Cardiff City boss Mick McCarthy brings in trusted advisor from Ipswich Town to bolster recruitment department
The Bluebirds have added the experienced Dave Bowman to their recruitment department as Mick McCarthy continues to shape his backroom staff
By Glen Williams
Wednesday 23rd June 2021
Mick McCarthy will add Dave Bowman to his staff at Cardiff City
Cardiff City manager Mick McCarthy has bolstered his backroom staff with his former head of recruitment at Ipswich Town Dave Bowman.
McCarthy has rarely worked anywhere without Bowman in tow, with the pair having worked together at Wolves, Sunderland, Ipswich and during the manager's two stints in charge of the Republic of Ireland.
Bowman was most recently League One outfit Ipswich's director of football, while he also acted as a technical advisor with Ireland during McCarthy's second spell as manager, however his remit generally meant he operated as the club's chief scout.
And given the longevity of their relationship, it is no surprise that Bowman has now linked up with McCarthy again in the Welsh capital.
Initial whispers of the mooted appointment surfaced some months ago, however McCarthy was uncharacteristically tight-lipped when WalesOnline posed the question during one of his pre-match press conferences.
However, now, as reported by the East Anglian Daily Times, the appointment has now been made official and Bowman will be added to McCarthy's staff in a consultancy capacity following his exit from Portman Road, which was announced last month.
It aligns with McCarthy's philosophy of trusting people he has worked with before and his own judge of character.
He often talks up the influence of his assistant Terry Connor, while his two previous signings while in charge of the Bluebirds have been players with whom he has worked before, Jonny Williams, formerly of Ipswich, and James Collins, a Republic of Ireland international.
It is therefore no coincidence that the club's second signing of the summer window was Arsenal product Mark McGuinness, the centre back who spent last year on loan at Ipswich Town after Bowman played a huge part in bringing him to Portman Road.
McCarthy also has knowledge of him due to the player's connection with Ireland, having played for their youth teams up until under-21s level.
Who else should Cardiff City sign this summer? Let us know in the comments below.
Bowman worked on a shoestring budget while at the East Anglia club, usually tasked with finding value in the market before selling players on for marked profit.
Daryl Murphy, Kieffer Moore, Adam Webster and Martyn Waghorn all earned the club a pretty penny, while the club utilised the free-agent market well with the additions of David McGoldrick, Christophe Berra and Cole Skuse, all of whom enjoyed success at Portman Road.
It is also reported that Bowman's links with Nike and their affiliated Premier League teams helped to bring in the likes of Ryan Fraser, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Bersant Celina and Tom Lawrence, all of whom made an impact while on loan at the club.
It is only natural, of course, for a manager to put his stamp on things both on and off the pitch after arriving at a new club, while still trying to integrate new appointments with the existing structure within the club.
The Bluebirds have overhauled their recruitment department over the last two years.
The two big coups came at the top end of the club's academy system. On the recruitment side of things, Cardiff managed to prise Kevin Beadell away from Arsenal's under-23s at the start of the season.
Beadell heads the club's recruitment operation now for the under-18s, under-23s and the first team. It is a rather impressive appointment and one which academy insiders have been really impressed with in recent months.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.