CARDIFF CITY

The club joined the League in 1920 and in 1924, they came second in Division One, failing to land the championship by 0.024 of a goal.  Len Davies was their frail, but successful forward at the time and he missed a penalty in that season, which could have secured the championship for the Welsh side.  The next season, the Bluebirds got to the FA Cup semi-final, but two years later reached Wembley for the Final itself. On the way Davies hit a 40 yard shot against Chelsea in the FA Cup and the referee had to ask a policeman behind the goal if it had gone in - everyone was so amazed the slight striker could hit the ball so far !!  In the Final they met Arsenal and started what was to be a long-running series of giant-killings for the London side.  One goal, which squirmed off the keeper's new shiny jersey, settled the match and took the cup out of England for the only time.

In 1929, Cardiff conceded a then record low of 59 goals, but still got relegated and by 1934 they had plummeted to the bottom of the Third Division (South), having to be re-elected to stay in the League.  The ground suffered a tragedy in 1937, when thieves broke in and tried to blow up the safe, but only succeeded in setting the stand alight.   Their recovery took some time - winning 30 out of 42 games in 1947 to take the Third Division (South) title and they did return to the top flight in the 1950's, before heading back down to the lower rungs of the League ladder.  During the Fifties, they were drawn away to Leeds United in 1955, '56 and '57 in the FA Cup and they won each game 2-1 in front of a crowd that was the same size for each tie !!

More recently, they have been trawling the lower end of the League, but in 1993 won the Division 3 championship and gaining promotion to Div. 2 again last season.  In European competition, for which they have qualified through winning the Welsh Cup on many occasions, they have had some notable successes - in 1970 beating Real Madrid in the home leg of a Cup-Winners Cup tie and even managing to overcome FC Blau-Weiss of East Germany, the city that Cardiff is twinned with !! For a long time their most famous headlines have been for crowd trouble and financial struggles, but now it looks like the club are on firm ground (which is more than could be said for their original pitch) and hope to move forward into the 21st Century with ambition.  This has received a knock-back as they were relegated from Division 2 at the end of the 1999-2000 season, being passed on their way down by their main rivals Swansea City.  Under the bizarre leadership of Chairman Sam Hammam, the Bluebirds have soared up the league and into Div. 2 for the 2001-2002 season, having gained automatic promotion, passing their main rivals Swansea City who were on the way down.

Having got planning permission for a new stadium, it looks like it is good times ahead for the Bluebirds if they can get out of the Championship (as it is now known) with a good push for promotion in 2006-07.  The only black cloud on the horizon is the arrival of Peter Ridsdale who has taken over from Hammam and his duties might include him wanting to "live the dream" as he did at Leeds United.  He didn't get the chance, as Hammam sold out to Vincent Tan, who sold out the club's history by making them wear red shirts and changing the club badge.

It wasn't the only thing he changed, as he took the club into the Premier League under Malky Mackay's management and then spent a lot of money on the new club, the new ground and the new team to try to make them a fixture in the top flight.  Tan appeared to become an increasingly erratic figure in his pronouncements and ended sacking Mackay for spending his money on the summer, before brining in former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who had no Premier League experience, before spending more of Tan's money in the January 2014 transfer window.

FAMOUS PLAYERS : - John Toshack,  Bob Stand, Fred Keenor, Phil Dwyer, Barry Swift, Don Clark.

FAMOUS FANS : - Super Furry Animals (Band), Mike Young (creator of SuperTed), Neil Kinnock (Euro MP), David Sullivan (Chairman - Birmingham City)

AWAY : Shirts - Blue
Shorts - White
Socks - Blue

Club Record :  57,893  v  Arsenal  Division 1  22.4.1953

2 points for a win : 66  -  Division 3 (South) 1946-47

2 points for a win : 66  -  Division 3 (South) 1946-47