1985–86 Cardiff City F.C. 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

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; some limited exceptions apply. 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

Main article: 1985–86 Football League § Third Division

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

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	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	W	L	W	L	D	L	D	L	L	L	L	L	W	L	L	L	L	L	L	D	W	W	W	D	D	W	D	L	L	W	L	L	W	L	D	D	L	L	L	L	D	L	W	W	L	W
Position		11	8	11	12	16	15	18	21	21	21	22	21	21	22	23	24	24	24	24	24	21	21	21	21	19	19	19	20	17	19	20	19	19	19	21	22	22	22	23	24	24	22	21	23	22

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 (o.g.) 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'		(o.g.) 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 (o.g.) 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 Referee: John Deakin (Llantwit Major)

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

See also

• List of Cardiff City F.C. seasons

References

1. "All Cardiff City football club players: 1986". 11v11. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
2. "Cardiff City 1985-86 results". Cardiff City Forum. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
3. "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