Cardiff City should have one eye on Leyton Orient amid Erol Bulut contract saga: View | OneFootball

Cardiff City haven't had the best past few years, with failed Championship play-off runs and bottom half finishes mixed with relegation flirtation arguably leading to a period of instability.

However, under current boss Erol Bulut, the Bluebirds have seemingly found their feet and re-established themselves in the top half of the Championship table.

The Turkish boss is out of contract in the summer, having only been appointed in June last year, and there is no certainty that he will continue his stay in South Wales.

For that reason, the Bluebirds hierarchy should be keeping their eyes on several managers in the event that Bulut departure, and Leyton Orient's Richie Wellens is one that may be worthy of the step up to the Championship.

Richie Wellens is working wonders at Leyton Orient

The Manchester-born man is one of the younger bosses in the EFL, aged just 44, and only retired from playing football in 2017, his last club being Macclesfield Town.

Since then, he has taken in a few jobs, with a couple being based in the Manchester area and but others further afield, such as in South Yorkshire and in Wiltshire too.

His first role as manager came at Oldham Athletic on a temporary basis in July 2017.

However, after a five-game unbeaten streak, he got the job permanently, but unfortunately, couldn't guide the club to safety in League One, experiencing relegation in his first role as a team boss. He admitted to the Manchester Evening News, following his sacking, that it was "the right time to part ways".

Following this disappointing first experience as a manager, he took on the job at Swindon Town, where, upon being appointed in November of the 2018-19 season, he would guide the West-country club to a 13th placed finish in League Two.

In his second and only full season at the County Ground, he won the League Two title on PPG (Points Per Game) after the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He then departed the club amid the first pandemic-hit season to return to Salford City, who he appeared for in the non-leagues as a player in the latter stages of his career.

He would experience more success in his very young career with the Ammies, winning Salford the delayed 2020 EFL Trophy in May 2021. However, only a week or so after that final, he left the club by mutual consent.

After this departure, he took a 199-day spell at Doncaster Rovers - another one of Wellens' ex-clubs as a player - during the 2021-22 season, which was hugely disappointing, as, at the time of his exit, Rovers sat in 23rd in League Two.

From that spell with Donny, he was appointed to his current club, Leyton Orient.

Arriving on March 9, 2022, the Mancunian boss steered the club to safety in League Two, won consecutive manager of the month awards following an unbeaten start to the 2022/23 season, achieved promotion from League Two in the same season, and during this current term, has the London side sitting in 10th place in League One as we near seasons end.

Cardiff City's managerial disappointments

Since the departure of legendary EFL manager Neil Warnock in 2019, the club have not fared well with their managerial appointments. No manager has lasted longer than two seasons, and none have achieved well above a 40% win rate.

With Wellens currently averaging a 46.3% win rate, gaining 1.6 points per game, according to FotMob, his appointment could be highly successful and enable the club to plot a route back to being playoff contenders and, potentially, a Premier League side once again.

Add to this that his win percentage is beating current boss Erol Bulut, and our championed appointment seems very sensible.

Richie Wellens tactics would be a stark contrast to Erol Bulut's

Having seen Wellens' history in management, and the fact that he trumps Bulut for win percentage too, Cardiff should seriously consider making the appointment following the end of the season.

In addition to the stats on paper surrounding the two managers, there is a fact that may please Cardiff fans too.

For most of this season, Bulut has played a defensive-minded 4-2-3-1 formation, and hasn't attracted rave reviews from the stands.

This slight anger towards the system from supporters can be justified though, as the Bluebirds are the lowest scorers from open play - having only netted 20 times.

In defense of his system over the weekend, Bulut told BBC Sport, "Sometimes you have to adapt. For some fans it can be boring... I have a structure, I know what I want from my team, and they know how I want to play.”

If Cardiff do pursue Wellens over renewing Bulut's contract, then fans can look forward to attacking football in a similar formation.

In the past, Wellens has rubbished the long ball tactic and defensive football, claiming it to not be "suitable for long term success", and has got his teams playing out from the back with patience and pressing with high intensity without the ball.

Ultimately, it is up to the hierarchy at Cardiff whether they renew the contract of Erol Bulut despite his wavering popularity among fans, or whether they pursue a young, English, boss to spearhead what could be a new era for the Welsh outfit.