2007–08 Cardiff City F.C. season

During the 2007–08 season Cardiff City played in the Football League Championship. It was the team's fifth 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]

Season review[]

Team kit and sponsorship[]

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

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]
• 7 September 2007 – Chairman Peter Ridsdale reveals that the club's new ground had fallen behind schedule and will not be ready until May 2009.^[3]
• 29 October 2007 – Ex-Wales rugby union 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]
• 13 November 2007 – Cardiff board members hold a meeting and hand manager Dave Jones a vote of confidence as long as results improve.^[6]
• 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]
• 12 March 2008 – The club's court case with creditors Langston begins at the High Court.^[9]
• 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 to agree terms.^[10]
• 24 May 2008 – Cardiff Blues rugby team sign an agreement which will see them become tenants at the club's new ground for a period of 20 years.^[11]

Preseason[]

Cardiff enjoyed a successful pre-season winning five out of their six friendlies. The previous season's 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 a 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.

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 Queens Park Rangers 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 the condition that the team's 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 team's 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 team's 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.

Standings[]

League statistics[]

Cups[]

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 West 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]

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.

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 club's 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.

Squad[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  FIN Peter Enckelman (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) 2 DF  SCO Kevin McNaughton 3 DF  NIR Tony Capaldi 4 MF  SCO Gavin Rae 5 DF  ENG Darren Purse (Captain) 6 DF  NED Glenn Loovens 7 MF  ENG Peter Whittingham 8 FW  ENG Robbie Fowler 10 MF  EIR Stephen McPhail (Vice-Captain) 11 MF  WAL Paul Parry 12 DF  ENG Roger Johnson 13 GK  ENG Michael Oakes 14 FW  NIR Warren Feeney 15 GK  EIR David Forde (on loan to Bournemouth)

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF  WAL Joe Ledley 18 MF  ENG Trevor Sinclair 19 MF  ENG Riccardo Scimeca 20 FW  SCO Steve Thompson 23 MF  WAL Darcy Blake 25 GK  POL Erwin Sak 26 MF  WAL Jonathan Brown 27 FW  ENG Matt Green (on loan to Oxford United) 29 DF  WAL Matthew Smith (on loan to Newport County) 30 MF  WAL Aaron Ramsey 31 FW  NIR Josh Magennis 36 FW  NED Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink — MF  EIR Willo Flood (on loan to Dundee United)

Detailed overview[]

No.	Name	Nat.	Place of birth	Date of birth	Club apps.	Club goals	Int. caps	Int. goals	Previous club	Date joined	Fee	End1
1	Peter Enckelman		Turku	10 March 1977	–	–	12	0	Blackburn Rovers	10 January 2008	Loan	2008
2	Kevin McNaughton		Dundee	28 August 1982	44	0	3	0	Aberdeen	26 May 2006	Free	2009
3	Tony Capaldi		Porsgrunn	12 August 1981	–	–	21	0	Plymouth Argyle	25 May 2007	Free	2010
4	Gavin Rae		Aberdeen	28 November 1977	–	–	12	0	Rangers	23 June 2007	Free	2010
5	Darren Purse		Stepney	14 February 1977	76	10	–	–	West Bromwich Albion	28 July 2005	£1,000,000	2008
6	Glenn Loovens		Doetinchem	22 October 1983	68	3	–	–	Feyenoord	9 May 2006	£250,000	2009
7	Peter Whittingham		Nuneaton	8 September 1984	19	4	–	–	Aston Villa	11 January 2007	£350,000	2011
8	Robbie Fowler		Liverpool	9 April 1975	–	–	26	7	Liverpool	22 July 2007	Free	2009
10	Stephen McPhail		London	9 December 1979	45	0	10	1	Barnsley	13 June 2006	Free	2009
11	Paul Parry		Chepstow	19 August 1980	118	12	12	1	Hereford United	9 January 2004	£75,000	2009
12	Roger Johnson		Ashford	28 April 1987	33	2	–	–	Wycombe Wanderers	4 July 2006	£275,000	2009
13	Michael Oakes		Northwich	30 October 1973	–	–	–	–	Wolverhampton Wanderers	7 July 2007	Free	2008
14	Warren Feeney		Belfast	17 January 1981	6	0	23	3	Luton Town	1 June 2007	Free	2009
15	David Forde		Galway	20 December 1979	8	0	–	–	Derry City	5 December 2006	Free	2009
16	Joe Ledley		Cardiff	23 January 1987	126	10	8	0	N/A	1 June 2004	Trainee	2009
18	Trevor Sinclair		London	2 March 1973	–	–	12	0	Manchester City	10 July 2007	Free	2008
19	Riccardo Scimeca		Leamington Spa	13 June 1975	55	6	–	–	West Bromwich Albion	13 January 2006	Free	2009
20	Steve Thompson		Paisley	14 October 1978	59	10	16	3	Rangers	10 January 2006	£250,000	2008
23	Darcy Blake		New Tredegar	13 December 1988	14	0	–	–	N/A	8 November 2006	Trainee	2009
25	Erwin Sak		Lublin	15 February 1990	–	–	–	–		19 February 2008	Free	2009
26	Jonathan Brown		Bridgend	17 April 1990	–	–	–	–	N/A	1 June 2007	Trainee	2009
27	Matt Green		Bath	2 January 1987	6	0	–	–	Newport County	31 January 2007	£10,000	2008
28	Matthew Smith		Cardiff		–	–	–	–	N/A	1 June 2007	Trainee	2008
30	Aaron Ramsey		Caerphilly	26 December 1990	1	0	–	–	N/A	1 June 2006	Trainee	2008
31	Josh Magennis		Bangor	15 August 1990	–	–	–	–	N/A	1 June 2007	Trainee	2010
36	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink		Paramaribo	27 March 1972	–	–	23	9	Charlton Athletic	16 August 2007	Free	2008

Squad statistics[]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Championship		FA Cup		League Cup		FAW Premier Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	FIN	Peter Enckelman	20	0	15+1	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
1	GK	DEN	Kasper Schmeichel*	14	0	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	GK	ENG	Ross Turnbull*	8	0	6	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
2	DF	SCO	Kevin McNaughton	43	2	35	1	6	1	2	0	0	0
3	DF	NIR	Tony Capaldi	54	0	43+1	0	6	0	4	0	0	0
4	MF	SCO	Gavin Rae	55	4	40+5	4	6	0	4	0	0	0
5	DF	ENG	Darren Purse	23	2	12+6	1	0	0	3	1	2	0
6	DF	NED	Glenn Loovens	44	0	36	0	6	0	1	0	1	0
7	MF	ENG	Peter Whittingham	51	9	25+16	5	6	3	2+2	1	0	0
8	FW	ENG	Robbie Fowler	16	6	10+3	4	0	0	3	2	0	0
9	FW	SCO	Steve MacLean*	18	1	6+9	1	1	0	1+1	0	0	0
10	MF	EIR	Stephen McPhail	52	3	42+1	3	5	0	4	0	0	0
11	MF	WAL	Paul Parry	50	11	37+4	10	5	1	4	0	0	0
12	DF	ENG	Roger Johnson	52	7	41+1	5	6	1	4	1	0	0
13	GK	ENG	Michael Oakes	15	0	11	0	2	0	2	0	0	0
14	FW	NIR	Warren Feeney	6	0	1+4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
15	GK	EIR	David Forde	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
16	MF	WAL	Joe Ledley	48	11	38+3	10	4	1	2+1	0	0	0
17	MF	ENG	Kevin Cooper*	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
18	MF	ENG	Trevor Sinclair	27	2	14+7	1	1+3	0	1	1	1	0
19	MF	ENG	Riccardo Scimeca	11	0	4+5	0	0+1	0	0	0	1	0
20	FW	SCO	Steve Thompson	43	7	17+19	5	1+4	1	0+1	0	1	1
23	MF	WAL	Darcy Blake	13	0	4+4	0	0+3	0	0+1	0	1	0
26	MF	WAL	Jonathan Brown	4	1	0+2	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
27	FW	ENG	Matt Green	2	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	1	0
30	MF	WAL	Aaron Ramsey	22	2	11+4	1	3+2	1	0+1	0	1	0
36	FW	NED	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	44	8	33+3	6	4+1	1	3	1	0	0
44	DF	WAL	Chris Gunter*	17	0	11+2	0	0	0	2+2	0	0	0

0* Indicates player left the club during the season.

Disciplinary record[]

Number	Pos	Player
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

Transfers[]

Summer transfer window ins[]

Loans in[]

Summer transfer window outs[]

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

January transfer window ins[]

January transfer window outs[]

Loans out[]

Fixtures & Results[]

Friendlies[]

Championship[]

FA Cup[]

League Cup[]

FAW Premier Cup[]

Awards[]

See also[]

• Cardiff City F.C.
• Cardiff City F.C. seasons
• 2007–08 in English football

References[]