List of Cardiff City F.C. managers

Financial investment after 2000 saw the club reach the First Division under Lennie Lawrence before returning to the top tier of English football, the Premier League, for the first time in 52 years under Malky Mackay in 2012.

Despite this positive start, the club's board decided to look for a more experienced man to lead the team, hiring Stockport County manager Fred Stewart.

[1][2] He quickly overhauled the playing squad, retaining only four of the players he inherited from McDougall, and within two seasons he led the club to the First Division of the Southern League and its first Welsh Cup triumph.

[3] Stewart established the club in the First Division with two top ten finishes before achieving second-place in the 1923–24 season, missing out on winning the title on goal average in the narrowest margin of victory in English professional football history.

In an attempt to reinvigorate the playing squad, Watts-Jones brought in 17 new players ahead of his first full season and he was able to gradually improve on results.

[2] The club were struggling financially at the time and a fire that destroyed the main stand at Ninian Park meant that Jennings had little money to bring players in and, in April 1939, he was replaced by Cyril Spiers.

McCandless left the club after just three months of the following season to take charge of Cardiff's South Wales rivals Swansea Town.

[6] The board were able to persuade Spiers to rejoin the club, and he led a side built around players brought through by his youth system to the First Division in 1952.

[6] He was replaced by Trevor Morris, a former Cardiff player whose career had been ended due to a broken leg sustained in a wartime friendly.

[8] Morris claimed his only silverware during the 1955–56 season by winning the Welsh Cup but was unable to prevent the club's relegation from the First Division the following year.

First team coach Jimmy Andrews took over as caretaker manager and impressed after ensuring the club avoided relegation at the end of the 1973–74 season.

[11] Len Ashurst was unable to prevent relegation to the Third Division in the final two months of the 1981–82 season but led the team to an immediate return the following year.

[9] Alan Durban was appointed in September 1984 but his spell in charge proved disastrous for the club as the team suffered successive relegations, dropping into the Fourth Division.

Former Wales manager Terry Yorath took control of the side but suffered similar difficulties and May was brought back in March 1995 in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid relegation, leaving the club for a second time at the end of the campaign.

Russell Osman spent two seasons in charge and stabilised the club in the Third Division but was sacked in January 1998 with Hibbitt briefly returning.

Gould enjoyed a positive start, remaining unbeaten in his opening nine games, but was replaced by Alan Cork after suffering two consecutive defeats in October 2000.

Cork won promotion to the Second Division in 2001 and made several high-profile signings that were financed by Hammam ahead of the following campaign, breaking the club's transfer record twice in three months.

[16] Lennie Lawrence, who had been working as the club's director of football, took control of the first team following Cork's departure and led the side to two consecutive top six finishes.

[18] Dave Jones was appointed as Lawrence's successor and spent six seasons in charge of the first team and led them to the 2008 FA Cup Final where they suffered defeat to Portsmouth.

[19] Cardiff appointed Malky Mackay in July 2011 who won promotion back to the top tier of English football for the first time in 52 years in 2013.

[23] Slade achieved two midtable finishes but proved unpopular with fans and was replaced by Paul Trollope, a member of his coaching staff.