
Next Cambridge Manager Odds: Eight names in the frame to replace Mark Bonner

Cambridge United parted company with club legend Mark Bonner this week.
Who’ll replace him at the Abbey, taking on the task of leading the U’s away from danger in League One?
EFL pundit Gab Sutton talks us through eight possible candidates...
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1. Kevin Betsy
Kevin Betsy is the Evens favourite for the job at the time of writing and will, with Barry Corr, take the team in the interim period.
The 45-year-old has had a glamorous coaching career with England, at three different youth levels, and Arsenal Under-23s, but his time at Crawley didn’t go well, as he was reportedly unable to discipline his players effectively.
Suffice to say, if Cambridge went for Betsy, it’d be unlikely to improve their chances of beating the drop.
2. Neil Harris
Neil Harris as a manager has thrived most in adversity.
The former striker built excellent cultural foundations at Millwall after relegation from the Championship, and led them to Play-Off contention back at that level within three years.
Plus, he steered Cardiff from 14th to 5th in the second-tier in 2019-20, and nearly kept Gillingham up in League One from a seemingly impossible position two years later.
As such, there could be an opportunity for him to create a siege mentality at Cambridge, and he certainly has the strength of personality to replace a club legend.
There wouldn’t be a great deal in the way of stylistic evolution, though.
3. Danny Cowley
The Cowley brothers would bring meticulous detail in their work to Cambridge, which would be a way for the club to find the marginal gains they need to try to thrive against the odds at this level.
Danny & Nicky worked wonders at Concord Rangers, Braintree and Lincoln, bringing historic success to all three clubs, before meeting the accomplishment that was asked of them at Huddersfield in 2019-20, before the club opted to change direction.
While their work at Portsmouth can’t quite be classed as a success, they built a team there arguably better than the sides that previously got into the Play-Offs under Kenny Jackett, but were unlucky with a combination of the standard of competition, and a horrific injury crisis at the end in which four first-team central midfielders and two right-backs were all absent.
Cowley likes to build aggressive, pressing sides that always look forward early, and play with positivity.
The duo have engaged with the community at every club they’ve managed, which is important for every prospective new boss, perhaps especially when it comes to replacing someone who did that impeccably – and there’s no reason why they couldn’t take Cambridge forward.
4. Barry Corr
“Big, bad” Barry Corr is a much loved figure at Cambridge, despite a playing career at the Abbey that was hampered massively by injuries.
Corr did some incredible work with local St Neots Town, as part of a strategic collaboration between both clubs, taking them from second from bottom in the Southern Central League, and leaving a year later with the team 3rd before COVID restrictions stopped the season, as well as on a record-breaking FA Cup run.
Since then, the former target man has been on the coaching staff, and part of the club’s accomplishments over the last two years – but would he bring fresh ideas?
5. Steve Cotterill
Taking over in a difficult position in November 2020, Steve Cotterill solidified Shrewsbury, steering them to a safe 17th place finish that season, 18th the year after, and a top half finish last season.
The Cheltenham-born boss is something of an army general on the touchline, but he can certainly whip a team into shape, and instil discipline.
Cotterill favours a 3-5-2, too, which arguably suits this Cambridge squad once they add reinforcements in January – they’ve got experienced centre-backs in Michael Morrison and Ryan Bennett, either of whom would be best playing in the middle of a back-three, and a right-back in Liam Bennett who much prefers operating as a wing-back.
6. Gareth Ainsworth
It’s unclear whether, after a tough stint at QPR, Gareth Ainsworth remains committed to his career in management, as he’s spoken in a recent interview that much of his time out of work has been spent playing music.
Nonetheless, Ainsworth worked miracles at Wycombe over 11 years, and when a manager of his quality is available, he has to be considered.
7. Leam Richardson
Leam Richardson did incredible work at Wigan.
Externally, most will remember the 44-year-old leading the Latics to the League One title in 2021-22, but arguably just as big an achievement was keeping them up the year before, with skeletal staff, a ravaged, wafer-thin squad and financial woes in a time of grave uncertainty.
Since his controversial dismissal with the club in the Championship, Richardson has spent 12 months out of work, and should be refreshed and revitalised – whether he’d fancy a move south is another question.
8. Dean Holden
Dean Holden is capable of working in the Championship, having proved that in a strong coaching career, but may have to earn that opportunity in League One after mistreatment in his jobs as a number one.
In 2020-21, the now 43-year-old led Bristol City to a position level with seventh on points, and was sacked over a bad run that was down to a rotten injury crisis, which saw 15 players missing at it’s worst.
Holden also led Charlton from 18th to 11th last season, before being dismissed just five games into this campaign, despite some promising performances delivered with an imbalanced squad that was missing several key players.
Cambridge won’t be able to attract a coach of Holden’s quality forever – so this looks a huge opportunity.
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