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.^[7] The Times noted that the result indicated that the gap in quality between the divisions was smaller than expected.^[8] 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.^[7][9] 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.^[7] 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.^[10]

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.^[11] 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.^[7] 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.^[7] 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.^[12]

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.^[7]

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,^[7] Cardiff received an offer for his services from Manchester United and, with falling attendances continuing to drain the club's finances, eventually accepted.^[13] 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.^[7][14]

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.^[7] 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.^[3]

With FA Cup commitments, the side played only one further league match in January, losing 2–1 to Stoke.^[7] This defeat left Cardiff nine points behind second placed Blackpool by the end of January.^[15] 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.^[9][13] Stewart was afforded a small portion of the money and signed Ralph Williams from non-League side Colwyn Bay for £800.^[16] The new signing made his debut in the club's following game as they lost 1–0 to Bradford City.^[7]

The second South Wales derby of the season was held on 8 February as Swansea,^[17] who were bottom of the Second Division at the time,^[18] recorded a 1–0 win.^[17] 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.^[7][16] 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.^[7]

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.^[7] Cardiff finished the season in eighth position, 11 points behind the last promotion place.^[19]

Partial league table

Match results

Key

Results^[7][20]

FA Cup

Cardiff entered the FA Cup in the third round where they were drawn against First Division side Liverpool. More than 50,000 spectators attended the game at Anfield, the largest crowd Cardiff played in front of during the campaign. The side were able to upset their higher ranked opponents as Len Davies scored twice to give Cardiff a 2–1 victory. In the fourth round, they drew further First Division opposition in Sunderland but were unable to repeat their upset, losing 2–1 with Davies again scoring his side's goal.^[7][16]

Welsh Cup

In the Welsh Cup, Cardiff entered in the fifth round against Llanelly and went on to win 4–1 with goals from Miles, Jones and a brace by Davies. The following round resulted in the third South Wales derby of the season as Cardiff met Swansea at Ninian Park.^[7] Cardiff started the match poorly and only two saves from Tom Farquharson prevented them falling behind early on. However they responded strongly and, by half-time, led 3–0 from goals by Thirlaway, Jones and Davies. Jimmy Nelson added a fourth goal direct from a free-kick in the last minute of the game as Cardiff won 4–0.^[21]

A 2–0 win over Wrexham in the semi-final secured Cardiff's fourth consecutive Welsh Cup final.^[16] They met Rhyl in the final and the two sides played out a goalless draw on 3 May. Unusually, the Football Association of Wales chose not to hold a replay until October, two months into the following season.^[16] In that match, Cardiff won the trophy with a 4–2 victory, with Davies scoring a hat-trick.^[22]

Player statistics