1972–73 Cardiff City F.C. season

League Cup
	1st round
Welsh Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Andy McCulloch (14); All: Andy McCulloch (19)'
Highest home attendance	22,012 (v Sunderland, 7 May 1973)
Lowest home attendance	6,259 (v Hull City, 9 May 1973)
Average home league attendance	11,634
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1971–72 1973–74 →

The 1972–73 season was

Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division Two, then the second tier of English football

, finishing twentieth.

The season also saw Cardiff-born Phil Dwyer, who would go on to break the club's appearance record, make his debut for the club.

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
--	GK	NIR	Bill Irwin
--	GK	ENG	Frank Parsons
--	DF	ENG	Gary Bell
--	DF	ENG	David Carver
--	DF	WAL	Phil Dwyer
--	DF	ENG	Roger Hoy
--	DF	ENG	John Impey
--	DF	NIR	Albert Larmour
--	DF	WAL	Peter Morgan
--	DF	WAL	Richie Morgan
--	DF	SCO	Don Murray
--	DF	WAL	Freddie Pethard
--	DF	WAL	David Powell
--	MF	ENG	Willie Anderson
--	MF	WAL	Alan Couch
--	MF	ENG	Alan Foggon


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
--	MF	ENG	Ian Gibson
--	MF	SCO	Billy Kellock
--	MF	ENG	Peter King
--	MF	WAL	Leighton Phillips
--	MF	WAL	Gil Reece
--	MF	WAL	Nigel Rees
--	MF	WAL	Tony Villars
--	MF	ENG	Johnny Vincent
--	MF	ENG	Bobby Woodruff
--	FW	ENG	Brian Clark
--	FW	ENG	Andy McCulloch
--	FW	SCO	Jimmy McInch
--	FW	WAL	John Parsons
--	FW	WAL	Derek Showers
--	FW	ENG	Alan Warboys

Source. ^[1]

League standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
18	Carlisle United	42	11	12	19	50	52	0.962	34
19	Preston North End	42	11	12	19	37	64	0.578	34
20	Cardiff City	42	11	11	20	43	58	0.741	33	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round^[a]
21	Huddersfield Town (R)	42	8	17	17	36	56	0.643	33	Relegation to the Third Division
22	Brighton & Hove Albion (R)	42	8	13	21	46	83	0.554	29	Relegation to the Third Division

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated
Notes:

^ Cardiff City qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1972–73 Welsh Cup winners.

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H
Result	W	L	L	W	L	L	L	L	L	D	L	D	W	L	W	D	W	L	W	W	D	L	L	W	L	W	D	L	W	L	L	L	D	D	D	L	D	W	L	D	D	L
Position	5	14	17	14	15	19	21	21	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	22	21	20	19	20	20	20	21	21	19	21	19	20	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	21	20	20

Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Fixtures and results

Second Division

12 August 1972 (1972-08-12) 1	Cardiff City	2–1	Luton Town	Cardiff
15:00	Gary Bell 44' (pen) Alan Warboys 60'		39' (pen) John Aston	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 16,634 Referee: Ivan Smith (Accrington)

19 August 1972 (1972-08-19) 2	Portsmouth	3–1	Cardiff City	Portsmouth
15:00	Brian Lewis 65' Norman Piper 80' Richie Reynolds 89'		34' Derek Showers	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 14,069 Referee: Harold Davey (Nottingham)

26 August 1972 (1972-08-26) 3	Cardiff City	1–2	Blackpool	Cardiff
15:00	Gary Bell 45' (pen)		50' Keith Dyson 73' Dave Lennard	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 12,401 Referee: Bill Castle (Dudley)

30 August 1972 (1972-08-30) 4	Cardiff City	1–0	Millwall	Cardiff
19:30	Brian Clark 31'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 10,116 Referee: Ray Toseland (Kettering)

2 September 1972 (1972-09-02) 5	Oxford United	2–1	Cardiff City	Oxford
	Tommy Cassidy 18' Steve Aylott 69'		4' Nigel Rees	Stadium: Manor Ground Attendance: 8,087 Referee: Tommy Dawes (Norwich)

9 September 1972 (1972-09-09) 6	Cardiff City	0–2	Aston Villa	Cardiff
15:00			13' Bruce Rioch 24' Andy Lochhead	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 16,707 Referee: Harold Hackney (Barnsley)

16 September 1972 (1972-09-16) 7	Carlisle United	4–0	Cardiff City	Carlisle
	Joe Laidlaw 19' Ray Train 32' Chris Balderstone 39' Bobby Owen 89'			Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 5,911 Referee: Dave Wallace (Crewe)

19 September 1972 (1972-09-19) 8	Nottingham Forest	2–1	Cardiff City	Nottingham
19:30	Martin O'Neill 40' Paul Richardson 60'		85' Ian Gibson	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 6,414

23 September 1972 (1972-09-23) 9	Cardiff City	1–3	Bristol City	Cardiff
15:00	Gary Bell 22' (pen)		9' (pen) Gerry Gow 12' John Galley 70' Brian Drysdale	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 14,204 Referee: Tony Oliver (Leigh On Sea)

27 September 1972 (1972-09-27) 10	Brighton	Cardiff
19:30	Alan Foggon 24'		Eddie Spearritt	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 9,351 Referee: Harry New (Portsmouth)

30 September 1972 (1972-09-30) 11	Queens Park Rangers	3–0	Cardiff City	London
15:00	Don Givens 44', 51' (pen) Stan Bowles 65'			Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 11,182 Referee: Harold Williams (Sheffleid)

7 October 1972 (1972-10-07) 12	Orient	0–0	Cardiff City	London
15:00			Alan Foggon	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 6,284 Referee: Bob Raby (Leeds)

Cardiff City v Middlesbrough

14 October 1972 (1972-10-14) 13	Cardiff City	2–0	Middlesbrough	Cardiff
15:00	Johnny Vincent 38' Gary Bell 81' (pen)			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 10,430 Referee: David Smith (Stonehouse)

21 October 1972 (1972-10-21) 14	Burnley	3–0	Cardiff City	Burnley
15:00	Paul Fletcher 30', 64', 83' (pen)			Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 13,410 Referee: Roy Capey (Madeley Heath)

28 October 1972 (1972-10-28) 15	Cardiff City	3–0	Preston North End	Cardiff
15:00	Andy McCulloch 40' Bobby Woodruff 69', 79'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 12,208 Referee: Gordon Kew (Leeds)

4 November 1972 (1972-11-04) 16	Brighton	2–2	Cardiff City	Brighton
	Barry Bridges Ken Beamish 30'		28' Billy Kellock	Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 16,387 Referee: John Thacker (Lincoln)

Cardiff City v Nottingham Forest

11 November 1972 (1972-11-11) 17	Cardiff City	2–1	Nottingham Forest	Cardiff
15:00	Andy McCulloch 75' Bobby Woodruff 87'		88' Neil Martin	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 12,750 Referee: Malcolm Sinclair (Guildford)

18 November 1972 (1972-11-18) 18	Huddersfield	2–1	Cardiff City	Huddersfield
15:00	Graham Pugh 9' Dick Krzywicki 64'		74' Gil Reece	Stadium: Leeds Road Attendance: 5,886 Referee: Arthur Jones (Ormskirk)

Cardiff City v Fulham

25 November 1972 (1972-11-25) 19	Cardiff City	3–1	Fulham	Cardiff
15:00	Andy McCulloch 21', 77' Bobby Woodruff 63'		67' Alan Mullery	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 9,960 Referee: Ken Wynn (Wolverhampton)

9 December 1972 (1972-12-09) 20	Cardiff City	4–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Cardiff
15:00	Leighton Phillips 10', 31' Bobby Woodruff 44', 52'		71' Willie Henderson	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 9,909 Referee: Mike Kerkhof (Bicester)

16 December 1972 (1972-12-16) 21	Hull City	1–1	Cardiff City	Hull
15:00	John Kaye 82'		79' Billy Kellock	Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 5,875 Referee: Jack Wrennall (Chorley)

26 December 1972 (1972-12-26) 22	Bristol City	1–0	Cardiff City	Bristol
15:00	Gerry Gow 65' (pen)			Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 20,490 Referee: John Yates (Redditch)

29 December 1972 (1972-12-29) 23	Cardiff City	0–2	Portsmouth	Cardiff
19:30			67' Eoin Hand Ray Hiron	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 12,382 Referee: Arthur Hart (London)

19 January 1973 (1973-01-19) 24	Cardiff City	2–0	Oxford United	Cardiff
19:30	Andy McCulloch 48', 78'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,991 Referee: Alex Lees (Somerset)

27 January 1973 (1973-01-27) 25	Aston Villa	2–0	Cardiff City	Birmingham
15:00	Ray Graydon 45' (pen) Bruce Rioch 60'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 25,586 Referee: Alf Grey (Great Yarmouth)

10 February 1973 (1973-02-10) 26	Cardiff City	1–0	Carlisle United	Cardiff
15:00	Andy McCulloch 45'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 7,809 Referee: Jack Taylor (Wolverhampton)

17 February 1973 (1973-02-17) 27	Luton Town	1–1	Cardiff City	Luton
15:00	Derek Hales 12'		50' Bobby Woodruff	Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 10,442 Referee: Michael Lowe (Sheffield)

27 February 1973 (1973-02-27) 28	Swindon Town	3–0	Cardiff City	Swindon
19:30	Rod Thomas 7' David Powell 21' (og) Ray Treacy 41'			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 9,770 Referee: Don Biddle (Bristol)

3 March 1973 (1973-03-03) 29	Orient	Cardiff
15:00	Andy McCulloch 20', 73' Gary Bell 26' (pen)		83' Mike Bullock	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 8,463 Referee: Peter Reeves (Leicester)

7 March 1973 (1973-03-07) 30	Blackpool	1–0	Cardiff City	Blackpool
19:30	Billy Rafferty 71'			Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 5,303 Referee: John Williams (Wrexham)

10 March 1973 (1973-03-10) 31	Middlesbrough	2–0	Cardiff City	Middlesbrough
15:00	Peter Brine 12' Alan Foggon 58'			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 7,686

17 March 1973 (1973-03-17) 32	Cardiff City	0–1	Burnley	Cardiff
15:00			3' Frank Casper	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 11,960 Referee: David Smith (Stonehouse)

24 March 1973 (1973-03-24) 33	Preston North End	0–0	Cardiff City	Preston
15:00				Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 6,889 Referee: Ken Burns (Stourbridge)

31 March 1973 (1973-03-31) 34	Fulham	1–1	Cardiff City	London
15:00	John Conway 10'		18s' Andy McCulloch Andy McCulloch	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 6,262 Referee: Dennis Turner (Cannock)

7 April 1973 (1973-04-07) 35	Cardiff City	1–1	Swindon Town	Cardiff
15:00	Andy McCulloch 4'		75' Ray Treacy	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 9,438 Referee: Bob Perkin (Stafford)

14 April 1973 (1973-04-14) 36	Sheffield Wednesday	1–0	Cardiff City	Sheffield
15:00	Phil Dwyer 28' (og)			Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 10,952 Referee: Roger Kirkpatrick (Leicester)

18 April 1973 (1973-04-18) 37	Cardiff City	0–0	Queens Park Rangers	Cardiff
19:30				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 11,958 Referee: Bob Matthewson (Worsley)

21 April 1973 (1973-04-21) 38	Huddersfield	Cardiff
15:00	Bobby Woodruff 5', ?' Gil Reece 45', ?'		Alan Gowling	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 12,379 Referee: Ron Challis (Tonbridge)

23 April 1973 (1973-04-23) 39	Sunderland	2–1	Cardiff City	Sunderland
15:00	Dennis Tueart 68' (pen) Billy Hughes 77'		31 ' Leighton Phillips	Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 27,551 Referee: George Hartley (Wakefield)

Millwall v Cardiff City

28 April 1973 (1973-04-28) 40	Millwall	1–1	Cardiff City	London
15:00	Alf Wood 76'		82' Andy McCulloch	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 7,811 Referee: Ray Toseland (Kettering)

7 May 1973 (1973-05-07) 41	Sunderland	Cardiff
19:30	Bobby Woodruff 38'		52 ' Vic Halom	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 22,012 Referee: Dave Wallace (Crewe)

9 May 1973 (1973-05-09) 42	Cardiff City	0–2	Hull City	Cardiff
19:30			12', 79' Roy Greenwood	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,259 Referee: Derek Nippard (Bournemouth)

Source ^[2] ^[3]

League Cup

16 August 1972 (1972-08-16) Round 1	Cardiff City	2–2	Bristol Rovers	Cardiff
19:30	Derek Showers 63' Gary Bell 72' (pen)		32' Wayne Jones 86' Brian Godfrey	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 14,450 Referee: Ron Crabb (Exeter)

22 August 1972 (1972-08-22) Round 1 (Replay)	Bristol Rovers	3–1	Cardiff City	Bristol
19:30	Brian Godfrey 19' Bruce Bannister 78' Wayne Jones 90'		7' Brian Clark Don Murray	Stadium: Eastville Attendance: 14,550 Referee: Ken Baker (Rugby)

FA Cup

13 January 1973 (1973-01-13) Round 3	Scunthorpe United	2–3	Cardiff City	Scunthorpe
15:00	Duncan Welbourne 61' Harry Kirk 75'		13' Billy Kellock 64' Andy McCulloch 88' Leighton Phillips	Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 6,379 Referee: Ken Burns (Stourbridge)

3 February 1973 (1973-02-03) Round 4	Bolton Wanderers	2–2	Cardiff City	Bolton
15:00	Gary Jones 40' John Ritson 84' Warwick Rimmer		80' Billy Kellock 95' Leighton Phillips Gil Reece	Stadium: Burnden Park Attendance: 24,729 Referee: Dave Wallace (Crewe)

7 February 1973 (1973-02-07) Round 4 (replay)	Cardiff City	1–1	Bolton Wanderers	Cardiff
	Andy McCulloch 27'		67' Gary Jones	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 14,849 Referee: Dave Wallace (Crewe)

12 February 1973 (1973-02-12) Round 4 (2nd replay)	Bolton Wanderers	1–0	Cardiff City	West Bromwich
	Stuart Lee 35'			Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 6,361 Referee: Roger Kirkpatrick (Leicester)

Welsh Cup

3 January 1973 (1973-01-03) Round 4	Aberystwyth Town	1–7	Cardiff City	Aberystwyth
14:15	Whitney		1' Andy McCulloch Andy McCulloch 24' Gil Reece Gil Reece 30' Johnny Vincent Bobby Woodruff Bobby Woodruff	Attendance: 3,500 Referee: John Williams (Wrexham)

20 February 1973 (1973-02-20) Round 5	Newport County	1–3	Cardiff City	Newport
19:15	Wynne Hooper 70'		3' Johnny Vincent 10' Leighton Phillips 43' Derek Showers	Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 11,350 Referee: Tom Reynolds (Swansea)

Chester City v Cardiff City

21 March 1973 (1973-03-21) Semi Final	Chester City	0–1	Cardiff City	Chester
19:30			68' Andy McCulloch	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 2,158 Referee: John Williams (Wrexham)

4 April 1973 (1973-04-04) Final (First leg)	Bangor City	1–0	Cardiff City	Bangor
19:30	Tony Marsden 69'			Stadium: Farrar Road Attendance: 5,005 Referee: John Williams (Wrexham)

11 April 1973 (1973-04-11) Final (Second leg)	Cardiff City	5–0 (5–1 agg.)	Bangor City	Cardiff
	Gil Reece 15', 49', 73' Leighton Phillips 16' Gary Bell 79'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,679 Referee: John Williams (Wrexham)

References

^ "All Cardiff City football club players: 1973". 11v11. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
^ "Cardiff City football club match record: 1973". 11v11. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
^ "Cardiff City 1972-73 results". Cardiff City Forum. Retrieved 25 January 2022.

Bibliography

Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Breedon Books.
ISBN 1-85983-462-0
.

Shepherd, Richard (2002). The Definitive Cardiff City F.C. Tony Brown.
ISBN 1-899-46817-X
.

Crooks, John (1992). Cardiff City Football Club: Official History of the Bluebirds. Yore Publications.
ISBN 0-9513321-8-X
.

"Football Club History Database – Cardiff City". Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.

Welsh Football Data Archive

[table_note_res_CWC1RWC0.9055243623003-2] Cardiff City qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1972–73 Welsh Cup winners.

[1] "All Cardiff City football club players: 1973". 11v11. Retrieved 25 January 2022.

[11v11results-3] "Cardiff City football club match record: 1973". 11v11. Retrieved 25 January 2022.

[results-4] "Cardiff City 1972-73 results". Cardiff City Forum. Retrieved 25 January 2022.

[1]

[a]

[2]

[3]