The last time we played Cardiff was in 2007-8; in fact we played them three times that season. The first was at The Hawthorns in the third round of the Carling Cup. With seven League games played, Albion were 3rd in the table and Cardiff were 17th; but after half an hour the Albion players and supporters were feeling shell-shocked as Cardiff took a 4-0 lead. The scorers were Robbie Fowler (2), Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Trevor Sinclair - not a bad strikeforce for a second tier club. Ishmael Miller quickly got one back for the Baggies, but Cardiff then shut up shop and although Miller scored a second from the penalty spot shortly before the end, it did nothing except make the scoreline look slightly more respectable.
The first League meeting of that season was in January, also at The Hawthorns. There was a definite case of deja vu as Paul Parry scored for the Bluebirds in the opening minute, and added a second just after the half hour. Roman Bednar soon got one back for Albion, but seven minutes into the second half Joe Ledley made it 3-1 to Cardiff. This time Albion did manage to rescue a point, but it took an own goal - Roger Johnson turning Zoltan Gera's cross into his own net three minutes from the end, after Martin Albrechtsen had got our second after 72 minutes.
There was no such excitement in the return match at Ninian Park in April, which finished 0-0.
Here's the complete League record, to date:
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | |
| Home | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 46 | 27 | 19 |
| Away | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 34 | 0 |
| Total |
44 |
20 | 11 | 13 | 80 | 61 | 19 |
Pretty respectable.
2009-10 is only the fourth season that we've been in the same division as Cardiff in the last 35 years. The following table goes back a long way, but it shows how long it is since Cardiff won a League game at The Hawthorns:
| 2007-8 | Championship | Albion | 3 | 3 | Cardiff | Cardiff | 0 | 0 | Albion | D | D |
| 2006-7 | Championship | Albion | 1 | 0 | Cardiff | Cardiff | 1 | 1 | Albion | W | D |
| 2003-4 | Championship | Albion | 2 | 1 | Cardiff | Cardiff | 1 | 1 | Albion | W | D |
| 1974-5 | Division 2 | Albion | 2 | 0 | Cardiff | Cardiff | 0 | 2 | Albion | W | W |
| 1973-4 | Division 2 | Albion | 2 | 2 | Cardiff | Cardiff | 0 | 1 | Albion | D | W |
| 1961-2 | Division 1 | Albion | 5 | 1 | Cardiff | Cardiff | 2 | 2 | Albion | W | D |
| 1960-1 | Division 1 | Albion | 1 | 1 | Cardiff | Cardiff | 3 | 1 | Albion | D | L |
| 1956-7 | Division 1 | Albion | 1 | 2 | Cardiff | Cardiff | 0 | 0 | Albion | L | D |
We've only lost once at Ninian Park in that period as well. But they have a new stadium now of course.
Cardiff City: club history|
C |
ardiff City FC was formed in 1899 as the footballing branch of Riverside Cricket Club, and they were known as Riverside FC until 1908 when they changed their name to Cardiff City following the elevation of their home town to city status.
They turned professional in 1910, and were elected to the Second Division of the Football League in 1920. In their first season they finished as runners-up to Birmingham, and the following season, in the First Division, they finished in fourth place. Two years later they did even better, finishing as runners-up to Huddersfield. This remains their highest ever placing in the League. (Huddersfield went on to win the title in the next two seasons as well; in 1925 Albion were their runners-up, and in 1926 it was Arsenal.)
In 1925 Cardiff reached the FA Cup final for the first time, but lost 1-0 to Sheffield United. Their League placing that season was unspectacular, and again in 1926, but in 1927 they had their finest hour when they won the FA Cup – beating Arsenal in the final and taking the trophy out of England for the first and (so far!) the only time. It was a controversial victory as some felt the goal resulted from an illegal challenge on the Arsenal goalkeeper.
This was the first time that Arsenal had reached the final, and while the Gunners have been back many times since, Cardiff had to wait another 81 years for their third appearance in English football's greatest showpiece. You probably won't need reminding at this point that they lost 1-0 to Portsmouth.
Cardiff's eight-year spell in the top flight came to an end two years after they won the Cup. Two years later they dropped into the Third Division (South), and they stayed there for nine seasons - eventually winning promotion back to the Second in the first season after World War Two.
Five years later they were back in the First Division, and they spent seven of the next ten years there (in two separate spells). Their best finish in that period was tenth in 1954 – the year that Albion just failed to do the double. But 1961/2 was their last season to date in the top flight.
In 1966 Cardiff reached the semi-final of the League Cup. While Albion were beating Peterborough United (6-3 on aggregate), Cardiff lost to West Ham.
They stayed in the Second Division for over twenty years, apart from two seasons in the Third. But in 1986 they dropped to the Fourth Division for the first time, and despite a couple of promotions they were still in the new Third Division as recently as 2001. They were one of the game's biggest sleeping giants, and under the high-profile chairmanships of first Sam Hammam and then Peter Ridsdale, they have made steady progress. After winning promotion from the Third Division as runners-up in 2001, in 2002 they lost to Stoke City in the Second Division play-off final. The following year they went one better, beating Queens Park Rangers in the final at the Millennium Stadium.
In their first five seasons back in the second tier, they were pretty consistent: their lowest finish was 16th in 2005, and their highest was 11th the following year. Last season they missed out on the play-offs by the narrowest of margins - ending equal with Preston on points and goal difference, but having scored just one goal less. This was their highest finish since 1971, when they came third in the old Second Division.
This season, after a move across the road from Ninian Park into the brand new Cardiff City Stadium, they are once again one of the main promotion challengers. They visit The Hawthorns in fifth place, with 30 points from 19 games. Highlights of their season so far include a 6-1 victory over Derby at the end of September, followed by a 4-0 win at Watford.
They also have the Championship's two leading scorers so far, in Peter Whittingham (13) and Michael Chopra (12).
Head to HeadWhen Cardiff reached the First Division for the first time, in 1921 - just one year after joining the Football League - Albion were the League Champions. The first League meeting between the two clubs was on 22 October 1921, at The Hawthorns, and ended in a 2-2 draw; the second was just a week later, when Cardiff won 2-0. But it was Cardiff that stayed in the First Division on that occasion; by the time Albion were relegated in 1927, we'd won four games and lost six, with two being drawn.
The next eight meetings were in the Second Division. Albion won four of these games and lost three. In 1930-1 - Albion's promotion season - Jimmy Cookson scored four as the Baggies won 6-3 at Ninian Park. In April 1948 Albion won 5-0 there, and this was our biggest ever win at Ninian Park.
As already mentioned, Cardiff spent seven seasons in the First Division between 1952 and 1962. In this period Albion won seven games and Cardiff won four. Albion's biggest ever win over the Bluebirds was 6-1, in November 1953 - Ronnie Allen scoring four of the goals.
Following Albion's relegation in 1973, we visited Ninian Park on 3rd November; Tony Brown scored the only goal of the game for Albion. The return at The Hawethorns finished 2-2, but in 1974-5 Albion won both games; Cardiff were relegated to the Third Division at the end of that season (for the first time since 1946), and it was 28 years before we would play them again in the League.
This brings us to November 2003, when Jason Koumas put Albion ahead early in the second half but Rob Earnshaw equalised from the penalty spot. At The Hawthorns the following February (Valentine's Day, to be precise!), Lee Hughes scored a late winner for Albion after Alan Lee had equalised Neil Clement's opener - all three goals coming in the second half.
Three years later it was a similar story, with a 1-1 draw at Ninian Park (Zoltan Gera scoring for Albion in the 4th minute, and Riccy Scimeca equalising late in the first half) and Albion winning by the odd goal at The Hawthorns (a rare, spectacular strike from Nathan Ellington midway through the second half).
In 2007-8, as we've seen, both League games ended in draws.
In the FA Cup, Albion have been drawn against Cardiff twice.
The first time was in the third round in 1945/6. There was no football League competition this year (or the following year), and possibly to compensate for this FA Cup matches were played over two legs. The first leg was at Ninian Park and ended in a 1-1 draw, but Albion won the second leg 4-0.
We met them at the same stage just four years later, in 1949/50. Once again the first game was at Ninian Park, and once again it was drawn (2-2); but Cardiff won the replay at The Hawthorns, 1-0. The attendance at Ninian Park was just 20 short of 40,000.
We've met them just once in the League Cup; it was in 2007-8, as already mentioned , and it was a night that we'd rather not describe again.