On 30 December 2011, Mackay revealed that the club had rejected a bid, thought to be around £3 million, from West Ham United for Whittingham. Following a goal scoring drought, Whittingham scored a penalty against Leicester in February and then scored straight from a corner against Peterborough. In February, Whittingham was nominated for the Championship Player of the Year award. Whittingham was part of all the matches in the League Cup campaign, which eventually saw Cardiff lose 3–2 on penalties to Liverpool in the final at Wembley Stadium. He made his 250th Cardiff appearance in a 2–2 draw with Brighton &amp; Hove Albion, in which he scored on 7 March. Whittingham was voted the best player outside the Premier League in "FourFourTwo" magazine. Whittingham then won his second Cardiff City player of the year award at the end of the season. He was later named in the PFA Team of the Year for the Championship.