Aaron Ramsey relegated in second game as a manager in 22-year first
Aaron Ramsey’s caretaker spell at Cardiff has ended in heartbreak with relegation from the Championship. A 0-0 draw with West Brom moved the Bluebirds to the bottom of the division and an insurmountable five points from safety with one game remaining. Ramsey couldn’t stop the Cardiff nosediveGetty The relegation takes them out of the top two tiers of English football for the first time since 2003, having previously spent two campaigns in the Premier League. It marks the end of a sorry season for Cardiff who called time on previous manager Omer Riza with three games left to play. Ramsey ended a two-game losing run in his first match as caretaker with a 1-1 draw against Oxford. But neither that nor the result against West Brom could stop the Welsh side from avoiding the drop. While there are other teams with worse goal difference and loss tallies, no side in the second tier has won fewer games than Cardiff’s nine this season. Ramsey started out with the Welsh side as a professional in 2006 before Arsenal beat off their Premier League rivals for his signature. He won three FA Cups at the Emirates, amassing over 350 appearances before injuries took their toll. Spells at Nottingham Forest, Rangers, Juventus and Nice followed, before Ramsey returned home to Cardiff in 2023. He scored three goals in his debut season as the Welsh side finished 12th, but this season couldn’t have gone much worse. The campaign started under Erol Bulut but he was sacked after picking up just one point in the first six games of the season. Neither Riza nor Bulut did much better than Ramsey this seasonREX Riza then stepped up to the hot seat from his role as an assistant but was sacked with three games to play. Ramsey subsequently took over but is now contemplating his return as a player while he rehabs from hamstring surgery. “My way of looking at it is these two games and trying to keep this club in the Championship,” the 34-year-old said pre-match. “It means a lot to me and to be given this opportunity to try and do so, I couldn’t turn that down. “My full focus is on keeping Cardiff in the Championship and then it will be back to rehab with the hamstring.” Asked if he’s still looking to feature at the 2026 World Cup, he added: “Yeah, of course there’s a lot to play for and that World Cup is a massive carrot being dangled, so that’s what I’ll be focusing on in a few weeks. “I’m trying to get back from a hamstring injury so I’ll be straight back into rehab after this season has finished, that’s for sure. “I managed to get the brace off on the weekend so it’s still a few months away. I’ve had the operation hoping that it might be the case to get my hamstring back working properly.” Ramsey’s final game as caretaker will be in the season finale against former Arsenal teammate Jack Wilshere who has similarly taken over as a caretaker at Norwich.
Aaron Ramsey’s caretaker spell at Cardiff has ended in heartbreak with relegation from the Championship.
A 0-0 draw with West Brom moved the Bluebirds to the bottom of the division and an insurmountable five points from safety with one game remaining.
The relegation takes them out of the top two tiers of English football for the first time since 2003, having previously spent two campaigns in the Premier League.
It marks the end of a sorry season for Cardiff who called time on previous manager Omer Riza with three games left to play.
Ramsey ended a two-game losing run in his first match as caretaker with a 1-1 draw against Oxford.
But neither that nor the result against West Brom could stop the Welsh side from avoiding the drop.
While there are other teams with worse goal difference and loss tallies, no side in the second tier has won fewer games than Cardiff’s nine this season.
Ramsey started out with the Welsh side as a professional in 2006 before Arsenal beat off their Premier League rivals for his signature.
He won three FA Cups at the Emirates, amassing over 350 appearances before injuries took their toll.
Spells at Nottingham Forest, Rangers, Juventus and Nice followed, before Ramsey returned home to Cardiff in 2023.
He scored three goals in his debut season as the Welsh side finished 12th, but this season couldn’t have gone much worse.
The campaign started under Erol Bulut but he was sacked after picking up just one point in the first six games of the season.
Riza then stepped up to the hot seat from his role as an assistant but was sacked with three games to play.
Ramsey subsequently took over but is now contemplating his return as a player while he rehabs from hamstring surgery.
“My way of looking at it is these two games and trying to keep this club in the Championship,” the 34-year-old said pre-match.
“It means a lot to me and to be given this opportunity to try and do so, I couldn’t turn that down.
“My full focus is on keeping Cardiff in the Championship and then it will be back to rehab with the hamstring.”
Asked if he’s still looking to feature at the 2026 World Cup, he added: “Yeah, of course there’s a lot to play for and that World Cup is a massive carrot being dangled, so that’s what I’ll be focusing on in a few weeks.
“I’m trying to get back from a hamstring injury so I’ll be straight back into rehab after this season has finished, that’s for sure.
“I managed to get the brace off on the weekend so it’s still a few months away. I’ve had the operation hoping that it might be the case to get my hamstring back working properly.”
Ramsey’s final game as caretaker will be in the season finale against former Arsenal teammate Jack Wilshere who has similarly taken over as a caretaker at Norwich.
