| Season: | 2005–06 |
| League Result: | 11th |
| Cup1 Result: | Third round |
| Cup2 Result: | Third round |
| Cup3 Result: | Quarter-finals |
| League Topscorer: | Cameron Jerome (18) |
| Season Topscorer: | Cameron Jerome (20) |
| Highest Attendance: | 16,403 vs Plymouth Argyle (26 December 2005) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 8,724 vs Ipswich Town (26 November 2005) |
| Average Attendance: | 11,802 |
| Nextseason: | 2006–07 |
During the 2005–06 season Cardiff City played in the Football League Championship. It was the club's third year in the Championship since being promoted from League One.
Cardiff ended a 3-year deal with Puma and changed to Spanish company Joma. Housing firm Redrow continued as the main shirt sponsor.
Cardiff began their season with 1–0 loss to Ipswich Town but bounced back with a win at Leeds United before going four games without a win, breaking the streak with consecutive wins over Leicester City and Crystal Palace. On 22 October Cardiff recorded their biggest win of the season with a 6–1 victory over Crewe Alexandra but this was followed by two draws and a loss and by Christmas the sides form had seen them win just three out of thirteen games since the end of October.
The new year saw a continuation of Cardiff's poor form with a 5–1 defeat against Reading. Six wins from the final eighteen games of the season left Cardiff with a 12th-place finish.
Cardiff entered in round one, beating Colchester United 2–0 at the Colchester Community Stadium.[1] They claimed a victory in the second round over Macclesfield Town before being eliminated by Leicester City in the third round.[2]
Cardiff were drawn against Premier League side Arsenal after entering the competition in the third round, suffering a 2–1 defeat at the Arsenal Stadium on 7 January.[3]
|}
| Player | Club | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Cooper | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Undisclosed | |
| Neil Cox | Watford | Free | |
| Andrea Ferretti | Parma | Undisclosed | |
| Philip Mulryne | Unattached | Free | |
| Darren Purse | West Bromwich Albion | Undisclosed | |
| Jeff Whitley | Sunderland | Free | |
| Lee Worgan | Unattached | Free |
| Player | Club | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Bullock | Hartlepool United | Free |
| James Collins | West Ham United | £3.5 m (combined) |
| Danny Gabbidon | ||
| Gary Croft | Grimsby Town | Free |
| Graham Kavanagh | Wigan Athletic | £400,000 |
| Richard Langley | Queens Park Rangers | Free |
| Arran Lee-Barrett | Weymouth | Free |
| Jobi McAnuff | Crystal Palace | £600,000 |
| Rob Page | Coventry City | Free |
| John Robinson | Crawley Town | Free |
| Danny Thomas | Carmarthen Town | Free |
| Peter Thorne | Norwich City | Free |
| Tony Vidmar | NAC Breda | Undisclosed |
| Darren Williams | Hartlepool United | Free |
| Player | Club | Arrival Date | Return Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn Loovens | Feyenoord | August 2005 | End of Season | |
| Jason Koumas | Wigan Athletic | August 2005 | End of Season | |
| Michael Ricketts | Leeds United | August 2005 | January 2006 |
| Player | Club | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu | Darlington | Undisclosed | |
| Riccardo Scimeca | West Bromwich Albion | Undisclosed | |
| Steve Thompson | Rangers | £250,000 |
| Player | Club | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart Fleetwood | Hereford United | Undisclosed | |
| Tony Warner | Fulham | Free |
See main article: 2005–06 Football League Championship.
| 6 Aug | A | L 0 – 1 | 24,292 | |||
| 9 Aug | H | W 2 – 1 | 15,231 | Koumas, Purse | ||
| 12 Aug | H | L 1 – 3 | 9,256 | Jerome | ||
| 20 Aug | A | L 1 – 2 | 23,153 | Jerome | ||
| 27 Aug | H | D 2 – 2 | 11,502 | Jerome (2) | ||
| 10 Sep | A | D 3 – 3 | 10,431 | Jerome, Loovens, Purse | ||
| 13 Sep | H | W 1 – 0 | 9,196 | Ricketts | ||
| 17 Sep | H | W 1 – 0 | 11,647 | Ricketts | ||
| 24 Sep | A | D 0 – 0 | 9,254 | |||
| 27 Sep | A | W 3 – 0 | 12,240 | Jerome (2), Purse | ||
| 1 Oct | H | L 1 – 2 | 14,657 | Ricketts | ||
| 15 Oct | A | W 2 – 1 | 6,485 | Koumas, Lee | ||
| 18 Oct | H | D 2 – 2 | 9,574 | Ledley, Koumas | ||
| 22 Oct | H | W 6 – 1 | 10,815 | Ricketts, Ledley, Cooper, Purse, Jerome, Koumas | ||
| 29 Oct | A | D 0 – 0 | 25,311 | |||
| 1 Nov | A | L 0 – 1 | 23,838 | |||
| 6 Nov | H | D 0 – 0 | 11,424 | |||
| 9 Nov | A | W 3 – 1 | 20,324 | Koumas, Jerome (2) | ||
| 19 Nov | A | L 1 – 2 | 13,904 | Loovens | ||
| 22 Nov | H | D 1 – 1 | 9,595 | Lee | ||
| 28 Nov | H | W 2 – 1 | 8,724 | Ricketts, Koumas | ||
| 3 Dec | A | L 0 – 2 | 18,364 | |||
| 10 Dec | A | W 1 – 0 | 20,597 | Koumas | ||
| 17 Dec | H | D 0 – 0 | 12,500 | |||
| 26 Dec | H | L 0 – 2 | 16,403 | |||
| 28 Dec | A | L 0 – 1 | 12,329 | |||
| 31 Dec | H | W 2 – 1 | 13,377 | Ledley, Jerome | ||
| 2 Jan | A | L 1 – 5 | 22,668 | Jerome | ||
| 14 Jan | H | W 3 – 0 | 10,872 | Thompson (2), Koumas | ||
| 21 Jan | A | W 2 – 1 | 20,140 | Jerome, Koumas | ||
| 31 Jan | H | D 1 – 1 | 12,738 | Jerome | ||
| 4 Feb | A | L 0 – 1 | 17,962 | |||
| 11 Feb | H | W 3 – 0 | 10,780 | Cooper, Cox (2) | ||
| 14 Feb | A | D 3 – 3 | 7,826 | Koumas (2), Scimeca | ||
| 18 Feb | H | W 1 – 0 | 11,047 | Jerome | ||
| 25 Feb | A | L 1 – 2 | 17,419 | Whitley | ||
| 4 Mar | H | W 1 – 0 | 11,851 | Jerome | ||
| 11 Mar | A | L 0 – 2 | 23,996 | |||
| 18 Mar | A | W 1 – 0 | 13,494 | Thompson | ||
| 25 Mar | H | D 0 – 0 | 14,271 | |||
| 1 Apr | A | L 2 – 3 | 22,388 | Jerome, Purse | ||
| 8 Apr | H | L 2 – 5 | 11,866 | Jerome, Parry | ||
| 14 Apr | H | L 0 – 1 | 11,006 | |||
| 17 Apr | A | D 1 – 1 | 5,865 | Koumas | ||
| 22 Apr | H | L 0 – 1 | 11,590 | |||
| 30 Apr | A | L 1 – 3 | 22,536 | Thompson |
| 24 Aug | One | A | W 2 – 0 | 1,904 | Purse, Jerome | ||
| 20 Sep | Two | H | W 2 – 1 | 3,849 | Ledley, Koumas | ||
| 26 Oct | Three | H | L 0 – 1 | 8,727 |
| 7 Jan | Three | A | L 1 – 2 | 36,552 | Jerome |
| 10 Jan | Quarter-final | A | L 1 – 2 | 900 | Anthony |