| Season: | 2007–08 |
| League Result: | 12th |
| Cup1 Result: | Runners-up |
| Cup2 Result: | Fourth round |
| Cup3 Result: | Semi-finals |
| League Topscorer: | Joe Ledley Paul Parry (10 each) |
| Season Topscorer: | Joe Ledley Paul Parry (11 each) |
| Highest Attendance: | 18,840 vs Stoke City (11 August 2007) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 11,006 vs Colchester United (8 December 2007) |
| Average Attendance: | 13,939 |
| Nextseason: | 2008–09 |
During the 2007–08 season Cardiff City played in the Football League Championship. It was the team's fifth consecutive season in the second tier since being promoted from the third tier (Division Two, now known as 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]
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.
This section does not list information about match results or player transfers.
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.
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.
See main article: 2007–08 Football League Championship.
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]
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.
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.
| 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 | – | – | – | – | Sokół Pniewy | 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 |
|}
| 6 | DF | 12 | 0 | |
| 10 | MF | 7 | 0 | |
| 3 | DF | 5 | 0 | |
| 16 | MF | 4 | 0 | |
| 20 | FW | 4 | 1 | |
| 36 | FW | 3 | 1 | |
| 2 | DF | 3 | 0 | |
| 5 | DF | 3 | 0 | |
| 4 | MF | 3 | 0 | |
| 12 | DF | 2 | 0 | |
| 9 | FW | 2 | 0 | |
| 11 | MF | 2 | 0 | |
| 7 | MF | 2 | 0 | |
| 23 | MF | 1 | 0 | |
| 44 | DF | 1 | 0 | |
| 30 | MF | 1 | 0 | |
| 1 | GK | 1 | 0 | |
| 19 | MF | 1 | 0 | |
| 18 | MF | 1 | 0 | |
| Player | Club | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Tony Capaldi | Plymouth Argyle | Free Transfer |
| 8 | Robbie Fowler | Liverpool | Free Transfer |
| 36 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | Charlton Athletic | Free Transfer |
| 9 | Steve MacLean | Sheffield Wednesday | Free Transfer |
| 13 | Michael Oakes | Wolves | Free Transfer |
| 4 | Gavin Rae | Rangers | Free Transfer |
| 18 | Trevor Sinclair | Manchester City | Free Transfer |
| Player | Club | Arrival date | Return date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ross Turnbull | Middlesbrough | 29 July | 5 October | |
| 1 | Kasper Schmeichel | Manchester City | 25 October | 3 January | |
| 1 | Peter Enckelman | Blackburn Rovers | 10 January | End of season |
| Player | Club | Fee | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neil Alexander | Ipswich Town | Free Transfer | ||
| Scott Allison | Hartlepool United | Free Transfer | ||
| Chris Barker | QPR | Free Transfer | ||
| Retired | – | |||
| Michael Chopra | Sunderland | £5m | ||
| Gregg Coombes | Carmarthen Town | Free Transfer | ||
| Michael Corcoran | Oxford United | Free Transfer | ||
| Jamal Easter | Carmarthen Town | Free Transfer | ||
| Luigi Glombard | Grenoble Foot 38 | Free Transfer | ||
| Mark Howard | St Mirren | Free Transfer | ||
| Joe Jacobson | Bristol Rovers | Free Transfer | ||
| Martyn Margetson | Retired | – | ||
| Scott McCoubrey | Port Talbot Town | Released | ||
| Curtis McDonald | Carmarthen Town | Free Transfer | ||
| Nick McKoy | Unattached | Released | ||
| Jeff Whitley | Unattached | Released |
| Player | Club | Fee | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Jason Byrne | Bohemians | Free | |
| 17 | Kevin Cooper | Chesterfield | Free | |
| 44 | Chris Gunter | Tottenham Hotspur | £1.5m | |
| 9 | Steve MacLean | Plymouth Argyle | £500,000 |
| Player | Club | Departure date | Return date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willo Flood | Dundee United | 12 June | End of season | ||
| 14 | Warren Feeney | Swansea City | 21 August | 1 January | |
| 29 | Matt Green | Darlington | 8 October | 8 November | |
| 17 | Kevin Cooper | Tranmere Rovers | 25 October | 25 November | |
| 27 | Matt Green | Oxford United | 22 November | 22 December | |
| Bradley Middleton | Dorchester Town | 18 December | 29 January | ||
| 27 | Matt Green | Oxford United | 25 January | End of season | |
| 15 | David Forde | Bournemouth | 6 March | End of season | |
| 29 | Matt Smith | Newport County | March 2008 | End of season |
| 7 Jul | Merthyr Tydfil (Southern Premier Division) | A | W 2 – 0 | – | Chopra (2) |
| 11 Jul | Pourtegese FA XI (Portugal) | A | W 2 – 1 | Approx. 600 | Charalambidis, Green |
| 14 Jul | Vitoria de Setúbal (Primeira Liga) | A | W 1 – 0 | – | MacLean |
| 21 Jul | Yeovil Town (League One) | A | W 2 – 0 | 2,371 | Feeney(pen), MacLean(pen) |
| 28 Jul | Stockport County (League Two) | A | L 4 – 6 | 3,125 | |
| 4 Aug | FC Twente (Dutch Eredivisie) | H | W 1 – 0 | – | Feeney |
| 11 Aug | H | L 0 – 1 | 18,840 | |||
| 18 Aug | A | W 2 – 0 | 12,596 | MacLean, Parry | ||
| 25 Aug | H | L 0 – 1 | 16,407 | |||
| 1 Sep | A | W 2 – 1 | 24,292 | |||
| 15 Sep | A | D 2 – 2 | 11,591 | |||
| 19 Sep | H | L 1 – 2 | 13,169 | Hasselbaink | ||
| 22 Sep | H | D 2 – 2 | 11,772 | Fowler (2) | ||
| 29 Sep | A | D 1 – 1 | 10,709 | Hasselbaink | ||
| 2 Oct | A | D 3 – 3 | 26,186 | Ledley, Fowler(pen), Rae | ||
| 6 Oct | H | W 2–1 | 12,914 | Ledley, Parry | ||
| 21 Oct | A | L 0 – 1 | 20,796 | |||
| 24 Oct | H | L 2 – 3 | 15,000 | Fowler(pen), Hasselbaink | ||
| 27 Oct | H | D 1 – 1 | 11,850 | McPhail | ||
| 6 Nov | H | D 1 – 1 | 11,781 | Purse | ||
| 10 Nov | A | L 0 – 3 | 22,866 | |||
| 24 Nov | H | W 1 – 0 | 15,173 | |||
| 26 Nov | A | D 0 – 0 | 16,269 | |||
| 1 Dec | A | D 2 – 2 | 16,269 | Thompson, Johnson | ||
| 4 Dec | H | L 0 – 2 | 11,874 | |||
| 8 Dec | H | W 4 – 1 | 11,006 | Thompson, Whittingham, Hasselbaink, Virgo (OG) | ||
| 11 Dec | A | W 1 – 0 | 7,214 | Thompson | ||
| 15 Dec | A | L 0 – 1 | 15,753 | |||
| 22 Dec | H | W 1 – 0 | 12,869 | Parry | ||
| 26 Dec | A | D 2 – 2 | 17,014 | Johnson, Whittingham | ||
| 29 Dec | A | W 2 – 1 | 12,046 | |||
| 1 Jan | H | W 1 – 0 | 14,965 | Ledley | ||
| 12 Jan | H | W 1 – 0 | 14,015 | Hasselbaink | ||
| 19 Jan | A | D 3 – 3 | 22,325 | Parry (2), Ledley | ||
| 29 Jan | H | W 3 – 1 | 13,602 | Ledley (2), Parry | ||
| 2 Feb | A | L 1 – 2 | 15,045 | |||
| 9 Feb | H | L 1 – 2 | 11,937 | Rae | ||
| 12 Feb | A | D 0 – 0 | 15,260 | |||
| 23 Feb | A | L 0 – 1 | 18,539 | |||
| 1 Mar | H | L 0 – 1 | 13,335 | |||
| 4 Mar | A | D 0 – 0 | 13,446 | |||
| 12 Mar | H | W 1 – 0 | 17,555 | McPhail | ||
| 15 Mar | A | D 1 – 1 | 4,699 | Parry | ||
| 22 Mar | H | W 2 – 1 | 16,458 | Johnson, Whittingham | ||
| 29 Mar | H | W 1 – 0 | 12,955 | Parry | ||
| 1 Apr | H | D 0 – 0 | 13,915 | |||
| 9 Apr | A | D 1 – 1 | 20,311 | Rae | ||
| 12 Apr | H | W 3 – 1 | 14,715 | McPhail, Sinclair, Whittingham | ||
| 19 Apr | A | L 2 – 3 | 4,727 | Hasselbaink, Ledley | ||
| 22 Apr | A | L 0 – 3 | 20,862 | |||
| 26 Apr | A | D 3 – 3 | 10,694 | |||
| 4 May | H | W 3 – 0 | 14,469 | Parry, McNaughton, Ledley |
| 5 Jan | Three | A | W 3 – 1 | 2,420 | Whittingham, Ramsey, Parry | |
| 27 Jan | Four | A | W 2 – 1 | 6,855 | McNaughton, Thompson (pen) | |
| 16 Feb | Five | H | W 2 – 0 | 15,339 | Whittingham, Hasselbaink | |
| 9 Mar | Quarter-final | A | W 2 – 0 | 32,896 | Whittingham, Johnson | |
| 6 Apr | Semi-final | N | W 1 – 0 | 82,752 | Ledley | |
| 17 May | Final | N | L 0 – 1 | 89,874 |
| 14 Aug | One | H | W 1 – 0 | 3,726 | Johnson | |
| 28 Aug | Two | H | W 1 – 0 | 6,150 | Whittingham | |
| 25 Sep | Three | A | W 4 – 2 | 14,085 | Fowler (2), Hasselbaink, Sinclair | |
| 31 Oct | Four | A | L 1 – 2 | 41,780 | Purse | |
| 22 Jan | Quarter-final | A | W 1 – 0 | 208 | Brown | ||
| 19 Feb | Semi-final | H | L 1–1 (4–5 on pens) | Approx. 2000 | Thompson |
January Championship manager of the month: Dave Jones
January Championship player of the month: Joe Ledley
Player of the semi-finals of the FA Cup: Joe Ledley[25]
Player of the third round of the FA Cup: Aaron Ramsey[26]
Player of the fourth round of the FA Cup: Paul Parry[27]
Player of the fifth round of the FA Cup: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink[28]
Player of the quarter-finals of the FA Cup: Peter Whittingham[29]
| Player of the Year | Roger Johnson | |
| Young Player of the Year | Aaron Ramsey | |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Peter Whittingham | |
| Goal of the Season | Joe Ledley vs Barnsley, 6 Apr | |
| Moment of the Year | Joe Ledley's goal vs Barnsley, 6 Apr | |
| Disabled Association's Player of the Year | Joe Ledley | |
| Man of the Match Award | Roger Johnson |