The 2008–09 season was Cardiff City's sixth consecutive year playing in the Football League Championship and their 82nd season playing in The Football League. It was also the club's final season playing at Ninian Park, their home ground since they had entered The Football League in 1920.
Season review
Events 9 September 2008 – Peter Ridsdale and the board of directors attend a "Topping Off" ceremony at the club's new stadium. 26 August 2008 – Ninian Park hold its last League Cup match in a 2–1 win against Milton Keynes Dons. 6 November 2009 – Dave Jones receives October manager of the month. 25 January 2009 – Ninian Park hold its last FA Cup match in a 0–0 draw against Arsenal. 25 April 2009 – Ninian Park holds its last league game, a 3–0 loss against Ipswich Town.
Pre-season
Cardiff began their pre-season schedule with matches against Welsh sides Merthyr Tydfil and Carmarthen Town, with squads made up of first team players and youth players. Goals from Steve Thompson, Jon Brown and youth player Sol Taylor saw a 3–1 win over Merthyr and a hat-trick from Paul Parry along with one from Rhys Kelleher and an own goal saw the other match end in a 5–0 win for Cardiff. Several days later, Cardiff flew out to Portugal to take part in the Algarve Cup, along with Middlesbrough, Celtic and Vitória de Guimarães. Before the tournament they played a warm-up match against Portuguese side Vitoria de Setubal which ended in a 1–1 draw.
Their Algarve Cup tournament began with a match against Vitória de Guimarães, coming away with a 2–0 win with both goals being scored by summer signing Ross McCormack. In the second and final game of the tournament they overcame Scottish Premier League champions Celtic 1–0 with Joe Ledley scoring the only goal as Cardiff came away as the tournament winners. Returning to Britain, they played out a 1–1 draw with Swindon Town followed by a 0–0 draw with Dutch side Ajax in their first home pre-season tie. They finished their pre-season schedule with a friendly against Chasetown with a team made up of senior and youth players. The match finished 2–2 with goals from Paul Parry and trialist Wilson Oruma.
League
Cardiff opened their season with a home tie against Southampton, the first time they had been handed a home tie on the opening day of the season for eleven years, and went on to win 2–1 after a last minute winner by Roger Johnson. Propelled by the goals of summer signing Ross McCormack, Cardiff did not suffer a defeat until their ninth league game of the season when they lost 2–1 to Birmingham City, but they bounced back quickly with a 2–1 win over Coventry City three days later and the sides form through October, three wins and two draws, saw manager Dave Jones awarded the manager of the month award.
A slump in form saw three defeats in the next four games but despite the loss of form the side remained in the play-off zone. During the poor spell, former player Michael Chopra returned on loan just over a year after leaving the club in a club record £5m sale to Sunderland, converting a penalty on his debut in a 2–1 win over Crystal Palace on 15 November. On 22 November, the second South Wales derby of the season took place, after an earlier meeting in the League Cup, with the match ending in a 2–2 draw with both sides being reduced to ten men due to red cards for Stephen McPhail and Darren Pratley. The match was the second of what would become a three-month unbeaten spell which took the side through to the end of February without defeat until they lost 1–0 to Southampton, a run which saw Cardiff rise to 4th place in the table.
The following game saw Cardiff win 3–1 against Barnsley, the first time in the season they had scored more than two goals in a single game. They went on to win 3 of their 6 matches in March before meeting local rivals Swansea City for the third time during the season on 5 April. The match ended in a 2–2 draw but was overshadowed by referee Mike Dean being struck by a coin thrown from the crowd. The incident was condemned by chairman Peter Ridsdale and manager Dave Jones after the match. Three consecutive wins for the side meant that with 4 games remaining they needed two points to secure a play-off place but they only managed one point during the final four games, in a 2–2 draw with Charlton Athletic, which would lead to them finishing in seventh place, missing out on a play-off spot to Preston North End on goals scored.
Final league standings
Player presentations As part of the celebrations of the club's final year at Ninian Park former players and staff of the club were presented to the crowd at half-time during various home matches throughout the season. At the end of the season all the players were invited back for the final game at the ground against Ipswich Town. The date, opponent and people presented were: 9 August 2008 – Southampton – Colin Baker and Alan Harrington 23 August 2008 – Norwich City – Don Murray and Bobby Woodruff 18 October 2008 – Charlton Athletic – Phil Dwyer and Richie Morgan 1 November 2008 – Wolverhampton Wanderers – Jeff Hemmerman and Chris Pike 15 November 2008 – Crystal Palace – Eddie May and Keith Pontin 20 December 2008 – Sheffield Wednesday – Carl DaleA second player was due to appear but pulled out due to illness 5 April 2009 – Swansea City – John Williams 13 April 2009 – Burnley – David Carver and Derek Showers
League Cup
Cardiff began their League cup campaign away to League Two side Bournemouth, coming away with a 2–1 win with both goals scored by Paul Parry in the opening twelve minutes of the match. After coming through the second round with a 2–1 home win over Milton Keynes Dons, Cardiff were handed a third round tie against local rivals Swansea City in the first South Wales derby to take place in nine years. A heated encounter saw Swansea come away with a 1–0 after a deflected free-kick, with Cardiff being reduced to ten men after Stephen McPhail saw red for two bookable offences. After the match fans from both clubs clashed with police.
FA Cup
Entering the competition in the third round, Cardiff's first match in the FA Cup came up against fellow Championship side Reading, with goals from Ross McCormack and Joe Ledley putting Cardiff through to the next round with a 2–0 win. In the fourth round Cardiff were handed a lucrative home tie against Premier League side Arsenal. The match, taking place in a packed Ninian Park, finished in a 0–0 draw. The replay, which was originally set to be played on 3 February but was postponed due to heavy snowfall, took place on 16 February, ending in a 4–0 win for Arsenal.
Kits
Squad at end of season
Detailed Overview No.NamePlace of birthDate of birthClub apps.Club goalsInt. capsInt. goalsPrevious clubDate joinedFeeEnd11Peter EnckelmanTurku10 March 1977200120Blackburn Rovers18 July 2008Free20102Kevin McNaughtonDundee28 August 198287340Aberdeen26 May 2006Free20113Tony CapaldiPorsgrunn12 August 1981540210Plymouth Argyle25 May 2007Free20104Gavin RaeAberdeen28 November 1977554140Rangers23 June 2007Free20105Darren PurseStepney14 February 19779912 – –West Bromwich Albion28 July 2005£1,000,00020096Gábor GyepesBudapest26 June 1981 – –231Northampton Town19 August 2008£200,00020137Peter WhittinghamNuneaton8 September 19847013 – –Aston Villa11 January 2007£350,00020118Jay BothroydLondon5 May 1982 – – – –Wolverhampton Wanderers4 August 2008£350,00020119Eddie JohnsonBunnell31 March 1984 – –4212Fulham22 August 2008Loan200910Stephen McPhailLondon9 December 1979973101Barnsley13 June 2006Free201111Paul ParryChepstow19 August 198016823121Hereford United9 January 2004£75,000201112Roger JohnsonAshford28 April 1987859 – –Wycombe Wanderers4 July 2006£275,000201213Tom HeatonChester15 April 1986 – – – –Manchester United23 May 2008Loan200914Quincy Owusu-AbeyieAmsterdam15 April 1986 – –51Spartak Moscow31 January 2009Loan200915Miguel CommingesLes Abymes16 March 1982 – –50Swindon Town1 May 2007Free201016Joe LedleyCardiff23 January 198717421161N/A1 June 2004Trainee201017Darren DennehyCounty Kerry21 September 1988 – – – –Everton28 June 2008Free201018Michael ChopraNewcastle upon Tyne23 December 19834422 – –Sunderland6 November 2008Loan200919Riccardo ScimecaLeamington Spa13 June 1975666 – –West Bromwich Albion13 January 2006Free200920Stuart TaylorRomford28 November 1980 – – – –Aston Villa13 March 2009Loan200921Mark KennedyDublin15 May 1976 – –344Crystal Palace10 July 2008Free201022Dimitrios KonstantopoulosThessaloniki29 November 1978 – – – –Coventry City9 February 2009Loan200923Darcy BlakeNew Tredegar13 December 1988270 – –N/A8 November 2006Trainee201125Erwin SakLublin15 February 1990 – – – –Sokół Pniewy19 February 2008Free200926Jonathan BrownBridgend17 April 199041 – –N/A1 June 2007Trainee200929Chris BurkeGlasgow2 December 1983 – –22Rangers9 January 2009Free201131Adam MatthewsSwansea13 January 1992 – – – –N/A14 January 2009Trainee201132Aaron MorrisCardiff30 December 198920 – –N/A1 June 2007Trainee201044Ross McCormackGlasgow18 August 1986 – –10Motherwell28 June 2008£110,0002010
Squad statistics
* Indicates player left club during the season.
Disciplinary record +NumberPosPlayer 4 MF Gavin Rae 6 0 8 FW Jay Bothroyd 5 0 15 DF Miguel Comminges 4 1 12 DF Roger Johnson 4 0 16 MF Joe Ledley 3 0 10 MF Stephen McPhail 2 2 6 DF Gábor Gyepes 2 1 44 FW Ross McCormack 2 1 5 DF Darren Purse 2 1 18 FW Michael Chopra 2 0 21 MF Mark Kennedy 2 0 2 DF Kevin McNaughton 2 0 14 MF Wayne Routledge 2 0 7 MF Peter Whittingham 2 0 9 FW Eddie Johnson 1 0 6 DF Glenn Loovens 1 0
Contracts
Transfers
In
Loans in
Outs
Loans Out
Fixtures & results
Results by round
Pre-season friendlies +DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 12 Jul Merthyr Tydfil(Southern Premier Division) A W 3 – 1 – Brown, Thompson, Taylor 12 Jul Carmarthen Town(Welsh Premier League) A W 5 – 0 – Parry (3), Kelleher, OG 19 Jul Vitoria de Setubal(Portuguese Liga) A D 1 – 1 – Thompson 22 Jul Vitória de Guimarães(Portuguese Liga) A W 2 – 1 – McCormack (2) 24 Jul Celtic(Scottish Premier League) N W 1 – 0 – Ledley 29 Jul Swindon Town(Football League One) A D 1 – 1 – Parry 1 Aug Ajax(Dutch Eredivisie) H D 0 – 0 – 5 Aug Chasetown(Southern Football League Division One Midlands) A D 2 – 2 – Parry, Oruma
Championship
League Cup
FA Cup
Overall summary
Games Played 52 (46 Championship, 3 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)Games Won 24 (19 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)Games Drawn 18 (17 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)Games Lost 12 (10 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)Goals Scored 71 (65 Championship, 4 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)Goals conceded 60 (53 Championship, 3 FA Cup, 4 League Cup)Goal Difference +11Clean Sheets 15 (14 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)Yellow Cards 42Red Cards 5 (4 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)Worst Discipline Gavin Rae (6 0 )Best Result 4–1 vs Derby CountyWorst Result 0–6 vs Preston North EndMost Appearances Roger Johnson, 51 (45 Championship, 3 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)Top Scorer Ross McCormack, 23 (21 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)Points 74 / 132 (56.06%)
League Score Overview OppositionHome ScoreAway ScoreDoubleBarnsley3–11–0Birmingham City1–21–1Blackpool2–01–1Bristol City0–01–1Burnley3–12–2Charlton Athletic2–02–2Coventry City2–12–0Crystal Palace2–12–0Derby County4–11–1Doncaster Rovers3–01–1Ipswich Town0–32–1Norwich City0–22–2Nottingham Forest2–01–0Plymouth Argyle1–01–2Preston North End2–00–6Queens Park Rangers0–00–1Reading2–21–1Sheffield United0–30–0Sheffield Wednesday2–00–1Southampton2–10–1Swansea City2–22–2Watford2–12–2Wolverhampton Wanderers1–22–2
Backroom staff Manager: Dave Jones Assistant manager: Terry Burton Reserve team manager: Paul Wilkinson Club doctor: Dr Leonard Noakes Club physio: Sean Connelly Fitness coach: Alex Armstrong Goalkeeping coach: Martyn Margetson Kit manager: Ian Lanning Performance analyst: Enda Barron Masseur: Steffan Burnett Academy manager: Neal Ardley
Awards
Team Algarve Cup – Winners