1985–86 Cardiff City F.C. season

Cardiff City 1985–86 football season

Cardiff City
1985–86 season
Chairman	Jack Leonard
Manager	Alan Durban
Football League Third Division	22nd
FA Cup	1st round
League Cup	1st round
Welsh Cup	Semi-finals
Freight Rover Trophy	Preliminary round
Top goalscorer	League: Nigel Vaughan (12) All: Nigel Vaughan (17)
Highest home attendance	9,375 (v Swansea, 26 December 1985)
Lowest home attendance	1,777 (v Walsall, 5 April 1986)
Average home league attendance	3,433
← 1984–85 1986–87 →

The 1985–86 season was Cardiff City F.C.'s 59th season in the Football League. They competed in the 24-team Division Three, then the third tier of English football, finishing twenty-second, suffering relegation to Division Four.

At the end of the season manager Alan Durban was sacked as manager. It ended a disastrous spell in charge as the team suffered two relegations in two years.

Players

First team squad. ^[1] 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	WAL	Mel Rees
--	GK	WAL	Chris Sander
--	GK	ENG	Lee Smelt
--	DF	ENG	Phil Brignull
--	DF	ENG	John Carver
--	DF	ENG	David Corner
--	DF	WAL	Wayne Curtis
--	DF	ENG	Mike Ford
--	DF	SCO	Jake King
--	DF	ENG	Carleton Leonard
--	DF	ENG	Jimmy Mullen
--	DF	WAL	Allen Price
--	DF	ENG	Andy Spring
--	DF	WAL	Nigel Stevenson
--	MF	ENG	Derrick Christie
--	MF	WAL	Richard Evans


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
--	MF	WAL	Brian Flynn
--	MF	ENG	Roger Gibbins
--	MF	WAL	David Giles
--	MF	WAL	Jason Gummer
--	MF	WAL	Chris Marustik
--	MF	ENG	Paul McLoughlin
--	MF	WAL	Tarki Micallef
--	MF	WAL	Tim O'Connor
--	MF	ENG	David Tong
--	MF	WAL	Nigel Vaughan
--	MF	ENG	Paul Wheeler
--	FW	ENG	Mark Farrington
--	FW	ENG	Will Foley
--	FW	ENG	Kevin Meacock
--	FW	WAL	Gerry Nardiello
--	FW	ENG	Robbie Turner
--	FW	ENG	Graham Withey

League standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
20	Bury	46	12	13	21	63	67	−4	49
21	Lincoln City	46	10	16	20	55	77	−22	46	Relegated
22	Cardiff City	46	12	9	25	53	83	−30	45
23	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	11	10	25	57	98	−41	43
24	Swansea City	46	11	10	25	43	87	−44	43

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results by round

Source: ^[2]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Fixtures and results

Third Division

Notts County v Cardiff City

17 August 1985 (1985-08-17) 1	Notts County	1–4	Cardiff City	Nottingham
15:00	Alan Young 47'		8' Paul McLoughlin 31' Mark Farrington 58' (pen) Jimmy Mullen 37' Nigel Vaughan	Stadium: Meadow Lane Attendance: 3,856

Cardiff City v Chesterfield

24 August 1985 (1985-08-24) 2	Cardiff City	0–2	Chesterfield	Cardiff
15:00	Brian Flynn		21' Phil Brown 89' Ernie Moss	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,601 Referee: Ron Groves (Weston)

Newport County v Cardiff City

26 August 1985 (1985-08-26) 3	Newport County	1–2	Cardiff City	Newport
11:00	Roy Carter		(pen) Jimmy Mullen Nigel Vaughan	Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 5,027

Cardiff City v Reading

31 August 1985 (1985-08-31) 4	Cardiff City	1–3	Reading	Cardiff
15:00	Paul McLoughlin 60'		6' Trevor Senior Trevor Senior Trevor Senior	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,539 Referee: Paul Vanes (West Midlands)

York City v Cardiff City

7 September 1985 (1985-09-07) 5	York City	1–1	Cardiff City	York
15:00	Chris Evans 86'		39' Mike Ford	Stadium: Bootham Crescent Attendance: 3,760 Referee: Alan Robinson (Fareham)

Cardiff City v Bristol City

14 September 1985 (1985-09-14) 6	Cardiff City	1–3	Bristol City	Cardiff
15:00	Graham Withey		Alan Walsh Alan Walsh Howard Pritchard	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,412

Cardiff City v Bury

17 September 1985 (1985-09-17) 7	Cardiff City	0–0	Bury	Cardiff
19:45				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,011

Blackpool v Cardiff City

21 September 1985 (1985-09-21) 8	Blackpool	3–0	Cardiff City	Blackpool
15:00	Mike Davies 57' Eamon O'Keefe 82' John Deary 88'			Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 3,783

Cardiff City v Derby County

28 September 1985 (1985-09-28) 9	Cardiff City	0–2	Derby County	Cardiff
15:00			(pen) Ross MacLaren 49' Trevor Christie	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,435

Rotherham United v Cardiff City

1 October 1985 (1985-10-01) 10	Rotherham United	3–0	Cardiff City	Rotherham
19:30	Mick Gooding Mick Gooding Tony Simmons			Stadium: Millmoor Attendance: 2,906

Cardiff City v Bournemouth

5 October 1985 (1985-10-05) 11	Cardiff City	0–1	Bournemouth	Cardiff
15:00			8' Chris Shaw	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,156

Gillingham v Cardiff City

12 October 1985 (1985-10-12) 12	Gillingham	2–0	Cardiff City	Gillingham
15:00	Keith Oakes Mark Weatherly			Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 3,367

Cardiff City v Wigan Athletic

19 October 1985 (1985-10-19) 13	Cardiff City	3–1	Wigan Athletic	Cardiff
15:00	Chris Marustik 40' Robbie Turner 78' Nigel Vaughan 87'		46' Ian Griffiths	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,020 Referee: Brian Stevens (Stonehouse)

Darlington v Cardiff City

22 October 1985 (1985-10-22) 14	Darlington	4–1	Cardiff City	Darlington
19:30	David McLean David McLean (pen) Carl Airey Carl Airey		Paul McLoughlin	Attendance: 2,446

Cardiff City v Bolton Wanderers

26 October 1985 (1985-10-26) 15	Cardiff City	0–1	Bolton Wanderers	Cardiff
15:00			Graham Bell	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,502 Referee: Malcolm Cotton (Camberley, Surrey)

Brentford v Cardiff City

2 November 1985 (1985-11-02) 16	Brentford	3–0	Cardiff City	London
15:00	Terry Hurlock Robbie Cooke Tony Lynch			Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 3,934

Walsall v Cardiff City

5 November 1985 (1985-11-05) 17	Walsall	6–3	Cardiff City	Walsall
19:30	Craig Shakespeare Shakespeare Steve Elliott Steve Elliott Steve Elliott Nicky Cross		(pen) Jimmy Mullen Derrick Christie Nigel Vaughan	Stadium: Fellows Park Attendance: 3,282

Cardiff City v Doncaster Rovers

8 November 1985 (1985-11-08) 18	Cardiff City	0–1	Doncaster Rovers	Cardiff
19:45	Robbie Turner		Brian Caswell	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,015 Referee: Keren Barratt (Coventry)

Bristol Rovers v Cardiff City

23 November 1985 (1985-11-23) 19	Bristol Rovers	2–1	Cardiff City	Bristol
15:00	Mark O'Connor 1' Gary Penrice		2' (pen) Jimmy Mullen	Stadium: Eastville Attendance: 4,563

Cardiff City v Wolverhampton Wanderers

30 November 1985 (1985-11-30) 20	Cardiff City	1–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Cardiff
15:00	Wayne Curtis		61' Andy King	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,453

Lincoln City v Cardiff City

14 December 1985 (1985-12-14) 21	Lincoln City	0–4	Cardiff City	Lincoln
15:00			50' Nigel Vaughan Robbie Turner (pen) Jimmy Mullen Mark Farrington	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 2,127 Referee: Howard Taylor (Oadby, Leicestershire)

Chesterfield v Cardiff City

20 December 1985 (1985-12-20) 22	Chesterfield	3–4	Cardiff City	Chesterfield
19:30	Steve Spooner Les Hunter Mick Henderson		Robbie Turner Derrick Christie Nigel Vaughan Mark Farrington	Stadium: Saltergate Attendance: 1,773

Cardiff City v Swansea City

26 December 1985 (1985-12-26) 23	Cardiff City	1–0	Swansea City	Cardiff
11:00	Nigel Vaughan 88'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 9,375 Referee: Ray Lewis (Great Bookham, Surrey)

Cardiff City v Newport County

28 December 1985 (1985-12-28) 24	Cardiff City	1–1	Newport County	Cardiff
15:00	Mike Ford		Gordon Staniforth	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 7,450

Plymouth Argyle v Cardiff City

1 January 1986 (1986-01-01) 25	Plymouth Argyle	4–4	Cardiff City	Plymouth
11:00	Garry Nelson Kevin Summerfield John Clayton Kevin Hodges		Robbie Turner Mike Ford Nigel Vaughan (pen) Jimmy Mullen	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 8,920

Cardiff City v Brentford

4 January 1986 (1986-01-04) 26	Cardiff City	1–0	Brentford	Cardiff
15:00	Nigel Vaughan			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,398 Referee: Alan Seville (Birmingham)

Reading v Cardiff City

11 January 1986 (1986-01-11) 27	Reading	1–1	Cardiff City	Reading
15:00	Kevin Bremner 80'		51' Mike Ford	Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 6,784

Cardiff City v Notts County

18 January 1986 (1986-01-18) 28	Cardiff City	1–3	Notts County	Cardiff
15:00	Jimmy Mullen 45' (pen)		22' Mick Waitt (og) Jimmy Mullen 86' Ian McParland	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,410 Referee: Lester Shapter (Paignton)

Bristol City v Cardiff City

25 January 1986 (1986-01-25) 29	Bristol City	2–1	Cardiff City	Bristol
15:00	Steve Neville Gary Marshall		Paul Wheeler	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 7,541

Cardiff City v York City

31 January 1986 (1986-01-31) 30	Cardiff City	2–1	York City	Cardiff
19:45	Nigel Vaughan 71' Paul Wheeler 80'		Keith Walwyn	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,051

Cardiff City v Darlington

4 February 1986 (1986-02-04) 31	Cardiff City	0–1	Darlington	Cardiff
19:45			Garry MacDonald	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,222

Wigan Athletic v Cardiff City

8 February 1986 (1986-02-08) 32	Wigan Athletic	2–0	Cardiff City	Wigan
15:00	Warren Aspinall David Lowe			Stadium: Springfield Park (Wigan) Attendance: 3,428

Cardiff City v Blackpool

22 February 1986 (1986-02-22) 33	Cardiff City	1–0	Blackpool	Cardiff
15:00	Wayne Curtis			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,430

Derby County v Cardiff City

1 March 1986 (1986-03-01) 34	Derby County	2–1	Cardiff City	Derby
	John Gregory Ross MacLaren 89'		Nigel Vaughan	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 11,014 Referee: Phillips

Bournemouth v Cardiff City

8 March 1986 (1986-03-08) 35	Bournemouth	1–1	Cardiff City	Bournemouth
15:00	Colin Clarke		78' Robbie Turner	Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 2,707

Cardiff City v Gillingham

15 March 1986 (1986-03-15) 36	Cardiff City	1–1	Gillingham	Cardiff
15:00	Jason Gummer 33'		23' Tony Cascarino	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,505

Bolton Wanderers v Cardiff City

22 March 1986 (1986-03-22) 37	Bolton Wanderers	5–0	Cardiff City	Bolton
15:00	Phil Neal 45' Mark Came 46' Warren Joyce Tony Caldwell George Oghani			Stadium: Burnden Park Attendance: 4,114

Cardiff City v Rotherham United

25 March 1986 (1986-03-25) 38	Cardiff City	2–3	Rotherham United	Cardiff
19:45	Paul McLoughlin 7' Jimmy Mullen 89' (pen)		31' Alan Birch 75' Tony Simmons 88' Tony Simmons	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 1,863 Referee: Roger Milford (Bristol)

Cardiff City v Plymouth Argyle

28 March 1986 (1986-03-28) 39	Cardiff City	1–2	Plymouth Argyle	Cardiff
19:45	Gerry Nardiello 49'		14' Kevin Hodges 32' John Matthews	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,834

Swansea City v Cardiff City

31 March 1986 (1986-03-31) 40	Swansea City	2–0	Cardiff City	Swansea
15:00	David Hough Phil Williams			Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 6,643

Cardiff City v Walsall

5 April 1986 (1986-04-05) 41	Cardiff City	1–1	Walsall	Cardiff
15:00	Will Foley 3'		(og) Phil Brignull	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 1,777

Bury v Cardiff City

8 April 1986 (1986-04-08) 42	Bury	3–0	Cardiff City	Bury
19:30	Lee Dixon 52' Carl Harris 55' Andy Hill 77'			Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 1,720

Doncaster Rovers v Cardiff City

12 April 1986 (1986-04-12) 43	Doncaster Rovers	0–2	Cardiff City	Doncaster
15:00			12' Gerry Nardiello 25' Gerry Nardiello	Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 2,051

Cardiff City v Bristol Rovers

19 April 1986 (1986-04-19) 44	Cardiff City	2–0	Bristol Rovers	Cardiff
15:00	Nick Tanner (og) Nigel Vaughan			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,735

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Cardiff City

26 April 1986 (1986-04-26) 45	Wolverhampton Wanderers	3–1	Cardiff City	Wolverhampton
	Keith Lockhart 13' Andy Mutch 18' Micky Holmes		52' Gerry Nardiello	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 3,353 Referee: T Simpson

Cardiff City v Lincoln City

3 May 1986 (1986-05-03) 46	Cardiff City	2–1	Lincoln City	Cardiff
15:00	Robbie Turner 31' Robbie Turner 40'		45' Kevin Kilmore	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 1,904

Source ^[2] ^[3]

Milk Cup

Cardiff City v Swansea City

20 August 1985 (1985-08-20) Round 1 (First Leg)	Cardiff City	2–1	Swansea City	Cardiff
19:45	Brian Flynn 20', 48'		Chris Marustik	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,218 Referee: Alan Seville (Birmingham)

Swansea City v Cardiff City

3 September 1985 (1985-09-03) Round 1 (Second Leg)	Swansea City	3–1 (4–3 agg.)	Cardiff City	Swansea
19:30	Colin Randell 45' Colin Randell Colin Pascoe 55'		40' Mark Farrington	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 4,621

FA Cup

Exeter City v Cardiff City

16 November 1985 (1985-11-16) Round 1	Exeter City	2–1	Cardiff City	Exeter
15:00	Darren Gale Darren Gale		Nigel Stevenson	Stadium: St James's Park Attendance: 2,772 Referee: Bob Hamer (Brislington, Bristol)

Welsh Cup

Caerleon v Cardiff City

26 November 1985 (1985-11-26) Round 3	Caerleon	2–3	Cardiff City	Caerleon
14:00	Rowberry 13' Sims 63' (pen)		Nigel Vaughan Nigel Vaughan 85' Chris Marustik	Stadium: Cold Bath Road Attendance: 500

Cardiff City v Mold Alexandra

8 January 1986 (1986-01-08) Round 4	Cardiff City	4–1	Mold Alexandra	Cardiff
19:45	Robbie Turner 28' Jeff Hemmerman 43' Nigel Vaughan 83', 90'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 604

Cardiff City v Barry Town

11 March 1986 (1986-03-11) Round 5	Cardiff City	0–0	Barry Town	Cardiff
19:45				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,053

Barry Town v Cardiff City

13 March 1986 (1986-03-13) Round 5 (Replay)	Barry Town	0–2	Cardiff City	Barry
14:30			Jeff Hemmerman David Giles	Stadium: Jenner Park Attendance: 1,750

Wrexham v Cardiff City

15 April 1986 (1986-04-15) Semi Final (First Leg)	Wrexham	4–1	Cardiff City	Wrexham
19:30	Andy Edwards 6', 65' Barry Horne Jim Steel 90'		Nigel Vaughan	Stadium: The Racecourse Attendance: 1,639 Referee: Ron Bridges (Deeside)

Cardiff City v Wrexham

22 April 1986 (1986-04-22) Semi Final (Second Leg)	Cardiff City	1–2 (2–6 agg.)	Wrexham	Cardiff
19:45	Chris Marustik			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 1,255

Freight Rover Trophy

Newport County v Cardiff City

21 January 1986 (1986-01-21) Round 1 (Group)	Newport County	1–0	Cardiff City	Newport
19:30	Steve Mardenborough			Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 1,863 Referee: E Scales

Cardiff City v Swansea City

28 January 1986 (1986-01-28) Round 1 (Group)	Cardiff City	0–2	Swansea City	Cardiff
19:45			Sean McCarthy Sean McCarthy	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 1,006

References

^ "All Cardiff City football club players: 1986". 11v11. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Cardiff City 1985-86 results". Cardiff City Forum. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
^ "Cardiff City football club match record: 1985". 11v11. Retrieved 13 January 2022.

Bibliography

Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.
Crooks, John (1986). Cardiff City Chronology 1920-86. John Crooks. ISBN 0-9511984-0-8.
Shepherd, Richard (2002). The Definitive Cardiff City F.C. Tony Brown. ISBN 1-899-46817-X.
Crooks, John (1992). Cardiff City Football Club: Official History of the Bluebirds. Yore Publications. ISBN 0-9513321-8-X.
Dunk, Peter, ed. (1986). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1986-87. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0-356-12334-0.
"Football Club History Database – Cardiff City". Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
Welsh Football Data Archive

Cardiff City F.C. seasons

1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20

1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50

1985–86 in English football

« 1984–85

1986–87 »

National teams

Bobby Robson
Rous Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup (qualification – Group 3)

League competitions

Levels 1–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Fourth Division)
Level 5	Alliance Premier League
Levels 6–7	Isthmian League (Premier, One) Northern Premier League (level 6 only) Southern League (Premier, Midland, Southern)
Levels 8–9	Isthmian League (Two North, Two South) Combined Counties League (level 8 only) Eastern Counties League (level 8 only) Essex Senior League (level 8 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One) Kent League (level 8 only) London Spartan League (Premier, Senior) Midland Football Combination (level 8 only) North West Counties League (One, Two) Northern Counties East League (Premier, One) Northern League (One, Two) South Midlands League (Premier, One) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (Premier, One) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 8 only) Western League (Premier, One)

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Trophy (Final)
Football League cups	League Cup (Final) Full Members' Cup (Final) Super Cup Associate Members' Cup (Final)

Club seasons
First Division	Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Chelsea Coventry City Everton Ipswich Town Leicester City Liverpool Luton Town Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Oxford United Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Watford West Bromwich Albion West Ham United
Second Division	Barnsley Blackburn Rovers Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Fulham Grimsby Town Huddersfield Town Hull City Leeds United Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City Oldham Athletic Portsmouth Sheffield United Shrewsbury Town Stoke City Sunderland Wimbledon
Third Division	Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bournemouth Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Bury Cardiff City Chesterfield Darlington Derby County Doncaster Rovers Gillingham Lincoln City Newport County Notts County Plymouth Argyle Reading Rotherham United Swansea City Walsall Wigan Athletic Wolverhampton Wanderers York City
Fourth Division	Aldershot Burnley Cambridge United Chester City Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Exeter City Halifax Town Hartlepool United Hereford United Mansfield Town Northampton Town Orient Peterborough United Port Vale Preston North End Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southend United Southport Stockport County Swindon Town Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Wrexham