EFL pundit urges Cardiff City to appoint 40-year-old English promotion winner to replace Omer Riza | OneFootball

Pundit George Elek has given his view on who Cardiff City should appoint as Omer Riza's permanent replacement.

EFL pundit George Elek believes Cardiff City should appoint former Oxford United boss Des Buckingham as their new manager following their relegation to League One.

After a nightmare start to the season, Cardiff parted company with Erol Bulut in September, and he was replaced by Omer Riza, who was handed the permanent job in December after a decent caretaker spell, although some questioned the timing of the decision given that results had started to decline in the previous weeks.

Sticking with Riza backfired spectacularly for the Bluebirds, with the 45-year-old winning just five of his 25 league games after taking over on a full-time basis, and he was sacked last month with just three matches of the season remaining.

Captain Aaron Ramsey took interim charge of Cardiff after Riza's departure, but despite leading his side to back-to-back home draws against Oxford and West Bromwich Albion, it was not enough to prevent relegation, and the club will be playing in the third tier of English football for the first time in 22 years next season.

After the Bluebirds' fate was sealed, owner Vincent Tan released a statement confirming that he is keen to guide the club back to the Championship "at the earliest opportunity", and he revealed that "a permanent manager and management team will be appointed in the coming weeks".

Cardiff City told to appoint Des Buckingham as Omer Riza replacement

As Cardiff begin their search for a new permanent manager, Elek urged the club to consider making a move for Buckingham, pointing to his previous League One promotion experience.

After taking over at Oxford in November 2023, Buckingham led the U's to promotion to the Championship via the play-offs last season before being sacked in December following a run of one win in 15 games that left the club sitting just outside the relegation zone, and Elek believes the 40-year-old could be a smart choice for the Bluebirds.

"There are examples of inexperienced managers doing the job needed," Elek told DragonSports.

"Chris Davies with his first job at Birmingham has done so, and also Kieran McKenna, even though it took him some time, at Ipswich.

"But for the most part, I think appointing someone, in Cardiff's position, who has a bit of experience and know-how in the league and could also be a bright young thing is probably the way to go.

"That's why I think Des Buckingham is someone Cardiff should be looking at pretty closely.

"He was strongly linked to the Wales job last summer and has close ties to the Welsh FA.

"He took over an Oxford side who were in decent form at the top of the table in the 2023-24 season, and despite struggling early on, he oversaw an incredible turnaround in form later on in the season where Oxford were rampant and went up through the play-offs.

"They beat Peterborough over two legs and put on a phenomenal display against Bolton at Wembley, winning that game 2-0.

"He has a real knack for getting the best out of top players.

"Josh Murphy is someone that Cardiff fans will know well, and his career was on a downward spiral before Des Buckingham came in and returned him to the quality that we know he can produce.

"Look at him now, he's one of the best players in the Championship.

"We know that Cardiff are going to have a lot of Championship quality in their squad.

"In Buckingham, you've got a young guy whose future is still very bright, he's won a promotion out of the level before, and I think he'd be a smart bit of recruitment from Cardiff."

Cardiff City could reignite Des Buckingham interest this summer

Cardiff were said to have been keen on Buckingham prior to the sacking of Bulut in September, so it would be no surprise to see him emerge on their radar again following relegation.

Oxford won promotion after a strong run towards the end of last season that culminated in their play-off victory, but their form before that under Buckingham had been inconsistent, and he struggled to make the step up to the Championship, so he would not be an appointment without risks for the Bluebirds.

However, Buckingham is a highly-rated coach who certainly deserves another opportunity at a top League One club, and his previous promotion experience could make him an attractive option for Cardiff this summer.