The 2012–13 season was Cardiff's 86th in the Football League after joining in 1920. Cardiff were in their ninth consecutive season in the second tier following a third consecutive failure in the play-offs. Cardiff went under a "re-branding" during the close season meaning the home colours would be changed to red from the traditional blue, ending 104 years of the tradition. Cardiff were promoted to the Premier League during the season.
Events
This is a list of the significant events to occur at the club during the 2012–13 season, presented in chronological order. This list does not include completed transfers, which are listed in the transfers section below, or match results, which are in the results section. June 1 June – The Football League decides to switch back to seven subs for the season, increasing it from five subs used last season. 4 June – Malky Mackay turns down offer from Norwich City to become manager. Former Cardiff player Kevin Cooper is appointed as Under-21 coach. 6 June – Cardiff change their home colours from the traditional Blue, White and Yellow to Red and Black as part of an investment plan made by the Malaysian Owners, also the building of a training ground facility is announced to be built. The badge was also changed to feature a larger dragon, meaning the traditional Bluebird is made smaller as a result the Malaysian Owners have put more investment into Cardiff City. 29 June – Former chairman Sam Hammam rejects the three offers which Cardiff offer to deal with long-term "Langston Debt".
July 10 July – Cardiff enter talks with South Korean international Kim Bo-Kyung's club Cerezo Osaka over a transfer fee. 12 July – Under-18 Belgian international keeper Guillaume Hubert joins on trial along with three unnamed French players. 13 July – Cardiff agree a fee for Kim Bo-Kyung of around £3 million, as confirmed by his Kim's agent. 15 July – The Cardiff City squad travel to Switzerland for pre-season training. Bids from Fulham for Peter Whittingham are rejected. 19 July – Cardiff City pull out of bid for Coventry City defender Richard Keogh after refusing to get involved with a wage war with Derby County. A bid from an unnamed Championship club is rejected for Anthony Gerrard and Dulwich Hamlet teenager Omarr Lawson joins on trial.
August 2 August – Queens Park Rangers striker Heiðar Helguson takes part in a medical and discusses personal terms over a move to Cardiff. 3 August – A£200,000 bid is rejected from Bristol City and Leicester City for Anthony Gerrard. 10 August – Cardiff City Stadium officially re-opens as Cardiff take sole ownership of the ground. 20 August – A£500,000 bid for defender Matthew Connolly is accepted by Queens Park Rangers. 21 August – Cardiff's bid for Queens Park Rangers winger Tommy Smith stalls. 30 August – Cardiff agree a fee with West Ham for the transfer of Nicky Maynard.
September 12 September – Financial Director Doug Lee announces resignation at the end of the month with Simon Lim replacing him. 20 September – Nicky Maynard is ruled out for several months with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
October 1 October – Alan Whiteley steps down as Chief Executive, Simon Lim replaces Whiteley whilst Richard Thompson steps in as acting financial director. 10 October – Academy Manager Neal Ardley leaves to take up a managerial position at AFC Wimbledon.
November 2 November – Dick Bate joins as a new academy manager. 16 November – Stephen Owen-Conway is appointed as a new club director. 23 November – Craig Conway puts in a transfer request, which is rejected by manager Malky Mackay.
January 24 January – Board director Alan Whiteley resigns following being charge for fraud.
March 1 March – Chairman Datuk Chan Tien Ghee resigns.
April 16 April – Cardiff City gain promotion to the Premier League after a 0–0 draw against Charlton Athletic. This marks Cardiff's return to the top flight after a 51-year absence. 20 April – Cardiff City become champions of the Football League Championship after a 1–1 draw away to Burnley.
May 24 May – Geraint Twose and Lee Kendall leave Cardiff City Academy to take up as Coach Education Role with the Football Association and first team goalkeeper coach at Bristol City respectively.
Football League Championship
Standings
Results summary
Result by round
Kit
Squad No. Name Position (s) Nationality Place of Birth Date of birth (age) Club caps Club goals Int. caps Int. goals Signed from Date signed Fee Contract End Goalkeepers1David MarshallGKGlasgow110050Norwich City12 May 2009£500,00030 June 201529Elliott ParishGKTowcester––––Aston Villa3 January 2012Free30 June 201332Joe LewisGKBury St. Edmunds––––Peterborough United1 July 2012FreeUndisclosed Defenders2Kevin McNaughtonRB/LB/CBDundee255240Aberdeen26 May 2006Free30 June 20133Andrew TaylorLB/LMHartlepool522––Middlesbrough4 July 2011Free30 June 20165Mark HudsonCBGuildford1237––Charlton Athletic2 July 2009£1,075,00030 June 20146Ben TurnerCBBirmingham433––Coventry City31 August 2011£750,00030 June 201612Matthew ConnollyCB/RBBarnet––––Queens Park Rangers22 August 2012£500,00030 June 201531Ben NugentCBWelwyn Garden City––––Academy1 July 2012Trainee30 June 201635Adedeji OshilajaRB/LB/CBLambeth1–––Academy1 July 2012Trainee30 June 201340Luke CoulsonLBSt Helens––––Tottenham Hotspur2 November 2012Free30 June 2013 Midfieldes4Filip KissDM/RMDunajská Streda331––Slovan Bratislava1 July 2012£500,00030 June 20167Peter WhittinghamCM/LM/RMNuneaton26668––Aston Villa11 January 2007£350,00030 June 20158Don CowieRM/CMInverness53790Watford1 July 2011Free30 June 201411Craig ConwayLW/RWIrvine38530Dundee United23 June 2011Free30 June 201413Kim Bo-KyungAM/RW/LWGurye––142Cerezo Osaka27 July 2012£2,000,00030 June 201516Craig NooneLW/RWKirkby––––Brighton & Hove Albion30 August 2012£1,000,00030 June 201617Aron GunnarssonDM/RBAkureyri505280Coventry City8 July 2011£350,00030 June 201618Jordon MutchCM/LMAlvaston––––Birmingham City22 June 2012£2,000,00030 June 201519Kadeem HarrisLW/RWWestminster––––Wycombe Wanderers30 January 2012£150,00030 June 201521Joe RallsCM/LM/LBAldershot141––Academy30 September 2011TraineeUndisclosed24Simon LappinLM/LBGlasgow––––Norwich City29 January 2013Free30 June 201437Stephen McPhailCM/LMWestminster 2203101Barnsley13 June 2006Free30 June 2013 Forwards9Etien VelikonjaCFŠempeter pri Gorici––20Maribor25 July 2012£1,574,37330 June 201614Tommy SmithRW/LW/CFHemel Hempstead––––Queens Park Rangers24 August 2012£300,00030 June 201415Rudy GestedeCFEssey-lès-Nancy 313––Metz26 July 2011Free30 June 201420Joe MasonCF/LWPlymouth 4612––Plymouth Argyle10 July 2011£250,00030 June 201622Heiðar HelgusonCFDalvík––5512Queens Park Rangers2 August 2012Free30 June 201323Nicky MaynardCFWinsford––––West Ham United31 August 2012£2,500,00030 June 201527Fraizer CampbellCF/LWHuddersfield––10Sunderland21 January 2013£650,00030 June 201628Rhys HealeyCFManchester––––Gap Connah's Quay28 January 2013£25,00030 June 201533Nathaniel JarvisCFCardiff11––Academy1 July 2011Trainee30 June 201334Jesse DarkoRW/CF ––––Academy1 July 2012Trainee30 June 201339Craig BellamyLW/CFCardiff35116919Liverpool10 August 2012Free30 June 2014
Statistics
|colspan="14"|Players currently out on loan:
|colspan="14"|Players featured for club who have left:
Captains
Goalscorers RankNo.Pos.NameChampionshipFA CupLeague CupTotal122FWHeiðar Helguson801927MFPeter Whittingham800817MFAron Gunnarsson8008416MFCraig Noone700727FWFraizer Campbell7007620FWJoe Mason6006712DFMatthew Connolly500515FWRudy Gestede500595DFMark Hudson400439FWCraig Bellamy4004118MFDon Cowie200211MFCraig Conway20021313MFKim Bo-Kyung2002146DFBen Turner100114FWTommy Smith100123FWNicky Maynard100131DFBen Nugent100133FWNathaniel Jarvis0101Total721174
Assists Rank No. Po. Name Championship FA Cup League Cup Total139FWCraig Bellamy100010216MFCraig Noone900933DFAndrew Taylor60067MFPeter Whittingham6006517MFAron Gunnarsson5005622FWHeiðar Helguson4004713MFKim Bo-Kyung300315FWRudy Gestede300323FWNicky Maynard3003106DFBen Turner200214MFTommy Smith20021211MFCraig Conway10015DFMark Hudson100142DFDeclan John010120FWJoe Mason10011GKDavid Marshall10012DFKevin McNaughton1001
Disciplinary record No. Pos. Name Championship FA Cup League Cup Total 1GKDavid Marshall300000302DFKevin McNaughton201000303DFAndrew Taylor310000315DFMark Hudson800000806DFBen Turner500000507MFPeter Whittingham500000508MFDon Cowie300000309FWEtien Velikonja1000001011MFCraig Conway1000001012DFMatthew Connolly5000005013MFKim Bo-Kyung3000003014FWTommy Smith3000003016MFCraig Noone4100004117MFAron Gunnarsson7000007018MFJordon Mutch7000007020FWJoe Mason1000001022FWHeiðar Helguson4000004024MFSimon Lappin1100001125DFLeon Barnett1000001031DFBen Nugent4000004035DFAdedeji Oshilaja0000101036MFKevin Sainte-Luce0000101039FWCraig Bellamy40000040Total7231020753
Penalties Date Penalty Taker Scored Opponent Competition14 August 2012Heiðar HelgusonNorthampton TownLeague Cup2 September 2012Peter WhittinghamWolverhampton WanderersChampionship15 September 2012Peter WhittinghamLeeds UnitedChampionship23 October 2012Peter WhittinghamWatfordChampionship1 April 2013Peter WhittinghamBlackburn RoversChampionship4 May 2013Nicky MaynardHull CityChampionship
Suspensions served Date Matches Missed Player Reason Opponents Missed24 November 20121Simon Lappin vs BarnsleyDerby (A)27 November 20121Craig Noone vs Derby CountySheff Wed (H)2 December 20121Jordon Mutch5× Blackburn (A)7 December 20121Mark Hudson5× Peterborough (H)22 December 20121Matthew Connolly5× Crystal Palace (H)4 May 20131Andrew Taylor vs Hull CityFirst Premier League fixture (TBC)
International Call-ups
No.PNameCountryLevelCapsGoalsNotesSource1GKDavid MarshallSenior10 4MFFilip KissU2140 8MFDon CowieSenior10 9FWEtien VelikonjaSenior10 11MFCraig ConwaySenior10 13MFKim Bo-KyungOlympic Team51Won bronze in Olympics13MFKim Bo-KyungSenior30 15FWRudy GestedeSenior22 17MFAron GunnarssonSenior70 23DFDarcy BlakeSenior10 25MFKerim FreiSenior10 39FWCraig BellamySenior40
Contracts
Transfers
In
Total spending: ~ £10,049,373 Notes 1Although Cardiff didn't specify a contract length, South Wales Echo reported the contract to be three years ending in 2015. 2Although neither club stated a transfer fee, the South Wales Echo reported the fee to be in the excess of a £2,000,000. 3Although officially undisclosed, Zlatko Zahovič, director of Maribor confirmed the fee to be around €2 million (£1,573,373), a record in Slovenian football. 4Although officially undisclosed South Wales Echo reported the transfer to be a free transfer. 5Although officially undisclosed South Wales Echo reported the fee to be £300,000. 6Although officially undisclosed South Wales Echo reported the fee to be £25,000.
Loans in
Out
Total income: ~ £1,263,200 Notes 1Both sides published the fee as undisclosed, but BBC Sport reported the transfer to be worth £350,000.
Loans out
Fixtures & Results
Pre-season
Championship
FA Cup
League Cup
Overall summary
Summary Games played 48 (46 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)Games won 25 (25 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)Games drawn 12 (12 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)Games lost 11 (9 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)Goals scored 74 (72 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)Goals conceded 49 (45 Championship, 2 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)Goal difference +27Clean sheets 18 (18 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)Yellow cards 75 (72 Championship, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup)Red cards 3 (3 Championship, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)Worst discipline Mark Hudson (8 , 0 )Best result 4–0 vs Burnley (H)Worst result 2–4 vs Bristol C (A) & 1–3 vs Nottm Forest (A)Most appearances David Marshall (46)Top scorer Heiðar Helguson (9 goals)Points 87
Score overview