By Chris O'Brien
May 25 2005

The club have announced the sudden departure of Lennie Lawrence as Cardiff City manager. Lawrence will move upstairs in a consultancy role as the hunt for a replacements begins, with former Southampton and Wolves boss Dave Jones already approached.

Cardiff City have sacked under-pressure manager Lennie Lawrence as the club prepares itself for the 2005/2006 Football League Championship campaign. Speculation kicked off as the local media reported that chairman Sam Hammam and recently appointed chief executive Peter Ridsdale met with former Southampton and Wolves chief Dave Jones, and the club have now parted company with Lawrence who will now be pushed upstairs in a consultancy role for 6 months before looking for new employment.

He took the helm towards the end of the 2001/2002 campaign replacing the unpopular Alan Cork. An incredible change of fortunes saw City move from mid-table to even challenge for automatic promotion, though Lawrence had done incredibly well to even make the play-offs. Defeat to Stoke City was heart breaking, but the former Grimsby Town boss took the Bluebirds up via the end of season lottery the following campaign.

Lawrence has never had the full backing of the supporters, and even during the promotion season in 2003 he still did not win over all fans. A poor start to this season saw the Ninian Park terraces calling for his head, but since the club's crippling debts were made common knowledge and Hammam's popularity has dwindled, Lawrence has become a more popular figure. The way he has quietly got on with his job despite the club's future uncertain is admirable, and he did well to steer us clear of the drop with improving results at the backend of the campaign.

Speculation now kicks off with regard to who will be the new manager. Jones is the number one contender and the tabloid press believes he will be appointed as soon as next week, but the job vacancy is likely to alert several other names in the football world. It will make a refreshing change from all the transfer rumours we have endured with a mass player exodus expected over the summer.