List of Cardiff City F.C. records and statistics

Cardiff City Football Club is a Welsh professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club was founded in 1899 and initially played in local amateur leagues before joining the English football league system. After spending a decade in the Southern Football League, Cardiff joined the Football League in 1920. Since then, the club has played in all four professional divisions of the Football League, spending 17 seasons in the top tier since its formation.[1] Cardiff have also reached the final of the FA Cup on three occasions, winning the trophy in the 1927 final, and the League Cup once. The team currently play in the second tier of the English league system, the EFL Championship.

Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock (holding trophy right) and Sean Morrison (left) lift the 2017–18 EFL Championship runner-up trophy

Billy Hardy is the club's record appearance holder having played in 590 first team matches between 1911 and 1931. Phil Dwyer made the most appearances for the club in the Football League with 471. The club's goalscoring record is held by Len Davies who scored 179 times between 1919 and 1931. Davies is one of only eight players to have scored 100 or more goals in the club's history.

The list encompasses the major honours won by Cardiff City, records set by the club, its managers and players, and details of its performance in European competition. The player records section itemises the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions. It also records achievements by Cardiff City players on the international stage, and the highest transfer fees paid and received by the club. Attendance records at Ninian Park and the Cardiff City Stadium, the club's home grounds since 1910 and 2009 respectively, are also included.

Honours

Cardiff City was originally founded in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C., initially playing in local amateur competitions. The club won its first trophy under the guise by winning the Bevan Shield, an amateur cup competition, in 1905.[2] The club changed its name to Cardiff City in 1908 and entered the Southern Football League in 1910.[3] The club was the first side based in South Wales to win the Welsh Cup after defeating Pontypridd in the 1912 final.[4] The side won its first league honour by winning the Southern Football League Second Division title the following year, in the 1912–13 season.[5] Cardiff entered the Football League in 1920 and enjoyed the most successful period in its history. Cardiff finished as First Division runners-up in the 1923–24 season and reached two FA Cup finals, losing the first in 1925 before becoming the only non-English side to win the cup two years later in 1927, defeating Arsenal 1–0.[3][6] The club reached a third FA Cup final 82 years later in 2008 but suffered a 1–0 defeat to Portsmouth.[7] The club is the second most successful side in the history of the Welsh Cup having won the competition on 22 occasions, one fewer than Wrexham.[8] The most recent honour won by the club was the Championship title during the 2012–13 season.[9]

Cardiff City's list of competition victories includes:[10][11]

Southern Football League

• Southern Football League Second Division

Champions: 1912–13

Football League

• First Division/Premier League (first tier)

Runners-up: 1923–24

• Second Division/First Division/Championship (second tier)

Champions: 2012–13

Runners-up: 1920–21, 1951–52, 1959–60, 2017–18

• Third Division (south)/Third Division/Second Division/League One (third tier)

Champions: 1946–47

Runners-up: 1975–76, 1982–83

Play-off Winners: 2003

• Fourth Division/Third Division/League Two (fourth tier)

Champions: 1992–93

Runners-up: 1987–88, 2000–01

Cups

• FA Cup

Winners: 1926–27

Finalists: 1924–25, 2007–08

• FA Charity Shield

Winners: 1927

• Football League Cup

Finalists: 2011–12

• Welsh Cup

Winners: 1911–12, 1919–20, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1955–56, 1958–59, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93

Finalists: 1928–29, 1938–39, 1950–51, 1959–60, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1981–82, 1993–94, 1994–95

• FAW Premier Cup

Winners: 2001–02

Finalists: 1997–98[lower-alpha 1]

Firsts

• First Southern Football League match: 4–1 vs. Ton Pentre, 26 September 1910[13]
• First Football League match: 0–0 vs. Clapton Orient, 30 August 1920[14]
• First Premier League match: 0-2 vs. West Ham United, 17 August 2013[15]
• First FA Cup match: 3–1 vs. Bath City, 17 September 1910[13]
• First League Cup match: 4–3 vs. Middlesbrough, 3 October 1960[16]
• First Welsh Cup match (As Cardiff Riverside): 3–12 vs. Cwmparc 1907–08[17]
• First match in Europe: 0–0 vs. Esbjerg fB, 9 September 1964 (UEFA Cup Winners' Cup)[18]

Record results

• Record Football League victory: 9–2 vs. Thames, Third Division South, 6 February 1932[19]
• Record FA Cup victory: 8–0 vs. Enfield, FA Cup First Round, 28 November 1931[19]
• Record Welsh Cup victory: 16–0 vs. Knighton Town, Welsh Cup Fifth Round, 28 January 1961[16]
• Record defeat: 2–11 vs. Sheffield United, 1 January 1926[10]

Season records

• Most wins in a season: 30 in 42 games, 1946–47[11]
• Most defeats in a season: 27 in 42 games, 1933–34[11]
• Most draws in a season: 23 in 46 games, 1997–98[lower-alpha 2]
• Most goals scored in one season: 95, Third Division, 2000–01[11]
• Most goals conceded in one season: 105, Third Division South, 1933–34[21]

Attendance records

• Record ground attendance: 62,634, Wales vs. England, 17 October 1959 at Ninian Park[10]
• Club record attendance: 57,893 vs. Arsenal, 22 April 1953[lower-alpha 3]
• At Cardiff City Stadium: 33,082 vs. Liverpool, 21 April 2019[24]

Player appearance records

Aaron Ramsey is the youngest player in the club's history.

• Youngest player: Aaron Ramsey – 16 years 126 days vs. Hull City – 28 April 2007[25]
• Oldest player: George Latham – 41 years 1 day vs. Blackburn Rovers – 2 January 1922[10][26]

Most appearances

Competitive matches only, appearances as substitute in brackets and included in totals.[lower-alpha 4]

No.	Name	Years	League[lower-alpha 5]	FA Cup	League Cup	Other[nb 1]	Total
1	Billy Hardy	1911–1931	497 (0)	56 (0)	0 (0)	37 (0)	590 (0)
2	Phil Dwyer	1972–1985	471 (5)	23 (0)	28 (0)	53 (0)	575 (5)
3	Don Murray	1962–1974	406 (0)	23 (0)	21 (0)	82 (0)	532 (0)
4	Tom Farquharson	1921–1934	445 (0)	34 (0)	0 (0)	39 (0)	518 (0)
5	Fred Keenor	1912–1930	432 (0)	42 (0)	0 (0)	33 (0)	507 (0)
6	Peter King	1960–1974	356 (5)	20 (0)	22 (0)	79 (1)	477 (6)
7	Peter Whittingham	2007–2017	413 (42)	18 (1)	19 (5)	7 (0)	457 (48)
8	Ron Stitfall	1947–1964	398 (0)	20 (0)	3 (0)	31 (0)	452 (0)
9	Jack Evans	1910–1926	354 (0)	42 (0)	0 (0)	28 (0)	424 (0)
10	Alan Harrington	1952–1966	348 (0)	14 (0)	11 (0)	32 (0)	405 (0)

1. The "Other" column constitutes goals and appearances (including those as a substitute) in the FA Charity Shield, the European Cup Winners' Cup, Welsh Cup, FAW Premier Cup, Football League Trophy and the Division Three South Cup.

Longest run of consecutive league appearances

Defender Don Murray holds the record for the longest unbroken spell of appearances for the club, playing in 146 consecutive matches between May 1968 and November 1971.[27]

No.	Player	Appearances	Dates
1	Don Murray	146	May 1968 – November 1971
2	Damon Searle	126	October 1990 – September 1993
3	David Carver	117	October 1968 – September 1971
4	Arthur Lever	114	August 1946 – March 1949
5	Roger Gibbins	108	August 1982 – December 1984

Player scoring records

• Most seasons as top goalscorer: Len Davies – 5, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1929–30[28]
• Most goals in one season: Robert Earnshaw – 35 (31 league, 4 cup) 2002–03[29]
• Most goals in one game: Derek Tapscott – 6 vs. Knighton Town, Welsh Cup, 28 January 1961[30]
• Most goals in a league fixture: 5[31]
  • Hughie Ferguson vs. Burnley, 1 September 1928
  • Walter Robbins vs. Thames, 6 February 1931
  • Jim Henderson vs. Northampton Town, 22 April 1933
• Fastest goal scored: Trevor Ford – 15 seconds vs. Charlton Athletic, 23 October 1954[32]
• Fastest hattrick: Alan Warboys – 10 minutes vs. Carlisle United, 6 March 1971[10]

All time leading goalscorers

Number of appearances in brackets

Figures correct as of end of 2018–19 season[lower-alpha 6]

No.	Name	Years	League[lower-alpha 7]	FA Cup	League Cup	Other[nb 1]	Total
1	Len Davies	1919–1931	128 (306)	19 (33)	0 (0)	31 (32)	179 (371)
2	Peter King	1960–1974	67 (356)	5 (20)	6 (22)	33 (79)	111 (477)
3	Robert Earnshaw	1997–2004 & 2011–2013	89 (193)	10 (14)	10(9)	0 (1)	109 (227)
4	Brian Clark	1967–1972 & 1975–1976	79 (204)	2 (13)	3 (9)	24 (42)	108 (268)
5	Carl Dale	1991–1998	71 (211)	6 (14)	5 (11)	21 (32)	103 (269)
6	Derek Tapscott	1958–1965	79 (194)	2 (9)	3 (5)	18 (25)	102 (234)
7	Jimmy Gill	1920–1925	82 (184)	12 (28)	0 (0)	7 (8)	101 (220)
8	John Toshack	1966–1970	74 (162)	1 (6)	1 (6)	24 (34)	100 (208)
9	Peter Whittingham	2007–2017	85 (413)	4 (18)	5 (19)	2 (7)	96 (457)
10	Hughie Ferguson	1925–1929	77 (117)	9 (13)	0 (0)	6 (9)	92 (139)

1. The "Other" column constitutes goals and appearances (including those as a substitute) in the FA Charity Shield, the European Cup Winners' Cup, Welsh Cup, FAW Premier Cup, Football League Trophy and the Division Three South Cup.

Progressive season scoring record

Robert Earnshaw holds the record for most goals scored in a single season

Richard Peake scored 19 goals in Cardiff's first season in the Southern Football League. This list charts the top scoring season record for the club on the occasions it has been beaten or equalled.[13][31]

Season	League	All matches
1910–11	Richard Peake (17)	Richard Peake (19)
1920–21	Jimmy Gill (19)	Jimmy Gill (20)
1921–22	Jimmy Gill (21)	Len Davies (30)
1923–24	Len Davies (23)
1926–27	Hughie Ferguson (26)	Hughie Ferguson (32)
1931–32	Jimmy McCambridge (26)
1946–47	Stan Richards (30)
2002–03	Robert Earnshaw (31)	Robert Earnshaw (35)

International records

• Most capped player: Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland) – 62[10][33]
• First international cap: Jack Evans for Wales vs. Ireland 1912[34]
• Youngest player to gain international cap: Chris Gunter (Wales) 16 years 299 days vs. New Zealand – 26 May 2007[35]

Manager records

• First manager: Davy McDougall, August 1910[36]
• Longest serving manager (time and games): Fred Stewart, May 1911 to May 1933 (22 years and 605 games)[37]

Transfers

• First player signed: Jack Evans, 1910 from Cwmparc.[3]

Record transfer fees paid

Michael Chopra, sold to Sunderland in July 2007 for £5 million, was the most expensive sale by the club at the time, and later became the most expensive signing on his return in July 2009.[38]

No.	Name	Fee	Paid to	Date	Ref.
1	Emiliano Sala[lower-alpha 8]	£15m	Nantes	19 January 2019	[40]
2=	Gary Medel	£11m	Sevilla	10 August 2013	[41]
2=	Josh Murphy	£11m	Norwich City	12 June 2018	[42]
4	Bobby Reid	£10m	Bristol City	28 June 2018	[43]
5	Steven Caulker	£8m	Tottenham Hotspur	31 July 2013	[44]

Record transfer fees received

No.	Name	Fee	Paid by	Date	Ref.
1	Gary Medel	£10m	Inter Milan	9 August 2014	[45]
2	Steven Caulker	£8.5m	Queens Park Rangers	22 July 2014	[46]
3	Jordon Mutch	£6m	Queens Park Rangers	5 August 2014	[47]
4=	Michael Chopra	£5m	Sunderland	13 July 2007	[48]
4=	Roger Johnson	£5m	Birmingham City	25 June 2009	[49]

Notes

1. The competition was known as the FAW Invitation Cup during the 1997–98 season.[12]
2. Joint Football League record[20]
3. A match against Swansea Town on 27 August 1949 sold 60,855 tickets prior to the match but only 57,510 attended the match.[22][23]
4. Appearances sourced from Hayes (2006), Shepherd (2002) and Grandin (2010) to dates of publication. From 2010 onwards, appearances are sourced from Soccerbase.
5. League appearances between 1910 and 1920 were made in the Southern Football League, appearances from 1920 onward were made in the Football League.
6. Goals sourced from Hayes (2006), Shepherd (2002) and Grandin (2010) to dates of publication. From 2010 onwards, goals are sourced from Soccerbase.
7. Goals scored between 1910 and 1920 were scored in the Southern Football League, goals scored from 1920 onward were scored in the Football League.
8. Sala was killed in a plane crash days after signing for the club and never played a match for Cardiff.[39]

References

Bibliography

• Grandin, Terry (2010). Cardiff City 100 Years of Professional Football. Vertical Editions. ISBN 978-1-904091-45-5.
• Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-462-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Lloyd, Grahame (1999). C'mon City! A Hundred Years of the Bluebirds. Seren. ISBN 978-1-85411-271-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Shepherd, Richard (2002). The Definitive: Cardiff City F.C. SoccerData Publications. ISBN 978-1-899468-17-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Shepherd, Richard (2007). The Cardiff City Miscellany. Pitch books. ISBN 978-1-905411-04-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Stead, Phil (2013). Red Dragons – The Story of Welsh Football. Ceredigion: Y Llofa. ISBN 978-1-84771-468-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Specific

1. "Football Club History Database – Cardiff City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
2. Lloyd 1999, p. 24
3. Shepherd, Richard (19 March 2013). "1899–1920 Foundations & The Early Years". Cardiff City F.C. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
4. Stead 2013, p. 83
5. Shepherd 2002, p. 16
6. "Happy anniversary: Cardiff City celebrate 86 years since their 1927 FA Cup win". WalesOnline. Media Wales. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
7. "Portsmouth 1–0 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 17 May 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
8. Stokkermans, Karel. "Wales - List of Cup Finals". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
9. "Cardiff City Football Club Honours". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
10. "Club Records". Cardiff City F.C. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
11. Shepherd 2002, p. 3
12. Shepherd 2002, p. 97
13. Shepherd 2002, p. 14
14. Shepherd 2002, p. 22
15. Steinberg, Jacob (17 August 2013). The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/17/west-ham-united-cardiff-city-premier-league. Retrieved 17 January 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
16. Shepherd 2002, p. 60
17. "Welsh Cup year-by-year". Welsh Football Data Archive. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
18. Shepherd 2002, p. 64
19. Shepherd 2002, p. 3
20. Tucker, Steve (24 February 2015). "Meet the most 'average' Cardiff City team in history who still hold the dullest record in football". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
21. Shepherd 2002, p. 34
22. Shepherd 2007, p. 91
23. "Bluebirds average attendances". Cardiff City F.C. 8 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
24. Steel, Lewis (15 June 2019). "Cardiff City's Three Biggest Attendances in Recent History". footballleagueworld.co.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
25. "Jones hails record breaker Ramsey". BBC Sport. 30 April 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
26. Shepherd 2002, p. 22
27. Hayes 2006, p. 220
28. Shepherd 2002, pp. 21–29
29. "Robert Earnshaw returns to Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
30. Glanville, Brian (20 June 2008). "Obituary: Derek Tapscott". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
31. Hayes 2006, p. 221
32. Hayes 2006, pp. 66–67
33. Strack-Zimmerman, Benjamin. "Aron Gunnarsson". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
34. Hayes 2006, p. 218
35. Rodgers, Ian (4 March 2013). "The Greatest Welsh Team of the Premier League Era". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
36. Doran, Laura (13 May 2016). "Do you remember these Cardiff City managers who helped the Bluebirds fly?". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
37. "Manager history for Cardiff City". Soccerbase. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
38. "Cardiff City: Andreas Cornelius joins for club record fee". BBC Sport. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
39. "Emiliano Sala: Body identified as Cardiff City footballer". BBC News. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
40. Abbandonato, Paul (19 January 2019). "Cardiff City announce signing of goal ace Emiliano Sala in club record £15m deal". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
41. "Cardiff City sign Chile midfielder Gary Medel from Sevilla". BBC Sport. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
42. Coleman, Tom (8 February 2020). "Celtic plotting summer move for £11m Cardiff City winger Josh Murphy - reports". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
43. "Bobby Decordova-Reid: Fulham sign Cardiff City forward on permanent deal". BBC Sport. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
44. "Steven Caulker joins Cardiff from Tottenham for record fee". BBC Sport. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
45. "Cardiff City's Gary Medel joins club for £10m". BBC Sport. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
46. "Steven Caulker joins QPR from Cardiff on a four-year deal". BBC Sport. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
47. "Cardiff midfielder completes £6m QPR move". BBC Sport. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
48. "Chopra's fond farewell to Cardiff". BBC Sport. 14 July 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
49. "Johnson completes Birmingham move". BBC Sport. 25 June 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2009.