1922–23 Cardiff City F.C. season

Cardiff had entered The Football League in 1920, winning promotion from the Second Division in its first attempt.[1] The team had endured a difficult start in the First Division the following year, losing the first six matches of the campaign, but the signing of Joe Clennell and the emergence of Len Davies vastly improved the team's attack and they eventually went on to finish fourth.[2][3]

The team's performance meant that confidence was high heading into the new season. Manager Fred Stewart remained in charge of the side for the eighth consecutive season of competitive football and felt no need to make any significant signings prior to the new season. Club captain Charlie Brittain was quoted in the South Wales Echo, "We ought to do well, seeing that the present season opens as a sort of continuation of the glorious run we had last year [...] if we do no more than reproduce our old form it must needs be a great side that will stem our progress."[4] The Times expressed a similar belief in the team's potential prior to the start of the campaign, stating that Cardiff possessed "undeniable all-round ability" and reported in the early stages of the season that the team were "at present considered to be as good a team as any in the First Division of the League".[3][5]

Tommy Brown and Willie Page who had both been signed at the start of the previous season were the only notable departures from the first team squad.[2]

In a repeat of the team's first season in the First Division, Cardiff met Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in the first match of the campaign in a tie that was regarded as the biggest game of the opening day.[3] The match was described as "disappointing to watch" by The Times match reporter as the warm weather proved draining to both sides. Cardiff fell behind in the first five minutes of the match as Jimmy Cantrell gave Tottenham the lead. Although Cardiff enjoyed the majority of the chances, it took until midway through the second half to equalise through Jimmy Gill. Len Davies missed a late chance to win the match when he failed to react to a mistake by the opposition goalkeeper who had misjudged a cross and the game ended in a draw.[6] Two days later, Cardiff recorded its first win of the season by defeating Aston Villa 3–0 at Ninian Park after a brace from Clennell and one goal from Billy Grimshaw.[7] In the reverse fixture against Tottenham on 2 September, Cardiff suffered a 3–2 defeat in front of 50,000 spectators. Len Davies, the previous season's top goalscorer in all competitions, scored his first goals of the campaign with a brace. Despite taking the lead, three second half goals gave Tottenham an unassailable lead and Cardiff's efforts were further hampered by an injury to Clennell.[8] Cardiff recovered by beating Villa 3–1 in the two sides' second meeting on 8 September.[7]

The team recorded a 4–1 home victory over Arsenal to move into fourth place after five matches. Arsenal took the lead in the first half through Tom Whittaker before Grimshaw equalised. In the second half, a brace from Len Davies and one from Harry Nash secured victory for Cardiff.[9] Cardiff was considered a heavy favourite to repeat its win in the reverse fixture on 16 September.[10] However, Arsenal dominated the fixture and won the match 2–1 as Cardiff suffered injuries to Jack Page, already deputising for the injured Jimmy Blair, and Gill.[5] The defeat saw Cardiff fall to seventh in the table and was the start of a poor run of form that would damage the club's season.[11] Back-to-back defeats against Everton followed at the end of September and this pattern was repeated in successive fixtures against Sunderland in October. A 3–1 away defeat against reigning league holders and league leaders Liverpool meant Cardiff had suffered six consecutive defeats and left the club in 21st position with only Stoke remaining below them.[7][12] In the reverse fixture against Liverpool on 26 October, the team won their first fixture since early September to end their losing run, winning 3–0 following goals from Grimshaw, Ken MacDonald and Clennell.[7] The victory lifted Cardiff out of the relegation zone at the expense of Preston North End.[13] A goalless draw against Birmingham was followed by a 1–1 draw against the same opponents on 11 November,[7] despite Cardiff playing with what The Times described as "a great pace, which would have beaten many teams".[14]

Cardiff's brief return to form was ended by consecutive 1–0 defeats against Huddersfield Town at the end of November.[7] The team defeated bottom side Stoke 2–1 on 2 December following goals from Gill and Clennell but defeat to Stoke in the reverse fixture a week later left the two sides tied at the bottom of the league on 13 points along with Arsenal and Oldham Athletic.[15] The Times expressed surprise at the club's struggles in the first half of the season, reporting "Cardiff City can play extremely well at Cardiff on occasions [...] They have not however reproduced their form at the end of last season, playing rather in-and-ourlt football".[16] The slump in form was blamed largely on the team's attacking players and their lack of scoring.[17] This prompted manager Fred Stewart to make the first major signings of the season, with Fergie Aitken arriving on a free transfer.[18] The side were credited with playing "dashing and improved football" as they recorded a 3–1 home victory over Manchester City in their following match.[19] In the week following the fixture, defender Blair collapsed during a training session and was taken to a local hospital. It was believed that he was still suffering effects from a bout of pneumonia earlier in the season.[20] A second signing arrived soon after with George Reid arriving from Walsall. He made a goalscoring debut for Cardiff in the reverse fixture against Manchester City with what proved a consolation goal as the side were soundly beaten 5–1. He scored again in the club's following fixture with Gill adding a brace in a 3–0 win over West Bromwich Albion before Cardiff finished the year with a defeat to West Brom and a goalless draw with Bolton Wanderers.[7]

Reid scored his third goal in five appearances since his arrival with the only goal in a victory over Bolton on 6 January, moving Cardiff four points clear of the relegation places.[21] However, after Reid failed to score in a 3–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers and Len Davies scored in consecutive FA Cup matches with Reid cup-tied, Davies was restored to the first team. His return proved pivotal as the team's goalscoring rapidly improved,[18] recording consecutive 5–0 home victories over Blackburn and Newcastle United with Davies and Gill scoring all but one of the goals in the ties.[7] The pair scored again against fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest on 17 February to give Cardiff a 2–0 lead before Forest rallied in the final 30 minutes, coming from behind to win 3–2.[22] After losing to Newcastle and drawing 1–1 with Chelsea, Cardiff recorded its biggest victory of the season by beating Chelsea 6–1 in the reverse fixture at Ninian Park. Len Davies scored a hat-trick for the side with Gill scoring a brace and Jack Evans scoring once. The result began a strong run of form for the team as they went on to defeat Middlesbrough in back-to-back fixtures, Preston and Burnley. The five straight victories saw Cardiff rise up the table and by the start of April the club had moved into the top ten.[23]

Cardiff's winning streak ended with a 2–2 draw with Burnley at Ninian Park on 2 April with both goals being scored by Keenor. With Gill and Davies both absent, defenders Keenor and Page were used as makeshift strikers. Keenor remained in his new role for a 3–0 defeat against Preston before international call-ups depleted Cardiff's squad even further with six players being named in their international squads.[18] As a result, Herbert Kneeshaw, Sidney Evans, Fred Mason, Vince Jones and Billy Taylor were all called upon to make their first appearance of the season and helped the side to a 1–0 victory over Sheffield United.[7][24] Cardiff's first team returned a week later for the reverse fixture but could only manage a goalless draw. The team finished their campaign with a 3–1 victory over Nottingham Forest and a 2–0 victory over Oldham before losing their final match 3–1 in the reverse fixture against Oldham.[7] They finished the season in ninth position and were the highest scoring team in the First Division with 73 goals.[25]

Jack Evans made more appearances for Cardiff during the 1922–23 season than any other player, playing in 41 league matches and all nine FA Cup and Welsh Cup fixtures. He missed only one match in any senior team competition, a 1–0 win over Sheffield United in the First Division,[7] due to an international call-up for Wales.[24] Five other players made 40 or more appearances during the course of the season, including Billy Grimshaw who had made the most appearances the previous season. Six players made a single appearance during the season, four of whom played in the 1–0 victory over Sheffield United that was disrupted by international call-ups. The match was the only senior appearance that Fred Mason, Vince Jones and Billy Turnbull made for Cardiff during their careers. In total, 27 players made at least one senior appearance during the season.[7]

For the second consecutive season, Len Davies finished the campaign as the club's top goalscorer. His tally of 19 in the league was the highest by any Cardiff player and he scored a further 8 goals in cup competitions, including the winning goal in the Welsh Cup final. Jimmy Gill was the second highest scoring player, scoring 20 or more goals for the third consecutive season since his arrival at the club. Joe Clennell was the only other Cardiff player to reach double figures, scoring 17 times.[7]

Although the club eventually secured a midtable position, the high expectations at the start of the season prompted The Times to describe Cardiff's poor form as "the mystery of the season" during the campaign.[31] Despite a disappointing season, the majority of the side remained for the following season as the club retained confidence in the players.[32] This belief proved well founded as Cardiff went on to finish as runners-up in the First Division, missing out on the title on the final day of the season through goal average.[33]

Club captain Charlie Brittain was the only major departure before the start of the following season as he retired from playing. Blair was appointed club captain in his place with Keenor his deputy.[32] Grimshaw would also depart the club three months into the new season, being sold to Sunderland for £4,000.[34]

Specific

Bibliography

• Leighton, James (2010), Fred Keenor – The Man Who Never Gave Up, Derby: Derby Books Publishing Company, ISBN 978-1-85983-828-0
• Lloyd, Grahame (1999), C'mon City! A Hundred Years of the Bluebirds, Seren Books, ISBN 1854112716
• Shepherd, Richard (2002). The Definitive: Cardiff City F.C. Nottingham: SoccerData Publications. ISBN 1-899468-17-X.

• Shepherd, Richard (2007). The Cardiff City Miscellany. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9054110-4-7.