Where are they now? The Cardiff City team Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took down to the Championship

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be replacing Jose Mourinho at Manchester United until the end of the season. 

Rumours Solksjaer would be the man to take over the caretaker role at Old Trafford had been gathering since Mourinho’s departure, with the Norwegian emerging as the clear favourite for the job. That was all but confirmed when the club posted videos of his time at the club on their official website on Tuesday night; the videos were later taken down.

But Wednesday morning did indeed see the club confirm the appointment of Solskjaer until the end of the 2018/19 campaign.

This won’t be the first time the ‘baby-faced assassin’ has taken a managerial role in England; Solskjaer also had an ill-fated spell at Cardiff City in 2014, taking over in January of that year, but finding himself out of work by the September having suffered relegation to the Championship.

Solskjaer, whose first game as United manager will be against the Welsh side, later returned to managing Molde in Norway before taking lodge at Old Trafford, but what about the Cardiff players who suffered relegation with him?

Here at Squawka, we’ve taken the squad from the final game of the 2013/14 campaign, a 2-1 defeat at home to a Jose Mourinho-led Chelsea, to see how their careers panned out.

Grab a brew and get comfy!

Goalkeeper: David Marshall

Cardiff City appearances: 278

David Marshall was one of the few players in that torrid campaign to arguably enhance his reputation.

The Scottish shot-stopper was kept very busy indeed and made an incredible 153 saves across the entire campaign, more than any other goalkeeper in the league.

Marshall spent another two seasons with the Bluebirds following their relegation back to the Championship before moving on to Hull City in 2016. The former Celtic man played another 16 Premier League games with the Tigers, but suffered yet another relegation to the Championship.

The 33-year-old remains first choice at Hull, with the club struggling in the Championship this season.

Right-back: Fabio da Silva

Cardiff City appearances: 68

Just like his brother Rafael, Fabio struggled for consistency in English football before moving to Ligue 1. The Brazilian, along with Solskjaer himself, joined Cardiff in January of that campaign but was unable to help stave off relegation.

Fabio remained at Cardiff for another two seasons before moving on to Middlesbrough, with whom he also suffered relegation. Now 28, Fabio joined French club Nantes in the summer and has made eight appearances for the club so far, providing one assist.

Centre-back: Steven Caulker

Cardiff City appearances: 39

Steven Caulker surely has the most bizarre career path among the players in this squad.

The English centre-back played every Premier League game of Cardiff’s relegation campaign and was among the top 10 in the Premier League for aerial duels won (144).

Caulker’s form that season was one of the few things to smile about from a Cardiff perspective, but his career has taken a very strange turn since; the former Tottenham man joined QPR for the 2014/15 campaign but once again suffered relegation from the Premier League. Caulker struggled for games after this relegation, and went on to join Southampton on loan in 2015, only making eight appearances for the club.

Then, in a truly strange career move, the one-time England international rocked up as a surprise loan signing at Liverpool. Predictably, Caulker only made four appearances for the Reds and has since had a short spell in Scotland with Dundee. The 26-year-old left Dundee in August, triggering a clause in his contract, and is now without a club.

Centre-back: Ben Turner

Cardiff City appearances: 121

Ben Turner partnered Steven Caulker at centre-back on the final day of 2013/14, but his career has been a little more routine than that of the now-free agent.

Turner found himself falling out of favour at Cardiff following their relegation, and so moved to Coventry City on loan in November 2015. However, injury curtailed his time at the Midlands club and he returned to Cardiff after just five appearances.

The 30-year-old joined Burton Albion in 2016 and remains there today, helping the club reach the League Cup semi-final for the first time in their history this season.

Left-back: Declan John

Cardiff City appearances: 52

Despite playing in a relegated side, the 2013/14 campaign appears to be the pinnacle of Declan John’s career so far.

John made 23 appearances in all competitions that season and only bettered the total when he joined Rangers in 2017 on loan, sealing a permanent move halfway through the season. This was all after loan spells with Barnsley and Chesterfield, with John since committing the cardinal sin of joining Swansea City this summer.

The 23-year-old has struggled for game time and has only made four appearances for the Swans so far.

Right-midfielder: Mats Moller Daehli

Cardiff City appearances: 26

Once a prospect in the Manchester United youth system and tipped for big things, Mats Moller Daehli’s career is yet to really kick off.

The 23-year-old has 20 caps for Norway to his name, but since leaving Cardiff City in 2014, the winger has turned out of Freiburg and St Pauli in Germany with limited success.

Daehli remains at St Pauli today, making his loan move there permanent in the summer, and has made 43 appearances for the club so far, scoring twice.

Centre-midfield: Aron Gunnarsson

Cardiff City appearances: 267

Having at the club since 2011, Aron Gunnarsson is well and truly a Cardiff City stalwart.

The Icelandic midfielder helped the club win the Championship title in 2012/13 before their relegation back to the same division a year later, but played 20 league games last season as the club finished second behind Wolves.

Gunnarsson has played nine Premier League games for the Bluebirds so far this season, scoring once, with the club currently sitting in a respectable 16th right now.

Centre-midfield: Peter Whittingham

Cardiff City appearances: 457

Peter Whittingham spent a decade at Cardiff City between 2007 and 2017, playing a mammoth 457 games for the club.

The midfielder had an incredible three-year spell between 2009 and 2012 in which he scored 49 goals in 156 games and was often referred to as the ‘best player outside of the Premier League’.

Whittingham finally left Cardiff in 2017, spending one unsuccessful season in League One with Blackburn Rovers, managing just seven appearances. The 34-year-old is now a free agent.

Centre-midfield: Jordon Mutch

Cardiff City appearances: 60

Jordon Mutch has had a rather unlucky career, failing to really nail his place down at any of the nine clubs he has played for.

Following Cardiff’s relegation, the former Birmingham man has spent time at QPR, Crystal Palace and Reading without really pulling up any trees, but did make 13 appearances during a loan spell at Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS.

Rumour has it that Mutch, still registered at Palace, is set for a January return to Cardiff after his loan spell in MLS ends.

Left-midfielder: Craig Bellamy

Cardiff City appearances: 90 (across two spells)

Craig Bellamy had already played for Cardiff prior to their Premier League campaign, scoring 11 goals in 35 Championship games during a loan spell in 2010/11.

The Welsh international returned to a hero’s welcome for the 2013/14 campaign but with just two goals in 22 appearances, it never quite worked out the second time.

Bellamy retired from football at the end of the season, saying his body ‘couldn’t take it anymore’, and is now working as a pundit with Sky Sports.

The 39-year-old is also a qualified coach and spent time on the staff at Cardiff shortly after his retirement.

Forward: Fraizer Campbell

Cardiff City appearances: 52

Fraizer Campbell only managed six goals in 37 Premier League appearances during Cardiff’s relegation campaign, but that’s hardly surprising considering he was often played as an isolated, lone striker.

Since then, the former Man United man has been a backup striker at Crystal Palace, before joining Hull City in 2017. After a slow start at the KCOM Stadium, the 31-year-old has bagged eight goals in 21 games so far this season as he helps Hull battle against Championship relegation.

Substitutes

Joe Lewis

Cardiff City appearances: 5

Former England U21 international Joe Lewis only managed five appearances for Cardiff City before moving to Blackpool on loan in 2014.

Lewis made 36 appearances for the Seasiders, with another loan spell at Fulham to follow before becoming the first-choice ‘keeper at Aberdeen, helping the club to successive second-place finishes in the Scottish Premiership.

Magnus Wolff Eikrem

Cardiff City appearances: 11

Making just 11 appearances for Cardiff in two seasons, Magnus Wolff Eikrem can hardly be considered a success in South Wales.

The Norwegian international has had a little more success since then, though, winning two Swedish titles with Malmo and enjoying a spell with Seattle Sounders in MLS before rejoining Molde, his first club, to link up with Solskjaer once more.

Don Cowie

Cardiff City appearances: 99

Don Cowie left Cardiff City in 2014 to join Wigan Athletic, just one appearance short of 100 for the Bluebirds.

After turning out 40 times for the Latics, Cowie moved to Hearts in Scotland, before joining Ross County at the start of this season.

Kevin McNaughton

Cardiff City appearances: 288

Kevin McNaughton was dangerously close to becoming part of the furniture at Cardiff, making 288 appearances for the club between 2006 and 2015.

Since leaving, the 36-year-old has spells with Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Forfar Athletic, where he is now a player-coach.

Jo Inge Berget

Cardiff City appearances: 2

Another Norwegian to follow Solskjaer to Cardiff, Jo Inge Berget didn’t really amount to anything during his time in Wales, making just two appearances for the club.

Since leaving in 2014, Berget has turned out for Celtic and Malmo before joining New York City FC in January 2018.

Tom James

Cardiff City appearances: 1

Tom James made his professional debut as an 18-year-old in Cardiff’s defeat to Chelsea, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute in his only Bluebirds appearance.

Since then, James has gone on to make 74 appearances for League Two side Yeovil Town.

Rhys Healey

Cardiff City appearances: 13

Just like Tom James, Rhys Healey made his professional debut against Chelsea, replacing Craig Bellamy who was making his final appearance as a footballer.

Healey had a little more success than James after this, playing another 12 games for the club, but has since had loan spells with Colchester United, Dundee, Newport County and Torquay United with varying levels of success. Healey has scored seven goals in 18 games so far this season while on loan at Milton Keynes Dons.

The post Where are they now? The Cardiff City team Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took down to the Championship appeared first on Squawka News.



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