Cardiff City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club was founded in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C. by members of a local cricket team. The team played in Welsh amateur leagues until turning professional in 1910 and joining the Southern Football League. Ten years later, Cardiff were elected into The Football League.
The team was initially selected by a committee made up of the club's board members. Davy McDougall was the first manager in the club's history, being appointed in 1910 for the team's inaugural season in the Southern Football League. He was replaced after one season by Fred Stewart who oversaw the club's entry into The Football League and promotion to the First Division. Stewart also led the side to victories in the 1927 FA Cup Final and 1927 FA Charity Shield before stepping down in 1933. Billy McCandless was the first Cardiff manager to win a league title when he led his side to first place in the 1946–47 Third Division South.
In the 1960s, Cardiff entered European competition for the first time and manager Jimmy Scoular led the team to the semi-final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1968. The club experienced a downturn in fortunes in the late 1970s and 1980s, culminating in relegation to the Fourth Division under Alan Durban. A gradual improvement in the 1990s included both Frank Burrows and Eddie May achieving promotions during their tenures. Financial investment after 2000 saw the club reach the First Division under Lennie Lawrence before returning to the top tier of English football, the Premier League, for the first time in 52 years under Malky Mackay in 2012.
As of December 2025, there has been a total of 42 managers and 9 caretaker managers. Kenny Hibbitt has had the most spells at the club, taking the job on three occasions. Three managers, Len Ashurst, Eddie May, Cyril Spiers, have taken the job on two occasions. The longest serving and most successful manager is Fred Stewart who was in charge for 22 years, won seven cups and achieved promotion twice. Brian Barry-Murphy is the current manager of Cardiff as of 2 May 2026.
History
1899–1939 Founded in 1899, Cardiff City initially began playing in local amateur leagues, the Cardiff & District League and later the South Wales Amateur League. During this time, the team was chosen by the members of the club's board. The club turned professional in 1910 and joined the newly formed Second Division of the Southern Football League. The committee decided that the move required the appointment of a full-time manager to run the first team and hired Davy McDougall to become the first manager in the club's history. McDougall, who was still an active player at the time and was also the captain of the first team, led the side to a fourth-place finish during his first season. Despite this positive start, the club's board decided to look for a more experienced man to lead the team, hiring Stockport County manager Fred Stewart. He quickly overhauled the playing squad, retaining only four of the players he inherited from McDougall, and within two seasons he led the club to the First Division of the Southern League and its first Welsh Cup triumph. In 1920, Cardiff was elected to the Second Division of The Football League and Stewart led the team to second place, resulting in promotion to the First Division, becoming the first Welsh team to reach the top tier of English football.
Stewart established the club in the First Division with two top ten finishes before achieving second-place in the 1923–24 season, missing out on winning the title on goal average in the narrowest margin of victory in English professional football history. Stewart's Cardiff side became the first Welsh team to reach the final of the FA Cup the following season, losing the 1925 final 1–0 to Sheffield United. Two years later, he returned to the final with Cardiff where they defeated Arsenal in the 1927 final to become the only non-English team to win the competition. The club's proceeds from its cup victories were used on ground improvements which left Stewart with little funds to reinvest in the playing squad and, two years after the cup triumph, the side were relegated from the First Division. The club's decline continued with relegation to the Third Division South in 1932. When Stewart could only achieve a 19th-place finish in his first season in the bottom tier, he retired from his position to concentrate on his business interests.
Club founder Walter Bartley Wilson was chosen as Stewart's replacement but was unable to improve the team's fortunes and was replaced after less than a year in charge by Ben Watts-Jones. In an attempt to reinvigorate the playing squad, Watts-Jones brought in 17 new players ahead of his first full season and he was able to gradually improve on results. He remained in charge until April 1937 when he stepped down and was replaced by a member of his coaching staff, Billy Jennings. The club were struggling financially at the time and a fire that destroyed the main stand at Ninian Park meant that Jennings had little money to bring players in and, in April 1939, he was replaced by Cyril Spiers.
1939–1995 Spiers had previously been assistant manager under Frank Buckley at Wolverhampton Wanderers, but his move to Cardiff was his first managerial appointment. However, the outbreak of World War II led to The Football League being suspended for the duration of hostilities. Spiers used the time to establish several local feeder clubs for Cardiff to nurture young players but left the club prior to the resumption of League football after falling out with the board. Spiers had agreed to take a cut in wages during Wartime, but the Cardiff board refused to restore his original wages after the end of the war. Billy McCandless was hastily appointed and reaped the benefits of a Cardiff side much improved from the pre-war side as the team won the Third Division South title by seven points and scored 93 goals. McCandless left the club after just three months of the following season to take charge of Cardiff's South Wales rivals Swansea Town.
The board were able to persuade Spiers to rejoin the club, and he led a side built around players brought through by his youth system to the First Division in 1952. After two seasons in the top tier, Spiers left the club to take over at Crystal Palace. He was replaced by Trevor Morris, a former Cardiff player whose career had been ended due to a broken leg sustained in a wartime friendly. Morris claimed his only silverware during the 1955–56 season by winning the Welsh Cup but was unable to prevent the club's relegation from the First Division the following year. He left the club in 1958 to manage Swansea Town and was replaced by his assistant, Bill Jones, who had previously managed Barry Town and Worcester City. Jones led the team back to the First Division in 1960 where they spent two years before being relegated. After a disappointing start on their return to the Second Division, Jones left the club. Jimmy Scoular was appointed as Jones' replacement but suffered a difficult start after failing to win any of his first 12 matches in charge. Although Scoular never won promotion during his nine years in charge, his spell at the club coincided with its first entries into European competition in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup by winning the Welsh Cup, a feat he achieved seven times during his tenure. He led the team to the semi-final of the Cup Winners' Cup during the 1967–68 season, the furthest a Welsh team has ever advanced in a continental competition, but continued struggles in the league saw him dismissed in November 1973 during his tenth season in charge.
Lew Clayton was appointed caretaker manager for a single match before Frank O'Farrell joined the club. However, O'Farrell departed after 158 days in charge after being appointed manager of the Iran national side. First team coach Jimmy Andrews took over as caretaker manager and impressed after ensuring the club avoided relegation at the end of the 1973–74 season. He was given the role on a permanent basis only to suffer relegation to the Third Division in his first season but was able to win promotion a year later. Andrews remained in charge until November 1978 before being dismissed. Former player Richie Morgan was appointed as caretaker manager and was eventually appointed on a permanent basis, becoming the youngest manager in the club's history at 34. Despite three relatively comfortable seasons during a difficult financial period, Morgan was moved into a general manager role with Graham Williams taking over the first team role. However, the pair were dismissed after less than five months after failing to win in eight consecutive matches. Len Ashurst was unable to prevent relegation to the Third Division in the final two months of the 1981–82 season but led the team to an immediate return the following year. In March 1984, he left the club after being offered the managerial role at Sunderland. The board appointed coach Jimmy Goodfellow and captain Jimmy Mullen as joint caretaker managers to finish the season before Goodfellow was handed the job permanently at the end of the campaign. However, Goodfellow lasted only two months of his first full season after losing seven of his ten league matches in charge.
Alan Durban was appointed in September 1984 but his spell in charge proved disastrous for the club as the team suffered successive relegations, dropping into the Fourth Division. Durban was fired after the second relegation was confirmed and replaced by Frank Burrows who won promotion in his second season. Burrows moved on in 1989 to take up an assistant manager role at Portsmouth. Eddie May replaced Burrows and spent three seasons in charge, becoming one of the most popular managers in the club's history. May led the club to the Third Division title in the 1992–93 season and also won the Welsh Cup but was sacked in November 1994 as the club struggled against relegation. Former Wales manager Terry Yorath took control of the side but suffered similar difficulties and May was brought back in March 1995 in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid relegation, leaving the club for a second time at the end of the campaign.
1995– Kenny Hibbitt was hired in July 1995 but moved into a role as director of football after six months with Phil Neal replacing him. Cardiff finished 22nd in the Third Division during his first season and a poor start to the following campaign saw him sacked. Russell Osman spent two seasons in charge and stabilised the club in the Third Division but was sacked in January 1998 with Hibbitt briefly returning. Frank Burrows was appointed in February 1998 and, nearly ten years after leading the club to promotion in 1988, Burrows again achieved the feat in 1999 as the team reached the Second Division. He endured a disappointing season in the following campaign and was fired in February 2000 with the team in the relegation zone. Billy Ayre saw out the season but was unable to prevent the team's relegation back to the Third Division.