These are your Cardiff City stories on Thursday, June 29
'Erol always wants to win'
Cardiff's new coaching team have lifted the lid on the character of Erol Bulut and the strong mentality he will bring to the club.
Nikolaos Karydas has joined as Bulut's assistant, Nadir Sonmez has come on to the staff as a coach while Mario Galinovic is the Bluebirds' new goalkeeper guru
Karydas, who was Bulut's fitness coach at Gaziantep, was most recently caretaker manager at Greek club Veria NPS for three games at the end of the 2022/23 season. The pair met when Karydas was fitness coach at Olympiacos during Bulut's playing days there.
Karydas says he is sure the club will have success under the man's tenure.
He said: "The only thing that I can say is that Erol always wants to win. This is his mentality that he will try to bring into this club, and I'm sure he will have success.
"I think the atmosphere in the team is very good, and we will try to keep this, because for us the psychology part is 50%."
Sonmez added: "I was very excited to work with Erol Bulut. He called me [to ask] if I was ready to work in Wales, and I told him yes, of course! Germany is a difficult country and a big country for football. The Championship is the biggest challenge for me, in the biggest country for football. It was a very good step for me from Germany to Wales, to the Championship."
Galinovic added there is much to do to get ready for the new season but says he has no doubt they'll be in shape by the time the Leeds United fixture arrives.
"We didn't have all the players from the beginning, and also the 'keepers (Ryan Allsop and Jak Alnwick) came later, so day by day I've tried to speak with them together and individually, to explain some things," he said.
"It was a busy week, and there are many things to do, but that's why we are here. There are many games, many good teams. But at the end of the day, I think we are going to be ready."
Five teams in for Whyte
Five teams are in the mix to sign free agent Gavin Whyte.
The Northern Irishman was released at the end of the season having failed to nail his colours to the mast in the Welsh capital.
Portsmouth, Bristol Rovers, Charlton, Derby and the player’s former club, Oxford United, are all in the hunt to bring him in for next season.
Pompey are believed to be favourites, with boss John Mousinho saying last week: "We’re certainly interested. You want to do your business early, with some players they have a lot of options.
"All the players we signed had a lot of options, but we managed to get them done early. Gav is one where naturally he has quite of lot of options, with the pedigree he has. He has those years in the Championship and he is a Northern Ireland international."
Cardiff to face Fulham
The Bluebirds have announced they will be playing three behind-closed-doors matches in preparation for Erol Bulut's first campaign in charge.
The Bluebirds will take on Cambridge United and Bristol Rovers on Friday, July 7 (3pm) and Tuesday, July 11 (3pm) respectively.
In addition to these fixtures, Cardiff will then face Premier League side Fulham in London before heading to Portugal for a warm- weather training camp between July 17 and July 23.
Full schedule:
- Saturday, July 1 vs. Penybont FC (Cardiff City Stadium, 3pm)
- Tuesday, July 4 vs. The New Saints (Cardiff City Stadium, 7:30pm)
- Friday, July 7 vs Cambridge United (3pm)
- Tuesday, July 11 vs Bristol Rovers (3pm)
- Saturday, July 29 vs. Wycombe Wanderers (Adams Park, 3pm)
* Friendly date against Fulham yet to be confirmed
Cardiff City Women turn semi-pro
Cardiff City Women have announced they will be turning semi-professional ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The team, current Welsh champions, are awaiting news of their Champions League draw, which takes place on Friday.
The update is a real boost for the outfit. Speaking about this new development, Iain Darbyshire, head of women and girls football at Cardiff City, said: "We are delighted to be able to offer semi-professional contracts to our full senior squad.
"This is a huge moment for the women’s game in Wales, and something that we can be massively proud of as a football club.
"We believe that our players deserve to be recognised and rewarded for their hard work and commitment over previous seasons, and this announcement is the first step in doing so. We are now training three times a week, regularly playing in front of large crowds and seeing significant increases in commercial revenue and it’s only right the commitment from our players to perform at the top level is rewarded and recognised.
"I would like to thank our operational staff, the board, and club directors for their support in delivering these contracts, and a special thank you to Capital Law who have guided us on this process.
"The focus now turns to deciding our final squad for the upcoming UEFA Women’s Champions League, where we will be aiming to represent Wales with pride, and the upcoming exciting 2023/24 Adran Premier campaign."
