manager with a proven track record at this level, such as Buckingham who led Oxford to promotion from League One last season.

Others would favour a different route, with ex-Manchester City academy coach Barry-Murphy and Ramsey still in the frame.

Ramsey, whose Cardiff contract expires this summer, has still not decided whether or not he will continue playing next season.

The 34-year-old former Arsenal midfielder enjoyed his brief stint in charge of his boyhood club, where he was assisted by his ex-Cardiff and Wales team-mate Chris Gunter among others.

If Cardiff were to choose Ramsey or Barry-Murphy, whose only managerial experience came at Rochdale between 2019 and 2021, it has been suggested the club would need to revamp its structure.

The Bluebirds have been heavily criticised for their perceived lack of football knowledge at board level, with fans and former players calling on Tan to appoint a sporting director or someone of similar standing between the head coach and the board.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Wales head coach Craig Bellamy has called up Cardiff City's teenage defender Ronan Kpakio for the World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium in June.

But the decision to add the right-back, who only turned 18 this week, to his squad is not such a surprise when you consider Bellamy has been a fan of Kpakio for some time - and even considered buying the youngster when the Wales boss was part of Burnley's backroom staff.

"I've known Ronan since he was very, very young, I've kept an eye on him," Bellamy said.

"Even last year we wanted to buy him for Burnley, so I'm fully aware, I've watched him - especially over the last couple of years, his progression has been outstanding.

"His potential can be ridiculously high; he's very athletic, very intelligent.

"If he wasn't injured I would have had him in March, as he's a player - especially in the right-back position... where we don't have a big area [of selection choices] in there, so we really need to start developing players in that position.

"He's the perfect profile for that."

Kpakio has come through the Bluebirds academy system and has so far made only six senior appearances for the club.

He made his debut in the EFL Cup last August before his first league start came on the final day of the Championship season.

Image source, Getty Images

Cardiff City ers' Trust (CCST) have highlighted their ongoing concerns around the football knowledge at the top level of the club following a meeting with of the Bluebirds' hierarchy.

Following confirmation of Cardiff's relegation into League One, the club issued a statement in which they stated they would undertake a "thorough period of review across several structures and practices".

The Fans' Advisory Board (FAB) met with club chairman Mehmet Dalman, executive director and chief executive officer Ken Choo and non-executive director Steve Borley following the conclusion of what was a wretched 2024-25 season for the club.

The CCST says it is "anxious to understand the extent of this review" after confirming the subject of improving the football knowledge at the highest levels within the club was raised during the meeting.

They wrote: "In our view the question of footballing expertise at board level in connection with the review was not answered as positively as we would have liked.

"Firstly, Mehmet Dalman stated that the board of Cardiff City is "unique" in that it cannot decide anything significant without reference to the owner.

"The minutes make it sound as if this uniqueness is a proud boast whereas our view is that it is a major weakness in corporate governance of the club.

"Mehmet Dalman goes on to say that he would welcome more football expertise but introduced caveats, perhaps to temper expectation."

Cardiff remain hopeful of appointing a new manager before the end of May having already interviewed candidates for the role - with the Bluebirds looking for a ninth boss in four years.

It comes amid what is likely to be a significant squad overhaul at Cardiff City Stadium following relegation into the third tier.

The statement concluded: "There's not much for Cardiff City fans to be happy about at the moment, but we hope for positive developments whereby the owner will allow the board the leeway to put in place, in the way the club is run, the sort of improvements that will take Cardiff City in the right direction."

Image source, Rex Features

As Cardiff City's ers await a new manager, Bluebirds players will also be eager to see who the new boss might be – and what impact it could have on their futures.

And that includes the handful of players sent out on loan by the club while Omer Riza's side failed to fight off relegation.

While some were youngsters gaining valuable experience, others were senior pros either looking for game time or a second chance.

The latter includes midfielder Ryan Wintle, who will return to south Wales after a season at Millwall with a year still to run on his Cardiff contract.

Wintle went from a regular under Erol Bulut to being frozen out last summer, heading to The Den where he played 23 times for the team that were only edged out of the play-off race in the final weeks.

However, having initially been signed by former Bluebirds boss Neil Harris, Wintle struggled for game time following Alex Neil's appointment with the vast majority of his appearances coming from the bench.

Further afield, Ryotaro Tsunoda spent more time on loan at Belgian side KV Kortrijk, a club also owned by Cardiff majority shareholder Vincent Tan.

The Japanese defender was initially signed in January 2024 before immediately heading to Belgium, impressing as they avoided relegation only to suffer a serious hamstring injury.

Without kicking a ball for Cardiff, the 25-year-old returned to KVK and played 12 times, although the club could not avoid the drop to the Belgian second tier.

Midfielder Joel Colwill has been eyed at the club as a future talent for some time, g a five-year deal in September 2023.

He started the season under former Newport County boss Michael Flynn at Cheltenham Town, the 20-year-old scoring on his debut in an opening day win over the Exiles.

He featured regularly for the League Two side before being recalled and sent to third-tier Exeter City in January, making 18 appearances without scoring.

Kion Etete – out of contract this summer – had little joy catching the eye after dropping down a division with Bolton Wanderers. The former Tottenham striker was injured after just 23 minutes of action on his debut, in which he conceded a penalty. He did return to fitness two months later, but had limited impact off the bench in five outings as Steven Schumacher's side dropped out of play-off contention.

Also in League One, Eli King made 34 appearances for Stevenage under former Cardiff striker Alex Revell, including in their surprise 3-2 win at eventual promotion winners Wrexham. The 22-year-old, who is contracted until 2026, struggled for a consistent spell in the side, but had a run of four starts in March, his best period of the season.

Meanwhile, rookie striker Michael Reindorf, did not quite get the chances Cardiff might have liked during his time at Bristol Rovers. The 20-year-old, who had impressed enough during the under-21s run in the Welsh League Cup, made two Bluebirds appearances off the bench in the League Cup and two in the Championship under Omer Riza.

He was loaned to Rovers on deadline day in February, but had to make do with substitute appearances without scoring as the Gas were relegated from League One. He totalled 76 minutes of action with former boss Inigo Calderon saying at one stage he had failed to impress in training.

Image source, Getty Images

Cardiff City ers' Trust chairman Keith Morgan says fans are concerned that owner Vincent Tan may not listen to a sub-committee set up to lead the search for the club's next manager.

Cardiff are looking for a ninth manager in four years following their relegation from the Championship, with Erol Bulut and Omer Riza sacked during 2024-25 as the Bluebirds finished a miserable season with Wales captain Aaron Ramsey in caretaker charge.

Chairman Mehmet Dalman has revealed that the hunt for Cardiff's next permanent boss will be led by a sub-committee featuring the club's head of academy Gavin Chesterfield (pictured below), former Swansea City sporting director Mark Allen and a member of the Wasserman agency.

The sub-committee, which has been formed on a one-off basis, will answer to the board with the aim of making an appointment this month.

Morgan believes that may represent a positive move – but only if Tan (pictured above) takes any recommendations on board.

"It is right that the club should be criticised when it gets things wrong and [so should] the owner, who of course doesn't take kindly to any kind of criticism," Morgan told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

Image source, Huw Evans Agency

"This sub-committee, as a one-off to appoint the manager this time round, is a step in the right direction if the owner takes heed of their recommendations.

"That is the fear of fans, that we could go through this process, which is a good idea in theory, but then the owner decides to do whatever the owner wants to do anyway."

As Cardiff prepare to play in the third tier for the first time since 2003, Morgan says there is ongoing frustration among fans over the lack of "fundamental change in the decision-making process" at the club.

There has long been a feeling among some ers that Cardiff need more footballing expertise in the boardroom, with recent fan protests calling for Tan and the club's directors to go.

"What the club still lacks is anyone at full board level with detailed football knowledge and we are still without a full-time executive director at the club," Morgan added.

"Those things haven't been fixed. We have had 16 managers in the 14 years under Vincent Tan's ownership. We can't keep doing that.

"We keep trying to apply a plaster over a gaping wound and it needs some change."

Image source, Getty Images

Joe Ralls hopes Cardiff City can use the summer to return "stronger than ever" following relegation into League One.

The Bluebirds finished rock bottom of the Championship after securing just nine wins from 46 matches - the lowest return in the second tier.

But central midfielder Ralls took to social media to thank the Cardiff faithful for their during what has been a wretched 2024-25 campaign for the club.

"Now that the dust has settled after a tough season for all of us, I want to take a moment to come on here and thank our loyal fans for your ," he wrote.

"Even during times when we didn't perform as we should have on the pitch, you've been nothing short of incredible in the stands.

"I know our club isn't where we all hoped it would be, and that hurts.

"But we'll use this summer to regroup, rebuild and come back stronger than ever."

Image source, Getty Images

A complete restructure could be needed at Cardiff City to give them the best chance of bouncing back from relegation, says former Bluebirds striker Nathan Blake.

Cardiff will play third-tier football for the first time in 22 years next season, and Blake, who watched his old side finish bottom of the Championship by losing at Norwich on the final day, says things need to change from top to bottom.

"If I was [owner] Vincent Tan I would bring someone in to liaise with - someone who understands the club, understands the game, understands the fans," said Blake on Radio Wales Sport.

"They need someone who can see a player, scout a player, recruit a player...and I'd have him or her as a conduit in between the team and the owner."

In a statement before the Norwich game, the club and its board of directors promised "a thorough period of review across several structures and practices", involving "the owner, board, executive management and stakeholders".

In a message to fans, Tan also hit back at criticism that he has minimal with the club, and doesn't care, insisting he watches every game and speaks to the manager before and after each one.

But many fans have long questioned Tan's apparent reluctance to appoint a director of football or some kind of intermediary between the board and the management team, and Blake argues more experience is needed around decision making.

"The board needs more experience, and an understanding they're responsible for the overall running of the club," said Blake.

"Training ground, making sure the youth team are training with the first team, things like that.

"Then you go down to the next level and the management structure, and who are you going to bring in?

"And then you get to the next level and look at the recruitment of players who are available who can get you out of the league, and back up into the Championship.

"It's all so topsy turvy at the moment. There's a lot of work to do."

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

When a player is left out of a matchday squad, they're usually free to do what they like.

For home games, they tend to watch from the stands and, even for away games, it's not unusual for injured or omitted players to travel.

That is true at Cardiff City, where the absence of some of their players for their final game of a dreadful season has been a talking point among fans this week.

Yakou Meite, Callum Robinson, Dimitrios Goutas and Anwar El Ghazi were all missing for the 4-2 defeat at Norwich City.

As Meite, Goutas and El Ghazi are all out of contract this summer, it's likely that they've all played their final game for Cardiff.

And while top scorer Robinson signed a new deal earlier this year, the Bluebirds will find it difficult to keep the former Premier League forward in League One.

There was nothing remarkable about their absence at Carrow Road, but what rankled with some Bluebirds ers is that Meite was instead pictured watching a game at his ex-club Reading and ing his former team-mates on the pitch afterwards.

There is no suggestion the players broke any rules - they were free to do what they wanted on Saturday - but fans can justifiably question their judgement.

This has been a miserable campaign for everyone connected to Cardiff, who finished bottom of the Championship and will next season be playing in the third tier for the first time since 2003.

Yet 1,200 fans still made the long journey to Norwich to watch the already-relegated Bluebirds crumble to another defeat.

Given their commitment to a hopeless cause, you can understand why they were unhappy that some players had not only chosen to miss the game but had gone to watch another team.

As many have said, it's not a great look.

Such superficial matters are inconsequential in Cardiff's dire situation. Their priority right now is finding a new manager and a route back to the Championship.

But it's yet another case of questionable decisions in what has been a nightmare season, full of poor judgement.

This post has been updated to correct an error in the original version, in which Callum Robinson was said to have been at Aston Villa's game on Saturday. Robinson has clarified that he did not attend any game that day.

Image source, Rex Features

Peterborough United have announced that Ricky-Jade Jones will leave the club this summer having been a Cardiff City transfer target in the last transfer window.

Jones, 22, scored 18 goals in 2024-25 as Posh finished 18th in League One and won the EFL Trophy, but will leave London Road when his contract expires next month.

In January, then Cardiff boss Omer Riza said pacy forward Jones was on the Bluebirds' list of transfer targets and that discussions had taken place over a potential deal.

Much has changed since then of course, with Riza gone and Cardiff preparing to play in the third tier alongside Peterborough next season.

If the Welsh club do their revive their interest in Peterborough youth product Jones, they would have to pay compensation despite his contract situation because of the player's age.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Cardiff City are bracing themselves for interest in striker Yousef Salech as they prepare for life in League One, says caretaker manager Aaron Ramsey.

Salech has been a rare bright spark in a wretched season for the Bluebirds, who finished bottom of the Championship table following Saturday's 4-2 defeat at Norwich City.

The 6ft 5in striker scored both Cardiff goals at Carrow Road, taking his total to nine from 22 appearances in all competitions since his move from Swedish side Sirius in January.

The fee was undisclosed but believed to be between £3m and £4m, and Cardiff would hope to make a profit on the 23-year-old should he leave this summer.

"There's always going to be interest in players of his quality," said Ramsey.

"That's part of football. He showed again what he's capable of doing. He's a fantastic player and he's only going to get better.

"Some of the goals he's scored and it's not just that, it's what he does off the ball, that effort he puts in is not to be sniffed at. He's a serious player who's only going to get better."

Relegation will come at a significant financial cost for Cardiff, who will lose much of their income from broadcast deals and sponsors.

That could make it harder for them to reject offers from higher-placed clubs should any come in for Salech, but Ramsey hopes he will stay.

"We always want to keep our best players and he's no different," the Wales captain added.

"There's a few things that need to be addressed over the coming weeks and hopefully that will give some clarity to everyone – players, staff, fans, everyone. That's the next step."

Relegated Cardiff City will look to end their dismal season on a high when they visit Norwich City on Saturday (12:30 BST).

A victory over the Canaries could mean the Bluebirds don't complete their time in the Championship this year bottom of the pack, a place they currently reside.

Cardiff will then go again next year in League One with a new manager at the helm, something that is also the case for Norwich in next season's Championship campaign.

The Canaries are winless in six and have seen their promotion hopes dashed by a much poorer second half of the season, now finding themselves firmly in the midtable and without a permanent boss.

• Norwich City have won three of their last four league games against Cardiff City (L1), scoring 2+ goals in each of those victories.

• Cardiff City will be looking to complete just a second league double over Norwich City in the EFL after winning the reverse fixture 2-1 in November last year (also in 2017-18).

• Norwich have failed to win any of their last five final league games of a season (D1 L4), conceding exactly five goals in two of those defeats.

• After winning each of their four final games of a league campaign that came away from home between 2015 and 2022, Cardiff have since lost their last two via a three-goal margin.

• Norwich's Jack Wilshere and Cardiff's Aaron Ramsey will face as managers for the first time, six years and 251 days after the last Premier League game in which both featured, with Wilshere playing for West Ham against Ramsey's Arsenal in August 2018. The pair both played in the same match for Arsenal in the Premier League 71 times, most recently in May 2018 against Burnley.