Controversial Vincent Tan call could've saved Cardiff City and angered Swansea City | OneFootball

Steve Cooper would be an excellent appointment for Cardiff City and could anger Swansea City supporters too

We're now into December and Cardiff City still don't have a permanent manager after Erol Bulut's sacking in September.

Omer Riza has been tasked with leading Cardiff City on an interim basis and it remains to be seen whether the Bluebirds will appoint a new permanent boss or not, pretty incredible considering he's been in the role for two-and-half months.

Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan needs to make a decision one way or another in the near future, and it was revealed recently by Phil Blanche that Steve Cooper, who was recently sacked by Leicester City, would relish the chance to become Cardiff boss.

However, it was later revealed by Wales Online's Glen Williams that Cooper would not be taking over in the Welsh capital, with the former Leicester boss believing that it was not the right opportunity for him currently.

The 44-year-old began his career in club management with Cardiff's bitter rivals Swansea, spending two seasons with the Swans between 2019 and 2021, leading them to the Championship play-offs in both seasons.

Cooper comes from Pontypridd in the Rhondda Valleys, just 10 miles from Cardiff, and he could have been an excellent appointment for the Bluebirds.

Appointing Steve Cooper would have benefited Cardiff City in more ways than one

Not only would Cardiff have had an excellent Championship manager in Cooper but it would have wound up some Swansea supporters massively and getting one over on their bitter rivals would also be a welcome boost to the Bluebirds.

The rivalry between the two clubs is one of the most fierce in the EFL but there have been plenty of people who have crossed the divide and been well-received by both sets of supporters in the past.

The likes of Alan Curtis, John Toshack and Robbie James, just to name a few, have successfully crossed the divide, and Cardiff certainly wouldn't have passed up on the opportunity to appoint Cooper purely because of his Swansea connections.

Cooper has performed well with sides in the Championship previously, leading Swansea to two consecutive play-off campaigns as well as taking Nottingham Forest to the Premier League in 2022.

When Cooper took over at Forest, they were bottom of the league but he led them to promotion that same season and there's no reason why he couldn't have done similar at Cardiff.

The Welshman took over at Forest in September, and it's December now, so it would have been unrealistic to expect him to lead the Bluebirds to promotion, but he could certainly have helped them pull them away from the relegation zone and lay the foundations for a successful 2025/26 campaign.

As it stands, Cardiff are in grave danger of relegation with no long-term plan, so Tan shouldn't have had any reservations about appointing Cooper despite his Swansea connections and actually should have embraced it as it could have wound up the Jack Army.

Steve Cooper would have been the perfect fit for Cardiff City

Despite his relative success at Swansea City, many supporters weren't overly convinced by Cooper's methods, with the style of football being more negative than the "The Swansea Way" that they've become accustomed to, but that wouldn't have been a problem at Cardiff.

It's not unfair to say that Cooper's football isn't always the most attractive on the eye but it's effective and that's all that would matter to Tan.

Cardiff supporters don't place the same emphasis on style of play as Swansea supporters do and Cardiff's best moments in recent seasons have come under Neil Warnock, playing a brand of football that saw an emphasis on having a solid defence and being good at set-pieces.

You feel as if Cardiff thrive with this sort of football, and Cooper could certainly have got the best out of the Bluebirds despite his time at Leicester City not going to plan while his experience as an England youth coach shows that he could have aided the development of the likes of Ollie Tanner, Rubin Colwill and others.

Being local to the Bluebirds, Cooper understands the club and knows that it has the potential to become a Premier League club if managed correctly, and the majority of Bluebirds supporters would have relished him joining the club.

The 44-year-old has form for joining local rivals of a side he's managed after joining Leicester from their East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest so he likely could've weathered whatever storm there might've been.

Of course, there would have been reservations over Cooper's long-term assistant Alan Tate coming with him after playing well over 300 games for the Swans with a well-documented disdain for the Bluebirds, but the opportunity to appoint Cooper would have been too good to pass up for Cardiff.

Despite his Swansea links, Cooper would have been an excellent appointment for Cardiff, and the anger it could generate down the M4 could be worth it alone for Tan but they look set to miss out on the 44-year-old, a huge blow for the Bluebirds.