THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF CITY’S SEASON
IT’S certainly been a memorable campaign for Cardiff City.
The final-day 3-0 victory at Huddersfield ensured Neil Warnock’s men secured a top-half finish, a hugelyimpressive achievement from the Bluebirds given that they were in 23rd place with just eight points from their opening 11 matches when Paul Trollope was axed.
But what were the highlights of the season for the fans... and which moments will supporters want to erase from their memory as quickly as possible?
Here, we look at the highs and lows of what proved to be yet another action packed season for the Bluebirds...
August 6, 2016: Birmingham City 0-0 Cardiff City
Paul Trollope’s Cardiff City reign started with a goalless draw at St Andrews, and it was perhaps an early sign of things to come as the Bluebirds’ lacklustre attack failed to deliver in the Midlands.
The visitors spurned a golden opportunity to open their season with victory as Frederic Gounongbe missed an open goal in the 34th minute while Peter Whittingham was denied by Tomasz Kuszczak.
A point and a clean sheet away from home, but an early sign of where Cardiff would struggle.
August 11, 2016: Bristol Rovers 1-0 Cardiff City
The first major bump in Trollope’s reign as Severnside rivals Bristol Rovers secured an extra-time victory thanks to Chris Lines’ stunner in the 115th minute of play at the Memorial Stadium to dump Cardiff out of the League Cup at the first hurdle.
Gounongbe very nearly forced a penalty shootout, although his late effort struck the post at the death.
August 17, 2016: Cardiff City 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
A day that will be remembered for one man, and he wasn’t even wearing the blue of Cardiff.
Rovers’ defender Shane Duffy endured a torrid evening in the Welsh capital, with the ex-Everton man scoring two own-goals before being sent off as the Bluebirds claimed their first win under Trollope in bizarre circumstances.
However, it meant that the Bluebirds had gone four games without seeing one of their own players find the back of the net, a statistic they rectified in their next game as Joe Ralls and Anthony Pilkington both scored to earn a 2-2 draw at Fulham
October 1, 2016: Burton Albion 2-0 Cardiff City and the sacking of Paul Trollope
Defeat at the Pirelli Stadium proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Trollope who was axed with Cardiff 23rd in the Championship having seen his side collect just eight points from his opening 11 league games at the club.
Trollope went on to become Chris Hughton’s assistant at Brighton and helped the club secure promotion into the promised land of the Premier League.
But it’s safe to say the ex-Cardiff boss won’t look back at the opening weeks of the campaign too fondly.
October 5, 2016: Neil Warnock appointed as Cardiff City boss
Undoubtedly the key moment in Cardiff’s season as Yorkshireman Neil Warnock was appointed as Trollope’s successor.
The veteran boss instantly endeared himself to the Cardiff faithful with his boundless enthusiasm and wit.
And supporters knew their new boss meant business as he recruited no fewer than four players after joining the club, with Sol Bamba, Junior Hoilett, Kieran Richardson and Marouane Chamakh all making the move to south Wales.
October 14, 2016: Cardiff City 2-1 Bristol City
A Friday night under the lights proved to be a memorable one for the Cardiff faithful as more than 22,000 fans watched the Bluebirds kick start the Neil Warnock era with a bang.
Goals from Peter Whittingham and debutant Bamba proved enough for the hosts who held off a late secondhalf fightback from their Severnside rivals to claim a precious three points in their quest for survival.
The Bluebirds then held promotionchasing Sheffield Wednesday to a 1-1 draw before securing a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest as Cardiff collected a hugely-impressive seven points from nine in Warnock’s opening three games.
December 10, 2016: Ipswich Town 1-1 Cardiff City and an implosion like no other
Aron Gunnarsson’s first-half opener was cancelled out by Luke Varney’s 52nd minute equaliser at Portman Road as the Bluebirds were forced to settle for a share of the spoils in Suffolk.
But the real story from the game came in the 70th minute as Sol Bamba lost the plot and was sent off before clashing with his own manager.
The Ivorian was hit with a twogame ban which was later extended by one match after being charged by the Football Association for violent conduct.
January 14, 2017: Bristol City 2-3 Cardiff City
If Warnock wasn’t already loved by the Cardiff faithful, he certainly was after this terrific comeback victory at Ashton Gate.
Backed by an army of more than 2,000 fans across the water, the Bluebirds twice came from behind as Kadeem Harris scored in between an Anthony Pilkington brace to earn Cardiff a sensational win over Lee Johnson’s side.
January 31, 2017: Cardiff City 2-0 Preston and the beginning of a goal-scoring run
The Bluebirds signed off the opening month of the New Year in fine fashion as they secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Simon Grayson’s Preston at Cardiff City Stadium on transfer deadline day.
Peter Whittingham opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 18th minute before Kenneth Zohore doubled Cardiff’s advantage with a truly sensational individual effort that went on to earn him the club’s Goal of the Season award.
But more importantly as far as Warnock was concerned is that the stunner kick-started a run that saw the Dane score 10 times in 11 matches.
February 2017: Three stunning wins on the bounce
While January was a mixed month for the Bluebirds, the second month of 2017 gave fans some brilliant memories.
Warnock saw his side win 2-0 against his former club Leeds United at Elland Road before the Bluebirds came from two goals down against Derby County to win 4-3 in an absolute thriller at Pride Park.
And the Bluebirds made it a trio of magnificent wins as they thumped hapless Rotherham 5-0 at Cardiff City Stadium, although the game was overshadowed by the injury to striker Rhys Healey who is set to be out of action until the end of the year.
February 25, 2017: Neil Warnock puts pen to paper
It was music to the ears of the Cardiff faithful as Warnock committed his future to the club, signing a one-year contract extension as he looks to deliver his wishes of launching a challenge for promotion into the Premier League next season.
‘’We wanted to stay, they wanted us to stay, we wanted an opportunity to do well next season, they’ve given us that,” said Warnock.
“Now we want to try and put the club in a place where we will be strong enough next season to have a go.”
April 28, 2017: Cardiff City 0-2 Newcastle United, but all the talk is about one man
The Bluebirds signed off their home campaign with a disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle United
But that wasn’t half of the story. The night was all about one man. Peter Whittingham.
After more than a decade at the club, Whittingham is set to see his contract with the Bluebirds expire in the summer, and talks with Warnock over a new deal are yet to prove fruitful.
It meant the Newcastle clash could well have been the club stalwart’s final home game for Cardiff, and the midfielder appeared distraught when he was withdrawn in the second half ,
applauding the home supporters who gave him a standing ovation before singing his name as he left the field.
May 7, 2017: Huddersfield Town 0-3 Cardiff City and a top-half finish
David Wagner’s side had already secured their place in the Championship’s top six ahead of their final-day clash with the Bluebirds.
And it was the visitors who looked like the side challenging for promotion as they secured a stunning 3-0 triumph over the 10-man Terriers at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Aston Villa’s late equaliser earned them a 1-1 draw with promoted Brighton at Villa Park to ensure Steve Bruce’s men went level on 62 points with the Bluebirds, but Cardiff pipped them to 12th place by virtue of scoring 13 more goals than the Villans, with both sides having a goal difference of -1.