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One week today, Cardiff City fans will mark 100 years since the Bluebirds played their first Football League game – a 5-2 victory over Stockport County. Trust chair Keith Morgan recalls the ups and downs of supporting the Bluebirds.

Keith Morgan said: “What a remarkable century it has been for Cardiff City and its fans with plenty of ups and downs.

“Since the Bluebirds joined the league, the club has won the FA Cup, been runners-up twice, finished second in the old First Division in the 1920s, promoted twice to the Premier League and won the old Welsh Cup many times, which led onto some great European adventures.

“There have also been the trips to the new Wembley Stadium, iconic games with the 1-0 win at home to Real Madrid and victory over Premiership leaders Leeds United in the FA Cup in 2002.

“We’re fortunate to have had some great players turn out for the Bluebirds ranging from Fred Keenor, Billy Hardy and Len Davies through to Ivor Allchurch, John Charles, Phil Dwyer and modern legends like Robert Earnshaw and Peter Whittingham.

“The century of football at the atmospheric Ninian Park and the Cardiff City Stadium has been a rollercoaster for fans with the excitement of promotion drives set against slumping into the old Fourth Division in the 1990s, which older supporters will recall.

“We struggled for many years to get back to the second tier of English football but have been back in the top two divisions continuously since 2003.”

“We’d loved to hear from fans about their favourite moments following the City.”

Trust members can send their memories to members@ccfctrust.org

Bluebird Facts from 1920:

• The first full football season after World War One was 1919-20 when Cardiff City finished 4th in the old Southern League.
• During this season it was announced that the Football League intended to create a Third Division for 1920-21 and the club’s Board of Directors applied to join.

• The Bluebirds’ application succeeded beyond expectation in that we were invited to join, along with Leeds United,  a restructured Division 2, by-passing Division 3 and Portsmouth, Watford and Crystal Palace who had finished above City in the Southern League that season 

• The Canton Stand at Ninian Park was constructed for our 1st season in the Football League

• The first game in the Football League was away at Edgeley Park against Stockport County on August 28^th, 1920.

• City team v Stockport County was Kneeshaw, Brittan, Layton, Hardy, Smith, Keenor, Grimshaw, Gill, Cashmore, West, Evans
• Score 5-2,
• Scorers Gill 2, Grimshaw, Keenor, Evans
• Crowd: 10,000.
• Jimmy Gill, the scorer of City’s first goal in the Football League, was a club record signing in the close season at £750.

Our first season in the Football League turned out to be quite momentous for a number of reasons. We gained promotion to Division 1 at our first attempt by finishing as runners- up to Champions Birmingham City on goal average. Both teams finished on 58 points.

Stockport County, our first opponents, finished bottom and were relegated. In the FA Cup the City reached the FA Cup Semi Final which was played against Wolves at Anfield. It was attended by King George V and Queen Mary, the first time reigning monarchs had attended a football match in Britain. The result was a grim 0-0 draw and we lost the replay 3-1 at Old Trafford. So, in the course of one season Cardiff City went from the Southern League to promotion to the top flight and playing in front of Royalty.

Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust has praised the efforts of Cardiff City players and manager Neil Harris in trying to reach the Premier League.

Trust Chair Keith Morgan, said: “We believe as fans that recognition should be given to the brave and sterling efforts of Neil Harris and his players this season.

“Although Bluebirds fans will be disappointed at failing to reach the Play-Offs Final at Wembley, we truly believe the team did us proud against a very expensively assembled Fulham.

“Everyone can see the improvements that have been made gradually by Neil Harris since he took over the reigns earlier this season.

“While, we will be in the Championship in 2020-21, we can look forward with optimism to the new  season. We also hope in the not too distant future that the Cardiff City Stadium will once again be able to welcome our fans.”

Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust has slammed a total lack of consultation with supporter groups over the launch of Cardiff City’s season ticket offer for 2020-21 season.

Keith Morgan, Trust Chair, said: “We fully appreciate the need for the club to generate cash following a long period of very limited income caused by the COVID-9 pandemic. But we are very disappointed at the cavalier way the club has launched the new season ticket without any official discussions with supporter groups. Sadly, it smacks of a lack of respect for fans.

“If the club had talked to us we might have been able to resolve some of the genuine concerns raised by our members and other supporters about this offer.

“There are so many questions that need answering. Why is the club not offering refunds if matches are played behind closed doors or if there are reduced attendance matches which supporters are unable to attend?

“The offer of streaming against no refund is not good enough and very poor value for supporters. The no refund offer  would seriously impact on families in particular, potentially costing them hundreds of pounds, if a number of games are behind closed doors.

“It is quite possible that full crowds may not return until 2021, yet the club is not offering refunds.

“There are also serious questions that need resolution including how the seating would work in the event of reduced attendances, about fans being allowed to sit together as normal and who exactly the opportunity to defer season tickets until 2021-22 applies to. Does it apply to only those who are shielding under government instructions  or other supporters that feel vulnerable?”

John Darch of the Safe Standing Campaign Group looks at the possibility of safe standing at the Cardiff City Stadium.

 Cardiff City are pioneers of safe standing. The club was the first in the UK to draw up a crowd management plan to enable fans to stand safely in an all-seater ground. That was in 2012 and for the last eight years, as you know, the Canton Stand has been operated as a de-facto standing area. Now a new chapter is about to begin.

Back in 2012, changing how such areas are managed was all that clubs could do to make standing fans safer. Since November 2018, they have also been able to enhance safety in areas of persistent standing by fitting rail seats or independent barriers behind existing seats.

The first clubs subject to the all-seater policy to do this were Spurs and Wolves. Recently Manchester United announced their intention to follow suit. Despite being able to make these structural changes, clubs are still not allowed to officially operate the areas concerned as standing.

Thatis set to change. The Westminster government is now committed to working “with fans and clubs to introduce safe standing” and this month will receive an important report from the Sports Ground Safety Authority.

 In January the authority stated that rail seats have a “positive impact on spectator safety” and assuming that their final report confirms this, many observers believe that this will give ministers in London the evidence they need to change the legislation. As No. 10 may well feel that announcing safe standing would go down well with voters, it could then happen very quickly.

Once areas such as the Canton Stand can be operated as official standing, new rules are likely to apply, i.e. the rules for standing areas, not for seated areas where fans happen to stand. This could mean a requirement for rail seats (or independent barriers), a requirement that seats in any standing area are “non-climbable” (as all structures on a terrace must be) and potentially that the seats must be locked upright to prevent fans standing on them and getting hurt if they fall off.

So the end of the standing ban is in sight. For all fans of clubs with all-seater grounds that has to be good news.

For pioneering Cardiff City it may also mean a bit of a rethink in the Canton Stand, as it changes from an area of seating where fans stand to an area of standing governed by the safety regulations that will then apply.

Our Trust Chair, Keith Morgan, outlined the difficulties facing all EFL clubs as they try to rebuild after lockdown. The cases of Bury and Wigan particularly should ring alarm bells throughout the game of football.

Cardiff Trust Board member and former Vice Chair of Supporters Direct, Tim Hartley, suggests some positive ways forward to ensuring clubs do not go out of business.

They say you must speculate to accumulate but as anyone with a credit card knows extending yourself too far is a one way ticket to financial disaster. And with hyper inflated transfer fees and eye watering players’ wages that is exactly what football seems to have been doing. We all want success but would you risk betting the actual existence of Cardiff City on the slim chance of promotion?

Football finance has become a law unto itself and the authorities who allegedly control the game have lost their grip on who buys, manages and safeguards the game. For years Supporters Direct and the Football Supporters Association (FSA) have warned that there was a crisis looming and what we have seen at Bury, Bolton and Wigan has proved them right.

The problem is the lack of desire on behalf of the FA, PL and EFL to properly regulate the game. As we in Cardiff know anyone it seems can buy a football club and then do what they want with it. Supporters groups (including the Cardiff City Supporters Trust) have given evidence to a number of parliamentary inquiries to try to improve the way the game is run.They joined the government task force on football and helped ensure structured relationships between clubs and supporter trusts are now mandatory. All this was agreed with the FA and the leagues.

It’s now time to go deeper into the underlying problems and ensure that the business side of the game is properly regulated. Following yet another inquiry the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Committee last year recommended a raft of proposals to improve the regulation of football clubs and prevent them from falling into crisis.

Chair of the Committee Damian Collins MP said: “We believe decisive action is now needed from the football authorities to ensure that clubs are complying fully with the EFL’s football finance rules and regulations.A failure to enforce these rules effectively will see more clubs entering administration and at risk of expulsion from the Football League.”

The FSA submitted written proposals which focused on the creation of a robust, independent regulator under the auspices of the FA. Football’s self-regulatory regime contributed to the demise of Bury FC and a lack of action could put more clubs at risk in future.

The Committee agreed and backed a number of FSA ideas on protecting club and strengthening the owners’ and directors’ test – and more. The recommendations include:

• The FA, EFL and Premier League should establish a supporters’ ombudsman to hear concerns about how clubs are being run
• A reformed Owners and Directors Test should be brought in to disqualify a buyer with a record of corporate insolvency
• Clubs should be banned from borrowing against fixed assets such as stadiums, other than for related capital projects
• There should be a formal and enforceable licensing system for professional football clubs in the English league system, as recommended in the 2011 report on Football Governance
• Government legislation for independent system of football licensing and regulationshouod be brought in if the reforms are not implemented.

The message to the footballing authorities from supporters and MPs is very simple, change or be changed. Let’s hope the government at last listens to us.