' The Signing of the Season '

Keeping Neil Warnock for two more years could be Cardiff City's signing of the season
Bluebirds fan columnist Scott Johnson believes it was a masterstroke to extend the 69-year-old's contract

Tuesday 6th March 2018

By Scott Johnson

Neil Warnock’s new Cardiff contract may have been a formality, but it remains brilliant news.

Warnock has agreed to remain in charge until 2020, which eliminates the nagging element of doubt that existed regarding whether he might call it a day were Cardiff to get promoted. Here’s hoping that Junior Hoilett and Aron Gunnarsson, both out of contract at the end of the season, may now be inclined to follow suit.


It was always very unlikely that the club were going to let Warnock slip through their fingers. They must know and appreciate what they have by now; the right manager at the right time and credit where credit is due, they have backed him accordingly.

Warnock has only been in charge of the club for a year and a bit, but the club have been on an upward trajectory ever since. Now that things are going so well, it’s easy to forget what a state the club was in when he inherited it.

The appointment of Paul Trollope was a disaster, a marriage of convenience that managed to kill off a season in a couple of months. Prior to that, Russell Slade lowered costs and expectations in equal measure.


Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock celebrates at the end of the match
The collateral damage of the rebrand, Malky Mackay’s dismissal and a revolving door transfer policy drove fans away from the club in their droves. Many of those that remained lost their passion for the club and watching Cardiff became a chore.

It looked like a long road back, but then Warnock swooped in and had people back onside almost instantly.

Had Warnock been brought in to clean up after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s extravagant spell in charge, who knows where Cardiff would be now, but he has certainly made the most of what he inherited. Warnock is at a stage in his career where he is not looking for a long-term project, he has designs on a record eighth promotion and he must have seen something in Cardiff that none of us could see.

Warnock has tapped in to the potential within the squad and supplemented it with smart, battle-ready signings. The results speak for themselves and by maintaining Cardiff’s push for automatic promotion, against some seriously big-spenders, he is performing a minor miracle.

Warnock just gets the club, having managed against them many times throughout their modern history, pre and post-rebrand, at the Cardiff City Stadium and Ninian Park. If he takes Cardiff up, the club will have to start thinking about building a statue, but what he has achieved off the pitch in many ways eclipses what he has done with his team.

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Have to agree with that apart from the statue bit, Slade although his football was dire he kept us up on less than what Warnock had and cut his cloth accordingly, though I may be wrong but he does deserve a bit of recognition. Trollope no comment on that one really, a good Number 2 but that's about it.

Lets hope we can battle our way through the remainder of the season, April still worries me though but not as much as it did a few months back. I think the final run in is going to be nail biting to say the least.

A statue - what a ridiculous idea to even suggest. I hope the writer wasn't being serious. Give us a Premier league title or a cup victory then it could be considered in about 50 years time.

scott is a walking cliche

scott is a walking cliche

"He's lost the press room"

I don't think re signing Warnock was a formality, He seemed to be almost retired then he saw something at Cardiff that no one else did and he has put together a team of grafters that play for the shirt. Its Classic Neil Warnock really ,hes been doing at wherever hes been for decades. Hes a proven winner and just like the fans,no airs or graces or ego,