The Seventies to the Noughties
A sign of the sad times both on and off the pitch was the transfer of Leighton Phillips to Aston Villa.
City were in the Cup Winners cup once again and due to meet crack Hungarian side, Ferencvaros. Terms were agreed with Villa, and Phillips, who had joined City as a 15-yr-old, was withdrawn from the party flying to Hungary for the first leg. Supporters were understandably upset and only 4,228 were at Ninian Park for the return leg which the Hungarians won 4-0.
Andrews signed the Spurs and former Welsh international skipper Mike England on a free transfer and Doug Livermore came to the club from Norwich City for an £18,000 fee.
In October 1975, Australian World Cup striker Adrian Alston arrived, via Luton Town, and these new recruits were influential in taking City into a promotion position.
A crowd of 35,549 packed into Ninian Park to see champions-elect Hereford United beaten 2-0 by the Bluebirds thanks to goals from Livermore and Alan Campbell. The win meant promotion back to Division Two at the first attempt, but elation was tempered with the news that England had left the club after not being given the coaching post promised.
Kenton Utilities bought out Goldstone but there was very little money available for Andrews and two unproductive seasons followed. When Alston left to go and play in America, Andrews was given permission to sign Robin Friday from Reading. After scoring two goals on his debut against Fulham in January 1977, Friday's form deserted him and he went missing on a number of occasions. After just 20 league appearances his contract was cancelled.
In September 1977, City set an all-time low for an attendance at a home Cup Winners Cup match when only 3,631 turned up to watch FK Austria Memphis draw 0-0 in a first round match.
The new chairman, Newcastle-based Bob Grogan , felt that a change at the top was necessary and in November 1978 he dismissed Andrews and installed Richie Morgan as caretaker/manager. The 34-yr-old had been at Ninian Park all his career and was on the club's commercial staff.
The players responded so well to the new regime that City finished in ninth place, their highest position for seven seasons. Average attendances had plummeted to 6,500 and in order to increase the use of the facilities and raise further income, the board allowed Cardiff Blue Dragons RL to use Ninian Park. Grogan had by now appointed Ron Jones as general manager and it was his job to run the club with particular attention to the financial side of the business.
To add to their woes, Cardiff City were not re-elected to the Football Combination and they withdrew their third team from the Welsh League, effectively losing all fixtures for reserves or youth players. Crowds dipped below 4,000 and in November 1981 Morgan was relieved of his duties as manager and the former West Bromwich Albion and Wales full back Graham Williams was appointed as coach. Williams would later become Bobby Gould's assistant with the Welsh international side. After a total of only 11 league matches, nine of which were defeats, both Williams and Morgan were dismissed.
Len Ashurst took over in March 1982 but he was unable to stop the rot and City went back to Division Three at the end of that season after failing to win their final match against champions Luton Town.During the summer Ashurst recruited Jimmy Goodfellow, his former assistant at Newport County, as trainer-coach and he also made a number of changes to the playing staff. In came a number of free transfer players including Roger Gibbins from Cambridge United, Jeff Hemmerman from Portsmouth, and Paul Bodin from Newport County.
It was in September 1982 that City's "record" transfer deal took place. They signed Godfrey Ingram from San Jose Earthquakes for a reputed £200,000, but as he departed back to that club for the same money only nine weeks later it has often been suggested that no money ever changed hands.
City's small squad were tested to the limit but with Dave Bennett outstanding down the wing and Hemmerman banging in the goals they kept in the promotion hunt. Young keeper Andy Dibble suffered a serious injury against Bradford City leading to no less than five custodians being used throughout the season. The Bluebirds struck a bad patch winning only twice in 10 games with one of those matches at Somerton Park against a buoyant Newport County. John Aldridge struck the only goal of the game to send County to the top of Division Three and leave City hanging on to fourth spot. In May, however, 11,480 fans were at Ninian Park to watch Cardiff beat Orient 2-0 with goals from John Lewis and Bennett to send City up as runners-up to Portsmouth. The Bluebirds had lost only one match at home all season yet could still only attract an average crowd of 7,500 which was not enough to maintain the momentum. Ashurst left Cardiff for Sunderland in March, 1984 and Ron Jones appointed Jimmy Goodfellow and Jimmy Mullen in a dual role. With the club deep in debt and with no money to bring in fresh players the signs were ominous.
On a brighter note, long-serving Phil Dwyer passed Tom Farquharson's league appearance record of 445 matches. He also earned 10 Welsh caps during his 14-year stay at Cardiff City.
There was plenty of transfer activity at Ninian Park but it was mostly one way as Dibble, Gary Bennett and leading scorer Gordon Owen all departed. Coming in to the club was Mike Ford, who made his debut at Leeds in December 1984 and also former England star Gerry Francis who played in seven of the early matches before going on to Portsmouth.
The Bluebirds equalled their worst ever start to a season with eight defeats from their first nine games. Goodfellow didn't even last until the end of September before being dismissed in favour of former City and Derby County inside forward, Alan Durban. Durban could do nothing to stop the downward spiral and relegation to Division Three was followed by the drop into the basement in 1985-86 with crowds now down to an average of 3,000.
The club was put up for sale by Kenton Utilities and they released control to Tony Clemo, Durban was sacked in May 1986, and later that same month Frank Burrows agreed to set about changing the fortunes of Cardiff City. He brought in Alan Curtis from Southampton and Graham Moseley from Brighton on free transfers and also convinced Jimmy Goodfellow to come back to the club as physiotherapist.
City remained inconsistent failing to win a home game for four months and Burrows switched his small squad continually. Chris Pike came in on loan from Fulham and Kevin Bartlett was signed from Fareham Town. There was also a debut at full back for 16-yr-old Jason Perry against Exeter City in March, but only 1,510 fans watched the final home game of the season when Hartlepool were beaten 4-0 leaving Cardiff a finish of 13th place in Division Four.
Jimmy Gilligan came to the club from Lincoln City in time for the 1987-88 season. Another newcomer was Phil Bater but he became the first City player to be sent off on his debut when dismissed at Wrexham.
Moseley sustained a broken arm against Peterborough United and after regaining fitness he was involved in a car accident which was to lead to his retirement. Several keepers were brought in on loan to cover his absence including George Wood from Crystal Palace.
Cardiff ended the season in style with five straight victories and promotion was gained in front of 10,125 ecstatic fans as the Bluebirds beat Crewe Alexandra 2-0.
They made it a double celebration by defeating Wrexham by the same scoreline to win the Welsh Cup and earn a return to European competition after an absence of 11 years.
Burrows realised the arduous task awaiting him in Division Three when Oxford United offered £150,000 for utility player, Mike Ford. The sum was readily accepted but the manager was told there would be no money to strengthen the side, though he was able to take veteran keeper Wood on a permanent basis.
The Gilligan and Bartlett partnership was soon blossoming, but in February 1989 the club sold Bartlett to West Bromwich Albion for £125,000. City finished in 16th position, only managing to score 14 goals away from home during the entire season.The Welsh Cup win brought a Cup Winners Cup draw against Derry City. City drew 0-0 in Ireland but won comfortably in the second leg with Gilligan grabbing a hat-trick. Danish side Aarhus were the second round opponents and they won 2-1 in Cardiff and 4-0 in the second leg.
1989-90 began in the usual way with players having to be sold to balance the books. Terry Boyle, Nicky Platnauer, Paul Wimbleton and Ian Walsh all left the club while Chris Pike finally joined from Fulham on a free transfer.After two defeats in the opening two games, Burrows accepted an offer to become assistant to John Gregory at Portsmouth. Chairman Clemo turned to Len Ashurst who came back for a second spell at Ninian Park. He brought in Cohen Griffith from Kettering, and keeper Gavin Ward but could do nothing when Portsmouth came in with a £215,000 bid for striker Gilligan which was immediately accepted. A miserable year with eight home defeats eventually ended in relegation back to Division Four. Ashurst lasted one more season of football in the basement before tendering his resignation.
It was at this time that Rick Wright was unveiled as the financial benefactor who had wiped out much of City's debts. With young Welsh players such as Jason Perry, Damon Searle and Nathan Blake making their way into the side, the future began to look a little brighter.
Wright became financial controller the following season and immediately began giving Ninian Park a long overdue facelift. He also introduced a number of innovative schemes which were good for the wellbeing of the club.
Eddie May was installed as club coach in full control of team affairs and he was given the cash to bring in a number of experienced players including Carl Dale from Chester and Paul Ramsey from Leicester City. Ramsey was made club captain and May set about the task of reviving City's fortunes. Derek Brazil joined the club from Manchester United after having a loan spell at Swansea, and although it was an average season in the league, the club won the Welsh Cup with victory over Hednesford Town at the National Stadium in front of 10,300 fans.
Austrian side Admira Wacker came to Ninian Park for the first leg of the Cup Winners Cup. They were coached by Siggi Held who played for Germany in the 1966 World Cup Final against England in 1966.The Austrians were technically superior and a 1-1 draw in the home leg was followed by a 2-0 defeat in Vienna. Robbie James was unable to play in the first leg as it was discovered at a late stage that he was banned after receiving two cautions when playing for Swansea City against Panathinaikos in 1989.
1992-93 was the season all City's fans had been waiting for as the club deservedly secured the Division Three championship. They also won the Welsh Cup for the second year running this time beating Rhyl 5-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Phil Stant. Rick Wright had signed Kevin Ratcliffe and his experience proved invaluable as City at last moved out of the bottom division.
Standard Liege were to be the last opponents for Cardiff in Europe, and although Tony Bird put City ahead just after half time in the away leg, the Belgians stormed back to win 5-2. A Robbie James goal was all City had to show at Ninian Park as Arie Haan's team won comfortably 3-1.
But all was not going well at Ninian Park after their promotion-winning season. No season tickets were put on sale with Wright claiming that he did not want to continue at the helm. He also had a public row with City favourite Phil Stant that was only resolved when fan power brought about Stant's return from a loan spell at Mansfield Town.
Players became restless and Ramsey and Ratcliffe were among those who left the club. City's only light relief came in an FA Cup run that saw them defeat Manchester City 1-0 in a game that was televised. Nathan Blake scored a superb goal that would ultimately lead to his departure from the club, and Mark Grew also played a full part in the win by saving a Keith Curle penalty. Blake was sold to Sheffield United in the week that Cardiff played Luton Town in the next round of the cup. Luton included teenage striker John Hartson in their line-up but a disputed goal gave the Hatters a 2-1 win.
City dropped back yet again into Division Four, and while Wright was attempting to sell Cardiff City to a consortium led by Jim Cadman, Terry Yorath was brought in by the prospective buyers to manage the club. When that bid failed, back came Eddie May for a short period before Samesh Kumar agreed a deal with Wright and took over as chairman of Cardiff City. He appointed Kenny Hibbitt as manager but it was not long before Hibbitt was moved to Director of Football and former Liverpool and England full back Phil Neal joined the club.
In Neal's first season in charge City finished third from bottom of Division Four with only Torquay United and Scarborough beneath them. They won only 11 matches and scored 41 goals in their 46 games during the season.Neal left Cardiff under a cloud to join Steve Coppell in an abortive attempt to change Manchester City's fortunes and Hibbitt returned as manager to be assisted by Russell Osman who had ended his career at Ninian Park as a non-contract player.
City suddenly found some form and with veteran Steve White leading the line , new signing Jeff Eckhardt solid in defence, and young striker Simon Haworth beginning to show his ability, the Bluebirds made it to the Division Four play-offs . Northampton Town won 1-0 at Ninian Park in front of 11,369 fans and 3-2 in the home leg to go through to Wembley where they beat Swansea City.Yet again inconsistency proved to be the case and the following season Cardiff ended up fourth from bottom. Before this happened there was another managerial change when Osman was relieved of his duties and Hibbitt once again took over the mantle of guiding City's fortunes. Kumar decided it was time for yet another change at the top and Frank Burrows left a coaching job at Premiership West Ham United to come back to the club he had left in 1989.
Burrows proved that he had lost none of his mastery of wheeling-and-dealing in the transfer market as he set about rekindling a club crying out for a little success. He was able to bring in new faces such as Richard Carpenter , Mark Bonner , and Mark Delaney, who signed from League of Wales side Carmarthen Town. They joined an experienced squad that included Jon Hallworth, Kevin Nugent and the highly promising Jason Fowler. Delaney became the third City player to be transferred to Aston Villa when he moved just before the March transfer deadline, but Burrows improved the squad still further by signing Andy Legg and Jason Bowen from Reading, together with Danny Hill a former loan player at Ninian Park when he was with Spurs.
1998-99 at last brought an end to football in the basement with City scraping into an automatic promotion spot after one time looking like champions.Kumar resigned as chairman at the end of the season and long-time City fan and director Steve Borley took over his duties to lead an enthusiastic board of directors. Unfortunately, the club were unable to hang on to their Division 2 status, suffering relegation at Gillingham on the penultimate game of the season.
Now in the year 2000, former Wimbledon owner Sam Hammam hopes to bring Premiership football to the Welsh Capital.Everything now looks well set for a continued improvement at the club both on and off the field. Cardiff City have had a chequered first 100 years, and with the help of the vast support that it can draw from surrounding areas, it may well be that the Bluebirds are at last returning to former glories.
