"I'm surprised" - Sky Sports pundit makes Cardiff City, Omer Riza claim | OneFootball

The pundit has given his thoughts on the current situation with the Bluebirds.

Don Goodman has spoken of his "surprise" at the fact that Cardiff City have not made the decision to make Omer Riza their permanent manager.

The current caretaker boss of the Bluebirds has made a fine start to life as the main man in South Wales, albeit only a temporary role right now, and has spoken of his desire to take the job full-time.

The 45-year-old has won four of his nine games in charge of the club, and while he has lost his last two, he has taken the team off the bottom of the Championship table. But it must be noted that they did return to the relegation zone following their most recent defeat against Blackburn Rovers.

Riza took over from Erol Bulut at the end of September after Cardiff had an awful opening six matches, with the Bluebirds propping up the division with just a solitary point, scoring only once - their worst start to a campaign since 1930. But Riza has brought some solidity to the side, and he will be hoping for some positive news soon.

Goodman makes Cardiff, Riza claim

2024/25 has not gone the way that many Cardiff supporters would have expected, especially after a very good 12th place finish last time out. However, their terrible start was difficult to ignore, and the decision to sack Bulut had to be made.

Nevertheless, over a month-and-a-half later, no choice has been made over his permanent successor despite Riza recovering the team's form since he took over.

To Sky Sports pundit Goodman, something behind the scenes is having an impact on the announcement of the 45-year-old on a full-time basis, despite him deserving the job.

He said via Gambling Zone: "Omer Riza will be frustrated that they've lost their last two games but prior to that they had won four and drawn two.

"The football has got a lot more positive and the players are enjoying their football. It was a perfect audition up until the last two games, so it will be an interesting two weeks during the international break, to see if he's given the job permanently or kept as an interim. I think he's moved the team forwards given where they were before."

Goodman continued: "But the fact he hasn't been appointed makes me think the hierarchy does not fancy him or that there is someone waiting in the wings. It's not exactly a positive endorsement from the board and I'm surprised he's not been given the job permanently. I think he's shown enough to at least, be given the job on a short-term basis or on an 18-month contract.

"I don't think Cardiff can attract a big-name candidate or someone with a brilliant pedigree. I think they must make some kind of announcement over the next two weeks, and it will be interesting to see what they do."

Mark Robins' availability may be a new hurdle for Riza

While Riza has had a good first couple of months as the caretaker manager of Cardiff, new options have become available as the weeks have gone on, and the reason why a decision has not been made yet is because of that.

Mark Robins was sacked by Coventry City last week in incredibly controversial circumstances, and his track record shows just how good he could be for a club like the Bluebirds, and he would do more than just help in the battle against relegation.

He spent seven years at the CBS Arena, taking the Sky Blues from League Two to within touching distance of the Premier League and Vincent Tan may just look at the 54-year-old in the coming weeks.

Riza has done an excellent job to stop the rut that Cardiff got themselves into, and he more than deserves the chance to be offered the job permanently, but there are plenty of other managers available that have more experience in the game.