Cardiff City does not hold Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in high regard because of his tenure as manager of the team.
The beloved manager Malky Mackay was abruptly fired in 2014, and the Manchester United icon took over at Cardiff.
The fans of the Bluebirds were completely taken aback by the Norwegian’s appointment.
The appointment of the former Molde manager came at a time when the club’s administration and supporters were at war, with the choice to replace Mackay with Solskjaer being the most recent in a string of controversial choices. It came after the team’s previous season-long makeover from blue to red, a move from which owner Vincent Tan never fully recovered.
In his first season in charge, Solskjaer’s team was relegated, leaving the Premier League in the first round. After only a few lackluster seasons in his first management position in England’s top flight, he was fired early the next season.
But the next season proved to be a bright spot in his rule, as the Baby-Faced Assassin’s recruitment of Sean Morrison proved to be a brilliant move.
Solskjaer signed Morrison for £3 million from Reading
Morrison was one of the few gains made during Solskjaer’s tenure at the team. In the summer of 2014, the 23-year-old defender signed a four-year contract to play with the freshly demoted Bluebirds.
According to the agreement, Reading received a £3 million payment for the player. At the time, this felt like a significant investment for a lower division team, especially considering the revenue loss Cardiff had following their relegation the previous season.
Morrison rose to prominence in South Wales very rapidly. Even though Solskjaer was fired less than a month into the season, he started almost all of the team’s games under Russell Slade, missing only four in a poor Championship campaign for the team.
The Morrison deal proved to be a bargain
Morrison at Cardiff outlasted Solskjaer for a long time. Despite being fired a few months after joining, the Norwegian defender enjoyed eight fruitful seasons in the capital of Wales.
The defender captained the team at some incredible moments during his nearly 300 games with the Bluebirds. He was a steady presence on defense, improving every player around him with his remarkable physical traits and calm demeanor.
Best outcomes came from his collaboration with Sol Bamba. Together, they constituted a dominant defensive line under Neil Warnock, and in the 2017–18 promotion season, they gave up the fewest goals in the league. Cardiff only gave up 39 goals in 46 games, mostly thanks to these two outstanding displays.
The Bluebirds were promoted to the Premier League that season after placing second in the Championship. The team had only participated in the Premier League twice in its existence, and Morrison and Bamba’s collaboration was crucial to their struggle for survival.
Throughout that season, Morrison appeared in 34 games and played 90 minutes each time. Six goals were given up by his team in the games he was absent from, demonstrating his influence. He stayed at the club and was still an important member of the team even after the club was demoted.
Up until 2022, when an ACL injury ended both his season and his career in Wales, he was a regular starter for the team. At the end of the season, his contract expired, and City, which was struggling financially, chose not to extend his contract.
A legend of the club who played nearly 300 times in one of the most prosperous periods in club history, it was an unceremonious finale. One of the few things Solskjaer can take pride in from his time at the Cardiff City Stadium is that his £3 million fee proved to be a steal.
