Former West Brom and West Ham boss new favourite for Championship job
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Former West Brom boss Slaven Bilic has emerged as the new favourite for the vacancy at Cardiff City.
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Hide AdThe Bluebirds are on the search for a new first-team manager after parting company with Erol Bulut a fortnight ago. At the weekend, it was reported by The Mirror that former Baggies boss Tony Mowbray was under consideration, and was on their shortlist.
Despite news emerging that Mowbray, along with Nathan Jones, Alex Neil and Steven Schumacher had all been listed as possible contenders, Bilic is currently leadign the markets for the job.
Three bookmakers; BetVictor, Dragon Bet, and the EFL Championship’s sponsor Sky Bet, all have Bilic at the top of their lists. Nothing official has been reported by any media outlets close to Cardiff, but punters have seemingly backed the former Everton defender over the last few days.
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Hide AdBilic has only been out of work for little over a month. He was in charge of Saudi Pro League side Al Fateh, though the only notable players to the English football public that he got to manage were former Barcelona winger Cristian Tello, and Jason Denayer who played for Celtic and Sunderland.
The last club Bilic managed in England was Watford, but he was axed in March 2023. Bilic was appointed in September 2022 on an 18-month contract but was sacked after five months. He oversaw 26 games, and had the Hornets in ninth, four points outside of the play-offs.
The 44-time Croatian international has a strong association to English football, having played for West Ham and Everton, before taking up the reins at Upton Park in 2015. He helped them qualify for the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Europa League, but suffered a defeat to Romanian side FC Astra Giurgiu.
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Hide AdA spell in charge of Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia followed, before returning to England to take the job at West Brom. Bilic replaced Darren Moore, who was relieved of his duties in March, and replaced by Jimmy Shan who took the job on an interim basis. He guided the club to a second-placed finish, winning promotion on the final day of the season after drawing 2-2 with QPR.
Bilic got to December, before he was replaced by Sam Allardyce, having won just once in 11 games, with the only other positive results being three draws. Should Bilic's odds of being the next Cardiff manager turn in to something more substantial, then a return to the Hawthorns could be on the cards.
Cardiff City travel to the West Midlands on Saturday October 26, for an EFL Championship match. Callum Robinson, who was a player at West Brom from 2020 to 2022, will be one of those making a return. Karlan Grant will come up against his former club, having spent the 2023/24 season on loan in South Wales.
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