Cardiff City F.C. season 2007-08

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Cardiff City
Badge of Cardiff City
Season 2007-08
League Championship
Chairman Peter Ridsdale
Manager Dave Jones
Final league position 12th
Top goalscorer League: Paul Parry & Joe Ledley (10)
All: Paul Parry & Joe Ledley (11)
Highest league attendance Home: 18,840 v Stoke City
Away: 26,186 v Sheffield United
Lowest league attendance Home: 11,006 v Colchester United
Away: 4,699 v Colchester United
FA Cup Runners up
Carling Cup Eliminated in 4th round
FAW Premier Cup Eliminated in Semi Finals

During the 2007-08 season Cardiff will be playing in the Football League Championship. It is the team's fourth year in the Championship since being promoted from League One. The season was the first full year in charge for chairman Peter Ridsdale after taking over from Sam Hammam the previous year.[1]

Contents

[edit] Team kit and sponsorship

Cardiff's shirts for this season are made by Joma. Their shirt sponsorship is a version of the previous years, Communications Direct, which has been shortened to just Comms Direct.

[edit] Season review

[edit] Events

This section does not list information about match results or player transfers.

  • 15 August 2007 - Major financial backers of the club Langston announce they have initiated legal proceedings against the club over claims they have not repaid a £30 million loan.[2].
  • 29 October 2007 - Ex-Wales rugby captain Mike Hall resigns from the club board over a possible conflict of interest between his company PMG Associates and Langston.[4]
  • 2 November 2007 - Construction of Cardiff's new stadium gets under way with a ceremonial 'cutting of the turf' ceremony between Peter Ridsdale and Cardiff council leader Rodney Berman.[5]
  • 15 November 2007 - Club creditors Langston state that should it win its court case against Cardiff it would not put the club into administration.[7]
  • 12 December 2007 - The club's court case with Langston is postponed after the company requested a deferral.[8]
  • 19 March 2008 - A high court judge dismisses Langston's call for a summary judgement. A two month wait for any further court action is announced for parties to try and agree terms.[10]

[edit] Pre-season

Cardiff enjoyed a successful pre-season winning five out of their six friendlies. The previous seasons top scorer Michael Chopra began pre-season well with two goals in the first match against near-by Welsh side Merthyr Tydfil but that was to be his last participation in the Bluebirds season as he left the club to join newly promoted Premiership side Sunderland.[12] Manager Dave Jones had little resources on which to build a side but managed to make several additions by the time Cardiff travelled to Portugal for a two-game tour. Winning both games with new signings Steve MacLean and Gavin Rae impressing. During the two games Cardiff handed appearances to four on trial players, Cyprus international winger Constantinos Charalambidis, former Greece under-21 international goalkeeper Kleopas Giannou, Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo Oliveira and Portuguese defender Marco Almeida.[13] However none were offered permanent deals at the club. They returned home to take a 2-0 win over Yeovil Town before they suffered their only loss during pre-season in an astonishing 6-4 defeat to Stockport County.[14] One more player arrived at this point, Robbie Fowler was the surprise signing unveiled at Ninian Park[15] and featured in the 1-0 victory over Dutch Eredivisie side FC Twente in their final pre-season game.

[edit] Regular season

Cardiff began the season at home to Stoke City, the first time they had been given a home tie to open the season in eleven years, falling to a 1-0 defeat after a goal from Ryan Shawcross.[16] They picked up their first win of the season against QPR the following weekend but the Bluebirds struggled to live up to the expectations laid on them at the start of the year and by the end of October they found themselves hovering above the relegation zone. Several poor results saw manager Dave Jones come under intense pressure to be sacked but on 15 November the Cardiff board voted to keep Jones in the job on condition his results improve in the next few weeks.[17] Steadily results did begin to improve but on 4 December Cardiff were beaten 2-0 at home by Charlton Athletic and the teams performance was slammed by critics.[18] However the team responded well to the negative response and came back to win three of their next four games, against Colchester United, Blackpool and Sheffield United, three teams also near Cardiff at the foot of the table. They continued their good spell of results into the new year with wins against Preston North End, Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday. The teams impressive form saw manager Jones named as Championship manager of the month and midfielder Joe Ledley named player of the month for January, only for Cardiff to lose the next two games against Stoke City and Norwich City. After mixed results in February and early March the team began to push for promotion and with four games remaining members of the squad stated that they would have to win all four remaining games to make the play-offs,[19][20] only for them to lose to already relegated Scunthorpe United and play off hopefuls Wolverhampton Wanderers in their next two games before finishing the season with a 3-0 victory over Barnsley.

[edit] League statistics

Overall Home Away
Pld Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
46 64 16 16 14 59 55 +4 12 4 7 31 21 +10 4 12 7 28 34 -6

Last updated: 2 January 2008
Source: The Football League
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

[edit] Cups

[edit] FA Cup

Cardiff's first match in the FA Cup was away to non-league Chasetown who became the lowest ranked side ever to reach the third round of the competition and, despite an early scare when Kevin McNaughton turned the ball into his own net, they eventually came away with a 3-1 victory. The fourth and fifth round ties saw the Bluebirds go through with little trouble after wins over Hereford United and Wolverhampton Wanderers. With those results, Cardiff reached the quarter-finals and were rewarded with a trip to Premiership side Middlesbrough. A tough match was predicted but Cardiff got off to a great start when Peter Whittingham found his way through a crowd of defenders to score and Roger Johnson headed in meaning the match was all but over after just 23 minutes.[21] The semi-final saw Cardiff come up against Championship opposition for the second time in Barnsley at Wembley stadium and a Joe Ledley goal in the opening 10 minutes was the only thing that separated the two clubs at the final whistle sending Cardiff into their first FA Cup final since they won the trophy in 1927.

The final saw Cardiff face Portsmouth, who advanced after beating Wst Bromwich Albion in the semi-final. The match was played on 17 May at Wembley and a crowd of over 89,000 saw Portsmouth claim the cup after a goal from Nwankwo Kanu in the 37th minute.[22]

[edit] League cup

A mixture of first team and reserve players saw Cardiff come away with 1-0 wins over Football League One sides Brighton and Leyton Orient in the opening rounds before they were drawn against Championship side West Bromwich Albion. The match saw Cardiff go 4-0 up in 30 minutes with goals from veteran trio Robbie Fowler, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Trevor Sinclair and, despite an attempted comeback from West Brom, the match finished 4-2.

The fourth round saw Cardiff drawn against Liverpool with the main focus of the match being the return of Robbie Fowler to Anfield.[23] After falling behind from a goal from Nabil El Zhar, Cardiff managed an equaliser when captain Darren Purse headed in a cross, only for Steven Gerrard to score the winner a minute later.

[edit] FAW Premier Cup

Cardiff were drawn against Welshpool Town for their first match and a team made up of mostly youth players with a handful of reserves came away with a 1-0 win after youngster Jonathan Brown scored on his first team debut.[24] Newport County were the clubs opponents in the semi-final and despite adding several more of the more experienced reserve players to the side they were beaten on penalties. The match also saw a number of former Cardiff players such as Lee Jarman and Damon Searle return to Ninian Park.

[edit] Squad

No. Nat. Position Player Total Championship FA Cup League Cup FAW Premier Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 Flag of Finland GK Peter Enckelman 20 0 16 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
1 Flag of Denmark GK Kasper Schmeichel* 14 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 Flag of England GK Ross Turnbull* 8 0 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
2 Flag of Scotland DF Kevin McNaughton 43 2 35 1 6 1 2 0 0 0
3 Flag of Northern Ireland DF Tony Capaldi 54 0 44 0 6 0 4 0 0 0
4 Flag of Scotland MF Gavin Rae 55 4 45 4 6 0 4 0 0 0
5 Flag of England DF Darren Purse 23 2 18 1 0 0 3 1 2 0
6 Flag of the Netherlands DF Glenn Loovens 44 0 36 0 6 0 1 0 1 0
7 Flag of England MF Peter Whittingham 51 9 41 5 6 3 4 1 0 0
8 Flag of England FW Robbie Fowler 16 6 13 4 0 0 3 2 0 0
9 Flag of Scotland FW Steve MacLean* 18 1 15 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
10 Flag of Ireland MF Stephen McPhail 52 3 43 3 5 0 4 0 0 0
11 Flag of Wales MF Paul Parry 50 11 41 10 5 1 4 0 0 0
12 Flag of England DF Roger Johnson 52 7 42 5 6 1 4 1 0 0
13 Flag of England GK Michael Oakes 15 0 11 0 2 0 2 0 0 0
14 Flag of Northern Ireland FW Warren Feeney 6 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
15 Flag of Ireland GK David Forde 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
16 Flag of Wales MF Joe Ledley 48 11 41 10 4 1 3 0 0 0
17 Flag of England MF Kevin Cooper* 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
18 Flag of England MF Trevor Sinclair 27 2 21 1 4 0 1 1 1 0
19 Flag of England MF Riccardo Scimeca 11 0 9 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
20 Flag of Scotland MF Steve Thompson 43 7 36 5 5 1 1 0 1 1
23 Flag of Wales MF Darcy Blake 13 0 8 0 3 0 1 0 1 0
25 Flag of Poland GK Erwin Sak 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
26 Flag of Wales MF Jonathan Brown 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
26 Flag of Ireland FW Jason Byrne* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
27 Flag of England MF Matt Green 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
29 Flag of Wales DF Matt Smith 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
30 Flag of Wales MF Aaron Ramsey 22 2 15 1 5 1 1 0 1 0
31 Flag of Northern Ireland GK Josh Magennis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 Flag of the Netherlands FW Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink 44 9 36 7 5 1 3 1 0 0
44 Flag of Wales DF Chris Gunter* 17 0 13 0 0 0 4 0 0 0

0* Indicates player left the club during the season.

[edit] Disciplinary record

Number Pos Player Booked Sent off
6 DF Glenn Loovens 12 0
10 MF Stephen McPhail 7 0
3 DF Tony Capaldi 5 0
16 MF Joe Ledley 4 0
20 FW Steve Thompson 4 1
36 FW Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink 3 1
2 DF Kevin McNaughton 3 0
5 DF Darren Purse 3 0
4 MF Gavin Rae 3 0
12 DF Roger Johnson 2 0
9 FW Steve MacLean 2 0
11 MF Paul Parry 2 0
7 MF Peter Whittingham 2 0
23 MF Darcy Blake 1 0
44 DF Chris Gunter 1 0
30 MF Aaron Ramsey 1 0
1 GK Kasper Schmeichel 1 0
19 MF Riccardo Scimeca 1 0
18 MF Trevor Sinclair 1 0

[edit] Transfers

[edit] Summer transfer window ins

Player Club Fee
Tony Capaldi Plymouth Argyle Free Transfer
Robbie Fowler Liverpool Free Transfer
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Charlton Athletic Free Transfer
Steve MacLean Sheffield Wednesday Free Transfer
Michael Oakes Wolves Free Transfer
Gavin Rae Rangers Free Transfer
Trevor Sinclair Manchester City Free Transfer

[edit] Loans in

Player Club Arrival date Return date
Ross Turnbull Middlesbrough 29 July 5 October
Kasper Schmeichel Manchester City 25 October 3 January
Peter Enckelman Blackburn Rovers 10 January End of season

[edit] Summer transfer window outs

0* Indicates that the player joined club after being released by Cardiff

Player Club Fee
Neil Alexander Ipswich Town* Free Transfer
Scott Allison Hartlepool United* Free Transfer
Chris Barker QPR Free Transfer
Kevin Campbell Retired -
Michael Chopra Sunderland £5m
Gregg Coombes Carmarthen Town* Free Transfer
Michael Corcoran Oxford United* Free Transfer
Jamal Easter Carmarthen Town* Free Transfer
Luigi Glombard Grenoble Foot 38* Free Transfer
Mark Howard St. Mirren* Free Transfer
Joe Jacobson Bristol Rovers Free Transfer
Martyn Margetson Retired -
Scott McCoubrey Unknown Released
Curtis McDonald Carmarthen Town* Free Transfer
Nick McKoy Unattached Released
Jeff Whitley Unattached Released

[edit] January transfer window ins

Player Club Fee
Erwin Sak Sokol Pniewy Free

[edit] January transfer window outs

Player Club Fee
Jason Byrne Bohemians Free
Kevin Cooper Chesterfield* Free
Chris Gunter Tottenham Hotspur £3m
Steve MacLean Plymouth Argyle £500,000

[edit] Loans out

Player Club Departure date Return date
Willo Flood Dundee United 12 June End of season
Warren Feeney Swansea City 21 August 1 January 2008
Matt Green Darlington 8 October 8 November
Kevin Cooper Tranmere Rovers 25 October 25 November
Matt Green Oxford United 22 November 22 December
Bradley Middleton Dorchester Town 18 December 29 January
Matt Green Oxford United 25 January End of season
David Forde Bournemouth 6 March End of season
Matthew Smith Newport County March 2008 End of season

[edit] Fixtures & Results

[edit] Friendlies

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
Jul 7 Merthyr Tydfil
(Southern Premier Division)		 A W 2 - 0 - Chopra (2)
Jul 11 Pourtegese FA XI
(Portugal)		 A W 2 - 1 Approx. 600 Charalambidis, Green
Jul 14 Vitoria de Setubal
(Portuguese Liga)		 A W 1 - 0 - MacLean
Jul 21 Yeovil Town
(League One)		 A W 2 - 0 2,371 Feeney(pen), MacLean(pen)
Jul 28 Stockport County
(League Two)		 A L 4 - 6 3,125 Rae, Sinclair, MacLean, Whittingham
Aug 4 FC Twente
(Dutch Eredivisie)		 H W 1 - 0 - Feeney

[edit] Championship

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
Aug 11 Stoke City H L 0 - 1 18,840
Aug 18 Queens Park Rangers A W 2 - 0 12,596 MacLean, Parry
Aug 25 Coventry City H L 0 - 1 16,407
Sep 01 Norwich City A W 2 - 1 24,292 Whittingham, Johnson
Sep 15 Plymouth Argyle A D 2 - 2 11,591 Rae, Thompson
Sep 19 Watford H L 2 - 1 13,169 Hasselbaink
Sep 22 Preston North End H D 2 - 2 11,772 Fowler (2)
Sep 29 Barnsley A D 1 - 1 10,709 Hasselbaink
Oct 02 Sheffield United A D 3 - 3 26,186 Ledley, Fowler(pen), Rae
Oct 06 Burnley H W 2- 1 12,914 Ledley, Parry
Oct 21 Southampton A L 0 - 1 20,796
Oct 24 Wolverhampton Wanderers H L 2 - 3 15,000 Fowler(pen), Hasselbaink
Oct 27 Scunthorpe United H D 1 - 1 11,850 McPhail
Nov 06 Crystal Palace H D 1 - 1 11,781 Purse
Nov 10 Charlton Athletic A L 0 - 3 22,866
Nov 24 Ipswich Town H W 1 - 0 15,173 Parry
Nov 26 Leicester City A D 0 - 0 16,269
Dec 01 Hull City A D 2 - 2 16,269 Thompson, Johnson
Dec 04 Charlton Athletic H L 0 - 2 11,874
Dec 08 Colchester United H W 4 - 1 11,006 Thompson, Whittingham, Hasselbaink, OG
Dec 11 Blackpool A W 1 - 0 7,214 Thompson
Dec 15 Bristol City A L 0 - 1 15,753
Dec 22 Sheffield United H W 1 - 0 12,869 Parry
Dec 26 Watford A D 2 - 2 17,014 Johnson, Whittingham
Dec 29 Preston North End A W 2 - 1 12,046 Johnson, Ledley
Jan 01 Plymouth Argyle H W 1 - 0 14,965 Ledley
Jan 12 Sheffield Wednesday H W 1 - 0 14,015 Hasselbaink
Jan 19 West Bromwich Albion A D 3 - 3 22,325 Parry (2), Ledley
Jan 29 Queens Park Rangers H W 3 - 1 13,602 Ledley (2), Parry
Feb 02 Stoke City A L 1 - 2 15,045 Hasselbaink
Feb 09 Norwich City H L 1 - 2 11,937 Rae
Feb 12 Coventry City A D 0 - 0 15,260
Feb 23 Sheffield Wednesday A L 0 - 1 18,539
Mar 01 Leicester City H L 0 - 1 13,335
Mar 04 Crystal Palace A D 0 - 0 13,446
Mar 12 Hull City H W 1 - 0 17,555 McPhail
Mar 15 Colchester United A D 1 - 1 4,699 Parry
Mar 22 Bristol City H W 2 - 1 16,458 Johnson, Whittingham
Mar 29 Southampton H W 1 - 0 12,955 Parry
Apr 01 West Bromwich Albion H D 0 - 0 13,915
Apr 09 Ipswich Town A D 1 - 1 20,311 Rae
Apr 12 Blackpool H W 3 - 1 14,715 McPhail, Sinclair, Whittingham
Apr 19 Scunthorpe United A L 2 - 3 4,727 Hasselbaink, Ledley
Apr 22 Wolverhampton Wanderers A L 0 - 3 20,862
Apr 26 Burnley A D 3 - 3 10,694 Ledley, Ramsey, Thompson
May 04 Barnsley H W 3 - 0 14,469 Parry, McNaughton, Ledley

[edit] FA Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
Jan 05 Three Chasetown A W 3 - 1 2,420 Whittingham, Ramsey, Parry
Jan 27 Four Hereford United A W 2 - 1 6,855 McNaughton, Thompson (pen)
Feb 16 Five Wolverhampton Wanderers H W 2 - 0 15,339 Whittingham, Hasselbaink
Mar 09 Quarter Final Middlesbrough A W 2 - 0 32,896 Whittingham, Johnson
Apr 06 Semi Final Barnsley N W 1 - 0 82,752 Ledley
May 17 Final Portsmouth N L 0 - 1 89,874

[edit] League Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
Aug 14 One Brighton & Hove Albion H W 1 - 0 3,726 Johnson
Aug 29 Two Leyton Orient H W 1 - 0 6,150 Whittingham
Sep 25 Three West Bromwich Albion A W 4 - 2 14,085 Fowler (2), Hasselbaink, Sinclair
Oct 31 Four Liverpool A L 1 - 2 41,780 Purse

[edit] FAW Premier Cup

Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
Jan 22 Quarter Final Welshpool Town A W 1 - 0  ? Brown
Feb 19 Semi Final Newport County H L 1-1
(4-5 on pens)		 Approx. 2000 Thompson

[edit] Awards

[edit] Won

January Championship manager of the month: Dave Jones
January Championship player of the month: Joe Ledley
Player of the semi finals of the FA Cup: Joe Ledley [25]

[edit] Nominated

Player of the third round of the FA Cup: Aaron Ramsey [26]
Player of the fourth round of the FA Cup: Paul Parry [27]
Player of the fifth round of the FA Cup: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink [28]
Player of the quarter finals of the FA Cup: Peter Whittingham [29]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Ridsdale to fulfil Hammam dream" BBC Sport Retrieved on 20 May 2008
  2. ^ "Cardiff facing court over '£30m' BBC Sport Retrieved on 29 December 2007
  3. ^ "City ground 'delayed to May 2009'" BBC Retrieved on 29 December 2007
  4. ^ "Hall parts company with Bluebirds" BBC Sport Retrieved on 29 December 2007
  5. ^ "Turf cut at Cardiff's new stadium" BBC Retrieved on 29 December 2007
  6. ^ "Cardiff boss Jones given warning" BBC Sport Retrieved on 29 December 2007
  7. ^ "Langston calm administration fear" BBC Sport Retrieved on 29 December 2007
  8. ^ "Cardiff awaiting March court date" BBC Sport Retrieved on 29 December 2007
  9. ^ "Before Wembley, City's legal test" BBC Retrieved on 12 March 2008
  10. ^ "Bluebirds saved from loan crisis" BBC Retrieved on 20 March 2008
  11. ^ "Cardiff clubs sign 20 year deal" BBC Retrieved on 26 May 2008
  12. ^ "Sunderland wrap up Chopra signing" BBC Sport Retrieved on 6 December 2007
  13. ^ "Bluebirds enjoy taste of big Mac" Western Mail Retrieved on 6 December 2007
  14. ^ "Stockport 6-4 Cardiff" BBC Sport Retrieved on 6 December 2007
  15. ^ "Fowler thrilled by Bluebirds welcome" BBC Sport Retrieved on 6 December 2007
  16. ^ "Cardiff 0-1 Stoke" BBC Sport Retrieved on 11 December 2007
  17. ^ "Cardiff boss Jones given warning" BBC Sport Retrieved on 11 December 2007
  18. ^ "Cardiff lacked bottle - Roberts" BBC Sport Retrieved on 11 December 2007
  19. ^ "Cardiff cannot slip up - Johnson" BBC Sport Retrieved on 19 April 2008
  20. ^ "'Come on you blues' - Purse's call to City" South Wales Echo Retrieved on 19 April 2008
  21. ^ "Middlesbrough 0-2 Cardiff" BBC Sport Retrieved on 19 May 2008
  22. ^ "Portsmouth 1-0 Cardiff" BBC Sport Retrieved on 20 May 2008
  23. ^ "Liverpool 2-1 Cardiff" BBC Sport Retrieved on 20 May 2008
  24. ^ "Welshpool 0-1 Cardiff" BBC Sport Retrieved on 20 May 2008
  25. ^ "Ledley takes the vote" TheFA.com Retrieved on 14 April 2008
  26. ^ "Coventry hero earns FA Cup award" BBC Sport Retrieved on 20 March 2008
  27. ^ "Havant's Potter wins FA Cup award" BBC Sport Retrieved on 20 March 2008
  28. ^ "Barnlsey keeper wins FA Cup award" BBC Sport Retrieved on 20 March 2008
  29. ^ "Odejayi takes vote" TheFA.com Retrieved on 20 March 2008

[edit] See also

Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City F.C. seasons
2007-08 in English football

Cardiff City Football Club
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