History of Cardiff City F.C. (1962–present)

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Wrexham, and Merthyr Town
.

European competitions (1964–1985)

During the 1960s Cardiff began qualifying for European competition for the first time through the

Brian Clark, before a high-profile switch to Liverpool
.

Two years later the club would go on to reach the semi-final of the Cup Winners Cup, the furthest a second-division club has ever gone in European competition (together with

Göztepe
saw them knocked out in the opening rounds of the tournament during the next two seasons.

At the start of the 1970–71 season the club paid £35,000 to sign midfielder

Real Madrid. The first leg of the tie was held at Ninian Park where 47,000 fans watched one of the most famous victories in the club's history when Brian Clark headed in to give Cardiff a 1–0 win. Despite going out after losing the second leg 2–0 the result would still go down in the club's history.[4] The club remained old Second Division
except seasons of 1975–76 and 1982–83.

Barren era (1985–2000)

Between 1985 and 1993, Cardiff were continuously in the lower two divisions of the league after being relegated to the Third Division. They were then relegated to the Fourth Division in 1985–86 season. They were promoted back to the Third Division in 1987–88 as runners-up. Two years later they dropped back into the Fourth Division. Cardiff won the new Division Three championship in 1993 but were relegated again two years later, and in 1996 finished in their lowest-ever league position – 22nd of 24 in Division Three, with only Scarborough and Torquay United below them. In 1996, Cardiff were exiled from playing in the Welsh Cup, which they had previously won 22 times, they were exiled along with all other Welsh clubs playing in the English League System. However, they did better during the 1996–97 season, finishing seventh (although they lost in the playoff semi-final), but suffered a setback and slipped into the bottom half of the table in 1998. They finished third in Division Three in 1999 and won automatic promotion to Division Two.

Cardiff struggled in Division Two throughout the 1999–2000 season and were relegated in 21st place. They finished Division Three runners-up the following season and have made impressive progress since then, helped by the investment of Lebanese businessman Sam Hammam.

Revival and promotion (2000–2006)

2007–08 season

Having sold his interests in

£11.5 million. Sam Hammam quickly picked up where he left off with the Crazy Gang. Shortly after taking over at Cardiff, Hammam controversially pledged to get the entire Welsh nation to support Cardiff by renaming the club "The Cardiff Celts" and changing the club colours to green, red and white. However, after lengthy talks with senior players and fans, Sam Hammam decided that the best policy was not to change the name of the club; however the club crest was redesigned. This new design incorporated the Cardiff City mascot Bartley the Bluebird, in front of the Flag of Saint David
; and featured the Club's nickname superimposed at the top of the crest.

During the

Leeds United in the FA Cup at Ninian Park. Cardiff came out 2–1 winners, Leeds scored the first through Australian international Mark Viduka, captain Graham Kavanagh equalised in the 21 minute with three minutes to Scott Young hit the back of the net sending Cardiff through to the fourth round where they lost to Tranmere Rovers. They finished 4th in the league but losing to Stoke City
in the play-off semi-finals.

aggregate, having won the match at Ninian Park 1–0, and drawing the away leg 0–0 on 13 May 2003. Queens Park Rangers drew with Oldham Athletic away from home 1–1 on 10 May 2003, before claiming the advantage at Loftus Road
on 14 May 2003; going through to the playoff final with a 2–1 aggregate victory.

On 25 May, the Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff, hosted one of the most unforgettable playoff finals in history. Both Cardiff City and Queens Park Rangers had been set up with defence minded formations. The game was comparatively scrappy with only occasional glimpses of class shown by both sides. However, after a nerve-wracking final, substitute Andy Campbell came off the bench to guide Cardiff past Queens Park Rangers with a spectacular lob after 114 minutes of play.

The former

striker, who had replaced Robert Earnshaw in the second half, shrugged off Danny Shittu and then calmly lobbed Chris Day, the Queens Park Rangers Goalkeeper to ensure Cardiff returned to Division One after an 18-year absence. Chances had been few and far between in normal time, but as both sets of players tired, the game opened up in those nail-biting final 30 minutes. No more so than when Day made a superb one-handed save from a Spencer Prior header after Graham Kavanagh
's in-swinging free-kick.

The Bluebirds established themselves in Division One during

David Jones
at the end of the campaign.

Jones improved the side by signing Darren Purse for £1m from West Bromwich Albion and naming him captain and bringing Welsh international Jason Koumas and Glenn Loovens on loan but due to the then continuing financial problems, they had to sell some big names such as Danny Gabbidon and James Collins to West Ham United for a combined fee of £3.5m and former captain, Graham Kavanagh to Wigan Athletic. But they still pulled off a successful season in the 2005–06 campaign finishing eleventh.

Ridsdale era (2006–2009)

After failing to get the new stadium plans agreed by

2008 FA Cup Final, being beat by Premier League side Portsmouth
.

Just before the Final, it had been rumoured that Cardiff could have a chance to qualify for the Europa League should they win the final. The FA stated that they would not nominate Cardiff a place in Europe should they earn one on the grounds that they wouldn't have an option. UEFA president, Michel Platini later pledged his support to the club if the FA denies them entry into the competition, saying "If England don't do anything, we will."[7] Following Platini's statement the FA announced that they would be reviewing their stance on the situation.[8] UEFA also commented on the possibility of the club being given a wild card entry into Europe,[9] but the FA eventually backed down from their previous statement and confirmed that it would allow the club to play in Europe should they win the FA Cup final.[10] However, Cardiff lost the FA Cup final 1–0 against Portsmouth, who hadn't already won a qualification place.

In the following 2008–09 season Cardiff made a serious attempt at getting promotion, finishing 7th losing out on a play-off spot through goals conceded. During the January transfer window they kept hold of star players, such as £2M rated Joe Ledley and added Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Chris Burke and Michael Chopra to the side. However, £120,000 summer signing Ross McCormack proved that Cardiff had established a healthy tradition of discovering cut-price hidden goal-scoring gems, after selling Cameron Jerome to Birmingham City for £3m in 2006 and Michael Chopra sold to Sunderland for £5m in 2007. McCormack finished with 23 goals in 44 games. However this would be their last season at Ninian Park before they move to the Cardiff City Stadium, the last game at Ninian Park was a 3–0 loss to Ipswich Town.

Cardiff City had many fine players at their disposal at the start of the 21st century, including Robert Earnshaw, Jason Koumas, John Robinson, Graham Kavanagh, Danny Gabbidon, Michael Chopra and youth academy products Chris Gunter and Aaron Ramsey.

Move to Cardiff City Stadium (2009–10)

Cardiff City playing against Sheffield United during the 2009–10 season

Before the 2009–10 season, Ridsdale travelled to the Far East to try to get a business deal which he promised would see Cardiff's debt problem dealt with, and creation of an academy in the Far East. No investment was forthcoming, but Malaysian businessman Dato' Chan Tien Ghee was an addition to the club's board. Cardiff then broke their current record transfer fee, signing Michael Chopra from Sunderland for £3m.[11] The transfer fee dwarfed their previous record of £1.75m for Peter Thorne from Stoke City in 2001.[12] Cardiff moved across the road to their new £50m stadium, Cardiff City Stadium for the 2009–10 season. The first game was played on 10 July 2010 against Chasetown but it was officially opened on 22 July, Cardiff played Scottish giants Celtic. 15,000 spectators watched the goalless draw.

Having staved off a winding up order from HMRC under a payment agreement, in November 2009. Ridsdale offered a "Golden Ticket" scheme to fans, in that if they bought their 2010/11 season ticket before January 6, 2010, then they would not see a rise on prices for two years, and all monies raised would be spent on players in the January 2010 transfer window.[13] However, on 27 January 2010, Ridsdale admitted he was eating humble pie, and that in addition to the "Golden Ticket" money not being spent on players, club assets would be sold to fulfil a £2.7M tax bill, and avert another winding up order.[14]

Cardiff City drew the most successful graphic at Championship in 2009–10 season and qualified for the Play-Offs after beating Queens Park Rangers 1–0. In the play-off semi-final, they met Leicester City. Cardiff advanced to the play-off final after winning 4–3 on penalties following a 3–3 aggregate score over two legs. However, in the play-off final against Blackpool, they lost 3–2 after leading twice in the game.

Malaysian era and Premiership Football (2010–)

Malaysian business men

Motherwell revealed the outstanding payment, Cardiff paid off half the amount owed and paid off the rest immediately.[21]
On 14 November 2010,
Dave Jones being sacked on 30 May 2011.[24]

On 3 June 2011, Cardiff City had reached an agreement with long term debtors, PMG, as part of the agreement some of the debt would be turned into shares and

final in the competition, where they lost to Liverpool on penalties. Cardiff ended their season in the play-off positions, for the third season running, however they failed for the third time losing to West Ham United
in the semi-finals.

Following the play-off defeat, the Malaysian owners were planning to change the colours and badge of the club but these plans were soon ended because of a bad reaction from the fans as a result, the investment plan was to be rethought.

Dave Jones', Sheffield Wednesday side.[31] However, Cardiff couldn't manage to extend this record following a 2–1 loss to Peterborough United, where they also broke the record attendance at Cardiff City Stadium, now set at 26,073. Cardiff gained promotion to the Premier League on 16 April 2013, following a goalless draw against Charlton Athletic, ending a 51-year absence from the top division and followed this by winning the title 5 days later after drawing with Burnley.[32][33]

Cardiff's debut season in the Premier League started with some big spending, where they broke the transfer record of £4 million when they signed Danish international Andreas Cornelius for £7.5 million.[34] The transfer record was broke two more times over the summer, with signings of English international Steven Caulker and Chilean international Gary Medel.[35][36] In July, Vincent Tan had reached an agreement with Sam Hammam over the £15 million debt owed to Langston, where Hammam would become Honorary Life President of the club, this was considered as the first step of becoming a debt-free club.[37] Cardiff went on to win the first ever Premier League South Wales derby against Swansea City. Following a 3–0 loss to Southampton, Mackay was sacked with the club only 1 point away from the relegation places.[38]

On 2 January 2014, former

Hull City and Crystal Palace
, who finished 2nd and 5th respectively, both managed to preserve their top flight status.

Cardiff returned to the Championship after one season of Premier League football. Despite possessing an abundance of talent and being one of the favourites for promotion back into England's top division, Cardiff's performances during the season were disappointing. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked on 18 September 2014,

2007–08
season.

Cardiff missed out on a play-off place for the following season, whilst also having a transfer embargo enforced on them, for breaching Financial Fair Play Rules,[47] Meaning that Cardiff had to loan out Kenwyne Jones for a second season and sell top goal-scorer Joe Mason to Championship rivals, Wolverhampton Wanderers.[48] Despite the embargo, Cardiff were able to settle the long term debt with creditor Langston, and Vincent Tan had written off £10 million worth of debt and promised to turn £68 million into equity.[49][50] Slade was promoted to Head of Football at the club,[51] eventually being replaced by Paul Trollope, a member of his coaching staff.[52] Cardiff struggled under Trollope, only managing 2 wins out of 12 games and found themselves fighting in the relegation places, the first time in 11 years. Trollope was sacked on 4 October, and was replaced by Neil Warnock.[53][54] Warnock brought Cardiff out of the relegation zone to finish in 12th. The following season, Cardiff began brightly winning their first five games of the season, for the first time in their history, before eventually being promoted in 2nd place following a 0–0 draw with Reading, where they broke their attendance record at Cardiff City Stadium.[55]

Following the promotion, Vincent Tan converted a further £66.4 million owed to him into equity.

crashed off Alderney, in the channel islands whilst traveling from Nantes to Cardiff. The aircraft was found 13 days later and Sala was confirmed dead on 7 February.[58] Cardiff were relegated back to the EFL Championship on 4 May, following a 3–2 loss to Crystal Palace.[59]

References and notes
  1. ^ ECWC Semifinal 1987–1988
  2. ^ Struthers, Greg (18 May 2008). "Caught in Time: Cardiff City reach Cup Winners' Cup semi final, 1968". The Times. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  3. ^ Gaetani, Marco (26 December 2019). "I pirati d'Europa: quando l'Atalanta arrivò in semifinale di Coppa delle Coppe". ultimouomo.com (in Italian). Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  4. ^ "The Scoular Years" Archived 2013-10-30 at the Wayback Machine Cardiffcityfc.co.uk Retrieved on 2 September 2008
  5. ^ "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Cardiff City | Hammam accused of Cardiff 'greed'". BBC News. 23 December 2006. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Hammam named in Cardiff loan case". BBC Wales. British Broadcasting Corporation. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  7. ^ "Platini makes Cardiff FA cup vow". BBC Sport. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  8. ^ "FA to review Cardiff's UEFA case" BBC Sport Retrieved on 18 March 2008
  9. ^ "Uefa offers Cardiff Euro lifeline". BBC Sport. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  10. ^ "FA approves Cardiff for UEFA cup" BBC Sport Retrieved on 25 April 2008
  11. ^ "Striker Chopra set to be record signing for City". WalesOnline.co.uk. Wales Online. 4 July 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  12. ^ "Thorne joins Bluebirds". BBC Sport. 13 September 2001. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  13. ^ "Jones hopes for £3m transfer pot". BBC News. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  14. ^ "Cardiff chairman Ridsdale to stay". BBC News. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  15. ^ "Cardiff City £6m Malaysian takeover approved". BBC Sport. 27 May 2010.
  16. ^ "Manager Dave Jones commits his future to Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 25 May 2010.
  17. ^ "Cardiff hit with transfer embargo due to tax trouble". BBC Sport. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  18. ^ "Cardiff City make month's tax payment on £1.3m bill". BBC Sport. 8 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  19. ^ "EMBARGO LIFTED, PLAYERS REGISTERED". Cardiff City F.C. 6 August 2010. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  20. ^ "Motherwell pursue Paul Quinn money from Cardiff". BBC Sport. 17 August 2010.
  21. ^ "Motherwell receive Cardiff payment for Paul Quinn". BBC Sport. 20 August 2010.
  22. ^ "Jay called up for England". cardiffcityfc.co.uk. Cardiff City F.C. 14 November 2010. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  23. ^ "England 1–2 France". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  24. ^ "DAVE JONES LEAVES CARDIFF CITY". Cardiff City Official Site. Cardiff City Football Club. 30 May 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  25. ^ "Cardiff & PMG agreement reached". Cardiff City Official Site. Cardiff City Football Club. 3 June 2011. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  26. ^ "Malky Mackay is new City manager". Cardiff City F.C. Official Site. Cardiff City Football Club. 17 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  27. ^ "Cardiff City ditch colour and badge change proposal". BBC Sport. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  28. ^ "Cardiff City owners to rethink investment plans". BBC Sport. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  29. ^ "Cardiff City FC Statement". Cardiff City Official Site. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  30. ^ "Sam Hammam says no to Cardiff City Langston repayment offers". South Wales Echo. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  31. ^ "Cardiff 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2 December 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  32. ^ "Cardiff 0–0 Charlton". BBC Sport. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  33. ^ "Burnley 1–1 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 20 April 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  34. ^ "Cardiff City: Andreas Cornelius joins for club record fee". BBC Sport. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  35. ^ "Transfer news: Tottenham defender Steven Caulker signs for Cardiff City". Sky Sports. 1 August 2013.
  36. ^ "Cardiff City sign Chile midfielder Gary Medel from Sevilla". BBC Sport. 10 August 2013.
  37. ^ "Cardiff City FC clears long-standing Langston debt". BBC Sport. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  38. ^ "Malky Mackay: Cardiff City sack manager". BBC Sport. 27 December 2013.
  39. ^ "Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaces Malky Mackay as Cardiff City manager". ITV sport. 2 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014.
  40. ^ "Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Cardiff City manager leaves post". BBC Sport. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  41. ^ "Cardiff City: Russell Slade confirmed as new manager". BBC Sport. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  42. ^ "Cardiff 2 – 1 Nottingham Forest". BBC Sport. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  43. ^ "Cardiff 3–1 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  44. ^ "Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan agrees return to blue home kit". BBC Sport. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  45. ^ "Cardiff 1 – 0 Fulham". BBC Sport. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  46. ^ "Cardiff 0 – 3 Bolton". BBC Sport. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  47. ^ "Cardiff City: Transfer embargo handed to Championship club". BBC Sport. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  48. ^ "Cardiff boss Slade disappointed by Joe Mason sale to Wolves". BBC Sport. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  49. ^ "Cardiff City and Sam Hammam settle Langston debt". BBC Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  50. ^ "Vincent Tan: Cardiff City owner to reduce club debt by half". BBC Sport. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  51. ^ "Cardiff City move manager Russell Slade to new role". BBC Sport. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  52. ^ "Paul Trollope to succeed Russell Slade as first-team boss". BBC Sport. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  53. ^ "Cardiff City sack Paul Trollope as head coach". BBC Sport. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  54. ^ "Cardiff City: Neil Warnock named manager after Paul Trollope sacking". BBC Sport. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  55. ^ Jamie Kemble (6 May 2018). "Cardiff City 0–0 Reading: The Bluebirds secure promotion back to the Premier League". Inside Wales Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  56. ^ "Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan converts £66.4m more of club debt into equity". BBC Sport. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  57. ^ "Emiliano Sala is a Bluebird". Cardiff City F.C. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  58. ^ "Emiliano Sala: Body identified as footballer". BBC. 7 February 2019.
  59. ^ "Cardiff 2–3 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
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