Terry Phillips became close to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during his time in charge of the Bluebirds. Here Terry looks back at the Solskjaer spell, signings – and other managers he worked with.
Prepare for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer overload at Cardiff City Stadium.
Norwegian Solskjaer started his first managerial spell in the Premier League at the Bluebirds’ home – and he’s back in South Wales to begin his second spell.
Manchester United fans will be singing his name – ‘You are my Solskjaer, my only Solskjaer’ – and his players will surely have a spring in threat step.
Solskjaer is the right man at the right time for United. He was, almost four years ago, the wrong fit at the wrong time for Cardiff.City were a team built on fitness and a well organised, solid defence. Solsjkaer wanted to attack, an admirable quality, but tried to change things too quickly.
New players he brought in were not up to the job at Premier level and, as a result, City crashed and burned.
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It is a completely different situation at Old Trafford. He has skill and quality in abundance and the task is to find the right way of playing and motivate his players to be at their best.
Too many United players seemed to be sulking under the guidance of surly Jose Mourinho, but there is no doubt in my mind they will arrive at Cardiff City Stadium with a smile on their faces.
Bluebirds beware. This match could potentially see Manchester United produce their best performance of the season.
I worked closely with Solskjaer during the eight and a half months he was City manager. When he left the club I stayed in touch with the United legend – and Ole invited me to visit him in Norway.
That was the mark of a generous man even if that, eventually, didn’t happen. We had chatted during Cardiff’s 10-day pre-season tour to Austria when I stayed at the same hotel as Bluebirds’ players and management and was encouraged to join in with the group for meals.
The big factor, of course, was trust in a situation where I was privy to events happening within the group. Solskjaer is a manager who loves to get involved in banter with players at the right times – handing out stick at times and keeping the squad laughing.
Federico Macheda, I remember, would have six sugars in a cup of tea. I was eating my meal when Solskjaer was told about Macheda’s preference – and there was a fair bit of banter about those teaspoons of sugar being the difference between the striker becoming a top class player or falling short.
Solskjaer was and is a superstar in Norway and Britain. He even ensured I appeared on Norwegian television when he came to Cardiff – and television crews from his home country came to South Wales.
There were many requests for the Western Mail and Echo Bluebirds’ journalist to do interviews – and imagine the surprise for daughter, Kelly, when she visited her friend, Live, in Norway and watched her dad chatting on morning TV.
There is no edge to the man. No arrogance, which would be understandable, and his passion for football is clear.
He learned such a lot from his time with Cardiff and that will help him in his new job at Manchester United.
When we chatted at the Seehof and Seeresidenz Hotel in Walchsee, Austria during Cardiff’s pre-season tour before the 2014-15 season, Solskjaer was relaxed and open about his plans for the Bluebirds.
“I am learning all time,” he said. “I evaluate myself compared to before at every possible stage.
“These last few months have been extremely valuable in that I believe I am a far more mature manager as a result of the experience.
“Over the summer there is time to think things through when you don’t reach a target you have set.
“If you win a trophy it’s time to celebrate for one night and move on. After Cardiff went down I thought a lot about what happened and what more I could have done.
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“Certainly I have spent a lot more time thinking about last season than I would have done had we stayed up. That would have been success, but we were not able to achieve that.
“Nobody likes to lose any game. When that happens I think it through time and again, while a win means a good nights sleep and you can look ahead.”
Solskjaer talked about the challenges at Cardiff, the pain of relegation and hopes for the future.
“I have never and will never regret coming to Cardiff,” he said. “I would rather be exhausted by hard times which can breed success than not taking on a challenge in the first place.
“It’s important to enjoy the journey. I love that journey, plan for the long-term and enjoy it along the way. If we achieve something that’s part of it and we move on.”
The Bluebirds were greeted by blazing sun and high temperatures in Austria – up to 38 degrees – and Solskjaer had a close support group around him.
Manchester-born Mark Dempsey was Cardiff’s assistant manager. He played for Manchester United, Swindon, Sheffield United, Chesterfield, Rotherham and Macclesfield, while he coached at United and Tromso in Norway before linking up with Solskjaer at FK Molde.
“There were times I didn’t think it was possible to get over Cardiff’s relegation, but I did eventually,” said Dempsey. “The feeling took a long time to come out of my system and I think Ole was the same.
“I came from a background of being a successful coach. All of a sudden I was a failure. Flipping heck! I had to look deep into myself and it took until two weeks before we came back for pre-season training before I felt ready.
Before that I was dead inside. Everybody was the same. It hurts to be a failure. We must learn from that and have to bounce back quickly. That’s the place we are in at the moment.”
Dempsey, aged 54, is now manager of Norwegian club Kongsvinger, but remains close to Solskjaer, saying: “Ole is an emotional type of guy.
“He is level headed, but hurts deeply. The most important factor for me is that Ole cares.
“He wanted success for Cardiff City more than anything.”
The first sighting of Solskjaer for Cardiff fans came when he flew in on Vincent Tan’s private jet and watched Arsenal v Cardiff in London. David Kerslake was the Bluebirds’ caretaker manager.
Before kick-off, in the boardroom, Solskjaer chatted with Cardiff directors and then joined Tan, chairman Mehmet Dalman and other directors to watch the game.
Dalman has been to Norway for talks with Solskjaer, while those discussions continued in London.
He became the fourth Norwegian manager in English League football, following Egil Olsen at Wimbledon in 1999, Stale Solbakken at Wolves in 2012 and Henning Berg at Blackburn in 2012.
Now Solskjaer is back in the Premier League with Cardiff City and he sets out at Cardiff.
“Manchester United is in my heart and it’s brilliant to be coming back in this role,” he said on the eve of his return to Cardiff City Stadium.
The Bluebirds managers Terry Phillips has worked with:
1 Eddie May: March 1995 to May 1995 (61 days) and July 1991 to November 1994 (3 years, 123 days)
It was clear Eddie May was a special man after the 1994 Welsh Cup final when Cardiff City suffered a shock defeat against Barry Town in front of 14,130 fans at the National Stadium.
Bluebirds fans still chanted his name when Barry collected the trophy and any abuse was aimed at club owner Rick Wright.
I got to know Eddie well, particularly after he became Barry Town manager, and we chatted regularly. He loved football, loved to be involved, travelled the world and put as much passion into his time managing Welsh League Porthcawl Town five years ago as he had at any time.
Eddie led Cardiff to the Third Division title and they won the Welsh Cup. Only three managers have won titles for City – Billy McCandless (1947) and Malky Mackay (2013) being the other two.
Sadly, Eddie died in 2012 at the age of 68. He is missed.
2 Kenny Hibbitt: July 1995 to January 1996 (189 days), October 1996 to November 1996 (35 days) and December 1996 to February 1998 (1 year, 54 days)
Three spells in charge, but he wasn’t manager for all that long even if you add them together. It was a difficult time for Cardiff City. Far too much coming and going, so many changes. Hibbitt would be in, then out. Osman was in for a while, then Hibbitt returned.
Finally, Frank Burrows was appointed and Hibbitt became director of football. Burrows, though, didn’t seem keen on Hibbitt – and they had offices at either end of the Ninian Park corridor which ran past the home dressing room.
3 Russell Osman: November 1996 to December 1996 (one month)
Finished his playing career with Cardiff and then went straight into management. But he was only in the role for one month before being replaced by Kenny Hibbitt.
4 Phil Neal: January 1996 to October 1996 (255 days)
Neal became Cardiff City manager in 1996, but couldn’t save his team from finishing 22nd in Division Three, the forth tier of the Football League. Only Scarborough and Torquay United were below the Bluebirds. Neal moved on the following season after an indifferent start and became Steve Coppell’s assistant manager at Manchester City. There were high hopes for Neal, but he scarcely made an impact.
5 Frank Burrows: February 1998 to February 2000 (year 350 days) and May 1986 to August 1989 (3 years, 62 days)
A tough Scot who could, at times, be a difficult man.
Burrows was always straight and honest with me – and I’m still in contact with him.
He led City to promotion during his first spell with the club and they won the FAW Premier Cup in his second.
There were times when it was a battle of wills between us. I popped into Ninian Park one morning, at 9am, and he asked me to wait. The hours ticked by, but I would not give in.
I did some work in reception as I waited and didn’t move from my seat. I could see his car outside and would know if he left via the boot room.
At around 4pm, Burrows strolled out to go home and was shocked to see me still there. He did, though, sit down for an interview.
6 Billy Ayre: February 2000 to August 2000 (0 years, 194 days)
Never really given a chance to succeed as Cardiff manager, but he was as straight as they come and was always willing to stop and chat.
After one match at Bristol Rovers I asked Billy what had gone wrong when Cardiff had conceded a goal. We were in the car park and he called a few players off the bus and positioned them where they had been when the goal went in.
He used them to explain the mistakes made – and made everything clear.
Sadly, Billy passed away in 2002.
7 Bobby Gould: August 2000 to October 2000 (Two months)
A former Wales manager who took charge at Cardiff City during August 2000, linking up with close pal Sam Hammam. The two men knew each other well and Bobby had done a lot of research when Hammam wanted to buy the club.
Billy Ayre was the manager who took the Bluebirds on a pre-season tour to Ireland – and Gould was sent on a spying mission to assess the squad.
One match near Longford was played at a local club ground. There was a decent clubhouse, but it was more or less an open pitch with trees to one side. Bobby was just inside the tree line, trying to stay out of sight, as the match started.
He was, of course, spotted quickly and City fans were going over to chat to him or simply walking past and saying ‘Hi Bobby’.
Hammam became owner and Gould was later appointed manager. He was soon replaced by Alan Cork, although for a time had the title of general manager.
8 Alan Cork: October 2000 to February 2002 (16 months)
A great bloke and a man who was good to work with.
Occasionally, Corky would give me a ring on a Sunday and ask if I fancied a drink in Cardiff Bay. He lived nearby, I would drive down, he’d bring his wife along and we’d sit, sometimes in the Terra Nova pub, and talk about the club and anything else.
He led City to promotion in 2001, but I remember the day he was sacked. Cork’s City were thumped 4-0 at Wigan Athletic and the story started circulating as I drove back towards South Wales.
It was true – and Sam Hammam had decided to make a change. Cork had not been that popular among supporters and he was gone. Yet only the previous month Cardiff had earned that magnificent FA Cup win against then Premier League leaders Leeds United on a famous night at Ninian Park.
9 Lennie Lawrence: February 2002 to May 2005 (3 years, 96 days)
Lennie was media friendly and a successful manager. He gave City fans a magnificent day out at the Millennium Stadium when they defeated Queens Park Rangers in the 2003 play-off final.
I will never forget the post-match party at a restaurant in the city centre. Trying to interview captain Graham Kavanagh and his players while they were trying to have a drink and celebrate was an experience.
I still chat to Lennie now and again. He works alongside manager Michael Flynn at Newport County.
10 Dave Jones: May 2005 to May 2011 (6 years, 5 days)
A difficult man to deal with, in fact one of the most difficult managers I have worked with in 45 years as a journalist.
There were times when Jones was a decent guy – he knocked on my door to borrow DVDs during a pre-season tour to North America and presented me with a team shirt – and others when he wasn’t.
When he fell out with the Echo I tried to thrash it out with him, man to man. But he wasn’t interested.
I always had access to Cardiff press conferences at this stage, but Jones would not enter the media room post-match if our journalists were present.
We stood our ground, Jones had to do his press conference outside and media colleagues took our dictaphones out and recorded his words anyway.
11 Malky Mackay: June 2011 to December 2013 (2 years, 193 days)
A strong man who liked things done his way, but he had time for the local media. Mackay was always ready to chat and we met for breakfast at the Vale of Glamorgan Resort on a reasonably regular basis.
That access to the manager was a massive help in reporting on the club.
Mackay took Cardiff City into the Premier League, something no other manager had managed before him. Vincent Tan insists Dave Jones would also have led Cardiff to the title had he been given the same financial backing, but, as I told the Bluebirds owner, Jones tried and failed quite a few times.
12 David Kerslake: December 2013 to January 2014 (0 years, 6 days)
Mackay’s assistant, who stepped up for two matches – against Arsenal away on New Year’s Day and Sunderland at home. It was always clear a new manager would be brought in, but Kerslake, ably assisted by Joe McBride, did a professional job while they were in charge.
City resisted Arsenal at the Emirates for a long time and led against Sunderland at home before the visitors fought back to draw.
13 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: January 2014 to September 2014 (259 days)
As I say above. Wrong man, wrong time for Cardiff City.
14 Danny Gabbidon: September 2014 to October 2014 (17 days)
Top class centre-back who took charge on a temporary basis.
15 Russell Slade: October 2014 to May 2016 (1 year, 215 days)
Good bloke, maybe too nice. The job was the highest level that Slade had ever managed at and he was tasked with reducing the club’s wage bill.
16 Paul Trollope: May 2016 to October 2016 (139 days)
Took over from Slade, but left the club after earning two wins from 12 matches.
17 Neil Warnock: October 2016 to present (2 years, 73 days so far)
The guy is a football genius. Look at his record! Look at what he has achieved for Cardiff City. For me, Warnock is a candidate for the Bluebirds’ best ever manager.
I have studied Jimmy Scoular’s time and he, too, was fantastic, but Warnock has achieved so much.
Solskjaer’s Bluebirds signings:
Magnus Wolff Eikrem
The Norwegian midfield player in making the move from Molde to the Welsh capital.
Made his debut in the 2-0 home defeat to West Ham at Cardiff City Stadium, making eight appearances in all competitions in his debut campaign with the club.
Following the Bluebirds’ relegation from the top flight, the midfielder’s contract was terminated by the club in December 2014, meaning he left without playing a single game under new boss Russell Slade.
Mats Moller Daehli
Hugely talented midfield player. I sat next to him on the flight back from the pre-season tour to Austria. His dad is a top Austrian journalist and we had a long conversation.
The Norwegian now plays for German outfit St. Pauli.
Wilfried Zaha
Joined Cardiff on loan from Manchester United, but failed to score a single goal in his 13 appearances. How he has progressed from there with England and Palace.
Juan Cala
Former Sevilla defender. Now with Las Palmas.
Kenwyne Jones
The Bluebirds secured the services of Kenwyne Jones in the final days of the window, bringing in the Trinidad and Tobago international from Stoke City as part of a swap deal that saw Peter Odemwingie head to Staffordshire.
Fabio
Proved a hit with Cardiff under Solskjaer and Slade before leaving the club to join Middlesbrough in the summer of 2016.
Jo Inge Berget
One of three Norwegians brought in by Solskjaer from Molde following his appointment.
Now with Major League Soccer side New York City.
Cardiff City’s full transfer business in January 2014
Ins: Mats Moller Daehli, Magnus Wolff Eikrem, Wilfried Zaha (loan), Juan Cala, Kenwyne Jones, Fabio, Jo Inge Berget.
Outs: Andreas Cornelius, Rudy Gestede, Joe Mason (loan), Deji Oshilaja (loan), Nicky Maynard (loan), Simon Moore (loan), Ben Nugent (loan), Kadeem Harris (loan), Joe Mason (loan), Peter Odemwingie, Simon Lappin (loan), Dave Richards (loan), John Brayford (loan), Craig Conway, Filip Kiss, Etien Velikonja (loan).
The other signings Solskjaer oversaw
Guido Burgstaller (£800,00 from Rapid Vienna. Austrian striker who found opportunities limited but has since done well in the Bundesliga.
Adam Le Fondre (£2.1million from Reading). Scored lots of goals for Reading but never settled in South Wales and moved to Bolton. Now in Australia with Sydney FC.
Kagisho Dikgacoi (Free from Crystal Palace). Had a forgettable spell in the Cardiff midfield before returning to his native South Africa.
Javi Guerra (Free from Real Vallodolid). Barely played, didn’t score and quickly went back to Spain.
Federico Macheda (Free from Manchester United). A wonderkid at Solskjaer’s beloved Man United, but scored just six goals for Cardiff.
Tom Adeyemi (£880,000 from Birmingham). Promising midfielder who featured a lot under Solskjaer, but less frequently under subsequent managers.
Sean Morrison (£2.6million from Reading). Has been a huge hit for Cardiff especially under current boss Neil Warnock.
Anthony Pilkington (£875,000 from Norwich). Did well initially, but has fallen out of favour.
Bruno Manga (£4.4million from Lorient). Similar to Morrison, he has lasted the test of time and is trusted by Warnock.
Danny Gabbidon (Free from Crystal Palace). Club legend brought back and would act as caretaker after Solskjaer’s sacking.
Summer 2014 outs: Craig Bellamy, Tommy Smith, Andrew Taylor, Don Cowie, Fraizer Campbell, Steven Caulker, Jordan Mutch, Gary Medel, Mark Hudson.Cardiff City fans can hardly believe it, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the new Manchester United manager.