Cardiff City playing record

Season 1978-79 - League Division 2

The Safety of Sports Ground act requires that the Grangetown Stand is demolished together with it's overall roof. This work is started immediately after the previous League season ends and a new uncovered terrace is ready for use in August. On the field, Mickey Burns, the Newcastle United forward, is signed as player-coach to the first team. The fee is £75,000. The other main signing is Hull City's Welsh international central defender Dave Roberts for a fee of £70,000. City play the Anglo-Scottish Cup pre-season, but come the League season, the problems that still exist within the side become apparent. Tony Evans is still suffering an injury, and with Ron Healey also picking up an injury, John Davies, the reserve team goalkeeper plays a few games as does Keith Barber, on loan from Swansea City. Paul Went is sold to Orient for £20,000 a few weeks into the season, and the result of all this is that City get off to a sluggish start winning their first game in their fifth match. The week after, Jimmy Andrews signs Gary Stevens from Evesham for £3,000 and he makes his debut in a disasterous 1-7 defeat at Luton Town. A week later, Burns and Roberts are dropped, while John Lewis, a part-time player from Pontllanfraith in the Welsh League, is given a debut against Blackburn Rovers at Ninian Park, a match City win 2-0. The week after that, City defeat Wrexham, and crawl off the bottom of the table. At this point, City and Jimmy Andrews decide to cut their losses after some very poor form from Mickey Burns and sell him to Middlesbrough for £75,000. His coaching role has not been a happy appointment. Tony Evans is pressed back into service, but despite a couple of wins, City fall back into the relegation places, so the side is playing with little confidence when Charlton Athletic visit on November 6th. City put on a horror show, losing 1-4, after which team manager Jimmy Andrews is sacked. The board appoint Richie Morgan, ex-player and commercial manager as caretaker manager, but initially this is to little effect. He is appointed on a full time basis on December 9th, but by December 16th, following a 1-2 defeat at Sheffield United, City are bottom of the table. Despite beating Fulham 2-0 on December 23rd, two of the next three League matches are lost 0-5, at Brighton, Teddy Maybank scoring three, and at Cambridge, where Alan Biley manages the same. Perhaps fortunately, a bad winter sets in and it is six weeks before City play again, during which time Richie Morgan decides on a number of changes. Joining the coaching staff are ex-players Brian Harris and Doug Livermore, plus Dave Elliot, the ex-Newport County manager. Two players come in, Colin Sullivan, the Norwich City left back, for £70,000, and Tranmere Rovers centre forward Ronnie Moore for £100,000. Leaving are David Giles, who goes to Wrexham for £30,000 and Brian Attley to Swansea City for £20,000. City get going again with Linden Jones making making his debut, plus Sullivan and Moore in the side, the result being a 1-0 win at home to Orient. The next match is a 4-1 win at Blackburn, where Linden Jones is sent off, and when City win their next two League games, they climb well out of the relegation placers. Three straight losses undo all the good work, but there are eleven games left, eight of them at Ninian Park. City promptly go unbeaten for these eleven games, the highlights being a 4-0 win over Sheffield United, three of them to John Buchanan and a 2-1 win at Sunderland. The eventual result is an excellent League placing of 9th. In the F.A.Cup, City are in dire form when they visit Swindon Town in the third round and lose 0-3. The League Cup first round is played pre-season, and City, in some disarray, lose both legs 1-2 to Oxford United. The Welsh Cup provides an embarrassment, as after beating Merthyr Tydfil in front of just 694 spectators, City play at Worcester City in appalling winter conditions. They lose by 2-3, after being 0-3 down. Nevertheless, the season ends up as a major success after a number of months looking as if City were heading into the lower divisions, with Richie Morgan making very good use of a weather enforced six week layoff. It is City's highest League placing since 1971.

City's first team squad at the start of the 1978-79 season.
BACK ROW (L-R): Alan Campbell, Paul Went, Keith Pontin, John Davies, Albert Larmour, John Buchanan, Fred Pethard, Steve Grapes.
FRONT: Gerry Byrne, Rod Thomas, Brian Attley, Phil Dwyer, Jimmy Andrews (manager), Richie Morgan, Ray Bishop, Tony Evans, David Giles.

Appearances 1978-79 Transfers 1978-79

MANAGER: Jimmy Andrews (Sacked 6 November 1978); Richie Morgan

P. 42 W. 16 D. 10 L. 16 For 56 Ag. 70 Pts. 42 Posn. 9th

Names displayed in light green indicate a player making his debut.
No. Date Opponents Competition V. Res.   Goalscorers Pts. Pos. Att. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
1. August 1 Bristol Rov. A-Scot. Cup A 0-1 L   ~ ~ 5,095 J.Davies R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell K.Pontin P.Dwyer S.Grapes D.Giles R.Bishop P.Went J.Buchanan A.Larmour
2. August 5 Fulham A-Scot. Cup H 1-0 W Dwyer ~ ~ 4,149 J.Davies R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell K.Pontin P.Dwyer D.Giles M.Burns R.Bishop P.Went J.Buchanan A.Larmour
3. August 8 Bristol C. A-Scot. Cup A 0-1 L   ~ ~ 6,916 R.Healey R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell K.Pontin P.Dwyer D.Giles A.Larmour R.Bishop P.Went J.Buchanan  
4. August 12 Oxford Utd. League Cup (1-1) H 1-2 L Buchanan ~ ~ 4,500 R.Healey R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell P.Dwyer A.Larmour* M.Burns D.Giles P.Went R.Bishop J.Buchanan S.Grapes
5. August 16 Oxford Utd. League Cup (1-2) A 1-2 L Bishop ~ ~ 4,760 R.Healey B.Attley F.Pethard A.Campbell P.Dwyer* R.Thomas S.Grapes D.Giles M.Burns P.Went J.Buchanan R.Bishop
6. August 19 Preston N.E. League H 2-2 D Went, Dwyer 1 ~ 7,790 R.Healey R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell P.Went D.Roberts M.Burns D.Giles P.Dwyer R.Bishop J.Buchanan G.Byrne
7. August 23 Stoke C. League A 0-2 L   1 ~ 16,007 J.Davies R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell P.Went D.Roberts M.Burns D.Giles P.Dwyer R.Bishop G.Byrne A.Larmour
8. August 26 Oldham Ath. League H 1-3 L Buchanan 1 22 6,907 J.Davies R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell P.Went D.Roberts S.Grapes D.Giles* P.Dwyer M.Burns J.Buchanan B.Attley
9. September 2 Bristol Rov. League A 2-4 L Roberts, Buchanan (Pen.) 1 22 6,815 J.Davies R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell K.Pontin D.Roberts S.Grapes M.Burns P.Dwyer G.Harris J.Buchanan G.Byrne
10. September 9 Cambridge Utd. League H 1-0 W Buchanan 3 22 6,141 K.Barber R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell K.Pontin D.Roberts S.Grapes M.Burns P.Dwyer R.Bishop* J.Buchanan G.Stevens
11. September 16 Luton T. League A 1-7 L Bishop 3 22 7,752 K.Barber R.Thomas K.Pontin* D.Roberts F.Pethard S.Grapes A.Campbell M.Burns J.Buchanan G.Stevens P.Dwyer R.Bishop
12. September 23 Blackburn Rov. League H 2-0 W Stevens, Bishop 5 20 6,234 R.Healey P.Dwyer F.Pethard A.Campbell K.Pontin A.Larmour S.Grapes J.Lewis G.Stevens R.Bishop J.Buchanan* B.Attley
13. September 30 Wrexham League A 2-1 W Buchanan 2 (1 Pen.) 7 17 11,766 R.Healey P.Dwyer F.Pethard A.Campbell* K.Pontin A.Larmour S.Grapes J.Buchanan G.Stevens R.Bishop J.Lewis R.Thomas
14. October 7 Notts County League H 2-3 L Buchanan, Stevens 7 19 7,952 R.Healey P.Dwyer F.Pethard A.Campbell K.Pontin A.Larmour S.Grapes J.Buchanan G.Stevens R.Bishop J.Lewis R.Thomas
15. October 14 Orient League A 2-2 D Buchanan, Stevens 8 19 6,063 R.Healey P.Dwyer D.Roberts A.Campbell* K.Pontin A.Larmour S.Grapes J.Buchanan G.Stevens A.Evans J.Lewis F.Pethard
16. October 21 Leicester C. League H 1-0 W Stevens 10 16 8,758 R.Healey K.Pontin P.Dwyer R.Thomas D.Roberts A.Larmour S.Grapes* J.Buchanan G.Stevens A.Evans J.Lewis F.Pethard
17. October 28 Newcastle Utd. League A 0-3 L   10 17 23,477 R.Healey P.Dwyer D.Roberts R.Thomas K.Pontin G.Byrne* A.Campbell J.Buchanan G.Stevens A.Evans J.Lewis F.Pethard
18. November 4 Charlton Ath. League H 1-4 L Stevens 10 20 7,772 R.Healey P.Dwyer D.Roberts A.Campbell K.Pontin R.Thomas S.Grapes* J.Buchanan G.Stevens A.Evans J.Lewis R.Bishop
19. November 11 Preston N.E. League A 1-2 L Evans 10 20 9,268 J.Platt P.Dwyer R.Thomas A.Campbell K.Pontin A.Larmour J.Buchanan* D.Giles G.Stevens A.Evans J.Lewis R.Bishop
20. November 18 Oldham Ath. League A 1-2 L Bishop 10 21 5,357 J.Platt P.Dwyer R.Thomas A.Campbell K.Pontin A.Larmour B.Attley R.Bishop G.Stevens A.Evans J.Lewis J.Buchanan
21. November 25 Crystal Palace League H 2-2 D Evans, Dwyer 11 21 8,723 J.Platt P.Dwyer R.Thomas A.Campbell* K.Pontin A.Larmour J.Buchanan B.Attley G.Stevens A.Evans R.Bishop J.Lewis
22. December 2 Millwall League A 0-2 L   11 21 5,551 J.Platt P.Dwyer R.Thomas A.Campbell K.Pontin A.Larmour B.Attley R.Bishop G.Stevens A.Evans* J.Buchanan F.Pethard
23. December 9 Sunderland League H 1-1 D Evans (Pen.) 12 21 7,168 R.Healey P.Dwyer R.Thomas A.Campbell K.Pontin A.Larmour J.Buchanan R.Bishop G.Stevens A.Evans B.Attley* F.Pethard
24. December 16 Sheffield Utd. League A 1-2 L Evans (Pen.) 12 22 11,913 R.Healey P.Dwyer R.Thomas A.Campbell K.Pontin A.Larmour J.Buchanan F.Pethard G.Stevens A.Evans C.Micallef  
25. December 23 Fulham League H 2-0 W Evans, Roberts 14 20 5,542 R.Healey R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell D.Roberts A.Larmour B.Attley J.Buchanan* P.Dwyer A.Evans J.Lewis G.Stevens
26. December 26 Brighton & H.A. League A 0-5 L   14 21 20,127 R.Healey R.Thomas F.Pethard A.Campbell D.Roberts A.Larmour B.Attley G.Stevens* A.Evans P.Dwyer J.Lewis R.Bishop
27. December 30 Burnley League A 0-0 D   15 20 9,821 R.Healey P.Dwyer F.Pethard R.Thomas K.Pontin A.Larmour A.Campbell B.Attley R.Bishop A.Evans J.Lewis G.Harris
28. January 9 Swindon T. FA Cup (3) A 0-3 L   ~ ~ 9,983 R.Healey P.Dwyer D.Roberts A.Campbell K.Pontin A.Larmour B.Attley R.Bishop* A.Evans R.Thomas J.Lewis J.Buchanan
29. January 13 Cambridge Utd. League A 0-5 L   15 20 5,344 R.Healey B.Attley F.Pethard D.Roberts K.Pontin A.Larmour S.Grapes A.Evans J.Buchanan R.Bishop P.Dwyer J.Lewis
30. January 17 Merthyr Tydfil Welsh Cup (5) H 2-1 W Stevens, Evans (Pen.) ~ ~ 694 R.Healey P.Dwyer R.Thomas J.Lewis K.Pontin A.Larmour S.Grapes R.Bishop A.Evans G.Stevens J.Buchanan R.Sherman
31. February 12 Worcester C. Welsh Cup (6) A 2-3 L Dwyer, Buchanan ~ ~ 2,500 R.Healey P.Dwyer F.Pethard S.Grapes K.Pontin R.Thomas R.Bishop J.Buchanan A.Evans G.Stevens J.Lewis C.Micallef
32. February 24 Orient League H 1-0 W Buchanan 17 20 8,239 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell P.Dwyer K.Pontin S.Grapes* G.Stevens J.Buchanan A.Evans R.Moore R.Bishop
33. February 28 Blackburn Rov. League A 4-1 W Stevens, Grapes, Buchanan, Evans 19 20 7,158 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell K.Pontin P.Dwyer S.Grapes G.Stevens R.Moore A.Evans J.Buchanan R.Bishop
34. March 3 Leicester C. League A 2-1 W Dwyer, Stevens 21 18 12,820 R.Healey D.Roberts C.Sullivan K.Pontin P.Dwyer A.Campbell S.Grapes R.Bishop R.Moore G.Stevens J.Buchanan C.Micallef
35. March 10 Newcastle Utd. League H 2-1 W Bishop, Stevens 23 17 11,089 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan K.Pontin P.Dwyer A.Campbell S.Grapes R.Bishop R.Moore G.Stevens J.Buchanan A.Evans
36. March 17 Charlton Ath. League A 1-1 D Buchanan 24 17 5,658 R.Healey D.Roberts C.Sullivan A.Campbell K.Pontin P.Dwyer S.Grapes R.Bishop* R.Moore G.Stevens J.Buchanan A.Evans
37. March 24 Stoke C. League H 1-3 L Buchanan (Pen.) 24 18 14,851 J.Davies D.Roberts C.Sullivan A.Campbell P.Dwyer K.Pontin S.Grapes R.Bishop R.Moore A.Evans* J.Buchanan J.Lewis
38. March 27 Notts County League A 0-1 L   24 18 8,211 R.Healey D.Roberts C.Sullivan A.Campbell K.Pontin P.Dwyer S.Grapes R.Bishop A.Evans R.Moore J.Buchanan R.Thomas
39. March 31 Crystal Palace League A 0-2 L   24 20 18,511 R.Healey D.Roberts C.Sullivan A.Campbell K.Pontin P.Dwyer S.Grapes* R.Bishop A.Evans R.Moore G.Stevens J.Lewis
40. April 7 Millwall League H 2-1 W Stevens, Kitchener (og) 26 19 7,695 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell R.Thomas D.Roberts J.Lewis R.Bishop A.Evans R.Moore* G.Stevens C.Micallef
41. April 11 Fulham League A 2-2 D Dwyer, Money (og) 27 19 6,067 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell K.Pontin P.Dwyer R.Bishop A.Evans R.Moore G.Stevens J.Buchanan J.Lewis
42. April 14 Brighton &.H.A. League H 3-1 W Stevens, Evans, Moore 29 18 12,686 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell R.Thomas D.Roberts J.Buchanan R.Bishop A.Evans R.Moore G.Stevens J.Lewis
43. April 16 West Ham Utd. League A 1-1 D Bishop 30 20 29,058 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell D.Roberts P.Dwyer R.Bishop A.Evans R.Moore G.Stevens J.Buchanan S.Grapes
44. April 21 Sheffield Utd. League H 4-1 W Stevens, Buchanan 3 (1 Pen.) 32 18 10,569 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell D.Roberts R.Thomas J.Buchanan R.Bishop A.Evans G.Stevens P.Dwyer S.Grapes
45. April 25 Luton T. League H 2-1 W Moore, Stevens 34 15 10,522 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell* D.Roberts R.Thomas R.Bishop A.Evans R.Moore G.Stevens J.Buchanan S.Grapes
46. April 28 Sunderland League A 2-1 W Moore, Bishop 36 14 36,526 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell D.Roberts P.Dwyer J.Buchanan R.Bishop A.Evans R.Moore G.Stevens S.Grapes
47. May 5 Burnley League H 1-1 D Sullivan 37 13 10,254 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell D.Roberts P.Dwyer J.Buchanan R.Bishop* A.Evans R.Moore G.Stevens S.Grapes
48. May 7 Bristol Rov. League H 2-0 W Stevens, Buchanan (Pen.) 39 13 10,363 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell D.Roberts P.Dwyer S.Grapes A.Evans R.Moore G.Stevens J.Buchanan C.Micallef
49. May 11 West Ham Utd. League H 0-0 D   40 13 13,124 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell D.Roberts P.Dwyer S.Grapes A.Evans R.Moore G.Stevens J.Buchanan J.Lewis
50. May 14 Wrexham League H 1-0 W Buchanan 42 9 11,784 R.Healey L.Jones C.Sullivan A.Campbell D.Roberts P.Dwyer S.Grapes A.Evans R.Moore G.Stevens J.Buchanan J.Lewis

Player substituted marked with asterisk. Non playing substitutes shown in italics.

The following match was also played during the season.

Date Match Details Opponents v. Res   Goalscorers
February 21 Friendly Minehead A 3-1 W Stevens 3