1968–69 Cardiff City F.C. season

The 1968–69 season was Cardiff City F.C.'s 42nd season in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division Two, then the second tier of English football, finishing fifth.

Cardiff City

1968–69 season
Chairman	Fred Dewey
Manager	Jimmy Scoular
Football League Second Division	5th
FA Cup	3rd round
League Cup	2nd round
European Cup Winners Cup	1st round
Welsh Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: John Toshack (22) All: John Toshack (31)
Highest home attendance	26,210 (v Bristol City, 25 January 1969)
Lowest home attendance	10,809 (v Carlisle United, 21 September 1968)
Average home league attendance	16,870
Home colours
← 1967–68 1969–70 →

The team enjoyed nearly no success in cup competitions as they were knocked out in their first match of every cup apart from the Welsh Cup which they went on to win by beating local rivals Swansea Town in the final.

John Toshack would go on to finish the season with a total of 31 goals in all competitions, equalling the record set by Hughie Ferguson in the 1926–27 season that would not be beaten until 2003 when Robert Earnshaw finished with a total of 35 goals.

Players

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

No. Pos. Nation Player -- GK  ENG Fred Davies -- DF  ENG Gary Bell -- DF  ENG David Carver -- DF  WAL Graham Coldrick -- DF  WAL Steve Derrett -- DF  ENG Bobby Ferguson -- DF  WAL Terry Lewis -- DF  WAL Richie Morgan -- DF  SCO Don Murray -- MF  ENG Ronnie Bird -- MF  SCO Malcolm Clarke

No. Pos. Nation Player -- MF  ENG Brian Harris -- MF  WAL Barrie Jones -- MF  ENG Peter King -- MF  ENG Leslie Lea -- MF  WAL Leighton Phillips -- MF  SCO Frank Sharp -- MF  WAL Mel Sutton -- FW  SCO Sandy Allan -- FW  ENG Brian Clark -- FW  ENG Norman Dean -- FW  WAL John Toshack

League standings

Main article: 1968–69 Football League § Second Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
3	Charlton Athletic	42	18	14	10	61	52	1.173	50
4	Middlesbrough	42	19	11	12	58	49	1.184	49
5	Cardiff City	42	20	7	15	67	54	1.241	47	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
6	Huddersfield Town	42	17	12	13	53	46	1.152	46
7	Birmingham City	42	18	8	16	73	59	1.237	44

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

1. Cardiff City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1968–69 Welsh Cup winners.

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	L	L	L	D	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	D	L	L	L	D	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	W	L	W	L	W	W	L	W	D	W	D	L	D	L	W	L	L
Position			22	22	16	13	9	6	11	10	6	6	6	13	14	14	11	10	10	9	7	5	3	3	3	2	2	2	4	2	2	3	3	3	2	3	4	4	5	4	5	5

Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Fixtures and results

Second Division

Cardiff City v Crystal Palace

10 August 1968 (1968-08-10) 1	Cardiff City	0 – 4	Crystal Palace	Cardiff
15:00				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 16,373

Cardiff City v Charlton Athletic

14 August 1968 (1968-08-14) 2	Cardiff City	0 – 1	Charlton Athletic	Cardiff
19:30				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 11,979

Norwich City v Cardiff City

17 August 1968 (1968-08-17) 3	Norwich City	3 – 1	Cardiff City	Norwich
15:00			Ronnie Bird	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 14,476

Bury v Cardiff City

21 August 1968 (1968-08-21) 4	Bury	1 – 1	Cardiff City	Bury
19:30	Barrie Jones		Brian Clark	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 7,214

Cardiff City v Preston North End

24 August 1968 (1968-08-24) 5	Cardiff City	1 – 0	Preston North End	Cardiff
15:00	Peter King			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 10,817 Referee: Harry New (Portsmouth)

Cardiff City v Birmingham City

28 August 1968 (1968-08-28) 6	Cardiff City	4 – 0	Birmingham City	Cardiff
19:30	John Toshack John Toshack Gary Bell Brian Clark			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 14,967

Portsmouth v Cardiff City

31 August 1968 (1968-08-31) 7	Portsmouth	1 – 3	Cardiff City	Portsmouth
15:00	Mike Trebilcock (pen)		Brian Clark Peter King John Toshack	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 21,871

Cardiff City v Middlesbrough

7 September 1968 (1968-09-07) 8	Cardiff City	2 – 0	Middlesbrough	Cardiff
15:00	Bill Gates (og) Brian Clark			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 14,225

Huddersfield Town v Cardiff City

14 September 1968 (1968-09-14) 9	Huddersfield Town	3 – 0	Cardiff City	Huddersfield
15:00	Frank Worthington Frank Worthington Colin Dobson			Stadium: Leeds Road Attendance: 7,523

Cardiff City v Carlisle United

21 September 1968 (1968-09-21) 10	Cardiff City	2 – 1	Carlisle United	Cardiff
15:00	Brian Clark Barrie Jones			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 10,809

Bristol City v Cardiff City

28 September 1968 (1968-09-28) 11	Bristol City	0 – 3	Cardiff City	Bristol
15:00			Peter King John Toshack Barrie Jones	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 20,632

Cardiff City v Aston Villa

5 October 1968 (1968-10-05) 12	Cardiff City	1 – 1	Aston Villa	Cardiff
15:00	John Toshack 44'		71' Brian Godfrey	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 17,113 Referee: John Homewood (Sunbury-On-Thames)

Birmingham v Cardiff City

8 October 1968 (1968-10-08) 13	Birmingham	2 – 0	Cardiff City	Birmingham
19:30	Jimmy Greenhoff Johnny Vincent			Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 28,298

Millwall v Cardiff City

12 October 1968 (1968-10-12) 14	Millwall	2 – 0	Cardiff City	London
15:00				Stadium: The Den Attendance: 13,893 Referee: RL Johnson (Lowestoft)

Cardiff City v Bolton Wanderers

19 October 1968 (1968-10-19) 15	Cardiff City	0 – 2	Bolton Wanderers	Cardiff
15:00				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 12,026 Referee: Jim Finney (Hereford)

Hull City v Cardiff City

26 October 1968 (1968-10-26) 16	Hull City	3 – 3	Cardiff City	Hull
15:00			John Toshack John Toshack Brian Clark	Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 17,027

Cardiff City v Blackburn Rovers

2 November 1968 (1968-11-02) 17	Cardiff City	2 – 1	Blackburn Rovers	Cardiff
15:00	John Toshack Ronnie Bird			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 11,672

Blackpool v Cardiff City

9 November 1968 (1968-11-09) 18	Blackpool	1 – 2	Cardiff City	Blackpool
15:00			John Toshack John Toshack	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 12,085

Cardiff City v Derby County

16 November 1968 (1968-11-16) 19	Cardiff City	1 – 1	Derby County	Cardiff
15:00	Brian Clark		Alan Durban	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 17,328

Oxford United v Cardiff City

23 November 1968 (1968-11-23) 20	Oxford United	0 – 2	Cardiff City	Oxford
15:00			Brian Clark John Toshack	Stadium: Manor Ground Attendance: 9,836 Referee: Keith Walker (Maidstone)

Cardiff City v Sheffield United

30 November 1968 (1968-11-30) 21	Cardiff City	4 – 1	Sheffield United	Cardiff
15:00	Ronnie Bird Ronnie Bird (pen) Brian Clark John Toshack			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 14,255 Referee: John Yates (Redditch)

Fulham v Cardiff City

7 December 1968 (1968-12-07) 22	Fulham	1 – 5	Cardiff City	London
15:00			Brian Clark Barrie Jones Barrie Jones John Toshack Leslie Lea	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 13,191

Cardiff City v Millwall

14 December 1968 (1968-12-14) 23	Cardiff City	2 – 0	Millwall	Cardiff
15:00	John Toshack Brian Clark			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 22,405

Bolton Wanderers v Cardiff City

21 December 1968 (1968-12-21) 24	Bolton Wanderers	1 – 2	Cardiff City	Bolton
15:00			Ronnie Bird Barrie Jones	Stadium: Burnden Park Attendance: 8,895

Aston Villa v Cardiff City

26 December 1968 (1968-12-26) 25	Aston Villa	2 – 0	Cardiff City	Birmingham
15:00	Barrie Hole Brian Tiler			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 41,296 Referee: Malcolm Sinclair (Guildford)

Cardiff City v Hull City

28 December 1968 (1968-12-28) 26	Cardiff City	3 – 0	Hull City	Cardiff
15:00	Brian Clark Ronnie Bird John Toshack			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 24,815

Blackburn Rovers v Cardiff City

11 January 1969 (1969-01-11) 27	Blackburn Rovers	1 – 0	Cardiff City	Blackburn
15:00				Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 12,100

Cardiff City v Bristol City

25 January 1969 (1969-01-25) 28	Cardiff City	3 – 0	Bristol City	Cardiff
15:00	Brian Clark 18', 45' Peter King			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 26,210 Referee: Harry New (Hampshire)

Derby County v Cardiff City

1 February 1969 (1969-02-01) 29	Derby County	2 – 0	Cardiff City	Derby
15:00	Kevin Hector ?', ?'			Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 34,589

Cardiff City v Oxford United

8 February 1969 (1969-02-08) 30	Cardiff City	5 – 0	Oxford United	Cardiff
15:00	Ronnie Bird Brian Clark Brian Clark John Toshack John Toshack			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 16,387 Referee: Bill Castle (Dudley)

Cardiff City v Blackpool

12 February 1969 (1969-02-12) 31	Cardiff City	1 – 0	Blackpool	Cardiff
19:30	John Toshack			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 24,206 Referee: Derek Nippard (Bournemouth)

Crystal Palace v Cardiff City

1 March 1969 (1969-03-01) 32	Crystal Palace	3 – 1	Cardiff City	London
15:00	Mel Blyth Steve Kember Tony Taylor		Barrie Jones	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 19,663 Referee: Charles Nicholls (Plymouth)

Cardiff City v Norwich City

7 March 1969 (1969-03-07) 33	Cardiff City	3 – 1	Norwich City	Cardiff
19:30	John Toshack Peter King Ronnie Bird			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 21,389

Sheffield United v Cardiff City

11 March 1969 (1969-03-11) 34	Sheffield United	2 – 2	Cardiff City	Sheffield
19:30	Gil Reece ?', ?'		12' Brian Clark Barrie Jones	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 14,508 Referee: Ivan Robinson (Manchester)

Preston North End v Cardiff City

15 March 1969 (1969-03-15) 35	Preston North End	0 – 1	Cardiff City	Preston
15:00			Ronnie Bird	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 10,752

Cardiff City v Portsmouth

21 March 1969 (1969-03-21) 36	Cardiff City	2 – 2	Portsmouth	Cardiff
19:30	John Toshack John Toshack		Albert McCann (og) David Carver	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 21,791 Referee: Ken Burns (Stourbridge)

Cardiff City v Fulham

25 March 1969 (1969-03-25) 37	Cardiff City	0 – 2	Fulham	Cardiff
19:30				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 20,723 Referee: M Kerkhof (Bicester)

Middlesbrough v Cardiff City

29 March 1969 (1969-03-29) 38	Middlesbrough	0 – 0	Cardiff City	Middlesbrough
15:00				Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 24,470

Charlton Athletic v Cardiff City

4 April 1969 (1969-04-04) 39	Charlton Athletic	4 – 1	Cardiff City	London
11:00			Don Murray	Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 21,832 Referee: Jack Taylor (Wolverhampton)

Cardiff City v Bury

7 April 1969 (1969-04-07) 40	Cardiff City	2 – 0	Bury	Cardiff
15:00	John Toshack Sandy Allan			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 13,232 Referee: Charles Nicholls (Plymouth)

Carlisle United v Cardiff City

12 April 1969 (1969-04-12) 41	Carlisle United	1 – 0	Cardiff City	Carlisle
15:00				Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 5,546

Cardiff City v Huddersfield Town

19 April 1969 (1969-04-19) 42	Cardiff City	0 – 2	Huddersfield Town	Cardiff
15:00			Trevor Cherry (og) Don Murray	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 11,549 Referee: Eric Jennings (Stourbridge)

League Cup

Carlisle United v Cardiff City

4 September 1968 (1968-09-04) Round 2	Carlisle United	2 – 0	Cardiff City	Carlisle
				Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 7,714

FA Cup

Cardiff City v Arsenal

4 January 1969 (1969-01-04) Round 3	Cardiff City	0 – 0	Arsenal	Cardiff
15:00				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 55,136 Referee: David Smith (Stonehouse)

Arsenal v Cardiff City

7 January 1969 (1969-01-07) Round 3 (Replay)	Arsenal	2 – 0	Cardiff City	London
19:30	George Armstrong Bobby Gould			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 52,681 Referee: David Smith (Stonehouse)

European Cup Winners Cup

Cardiff City v FC Porto

18 September 1968 (1968-09-18) Round 1 (First Leg)	Cardiff City	2 – 2	FC Porto	Cardiff
19:30	John Toshack 24' Ronnie Bird 50' (pen)		60', 68' Custodio Pinto	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 19,202 Referee: Gaspar Pintado Viu (Spain)

FC Porto v Cardiff City

2 October 1968 (1968-10-02) Round 1 (Second Leg)	FC Porto	2 – 1 (4 – 3 agg.)	Cardiff City	Porto
	9' Pavao 76' Custodio Pinto		51' John Toshack	Stadium: Estadio das Antas Attendance: 55,000 Referee: Robert Helies (France)

Welsh Cup

Aberystwyth Town v Cardiff City

15 January 1969 (1969-01-15) Round 3	Aberystwyth Town	0 – 3	Cardiff City	Aberystwyth
15:00			Leslie Lea John Toshack Barrie Jones	Stadium: Park Avenue, Aberystwyth Attendance: 5,000

Cardiff City v Bethesda Athletic

5 February 1969 (1969-02-05) Round 4	Cardiff City	6 – 0	Bethesda Athletic	Cardiff
19:30	Brian Clark Brian Clark Barrie Jones Gary Bell John Toshack			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,749

Chester v Cardiff City

19 March 1969 (1969-03-19) Semi Final	Chester	0 – 2	Cardiff City	Chester
19:15			John Toshack John Toshack	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 8,404

Swansea Town v Cardiff City

22 April 1969 (1969-04-22) Final (First Leg)	Swansea Town	1 – 3	Cardiff City	Swansea
19:30	Herbie Williams 50'		13', 44' John Toshack 18' (og) Mel Nurse	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 10,207 Referee: Leo Callaghan (Merthyr Tydfil)

Cardiff City v Swansea Town

29 April 1969 (1969-04-29) Final (Second Leg)	Cardiff City	2 – 0 (5 – 1 agg.)	Swansea Town	Cardiff
19:30	John Toshack 33' Leslie Lea 40'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 12,617 Referee: Leo Callaghan (Merthyr Tydfil)

See also

• List of Cardiff City F.C. seasons

References

• Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.
• "Football Club History Database – Cardiff City". Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
• Welsh Football Data Archive