IN FOCUS: CARDIFF CITY

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Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-06-29T08:00:00.000Z

IN FOCUS: CARDIFF CITY

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-06-29T08:00:00.000Z

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

Cardiff City was founded as Riverside AFC in 1899, changing its name to the current moniker nine years later.

The Welsh outfit was elected to the second division of the English Football League in 1920 and secured promotion to the top flight straight away, spending eight seasons there before relegation.

That sparked a lean spell in their fortunes and the team dropped down to Division Three South, eventually reaching the top of the pyramid again in 1960.

The next 40 years or so were spent flittering between divisions but the Bluebirds have been much more consistent since the turn of the millennium.

Since reaching the Championship in 2004/05 they haven’t dropped below that level and 2013/14 saw them play Premier League football for the first time.

2009 was a momentous year for the Club with the opening of the Cardiff City Stadium, a purpose-built 26,828 capacity venue to replace Ninian Park, which had been its home since 1910.

Recent seasons have seen them finish mid table or lower, with 2023/24’s 12th place bettering the 21st and 18th place finishes that came before it.

Erol Bulut was appointed manager this time last year and the job is the first one he has had outside of his native Turkey, where he took charge of Alanyaspor, Fenerbahçe and Gaziantep.

The 49-year-old penned a two-year contract extension earlier this month, tying him to the Welsh capital until the summer of 2026.

Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium (33,316) – Leckwith Road, Cardiff, CF11 8AZ

Nickname(s): The Bluebirds

Manager: Erol Bulut

2023/24 Finishing Position: 12th in Sky Bet Championship

2023/24 Top Scorer (All Competitions): Perry Ng, Karlan Grant, Kion Etete (6)

Played for both:

Steven Thompson – Thompson’s career started in his native Scotland with Dundee United, where he made 133 league appearances in seven years. He then moved to Rangers on Boxing Day of 2022, but his first full season with the Glaswegians was blighted by knee ligament damage. The striker’s first Champions League goal came against Slovakian side FC Petrzalka in November 2005 before he moved to Wales two months later, penning a two-and-a-half-year deal with Cardiff City. He scored twice on his Bluebirds debut, which ironically was against Burnley, totalling 16 Championship goals in two years. Thompson moved to England for the first time in 2008, with Owen Coyle bringing him to the Clarets. He netted a career high 11 goals in his first season and, with Burnley now in the Premier League, Thompson managed 20 top-flight appearances which were mainly off the bench. The first of his four Premier League goals came against Wolverhampton Wanderers in March 2010 and he was offered a one-year extension at the end of the campaign, before departing a year later.

Peter Whittingham – A skilful winger, Whittingham’s youth career started at Coventry City before transferring to Aston Villa. His first-team debut came in April 2003 and a first senior goal followed five months later. Whittingham joined Burnley on one-month loan in February 20025, starting all seven of his games under Steve Cotterill before returning to the Midlands. Another loan spell followed with Derby County before the player joined Cardiff permanently in 2017, making his name there in a strong 10-year spell. Known for his ability from set-pieces, the midfielder netted 85 times in 413 league appearances for the Bluebirds and often wore the captain’s armband. His final Cardiff game came in May 2017 and Whittingham, who had now established himself as a Club stalwart, received a standing ovation from the Cardiff faithful. He finished his career with Blackburn Rovers, playing there for a season before retiring. Whittingham tragically passed away in March 2020, with the Club retiring his number shirt in tribute.

Alan Lee – Lee enjoyed a 19-year professional career in England, starting with Aston Villa whose books he was on for four years before a permanent move to Burnley came in 1999. Signed by Stan Ternent, Lee featured 15 times as the Clarets won promotion from the third tier, however, he was sold to Rotherham United that summer. Three years in South Yorkshire produced 37 league goals and that earned him a move to Cardiff. The striker struggled with injuries throughout his time at Ninian Park, scoring three, seven and two times in his trio of campaigns across the border. Lee fared much better at Ipswich Town and later had spell with Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Huddersfield Town before returning to the Tractor boys in 2013. He failed to make a league appearance that season and retired from playing in 2014 and picked up coaching.