Cardiff City warned against potential Charlton Athletic action - It would "never work" with Vincent Tan | OneFootball

FLW's resident Cardiff City fan pundit discussed whether the club should potentially appoint Charlton Athletic boss Nathan Jones this summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Cardiff City will be bidding to gain promotion out of League One at the very first time of asking following their relegation from the Championship, ending a 22-year tenancy in English football's top two divisions.

The Welsh capital will be hosting third-tier football for the first time since 2003, when Cardiff beat QPR in an iconic play-off final at the then-Millenium Stadium, after the Bluebirds finished rock bottom in the Championship table.

By and large, it is viewed as a self-inflicted relegation owing to years of turmoil, turnover, and a damning deficit in strategy and structure at the club, which has seen the key decision-makers - namely unpopular owner Vincent Tan alongside Mehmet Dalman and Ken Choo - all receive significant backlash from large sections of the fanbase, with protests having been staged on two occasions across the 2024/25 season.

Cardiff will be licking their wounds, and the reality of relegation is a stinging one indeed. However, they must look to get a new permanent manager in place as early as possible.

Aaron Ramsey remains the man in situ, having taken charge of the final three games on a caretaker basis with too little time to save the day, following the sacking of Omer Riza last month. Cardiff are reportedly interested in Salford City boss Karl Robinson, but it would be little surprise to see Nathan Jones emerge into consideration, too, should Charlton Athletic fail to gain promotion from League One.

The Addicks will face Wycombe Wanderers in the upcoming third-tier play-off semi-finals after finishing the season in fourth in Jones' first full campaign in charge. Boyhood Bluebirds fan Jones, who hails from the nearby Rhondda Valley, has made no secret of his dreams to return home and manage Cardiff one day.

Back in 2022, Jones revealed he would never turn down the chance to lead his beloved side if the opportunity arose. More recently, though, following the sacking of Erol Bulut, the ex-Luton Town and Southampton boss admitted he would "really, really love" to manage the Welsh club.

Nothing materialised there and then, with Jones staying put at Charlton as Cardiff instead appointed Riza. However, there is every chance that Jones' name could be one to watch in the coming days and weeks.

Cardiff City warned against Charlton Athletic, Nathan Jones pursuit amid Vincent Tan factor

FLW asked our resident Bluebirds fan pundit, Matt Hall, whether he believes Cardiff should consider a move for Jones if Charlton are to spend another season in League One.

Matt recognises that Jones, in no small part due to his Cardiff roots, would be a popular and energising choice among supporters. However, he holds concerns over Jones' pragmatic style of football, which he believes would be at odds with a technically-minded squad featuring the likes of David Turnbull, Alex Robertson, Rubin and Joel Colwill and Cian Ashford.

Under Jones in 24/25, the Addicks scored 1.5 goals per match and ranked 13th in League One for average possession with 49.5%, and 17th for accurate passes with an average of 238.9. Jones' teams, of course, have always been hard-working and direct, seldom emphasising possession and control.

But Matt would also be concerned about the relationship between Jones, an outspoken and occasionally hot-tempered manager, and Tan, who has shown little fear in pulling the trigger in years gone by - with Cardiff having had seven permanent bosses since the start of 2021 alone.

"Nathan Jones is a controversial one," Matt told FLW.

"I think if you spoke to 75 percent of the fanbase at Cardiff, they would snap your hand off for Jones. I, however, fall into the 25 percent that feels it's one of those that just would not work like everybody would want it to.

"If he was to come in, I think the expectation is one thing and the excitement would be through the roof, which is brilliant for season ticket sales and optimism.

"Where I don't think it would work so much is how he would fit with the squad. If you look at Charlton across the course of the season, they were very low for the number of shots on goal, their possession stats and passing numbers are quite low.

"At Charlton, he has used the youth quite well, but it's not my style of football personally. I know it's a style of football a lot of fans like, most of the teams that bounce straight back up are high-possession teams, so I'm not 100 percent sure whether Jones fits the squad that we've got.

"We've got a lot of footballing players, that midfield is played to be played through, not played over. Apart from [Yousef] Salech, I just don't think the squad fits him that well.

"At the same time, as much as I say that, I think if he was to come in then we would be challenging for promotion.

"The other thing is that one conversation with Vincent Tan could probably get Jones sacked because he is a fiery character, we're a controversial club. The last thing we need is someone who comes out with a controversial quote after every press conference, and I think a relationship with him and Tan would never work.

Cardiff City, Vincent Tan should appoint a manager with League One credentials

Many of Cardiff's players likely to be retained come August have no experience in League One, so recruiting a manager with credentials at this level feels important.

Jones has that in abundance, having also previously won promotion with Luton. Matt is justified in identifying and holding concern over some of the potential issues with appointing the Welshman, but if it's not to be him, then Cardiff must try and ensure the club's next manager boasts something of a track record in League One.

That means somebody like Des Buckingham, who led Oxford United to promotion through the play-offs just last season before being relieved of his duties back in December in what was a contentious decision at the time, would certainly fit the bill.

Dave Challinor's name is also on the lips of supporters right now, but he could quite well gain promotion in the play-offs with Stockport County and whether he would be willing to depart a progressive and exciting project with the Hatters, with plenty of financial backing to support their rise up the footballing ladder, is not yet clear.