The 1929–30 season was the 29th season of competitive football played by Cardiff City F.C. and the team's first year in the Second Division of the Football League since being relegated from the First Division the previous year. They finished in eighth position overall and the season saw several first team players sold to raise funds to cover a drop in attendance figures following relegation. The season also held the first South Wales derby in the Football League between Cardiff and Swansea Town.
In the FA Cup, Cardiff achieved an upset by defeating First Division Liverpool in the third round at Anfield. However, they were unable to repeat the feat in the following round and were eliminated by Sunderland. In the Welsh Cup, Cardiff reached the final for the fourth consecutive season. They recorded a goalless draw with Rhyl, necessitating a replay. However, this was not played until October 1930 with Cardiff winning 4–2.
William Roberts was the Cardiff player with the most appearances during the campaign, playing 46 times in all competitions. Len Davies was the club's top goalscorer in all competitions with 15 goals. Ralph Williams was Cardiff's highest scorer in the league, scoring 11 times despite only joining the club midway through the season.
Background Cardiff City played in the Football League Second Division in the 1929–30 season, having been relegated from the First Division the previous year. It was the team's first season in the second tier of English football since their inaugural campaign in the Football League in 1920. The club had suffered relegation after finishing bottom of the First Division, despite conceding the fewest goals in the league. However, this record was offset by the club's ineffective offense which also scored the lowest number of goals in the division.
Ahead of the new season, manager Fred Stewart was provided with a small fund to sign new players. Albert Valentine and Don Bird were signed from non-League, Paddy Moore arrived from Irish side Shamrock Rovers and Wilfred Lievesley was signed from Wigan Borough. However, to raise funds Hughie Ferguson, the club's record signing and top goalscorer for the previous three seasons, was sold to Dundee. Two other members of the team's 1927 FA Cup Final winning side, Tom Sloan and Tom Watson also departed the club. Both players had missed most of the previous season with injury and returned to their native Ireland with Linfield. Frank Moss left the club and never returned to professional football while Tommy Hampson was also allowed to join Notts County.
Second Division August–December Cardiff started the season against Charlton Athletic on 31 August 1929, but early optimism of a quick return to the First Division was dented as they suffered a 4–1 defeat. The Times noted that the result indicated that the gap in quality between the divisions was smaller than expected. With Ferguson gone and Len Davies dropped from the side, Cardiff began the season with new signing Valentine and highly rated teenager Walter Robbins leading their attack. The latter started the campaign well, scoring his side's goal in the opening day defeat to Charlton before adding a brace in a 2–0 win over Preston North End two days later at Ninian Park. Valentine played only one further game for the club, a 1–0 defeat to Hull City on 7 September, before being replaced by Davies. The club's fans, already disenchanted by their side's relegation, grew increasingly frustrated with Cardiff's poor form. The team's captain, Fred Keenor, was a target of their ire after the defeat to Hull and was so badly affected by the barracking that he contemplated retirement.
Cardiff's finances were also being badly affected by the relegation, with crowd numbers falling drastically. The Football Express wrote that there was "a remarkable drop in gate receipts" and that the club had taken around £500 less from the opening home matches than the corresponding two games in the First Division the previous year. Their form proved to be erratic in the early stages of the campaign following this. Draws with Stoke and Wolverhampton Wanderers and a 3–1 victory over Notts County were followed by a defeat to the latter in the reverse fixture on 25 September. Three days later, the side ended the month by defeating Bradford City by a single goal, Fred Warren's fourth of the season. The opening match of October was a meeting with local rivals Swansea Town. As the first South Wales derby to be played in the Football League, and the first league meeting between the sides since 1920, the match attracted significant interest and a season high crowd at Ninian Park of 29,093 attended the fixture which ended in a goalless draw. Despite the lack of goalscoring, the crowd gave both sets of supporters a standing ovation as they left the field at the end of the game.
Goalscoring proved an increasing issue for the side; in their next three fixtures Cardiff scored only once, Francis Harris adding his third goal of the season during a 1–0 victory over Barnsley on 19 October. Either side of the win, they suffered defeats, first against Blackpool and later Bradford Park Avenue. This prompted Stewart to make several changes to his side, with George McLachlan, Albert Miles and Billy Thirlaway all restored to the starting line-up. The trio all made an impact as Cardiff defeated West Bromwich Albion 3–2 on 2 November, with Miles and Thirlaway scoring either side of Len Davies. Miles scored again a week later, during a 2–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, as Cardiff recorded consecutive victories for the first time during the campaign. He opened the scoring before Matt Robinson scored the winning goal with his first for the club. Their winning form extended to a third match, a 5–2 victory over Southampton in which Thirlaway scored a hat-trick at Ninian Park, before a defeat to Millwall broke the streak by recording a 2–0 win on 28 November.
Miles added his own hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Oldham Athletic on 30 November with McLachlan and Thirlaway also scoring. McLachlan scored again a week later in a 3–1 defeat to Nottingham Forest, however this proved to be his last for the club. After playing in a 1–0 win over Chelsea, Cardiff received an offer for his services from Manchester United and, with falling attendances continuing to drain the club's finances, eventually accepted. Warren took his place for the following match but, despite scoring, he was unable to stop his side falling to a 4–2 defeat to Bury. Cardiff won only one further match before the end of the calendar year, securing a point in two games against Bristol City, before finishing December by beating Charlton 1–0 to end 1929 in fifth place.
January–May Cardiff began 1930 with a 2–2 draw against Hull with goals from Davies and Jimmy Munro, the latter's only goal of the campaign. Four days later, news reached the club of the sudden death of Ferguson, Cardiff's top goalscorer for the past three seasons who had been sold to Dundee ahead of the season. The forward had lost form and suffered from injuries since his departure and had struggled to deal with the barracking of supporters. After a training session, he returned to the ground where he committed suicide.
With FA Cup commitments, the side played only one further league match in January, losing 2–1 to Stoke. This defeat left Cardiff nine points behind second placed Blackpool by the end of January. With their hopes of promotion fading, the board sanctioned further sales to raise funds with a triple transfer involving John Jennings, Joe Hillier and Warren all moving to Middlesbrough for a combined fee of £8,000. Stewart was afforded a small portion of the money and signed Ralph Williams from non-League side Colwyn Bay for £800. The new signing made his debut in the club's following game as they lost 1–0 to Bradford City.
The second South Wales derby of the season was held on 8 February as Swansea, who were bottom of the Second Division at the time, recorded a 1–0 win. The match also saw the debut of 17-year-old Leslie Jones for Cardiff who would keep his place for the remainder of the season. He helped the side to their first win since December on 15 February, defeating Blackpool 4–2 at Ninian Park. Both Williams and George Blackburn scored their first goals for the club during the tie. The fixture proved to be the start of a seven match unbeaten run for the side that continued with a 2–2 draw against Barnsley on 22 February with Williams scoring a brace. Three victories were secured at the start of match: consecutive 2–0 wins over Bradford Park Avenue and West Brom were followed by a 1–0 victory over Tottenham. The unbeaten run continued to the end of March with two more fixtures; Williams adding a further three goals during a victory over Millwall and a draw with Southampton.
Their unbeaten run came to an end on 5 April with a 4–1 loss to league leaders Oldham. Cardiff's form deteriorated in April; after a 1–1 draw with Nottingham Forest, they lost three of their next four games and failed to score in each defeat. Their only win was a 2–1 victory over Reading with goals from Williams and Davies. In the final game of the season, Williams added a hat-trick in a 5–1 win over Bury. Cardiff finished the season in eighth position, 11 points behind the last promotion place.
Partial league table
Match results Key
In result column, Cardiff City's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match
pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal
Results DateOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance 31 August 1929 Charlton Athletic (A) 1–4 Robbins 24,173 2 September 1929 Preston North End (H) 2–0 Robbins (2) 13,510 7 September 1929 Hull City (A) 0–1 12,664 9 September 1929 Preston North End (A) 3–2 Matson, Warren, Harris 5,963 14 September 1929 Stoke (A) 1–1 Davies 19,065 16 September 1929 Notts County (H) 3–1 Harris, Matson, Warren 13,510 21 September 1929 Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) 0–0 13,314 25 September 1929 Notts County (A) 1–2 Warren 7,778 28 September 1929 Bradford City (A) 1–0 Warren 18,886 5 October 1929 Swansea Town (H) 0–0 29,093 12 October 1929 Blackpool (A) 0–3 15,900 19 October 1929 Barnsley (H) 1–0 Harris 12,058 26 October 1929 Bradford Park Avenue (A) 0–2 18,455 2 November 1929 West Bromwich Albion (H) 3–2 Davies, Miles, Thirlaway 11,916 9 November 1929 Tottenham Hotspur (A) 2–1 Miles, Robinson 23,071 16 November 1929 Southampton (H) 5–2 Roberts, Davies, Thirlaway 10,969 23 November 1929 Millwall (A) 0–2 14,208 30 November 1929 Oldham Athletic (H) 5–0 McLachlan, Miles (3), Thirlaway 12,112 7 December 1929 Nottingham Forest (A) 1–3 McLachlan 4,385 14 December 1929 Chelsea (H) 1–0 Davies 10,536 21 December 1929 Bury (A) 2–4 Thirlaway, Warren 9,249 25 December 1929 Bristol City (A) 0–2 17,140 26 December 1929 Bristol City (H) 1–1 Wake 25,244 28 December 1929 Charlton Athletic (H) 1–0 Miles 5,793 4 January 1930 Hull City (A) 2–2 Davies, Munro 11,695 18 January 1930 Stoke (H) 1–2 Robinson 13,888 1 February 1930 Bradford City (H) 0–1 8,287 8 February 1930 Swansea Town (A) 0–1 22,121 15 February 1930 Blackpool (H) 4–2 Williams, Blackburn, Davies, Harris 12,730 22 February 1930 Barnsley (A) 2–2 Williams (2) 7,345 1 March 1930 Bradford Park Avenue (H) 2–0 Williams, Jones 11,442 8 March 1930 West Bromwich Albion (A) 2–0 Robbins, Harris 15,310 15 March 1930 Tottenham Hotspur (H) 1–0 Jones 15,404 22 March 1930 Southampton (A) 1–1 Williams 13,725 29 March 1930 Millwall (H) 3–1 Williams (2), Jones 12,219 5 April 1930 Oldham Athletic (A) 1–4 Robbins 18,596 12 April 1930 Nottingham Forest (H) 1–1 Davies 9,328 14 April 1930 Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) 0–4 5,210 18 April 1930 Reading (H) 2–1 Williams, Davies 12,656 19 April 1930 Chelsea (A) 0–1 23,100 21 April 1930 Reading (A) 0–2 18,112 26 April 1930 Bury (H) 5–1 Williams (3), Bird, Davies 7,136
Cup matches FA Cup