1921–22 Cardiff City F.C. season

During the 1920–21 season, Cardiff City were elected into the Second Division of The Football League having spent the previous decade playing in the Southern Football League. In the side's first season, they finished as runners-up behind Birmingham on goal average after the two teams accumulated the same number of points.[1] As a result, Cardiff won promotion to the First Division, becoming the first Welsh side to play in the top tier of English football.[2]

Manager Fred Stewart remained in charge of the first team for the tenth year. He made several additions to the squad, signing full back Tommy Brown arrived from New Brighton and forward Willie Page, the brother of Cardiff defender Jack Page,[3] from Port Vale.[4] Cardiff were investigated by The Football Association (FA) and the Football Association of Wales (FAW) over an illegal approach for Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Dickie Baugh Jr.. The club was found guilty with Baugh having signed an agreement with an agent acting on behalf of Cardiff despite still being contracted to Wolves. Cardiff were fined £50 and Baugh £20. The agent involved was subsequently banned from all football grounds under the jurisdictions of either the FA or FAW.[5]

Cardiff also made significant investments in the club's ground Ninian Park. A new pitch was laid using sea-washed turf which officials at the club labelled as "now being equal to the best in the country".[4] The earthen embankments that enclosed the pitch were also built up to improve viewing for spectators.[4] Having won promotion and reached the semifinal of the FA Cup, The Times expected Cardiff to adapt well to the higher tier.[6]

In the team's first match in the First Division, they met FA Cup holders Tottenham Hotspur at Ninian Park. The game therefore became the first top tier match in English football to be played in Wales and was described in The Times as "the most important event in their (Cardiff's) history".[7] The fixture attracted a large crowd and when 50,000 supporters had paid and been allowed into the ground officials attempted to close the gates. However, with thousands still queuing to gain entry, supporters broke through the gates and forced their way into the ground. Club officials estimated between an extra 6-10,000 people broke into the ground after the gates were initially closed.[8] Cardiff started the season without influential defender Jimmy Blair; Jack Page starting the opening match in his place.[9] Tottenham received a blow early into the game as Jimmy Seed picked up an injury. Despite the setback, Tottenham proved too strong for Cardiff and scored the only goal of the game through Jimmy Banks from outside the penalty area.[10] The excessive crowd numbers produced several unsavoury incidents which included fans taking over the score board to use as a vantage point. This experience prompted the club to approach local police to seek advice on crowd control at future matches.[4]

Defeat to Tottenham was the start of a difficult beginning in the First Division for the club. Defender Bert Smith became the first player to score for Cardiff in the division in the side's following match with a consolation goal during a 2–1 defeat to Astin Villa. Cardiff met Tottenham in the reverse fixture five days later but, having proven a stubborn opponent for the more experienced side in the first meeting, they were soundly beaten after conceding three goals in the opening 30 minutes of the match. The game finished 4–1 to Tottenham with The Times describing victory for the London-based side as "a very easy matter".[11] A 4–0 defeat in the reverse fixture against Aston Villa followed, prompting manager Fred Stewart to make changes to his side ahead of back-to-back fixtures against Oldham Athletic. Blair returned to action having missed the first four matches and goalkeeper Herbert Kneeshaw was dropped in favour of Ben Davies. Billy Hardy, who had been ever present the previous season, was also left out due to injury along with forward George West.[12] The changes yielded little reward as Cardiff lost both fixtures against Oldham, 1–0 at home, 2–1 away, starting the campaign with six consecutive defeats which left them bottom of the table.[9][13]

Cardiff's next fixture was against unbeaten league leaders Middlesbrough in a match that was described as "The most noteworthy example of disparity of strength between contesting clubs".[14] In a surprising turn of form, Cardiff recorded its first victory in the First Division after causing an upset to win 3–1. Jimmy Gill who had been the club's top scorer the previous season scored his first goals of the campaign with a brace and Harry Nash added a third. The victory prompted an upturn in fortune for the team as they lost only one of their five matches in October, a 2–1 defeat to Bolton Wanderers. Gill enjoyed a fine run of form during this time, scoring six goals in the five matches including braces during victories over West Bromwich Albion and Bolton in the reverse fixture.[9] With the club struggling for goals, October also saw the arrival of Joe Clennell from Everton for £1,500. In an attempt to recoup some of the transfer fee, two forwards who had played an integral role in promotion in the 1920–21 season, Arthur Cashmore and Fred Pagnam,[15] were sold having failed to score in a combined 17 appearances.[9]

Back-to-back fixtures against Manchester City at the start of November yielded only a point for Cardiff after losing 2–0 at home and drawing 1–1 away. However, two victories against Everton later in the month proved a turning point in the season for Cardiff. The departure of Pagnam allowed Len Davies to make his first appearances of the season, scoring all three of Cardiff's goals in 2–1 and 1–0 victories. The second fixture also saw Hardy and Smith return after injury layoffs.[9] A remarkable run of form ensued with Cardiff losing only one of their following thirteen league matches led by the goals of Davies, Gill and Clennell.[9] Davies also scored the first hat-trick in The Football League by a Cardiff player during a 6–3 victory over Bradford City on 21 January 1922.[16] As well as Bradford, the team's run included wins over Birmingham (twice), Arsenal, Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea.[9] The Times described the team during this time as appearing "almost invincible" as their improved form lifted them to sixth in the table.[17] The team's victory over Blackburn during this spell saw an unusual debutant when club trainer George Latham was forced into action. Hours before the game was due to start, Gill and Evans both went down with sickness and only one player, Nash, had travelled in reserve. Latham, who had played professionally previously, stepped in and became the oldest player in the club's history at 41 years old.[18][19]

On 25 February, Cardiff suffered its first defeat since early December, losing 1–0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as the opposition defence proved impregnable.[17] The team recovered to beat Sheffield United 2–0 in their following match with goals from Clennell and Ken MacDonald but suffered a further blow after losing 1–0 to struggling Bradford who were 21st in the table.[20] Two matches against reigning First Division champions Burnley produced positive results as the team's drew 1–1 before Cardiff won the reverse fixture 4–2 at Ninian Park. Len Davies scored a brace with Gill and Jack Evans scoring one each. Cardiff repeated the pattern in its following two matches against Newcastle United, drawing away before Len Davies scored the only goal in a home victory.[9] Despite taking the lead early in the match, Cardiff suffered a 5–1 defeat to league leaders Liverpool on 15 April.[21] Two days later, they lost heavily again in a 3–1 defeat to Blackburn. They met Liverpool in the reverse fixture on 22 April, with their opponents already having secured the First Division title,[22] winning 2–0. Cardiff finished the season with consecutive draws against Sheffield United and Manchester United before beating the then relegated Manchester again in the final game. The side finished its inaugural season in the First Division in fourth place.[9]

Jimmy Gill was Cardiff's top goalscorer in the First Division.

Billy Grimshaw made the most appearances of any Cardiff player during the season, featuring in 47 matches in all competitions. He also made the most league appearances with 38. Jack Evans was the next highest with 44 appearances and a further five players made 40 or more appearances. Goalkeeper Tom Farquharson made a single appearance in the final match of the season.[9] He would go on to set a club record for appearances in The Football League with 445 that stood until 1985 when it was surpassed by Phil Dwyer.[33] Farquharson was one of six players who featured in just one match for the club during the campaign. The others included Albert Barnett, who was recovering from a broken leg suffered the previous season,[34] and George Latham, the club's trainer who played one match during an injury crisis. At the age of 41, Latham remains the oldest player ever to feature in a competitive fixture for Cardiff.[18] Two of the players, Ernie Anderson and James Melville, never played another match for Cardiff before moving on.[9]

Len Davies was the club's top goalscorer with 30 goals in all competitions. Although he scored three less than Jimmy Gill in league competition, his prolific scoring in cup competitions saw him outscore his teammate. Davies and Gill were two of the three players to score ten or more goals for Cardiff during the season, the third being Joe Clennell. Eleven players scored at least one goal during the course of the season and one opposition player scored an own goal.[9]

Brown and Willie Page, the two signings made at the start of the 1921–22 campaign, would both depart after a single season with only Brown having played for the first-team. Such was Stewart's confidence in his side that the club made no major signings prior to the start of the following season and only a poor run of form toward the end of 1922 prompted the arrival of a small number of players.[35] As a result of the team's performance, they were regarded as an established side for the 1922–23 season with The Times describing the side as possessing "undeniable all-round ability" in its preseason report.[36]

Specific

Bibliography

• Leighton, James (2010), Fred Keenor – The Man Who Never Gave Up, Derby: Derby Books Publishing Company, pp. 24–25, ISBN 978-1-85983-828-0CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Lloyd, Grahame (1999), C'mon City! A Hundred Years of the Bluebirds, Seren Books, ISBN 1854112716CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Shepherd, Richard (2002). The Definitive: Cardiff City F.C. Nottingham: SoccerData Publications. pp. 26–27. ISBN 1-899468-17-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)