# 2018–19 Cardiff City F.C. season

The 2018–19 season was Cardiff City's 120th season in their existence and their second in the Premier League. Cardiff were promoted to the top tier of English football league system for the first time since 2013 during the 2017–18 season. Along with competing in the Premier League, the club also participated in the FA Cup and EFL Cup. The season covered the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.
On 21 January, a Piper PA-46 Malibu light aircraft transporting Cardiff's recently signed player Emiliano Sala was crashed off Alderney, in the Channel Islands. The aircraft had been travelling from Nantes, France, to Cardiff. The wreckage of the aircraft was found thirteen days later. He was confirmed dead on 7 February. Two days before the tragedy, Sala was presented as a Cardiff player but had not decided on his shirt number at that time. Cardiff and Nantes are in dispute over the payment of the transfer fee for Sala.

## Kit

Supplier: adidas Sponsor(s): Visit Malaysia
| Home | Home alt. | Away | Away alt. 1 | Away alt. 2 | Third | Third alt. |
Last updated: 13 April 2019. Source:

## First-team squad

| No. | Name | Pos. | Place of Birth | Age | Caps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee | Ends |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | Neil Etheridge | GK | London | 29 | 85 | 0 | Walsall | 1 July 2017 | Free | 2021 |
| 12 | Alex Smithies | GK | Huddersfield | 29 | 2 | 0 | Queens Park Rangers | 1 July 2018 | £4,000,000 | 2022 |
| 28 | Brian Murphy | GK | Waterford | 36 | 10 | 0 | Portsmouth | 2 September 2016 | Free | 2019 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | Lee Peltier | FB/CB | Liverpool | 33 | 139 | 0 | Huddersfield Town | 24 January 2015 | Nominal | 2020 |
| 3 | Joe Bennett | LB | Rochdale | 29 | 98 | 4 | Aston Villa | 27 August 2016 | Free | 2021 |
| 4 | Sean Morrison | CB | Plymouth | 28 | 196 | 21 | Reading | 15 August 2014 | £3,180,000 | 2022 |
| 5 | Bruno Ecuele Manga | CB/RB | Libreville | 30 | 161 | 7 | Lorient | 1 September 2014 | £5,360,000 | 2020 |
| 6 | Jazz Richards | FB/DM | Swansea | 28 | 44 | 0 | Fulham | 19 July 2016 | Swap Deal | 2020 |
| 13 | Callum Paterson | RB/CM | London | 24 | 64 | 14 | Heart of Midlothian | 1 July 2017 | £400,000 | 2022 |
| 18 | Greg Cunningham | LB | Galway | 28 | 8 | 0 | Preston North End | 1 July 2018 | £4,000,000 | 2021 |
| 22 | Sol Bamba | CB | Ivry-sur-Seine | 34 | 101 | 10 | Free agent | 11 October 2016 | Free | 2020 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 7 | Harry Arter | CM | Sidcup | 29 | 25 | 0 | Bournemouth | 9 August 2018 | Loan | 2019 |
| 8 | Joe Ralls | CM/LM | Aldershot | 26 | 208 | 18 | Academy | 30 September 2011 | Trainee | 2022 |
| 11 | Josh Murphy | LW | Wembley | 24 | 30 | 3 | Norwich City | 12 June 2018 | £11,000,000 | 2022 |
| 15 | Leandro Bacuna | CM/RB | Groningen | 27 | 11 | 0 | Reading | 31 January 2019 | £4,000,000 | 2023 |
| 17 | Aron Gunnarsson | CM/DM | Akureyri | 29 | 285 | 25 | Coventry City | 8 July 2011 | £350,000 | 2019 |
| 19 | Nathaniel Mendez-Laing | RW/LW | Birmingham | 27 | 62 | 11 | Rochdale | 1 July 2017 | Free | 2021 |
| 21 | Víctor Camarasa | CM | Meliana | 25 | 33 | 5 | Real Betis | 9 August 2018 | Loan | 2019 |
| 23 | Kadeem Harris | LW | Westminster | 26 | 80 | 7 | Wycombe Wanderers | 30 January 2012 | £150,000 | 2019 |
| 33 | Junior Hoilett | LW/RW | Brampton | 29 | 115 | 16 | Free agent | 10 October 2016 | Free | 2021 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | Danny Ward | CF/LW | Bradford | 28 | 36 | 5 | Rotherham United | 1 July 2017 | £1,600,000 | 2020 |
| 10 | Kenneth Zohore | CF | Copenhagen | 25 | 101 | 24 | KV Kortrijk | 6 July 2016 | £300,000 | 2020 |
| 14 | Bobby Decordova-Reid | CF/AM | Bristol | 26 | 29 | 5 | Bristol City | 1 July 2018 | £10,000,000 | 2022 |
| 29 | Oumar Niasse | CF | Ouakam | 29 | 13 | 0 | Everton | 18 January 2019 | Loan | 2019 |
| 32 | Rhys Healey | CF | Manchester | 24 | 15 | 1 | Connah's Quay Nomads | 28 January 2013 | £25,000 | 2020 |
| Out on loan ||||||||||||
| 24 | Gary Madine | CF | Gateshead | 28 | 19 | 0 | Bolton Wanderers | 31 January 2018 | £5,000,000 | 2021 |
| 30 | Omar Bogle | CF | Sandwell | 25 | 12 | 3 | Wigan Athletic | 17 August 2017 | £700,000 | 2020 |
| 31 | Mark Harris | AM/CF | Swansea | 20 | 2 | 0 | Academy | 8 January 2017 | Trainee | 2019 |
| — | Lee Tomlin | AM/WG | Leicester | 30 | 16 | 1 | Bristol City | 13 July 2017 | Undisclosed | 2020 |
| Players omitted from 25 man squad ||||||||||||
| 16 | Matthew Connolly | CB/RB | Barnet | 31 | 165 | 7 | Queens Park Rangers | 22 August 2012 | £500,000 | 2020 |
| 20 | Loïc Damour | CM/DM | Chantilly | 28 | 35 | 0 | Bourg-Péronnas | 6 July 2017 | Free | 2019 |
| — | Stuart O'Keefe | CM | Eye | 28 | 45 | 2 | Crystal Palace | 28 January 2015 | £910,000 | 2019 |
^ Appearances and goals for the club and contracts are up to date as of 13 May 2019.

### Statistics

    As of 13 May 2019
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | PHI | Neil Etheridge | 38 | 0 | 38+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Lee Peltier | 22 | 0 | 17+3 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Joe Bennett | 31 | 0 | 30+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Sean Morrison | 34 | 1 | 33+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | GAB | Bruno Ecuele Manga | 40 | 1 | 37+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | WAL | Jazz Richards | 5 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | IRL | Harry Arter | 25 | 0 | 24+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Joe Ralls | 29 | 0 | 22+6 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Danny Ward | 16 | 1 | 4+10 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | DEN | Kenneth Zohore | 20 | 1 | 7+12 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Josh Murphy | 30 | 3 | 22+7 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | ENG | Alex Smithies | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | SCO | Callum Paterson | 29 | 4 | 21+6 | 4 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Bobby Decordova-Reid | 29 | 5 | 16+11 | 5 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | CUW | Leandro Bacuna | 11 | 0 | 4+7 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Matthew Connolly | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ISL | Aron Gunnarsson | 27 | 1 | 26+1 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | IRL | Greg Cunningham | 8 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Nathaniel Mendez-Laing | 21 | 4 | 11+9 | 4 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | FRA | Loïc Damour | 4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ESP | Víctor Camarasa | 33 | 5 | 31+1 | 5 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | CIV | Sol Bamba | 28 | 4 | 28+0 | 4 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Kadeem Harris | 16 | 1 | 3+11 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | SEN | Oumar Niasse | 13 | 0 | 12+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Rhys Healey | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | CAN | Junior Hoilett | 33 | 3 | 24+8 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Player(s) out on loan: ||||||||||||
| 24 | FW | ENG | Gary Madine | 6 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |

#### Goals record

    As of 13 May 2019
| Rank | No. | Nat. | Po. | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | 14 | | CF | Bobby Decordova-Reid | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 1 | 21 | | CM | Víctor Camarasa | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | 13 | | RB | Callum Paterson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | 19 | | RW | Nathaniel Mendez-Laing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | 22 | | CB | Sol Bamba | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | 11 | | RW | Josh Murphy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 33 | | LW | Junior Hoilett | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | 4 | | CB | Sean Morrison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 5 | | CB | Bruno Ecuele Manga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | 9 | | CF | Danny Ward | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 10 | | CF | Kenneth Zohore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 17 | | CM | Aron Gunnarsson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 23 | | LW | Kadeem Harris | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 34 | 0 | 1 | 35 |

#### Disciplinary record

    As of 13 May 2019
| Rank | No. | Nat. | Po. | Name | Premier League | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Total |
| 1 | 7 | | CM | Harry Arter | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 22 | | CB | Sol Bamba | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 4 | | CB | Sean Morrison | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 21 | | CM | Víctor Camarasa | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 3 | | LB | Joe Bennett | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 8 | | CM | Joe Ralls | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 2 | | RB | Lee Peltier | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 13 | | RB | Callum Paterson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 17 | | CM | Aron Gunnarsson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 33 | | LW | Junior Hoilett | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 18 | | LB | Greg Cunningham | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 1 | | GK | Neil Etheridge | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 11 | | LW | Josh Murphy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 15 | | CM | Leandro Bacuna | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 6 | | RB | Jazz Richards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 10 | | CF | Kenneth Zohore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 20 | | CM | Loïc Damour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 23 | | LM | Kadeem Harris | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 65 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 0 | 1 |

#### Suspensions

| Player | Date received | Offence | Length of suspension | Length of suspension | Length of suspension |
| Joe Ralls | 6 October 2018 | vs Tottenham Hotspur | 3 games | Fulham (H), Liverpool (A), Leicester City (H) |
| Harry Arter | 3 November 2018 | 5x | 1 game | Brighton & Hove Albion (H) |
Last updated: 4 November 2018. Source: Football Association

### Contracts

| Date | Position | Name | Status | Contract Length | Expiry Date |
| 3 July 2018 | LB | Joe Bennett | Signed | 3 years | June 2021 |
| 6 July 2018 | CB | Matthew Connolly | Signed | 2 years | June 2020 |
| 6 July 2018 | RW | Nathaniel Mendez-Laing | Signed | 3 years | June 2021 |
| 6 July 2018 | CB | Sean Morrison | Signed | 4 years | June 2022 |
| 6 July 2018 | GK | Brian Murphy | Signed | 1 year | June 2019 |
| 6 July 2018 | RB | Callum Paterson | Signed | 4 years | June 2022 |
| 6 July 2018 | RB | Lee Peltier | Signed | 2 years | June 2020 |
| 6 July 2018 | CM | Joe Ralls | Signed | 4 years | June 2022 |
| 9 July 2018 | CM | Aron Gunnarsson | Signed | 1 year | June 2019 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2018 | LB | Greg Cunningham | Preston North End | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2018 | LW | Josh Murphy | Norwich City | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2018 | CF | Bobby Reid | Bristol City | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2018 | GK | Alex Smithies | Queens Park Rangers | Undisclosed |
| 19 January 2019 | CF | Emiliano Sala | Nantes | £15,000,000 |
| 31 January 2019 | CM | Leandro Bacuna | Reading | £4,000,000 |
| 1 February 2019 | CF | Danny Wiliams | Haverfordwest County | Undisclosed |
* Spent: – Undisclosed (~ £32,000,000)
* ↑ Fee reported to be around £4,000,000
* ↑ Fee reported to be around £11,000,000
* ↑ Fee reported to be £10,000,000
* ↑ Sky Sports reported that £3,000,000 will be paid upfront and a further £500,000 if Cardiff stay in the Premier League for one season.

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2018 | CB | Rhys Abbruzzese | Unattached | Released |
| 1 July 2018 | CF | Frédéric Gounongbe | Unattached | Released |
| 1 July 2018 | CB | Greg Halford | Aberdeen | Released |
| 1 July 2018 | RW | Matthew Kennedy | St Johnstone | Released |
| 1 July 2018 | CF | Ogo Obi | Unattached | Released |
| 1 July 2018 | FW | Keiron Proctor | Unattached | Released |
| 1 July 2018 | GK | Ben Wilson | Bradford City | Released |
| 1 July 2018 | LB | Connor Young | Unattached | Released |
| 8 August 2018 | GK | Lee Camp | Birmingham City | Free transfer |
| 10 January 2019 | LW | Anthony Pilkington | Wigan Athletic | Free transfer |
| 1 February 2019 | CF | Ibrahim Meite | Crawley Town | Free transfer |

### Loan in

| Start date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| 9 August 2018 | CM | Harry Arter | Bournemouth | 31 May 2019 |
| 9 August 2018 | CM | Víctor Camarasa | Real Betis | 31 May 2019 |
| 18 January 2019 | CF | Oumar Niasse | Everton | 31 May 2019 |
| 4 February 2019 | CM | Aaron Bolger | Shamrock Rovers | 31 May 2019 |

### Loan out

| Start date | Position | Name | To | End date |
| 2 August 2018 | AM | Mark Harris | Newport County | 4 January 2019 |
| 7 August 2018 | CF | Omar Bogle | Birmingham City | 29 January 2019 |
| 24 August 2018 | CF | Rhys Healey | Milton Keynes Dons | 4 January 2019 |
| 24 August 2018 | CM | Stuart O'Keefe | Plymouth Argyle | 4 January 2019 |
| 4 January 2019 | CB | Paul McKay | Morecambe | 31 May 2019 |
| 7 January 2019 | CF | Gary Madine | Sheffield United | 31 May 2019 |
| 8 January 2019 | SS | Lee Tomlin | Peterborough United | 31 May 2019 |
| 11 January 2019 | CB | Jack Bodenham | The New Saints | 30 June 2019 |
| 23 January 2019 | LW | Mark Harris | Port Vale | 30 June 2019 |
| 24 January 2019 | CB | Ciaron Brown | Livingston | 30 June 2019 |
| 28 January 2019 | CF | Omar Bogle | Portsmouth | 30 June 2019 |
| 31 January 2019 | CF | Jack McKay | Chesterfield | 30 June 2019 |
| 31 January 2019 | CF | James Waite | Hereford | 30 June 2019 |

## Competitions
### Premier League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | Southampton | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 45 | 65 | −20 | 39 | |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 35 | 60 | −25 | 36 | |
| 18 | Cardiff City (R) | 38 | 10 | 4 | 24 | 34 | 69 | −35 | 34 | Relegation to EFL Championship |
| 19 | Fulham (R) | 38 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 34 | 81 | −47 | 26 | Relegation to EFL Championship |
| 20 | Huddersfield Town (R) | 38 | 3 | 7 | 28 | 22 | 76 | −54 | 16 | Relegation to EFL Championship |

#### Result summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 12 May 2019. Source: Premier League

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 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 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | D | D | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | W | L | L | D | W | L | D | L | L | W | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | W |
| Position | 18 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |

#### Matches

On 14 June 2018, the Premier League fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.

### FA Cup

The third round draw was made live on BBC by Ruud Gullit and Paul Ince from Stamford Bridge on 3 December 2018.

### EFL Cup

The second round draw was made from the Stadium of Light on 16 August.

## Summary

| Games played | 40 (38 Premier League, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Games won | 10 (10 Premier League, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Games drawn | 4 (4 Premier League, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Games lost | 26 (24 Premier League, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Goals scored | 35 (34 Premier League, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) |
| Goals conceded | 73 (70 Premier League, 1 FA Cup, 3 League Cup) |
| Goal difference | -39 |
| Clean sheets | 10 (10 Premier League, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Yellow cards | 67 (65 Premier League, 0 FA Cup, 2 League Cup) |
| Red cards | 1 (1 Premier League, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) |
| Worst Discipline | Harry Arter (10 , 0 , 0 ) |
| Best result | 4–2 vs Fulham (20 Oct 18) 2–0 vs Bournemouth (2 Feb 19) 2–0 vs West Ham United (9 Mar 19) 2–0 vs Brighton & Hove Albion (16 Mar 19) 2–0 vs Manchester United (12 May 19) |
| Worst result | 0–5 vs Manchester City (22 Sep 18) |
| Most appearances | Bruno Ecuele Manga (40 starts, 0 subs) |
| Top scorer | Victor Camarasa (5) Bobby Decordova-Reid (5) |
| Most Cleans Sheets | Neil Etheridge (10) |
| Points | 34 |