1971–72 Cardiff City F.C. season
# 1971–72 Cardiff City F.C. season

The 1971–72 season was Cardiff City F.C.'s 45th season in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division Two, then the second tier of English football, finishing nineteenth.

## Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| -- | GK | SCO | Jim Eadie |
| -- | GK | NIR | Bill Irwin |
| -- | GK | ENG | Frank Parsons |
| -- | DF | ENG | Gary Bell |
| -- | DF | ENG | David Carver |
| -- | DF | WAL | Steve Derrett |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ken Jones |
| -- | DF | WAL | Richie Morgan |
| -- | DF | SCO | Don Murray |
| -- | DF | WAL | Freddie Pethard |
| -- | MF | WAL | Alan Couch |
| -- | MF | ENG | Alan Foggon |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | MF | ENG | Ian Gibson |
| -- | MF | ENG | Roger Hoy |
| -- | MF | SCO | Billy Kellock |
| -- | MF | ENG | Peter King |
| -- | MF | WAL | Leighton Phillips |
| -- | MF | WAL | Bryan Rees |
| -- | MF | WAL | Nigel Rees |
| -- | MF | ENG | Mel Sutton |
| -- | MF | WAL | Tony Villars |
| -- | MF | ENG | Bobby Woodruff |
| -- | FW | ENG | Brian Clark |
| -- | FW | WAL | John Parsons |
| -- | FW | ENG | Alan Warboys |

Key: ‡ On loan from another club * First appearance(s) for the club

* # = Squad number
* Pos = Playing position
* P = Number of games played
* G = Number of goals scored
* GK = Goalkeeper
* DF = Defender
* MF = Midfielder
* FW = Forward
* = Yellow cards
* = Red cards
* † Permanent player left club during the season
* ¤ Loaned to another club for part or all of season

Correct as of May 1972. Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances in parentheses where applicable.

| Pos | Name | P | G | P | G | P | G | P | G | P | G | P | G | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pos | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline | Notes |
| GK | Jim Eadie | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GK | Bill Irwin | 31 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GK | Frank Parsons | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | David Carver | 36 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 46 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | Gary Bell | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | Steve Derrett | 5 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Ken Jones | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Richie Morgan | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Don Murray | 36 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 48 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Freddie Pethard | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Alan Couch | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Alan Foggon | 9(3) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16(4) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Ian Gibson | 40(1) | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 53(1) | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | Roger Hoy | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Billy Kellock | 5(1) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Peter King | 22(1) | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 32(1) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Leighton Phillips | 41 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 56 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Mel Sutton | 30(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38(1) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | Tony Villars | 6(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Bobby Woodruff | 34(2) | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2(1) | 1 | 46(3) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Brian Clark | 42 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 56 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | John Parsons | 5(6) | 4 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(7) | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Bryan Rees | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Nigel Rees | 10(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 11(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Alan Warboys | 34(4) | 13 | 2(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 44(6) | 15 | 2 | 0 |

Source.

## League standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Derby County (C) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 69 | 33 | 2.091 | 58 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Leeds United | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 73 | 31 | 2.355 | 57 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | Liverpool | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 64 | 30 | 2.133 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Manchester City | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 77 | 45 | 1.711 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Arsenal | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 58 | 40 | 1.450 | 52 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 63 | 42 | 1.500 | 51 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Chelsea | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 58 | 49 | 1.184 | 48 | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 69 | 61 | 1.131 | 48 | |
| 9 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 65 | 57 | 1.140 | 47 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 61 | 60 | 1.017 | 46 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 11 | Newcastle United | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 49 | 52 | 0.942 | 41 | |
| 12 | Leicester City | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 41 | 46 | 0.891 | 39 | |
| 13 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 39 | 53 | 0.736 | 38 | |
| 14 | West Ham United | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 47 | 51 | 0.922 | 36 | |
| 15 | Everton | 42 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 37 | 48 | 0.771 | 36 | |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 42 | 54 | 0.778 | 35 | |
| 17 | Stoke City | 42 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 39 | 56 | 0.696 | 35 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 18 | Coventry City | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 44 | 67 | 0.657 | 33 | |
| 19 | Southampton | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 52 | 80 | 0.650 | 31 | |
| 20 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 39 | 65 | 0.600 | 29 | |
| 21 | Nottingham Forest (R) | 42 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 47 | 81 | 0.580 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Huddersfield Town (R) | 42 | 6 | 13 | 23 | 27 | 59 | 0.458 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |

* ↑ Leeds United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1971-72 FA Cup winners.
* ↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1971-72 UEFA Cup winners.
* ↑ Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United qualified for the Watney Cup as the two teams with the most goals that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 | Orient | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 50 | 61 | 0.820 | 37 | |
| 18 | Preston North End | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 52 | 58 | 0.897 | 36 | |
| 19 | Cardiff City | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 56 | 69 | 0.812 | 34 | |
| 20 | Fulham | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 45 | 68 | 0.662 | 34 | |
| 21 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 55 | 77 | 0.714 | 33 | Relegation to the Third Division |

### 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 | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | L | L | D | L | D | W | L | L | W | L | L | W | L | D | L | L | L | W | D | W | L | W | D | L | L | D | D | W | D | D | D | W | D | L | D | W | W | L | L | D | L |
| Position | 13 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |

## Fixtures and results

### Second Division

Source

