Nigel Pearson, sacked by Bristol City last season, is also in the mix, as is former Wales boss Rob Page. Page was sacked by the national team in June and did spend a year as a player at Cardiff in 24/25.

And so history repeats itself at Cardiff City. As was suggested in these columns last week this is a perilous time of year for Bluebirds bosses in the era of Vincent Tan. Yet the departure of Erol Bulut was probably inevitable given Saturday's desperately poor 2-0 Championship home defeat to Leeds United – the final act under the former Fenerbahce

When Mick McCarthy was sacked, journalists were huddled around their laptops in the concourse at Cardiff City Stadium, with virtual press conferences then the norm due to Covid protocol, waiting for him to turn up after a painful eighth defeat in a row.