1931–32 Cardiff City F.C. season

Cardiff City
1931–32 season
Chairman	Walter Riden
Manager	Fred Stewart
Division Three South	9th
FA Cup	Third round
Welsh Cup	Sixth round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Jimmy McCambridge (26); All: ; Jimmy McCambridge (28)
Highest home attendance	13,515 (v Luton Town, 26 December 1931)
Lowest home attendance	3,491 (v QPR, 14 November 1931)
Average home league attendance	7,684
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1930–31 1932–33 →

The 1931–32 season was the 31st season of competitive football played by Cardiff City F.C. It was the team's first season in the Third Division South of the Football League since being relegated from the Second Division during the previous season.

Background

Cardiff City played the 1931–32 season in the Third Division South of the Football League. It was the team's first season in the bottom tier of the Football League since they had joined the organisation for the 1920–21 season. The side had suffered relegation from the Second Division during the 1930–31 season after finishing bottom of the league.^[1]

Following a second relegation in three years,^[1] the club released a number of players. The most prominent of these were long-serving trio Fred Keenor, Len Davies and Harry Wake.^[2] Albert Keating was also due to be released following a doctor's report on a knee injury he had sustained,^[3] but was eventually retained for the campaign. Stewart made several new signings for the season, with Peter Ronan, Stan Holt, Owen McNally and Harry O'Neill all arriving ahead of the new campaign.^[4]

Third Division South

Cardiff began the season with a 1–0 defeat to Northampton Town on 29 August 1932 with Stewart handing debuts to four players. One of the debutants, O'Neill scored Cardiff's first goal of the campaign in the following match, a 1–1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion two days later. Walter Robbins, the previous season's top goalscorer, netted his first goals of the campaign with a hat-trick during a 5–1 victory over Reading to open September; Jimmy McCambridge and Leslie Jones were also on the scoresheet as Cardiff recorded their first win.^[4]

Partial league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
7	Exeter City	42	20	7	15	77	62	1.242	47
8	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	17	12	13	73	58	1.259	46
9	Cardiff City	42	19	8	15	87	73	1.192	46
10	Norwich City	42	17	12	13	76	67	1.134	46
11	Watford	42	19	8	15	81	79	1.025	46

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A
Result	L	D	W	L	D	W	L	W	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	D	D	L	L	W	W	W	L	L	L	W	W	W	W	W	L	D	D	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	L	D
Position	~	~	8	12	13	6	11	8	8	12	10	12	13	13	14	14	15	18	18	17	16	14	15	16	19	16	15	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	11	11	10	8	8	10	9

Source: ^[5]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Fixtures and results

Third Division South

29 August 1931 (1931-08-29) 1	Northampton Town	1–0	Cardiff City	Northampton
				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 13,448

31 August 1931 (1931-08-31) 2	Cardiff City	1–1	Brighton & Hove Albion	Cardiff
	Harry O'Neill			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 10,435

5 September 1931 (1931-09-05) 3	Cardiff City	5–1	Reading	Cardiff
	Les Jones Walter Robbins Walter Robbins Walter Robbins Jimmy McCambridge			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 9,562

7 September 1931 (1931-09-07) 4	Coventry City	2–1	Cardiff City	Coventry
			Jimmy McCambridge	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 11,648

12 September 1931 (1931-09-12) 5	Southend United	1–1	Cardiff City	Southend
			(og) Jack French	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 7,494

14 September 1931 (1931-09-14) 6	Cardiff City	6–1	Coventry City	Cardiff
	Albert Keating Albert Keating Walter Robbins Walter Robbins Les Jones Jimmy McCambridge			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 7,105

19 September 1931 (1931-09-19) 7	Cardiff City	0–3	Fulham	Cardiff
				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 13,233

26 September 1931 (1931-09-26) 8	Thames	1–2	Cardiff City	London
			Albert Keating Jimmy McCambridge	Stadium: West Ham Stadium Attendance: 3,538

3 October 1931 (1931-10-03) 9	Cardiff City	3–2	Brentford	Cardiff
	George Emmerson Albert Keating Walter Robbins		Jackie Burns Billy Lane	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 9,521

10 October 1931 (1931-10-10) 10	Exeter City	3–1	Cardiff City	Exeter
			George Emmerson	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 8,160

17 October 1931 (1931-10-17) 11	Cardiff City	2–0	Mansfield Town	Cardiff
	George Emmerson Walter Robbins			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 7,688

24 October 1931 (1931-10-24) 12	Watford	3–0	Cardiff City	Watford
				Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 11,526

31 October 1931 (1931-10-31) 13	Cardiff City	1–3	Crystal Palace	Cardiff
	George Emmerson			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,757

7 November 1931 (1931-11-07) 14	Bournemouth	3–0	Cardiff City	Bournemouth
				Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 6,562

14 November 1931 (1931-11-14) 15	Cardiff City	0–4	Queens Park Rangers	Cardiff
				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,491

21 November 1931 (1931-11-21) 16	Bristol Rovers	2–2	Cardiff City	Bristol
			Harry O'Neill (pen) Peter Ronan	Stadium: Eastville Attendance: 9,047

5 December 1931 (1931-12-05) 17	Clapton Orient	1–1	Cardiff City	London
			Albert Keating	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 6,524

19 December 1931 (1931-12-19) 18	Norwich City	2–0	Cardiff City	Norwich
				Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 7,904

25 December 1931 (1931-12-25) 19	Luton Town	2–1	Cardiff City	Luton
			Albert Keating	Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 11,609

26 December 1931 (1931-12-26) 20	Cardiff City	4–1	Luton Town	Cardiff
	Harry O'Neill Harry O'Neill Albert Keating Jimmy McCambridge			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 13,515

2 January 1932 (1932-01-02) 21	Cardiff City	5–0	Northampton Town	Cardiff
	Jimmy McCambridge Jimmy McCambridge Frank Harris Walter Robbins George Emmerson			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,917

13 January 1932 (1932-01-13) 22	Cardiff City	5–2	Torquay United	Cardiff
	George Emmerson George Emmerson Jimmy McCambridge Albert Keating Walter Robbins		Jack Fowler Cyril Hemingway	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,890

16 January 1932 (1932-01-16) 23	Reading	5–1	Cardiff City	Reading
			Jimmy McCambridge	Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 7,065

23 January 1932 (1932-01-23) 24	Cardiff City	2–3	Southend United	Cardiff
	Walter Robbins Jack French (og)			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,831

30 January 1932 (1932-01-30) 25	Fulham	4–0	Cardiff City	London
				Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 14,690

6 February 1932 (1932-02-06) 26	Cardiff City	9–2	Thames	Cardiff
	Walter Robbins Walter Robbins Walter Robbins Walter Robbins Walter Robbins Jimmy McCambridge Les Jones Albert Keating George Emmerson			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,698

13 February 1932 (1932-02-13) 27	Brentford	2–3	Cardiff City	London
	Arthur Crompton Vivian Gibbins		Jimmy McCambridge Albert Keating Walter Robbins	Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 16,239

20 February 1932 (1932-02-20) 28	Cardiff City	5–3	Exeter City	Cardiff
	Walter Robbins Walter Robbins George Emmerson Jimmy McCambridge Les Jones			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 8,817

27 February 1932 (1932-02-27) 29	Mansfield Town	1–2	Cardiff City	Mansfield
	Harry Johnson		Jimmy McCambridge Jimmy McCambridge	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 8,316

5 March 1932 (1932-03-05) 30	Cardiff City	2–1	Watford	Cardiff
	Walter Robbins Les Jones			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 10,019

12 March 1932 (1932-03-12) 31	Crystal Palace	5–0	Cardiff City	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 13,206

19 March 1932 (1932-03-19) 32	Cardiff City	0–0	Bournemouth	Cardiff
				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,863

25 March 1932 (1932-03-25) 33	Gillingham	1–1	Cardiff City	Gillingham
			Albert Keating	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 8,015

26 March 1932 (1932-03-26) 34	Queens Park Rangers	2–3	Cardiff City	London
			Jimmy McCambridge Jimmy McCambridge Jimmy McCambridge	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 8,324

28 March 1932 (1932-03-28) 35	Cardiff City	1–0	Gillingham	Cardiff
	Jimmy McCambridge			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 10,455

2 April 1932 (1932-04-02) 36	Cardiff City	3–1	Bristol Rovers	Cardiff
	Jimmy McCambridge Albert Keating Albert Keating			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,773

9 April 1932 (1932-04-09) 37	Torquay United	2–2	Cardiff City	Torquay
	Billy Clayson Billy Clayson		Jimmy McCambridge Jimmy McCambridge	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 3,437

13 April 1932 (1932-04-13) 38	Cardiff City	3–0	Swindon Town	Cardiff
	Albert Keating Albert Keating George Emmerson			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,018

16 April 1932 (1932-04-16) 39	Cardiff City	5–0	Clapton Orient	Cardiff
	Jimmy McCambridge Jimmy McCambridge Jimmy McCambridge Albert Keating Albert Keating			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 5,290

23 April 1932 (1932-04-23) 40	Swindon Town	1–4	Cardiff City	Swindon
	Harry Morris 35'		12' Albert Keating 18' Albert Keating 42' Jimmy McCambridge 75' Jimmy McCambridge	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,728 Referee: T Botham

30 April 1932 (1932-04-30) 41	Cardiff City	0–2	Norwich City	Cardiff
				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,487

7 May 1932 (1932-05-07) 42	Brighton & Hove Albion	0–0	Cardiff City	Brighton
				Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 5,447

FA Cup

28 November 1931 (1931-11-28) Round 1	Cardiff City	8–0	Enfield	Cardiff
	Reg Keating Reg Keating Reg Keating Harry O'Neill Harry O'Neill George Emmerson George Emmerson Frank Harris			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,321

12 December 1931 (1931-12-12) Round 2	Cardiff City	4–0	Clapton Orient	Cardiff
	Jimmy McCambridge Reg Keating George Emmerson Billy Broadbent (og)			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 10,500

9 January 1932 (1932-01-09) Round 3	Bradford (Park Avenue)	3–0	Cardiff City	Bradford
				Stadium: Park Avenue (stadium) Attendance: 18,343

Welsh Cup

8 February 1932 (1932-02-08) Round 5	Llanelli	3–5	Cardiff City	Llanelli
			Walter Robbins Walter Robbins Walter Robbins Jimmy McCambridge Jimmy McCambridge	Stadium: Stebonheath Park Attendance: 5,000

2 March 1932 (1932-03-02) Round 6	Chester City	2–1	Cardiff City	Chester
			George Emmerson	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 5,000

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b "Cardiff City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
^ "Cardiff City Surprise". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 11 April 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 8 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Football Surprise". Weekly Despatch. 31 May 1931. p. 31. Retrieved 6 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b Shepherd 2002, p. 33
^ "Cardiff City 1931–32 results". Cardiff City Forum. Retrieved 29 January 2022.

Bibliography

Crooks, John (1986). Cardiff City Chronology 1920-86. John Crooks. ISBN 0-9511984-0-8.
Crooks, John (1992). Cardiff City Football Club: Official History of the Bluebirds. Yore Publications. ISBN 0-9513321-8-X.
Hayes, Dean (2006), The Who's Who of Cardiff City, Breedon Books, ISBN 978-1-85983-462-6
Lloyd, Grahame (1999), C'mon City! A Hundred Years of the Bluebirds, Seren Books, ISBN 1854112716
Saunders, Christian (2013), From the Ashes – The Real Story of Cardiff City Football Club, Llygad Gwalch Cyf, ISBN 9781845242138
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 1-9054110-4-9.

[fchd-1] "Cardiff City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 8 April 2021.

[2] "Cardiff City Surprise". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 11 April 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 8 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[3] "Football Surprise". Weekly Despatch. 31 May 1931. p. 31. Retrieved 6 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[S33-4] Shepherd 2002, p. 33

[results-5] "Cardiff City 1931–32 results". Cardiff City Forum. Retrieved 29 January 2022.

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