Brian Barry-Murphy waited four years to take the plunge back into the EFL.
After being thrust into a challenging situation at Rochdale between 2019 and 2021, where he was praised for developing young players and producing a daring style of football on a tight budget, three years followed as manager of Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad.
At the Etihad, the Irishman won consecutive Premier League 2 titles and coached stars including James McAtee, Oscar Bobb and Cole Palmer.
There, the former midfielder was exposed to Pep Guardiola’s inner sanctum, before a short stint as part of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s coaching staff at Leicester came to an end when he signed a three-year deal with Cardiff City in June.
The job in south Wales was not one for the faint-hearted. The Bluebirds, while a massive club and hugely attractive to any potential coach, are in the third tier for the first time since 2003 following a difficult few years – and they are under pressure to return to the Championship at the first time of asking after last season’s relegation.
But Barry-Murphy has made an impressive start. Cardiff sit third in League One after eight wins in 13 games and are in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals for the first time since they reached the final in 2012, following a superb 2-1 win over Wrexham on Tuesday night. Athough they were knocked off top spot by Stockport County on Monday, before Bradford City edged ahead on Tuesday, they have a game in hand on both and are just two points adrift of the Hatters.
Cardiff City are flying high towards the top of League One after a bright start to the season
Brian Barry-Murphy took over as manager in the summer and the Irishman is impressing
‘It’s been a very intense period,’ Barry-Murphy tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘I’d love to sit here and say I expected to win so many games but based on my experiences of football and how difficult it can be, you’re always aware you will have setbacks.
‘To get off to such a good start felt powerful for the dressing room and myself, and it has given us a taste of what we could achieve if we improve over the course of the season, which I believe we will do.’
There hasn’t been much to shout about at Cardiff in recent times under unpopular owner Vincent Tan. Despite spending two seasons in the Premier League in the modern era, the Bluebirds finished 18th, 21st, 12th and 24th in their last four campaigns in the Championship.
But Barry-Murphy has revitalised the club by implementing the possession-based, proactive style of play he is known for – and prioritising youth.
Several youngsters are enjoying breakout campaigns, such as Ronan Kpakio, Joel Colwill and Dylan Lawlor, while others, including Ruben Colwill, Joel’s brother, have shown signs of returning to their best.
An incredible 18 academy graduates have featured for Cardiff in all competitions, and earlier this month Rob Tankiewicz and then Axel Donczew both broke Aaron Ramsey’s long-held record as the club’s youngest ever player during an EFL Trophy tie against Newport County. Tankiewicz started the game at the age of 16 years and 117 days, before Donczew came on as a second-half substitute aged 15 and 234 days.
‘When I arrived there was a lot of negative talk about what the club had been through and where they were going to go,’ adds Barry-Murphy, who was attracted to the role by Cardiff’s incredible young talent.
‘I was convinced I could deliver a team that was dynamic and exciting to watch. I wanted to create a connection with the fans where everybody starts to feel differently about Cardiff.
The last few years have been difficult for Cardiff, who were relegated from the Championship last season
Barry-Murphy has revitalised the club by implementing the possession-based, proactive style of play he is known for – and also prioritising youth
Ronan Kpakio (left) is one of several academy graduates enjoying a breakout campaign
‘I found the supporters were surprisingly positive, even with how difficult the relegation had been, and once they started to see how much trust we’re putting in players from the academy who are from their area, that positivity increased. You have to win games otherwise that positivity only lasts for so long, but things have come together and the atmosphere around the club has been incredible.’
Barry-Murphy’s impact was highlighted by five players receiving call-ups for Wales’ October internationals. Back in March, there were zero Bluebirds in Craig Bellamy’s group and the Welsh boss is known to have taken a keen interest in their fortunes this season.
The focus on youth is important for a club attempting to rebuild, while it is also handy after they posted pre-tax losses of £11.66million in the last financial year. Talented youngsters like Gabriele Biancheri (Manchester United) and Charlie Crew (Leeds) have also been poached by bigger teams in recent years.
‘Players at this club may have been used to something different where there were massive squads and a lot of players from different countries,’ says Barry-Murphy. ‘There’s nothing wrong with that, but there wasn’t a pathway for young players to progress. That’s changed now.’
Following relegation, there was an exodus of senior players, including Ramsey, Joe Ralls, Yakou Meite and Andy Rinomhota.
It would have been easy to try and replace them like-for-like, but the club made a conscious effort to create opportunities for academy stars and only three signings came in.
Nathan Trott arrived on loan from FC Copenhagen, and the former West Ham keeper has kept six clean sheets in 12 games. Omari Kellyman, who joined Chelsea from Aston Villa for £19m just over a year ago, also joined on a temporary deal – and scored his first goal against Reading this month. Experienced centre back Gabriel Osho was the other addition.
‘The more players you sign, the less opportunity you get to see the young players,’ adds Barry-Murphy, who admits he’s been blown away by Cardiff’s support.
Wales international Rubin Colwill has showed signs of returning to his best this season
His brother Joel has also impressed so far in 2025-26, and 18 graduates have featured in total
‘I knew they would improve over the season and be exciting to watch. We’re trying to convince them there’s a clear pathway here. We can’t compete with Premier League giants, who will be attracted to these players, but we can give them first-team football at a young age.’
Barry-Murphy isn’t naive about what his experienced players can offer, though. That group includes joint top-scorer Callum Robinson, former Arsenal defender and Cardiff club captain Calum Chambers, Chris Willock and Perry Ng. They have been full of praise for Barry-Murphy, with full back Ng claiming this is ‘the most excited’ he’s ever been in four years at the club.
The statistics make good reading for Bluebirds supporters. Cardiff’s average possession of 62 per cent is the highest in League One. With 21 goals, they are also the third-highest scorers in the division, and they have had the fourth-most touches in the opposition box at 335.
Barry-Murphy, 47, is engaging company and he is taking everything thrown at him in his stride. When asked about pressure, he insists he sees it as an opportunity for his young players to learn about the importance of winning.
Given his background, conversation inevitably turns to the impact of Pep Guardiola on his coaching.
The Irishman was regularly involved in first-team training at City amid Guardiola’s keenness to look at the young talent on offer to him and during the Treble-winning season of 2022-23, Barry-Murphy often acted as a referee in sessions. He was left in awe by the quality on display.
‘Pep was extraordinarily good to me,’ Barry-Murphy explains. ‘What I learned was despite his superstar fame or the perceived magic, everything was based on how his team trained.
‘The levels were ferocious, and you’d have players of the highest calibre giving everything to compete for a place. Pep would always project that he was picking the best players from training.
Barry-Murphy is keen to highlight the importance of experienced stars like Calum Chambers
He spent three years in charge of Man City’s Elite Development Squad and learnt plenty from Pep Guardiola
‘It created this insanely competitive environment where everyone would train to beat each other in the week, and on the Saturday they would come together and produce performances that would knock it off, game-by-game, week-by-week.
‘Whatever they were looking to do, they had practised it hundreds of times, and Pep would prepare for a Carabao Cup game as if it were a Champions League match. He wanted the players to see that expectancy for every game and never let his guard slip. It was an obsession that was special to witness.’
Barry-Murphy, who can still call on Guardiola’s advice when needed, has attempted to take those constant high standards in training to Cardiff.
He does admit performances in training aren’t always reflected in results, referring to the build-up to Cardiff’s 2-1 win over Reading, when they had been excellent during the week before putting in a mixed display against the Royals.
Guardiola also taught Barry-Murphy about the virtue of patience, and he enjoyed a good relationship with City director of football Txiki Begiristain.
Those experiences will be key in the months ahead, and Barry-Murphy knows that despite Cardiff’s incredible start, there is a long way to go, with his side only three points clear of Bolton in seventh.
‘With the players we have we can achieve great things individually and collectively,’ Barry-Murphy insists.
‘The challenge is producing what we’ve produced over the opening phase of the season more regularly, and we’re still nowhere near the level I would want consistently. It takes a lot of practice and repetition to bring the levels I want, but it’s about finding a way to make it happen more and more often.’
Barry-Murphy is hoping to take Cardiff back to the Championship at the first time of asking
How Peterborough’s model caught up with them
The list is endless, but here’s a few examples. Aaron McLean, Craig Mackail-Smith, George Boyd and Ivan Toney – all players signed by Peterborough, often from non-League, who have gone on to shine for the Posh before being sold to clubs higher up the pyramid.
It’s a model that has brought lots of success in the modern era, most notably three promotions to the Championship and back-to-back EFL Trophy triumphs.
But it is a method that relies upon replacements stepping up and unfortunately for Peterborough, in the past two years alone, Jason Knight, Ronnie Edwards, Harrison Burrows, Kwame Poku, Hector Kyprianou, Ephron Mason-Clark and Ricky-Jade Jones have all left – a significant talent drain for any side – and their recent signings haven’t filled the void.
Take Gustav Lindgren, for example. A Swedish striker signed in January for more than £500,000, but the 24-year-old has scored just three goals in 30 appearances. Chris Conn-Clarke is another, a typical Peterborough addition after shining in the National League for Altrincham, but he is now back at that level on loan with Carlisle United after failing to establish himself in the third tier.
The scenario resulted in Posh legend Darren Ferguson being sacked over the weekend, bringing to an end his fourth spell at the club as they sit bottom of League One with 10 points from 13 games. Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony named former Swansea and Notts County boss Luke Williams as his replacement on Wednesday night.
