page_title: 1924–25 Cardiff City F.C. season
section_title: First Division
hierarchical_section_title: 1924–25 Cardiff City F.C. season / First Division
caption_attribution_description: English: James J. "Jimmy" Gill (born 9 November 1894, date of death unknown) was an English professional footballer. He was born in Sheffield. Gill began his career at hometown side Sheffield Wednesday in 1913. With the club suffering financial difficulties he was sold to Cardiff City in 1920 for £750 and was the club's top scorer in its first year in the Football League. He would go on to consistentley challenge for the award along with strike partner Len Davies during his five years at the club. While at the club he also played in the 1925 FA Cup Final, which they went on to lose 1-0 to Sheffield United. The following season he left to join Frank Buckley's Blackpool. He made a scoring debut for Blackpool on 24 October 1925, in a 4–0 victory over Wolves at Bloomfield Road, netting the first goal. He made a further fourteen appearances during the 1925–26 league campaign, scoring three more goals. His final game for Blackpool occurred on 6 February 1926, in a 5–0 defeat at Port Vale. Gill ended his career with spells at Derby County and Crystal Palace.
context_page_description: The 1924–25 season was the 24th season of competitive football played by Cardiff City F.C. and the team's fourth consecutive season in the First Division of the Football League. During the previous campaign the club had finished as runners up in the First Division, losing the title on the final day of the season via goal average. However, they were unable to repeat their form and endured a disappointing season, finishing in 11th place.
  In cup competitions, Cardiff enjoyed considerably more success, becoming the first Welsh club to reach the final of the FA Cup in the tournament's 50-year history. Cardiff needed two replays to overcome Third Division side Darlington in the first round. Fulham and Notts County were dispatched in rounds two and three respectively before Cardiff met Leicester City in the fourth round. With the tie set for a replay, Wiilie Davies scored directly from a corner-kick with the final act of the match to win the tie for Cardiff. After defeating Blackburn Rovers in the semifinal, the side reached their first ever FA Cup final where they met Sheffield United, suffering a 1–0 defeat.
context_section_description: Cardiff started the season with a goalless draw away to Burnley on 30 August 1924 and a 1–1 draw with Sheffield United two days later. Cardiff were one of several to begin the season slowly, including FA Cup holders Newcastle United, with The Times reporting that the expectant teams' "preconceived ideas have been rudely shaken". The previous four season's top goalscorer Len Davies, who had scored Cardiff's first goal of the season against Sheffield, added a brace to provide his side with their first victory in the following fixture, defeating newly-promoted Leeds United 3–1; Denis Lawson added a third with all three goals scored in the second half. However, two successive defeats followed, 1–0 in the reverse fixture against Sheffield United and 2–1 against Birmingham, that left the side in 14th position after winning only one of their opening five fixtures. The Times stated that the side had started the season in "unpromising style" and attributed the downturn in fortunes to a "flaw in the link between the forwards and the half-backs". The newspaper did however predict that "better results are now likely to be achieved." The team's poor start was partly attributed to a series of injuries and illness that saw Len Davies, Jack Evans, Jimmy Nelson and Harry Wake miss several matches.
   
  Forward trio Len Davies, Jimmy Gill and Joe Clennell all scored in a 3–1 victory over Preston North End on 15 September but another injury to Davies forced him out of the side. His injury proved costly as he missed the following three matches in which Cardiff suffered home defeats to West Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers and drew 1–1 against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in a match they were regarded as being fortunate to gain a point. New signing Paddy McIlvenny deputised in Davies' absence and, although he scored his first goal for the club to gain a point against Tottenham, he was noted in The Times as not being able "to hold the front line together." Some of his more experienced teammates were also heavily criticised after drawing with Tottenham, with the publication commenting "Some of the older members of the team appeared to have lost much of their fire and zeal". Davies returned in a 3–0 defeat to Notts County on 11 October although he was one of several players who wasted chances during the match. However, his return brought an upsurge in form and he enjoyed a prolific spell in front of goal, scoring braces in consecutive 2–1 victories over Everton and Newcastle United. The team's following tie against Liverpool was postponed after heavy rainfall left the pitch at Ninian Park flooded. On 8 November, Cardiff suffered a 2–1 defeat against Nottingham Forest despite Harry Beadles scoring his first goal for the club after only two minutes. Beadles struck up an effective partnership with Len Davies, having displaced long-serving Joe Clennell from the starting line-up, and the pair both scored a brace during a 4–1 victory over Bury a week later. The pair combined again in the team's following match against Manchester City, both putting Cardiff a goal ahead before Frank Roberts equalised after each goal as the match ended 2–2.
  After a 1–1 draw with Arsenal at the end of November, Cardiff began December by defeating Aston Villa with another brace from Len Davies before drawing 2–2 with reigning First Division champions Huddersfield Town. The side's previously postponed fixture against Liverpool was played two days later and ended the club's five match unbeaten streak as they suffered a 3–1 defeat. Jimmy Gill was left out of the club's following match, a 3–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers after a disagreement with the side that saw him placed on the transfer list. He resolved the issue in time to be named in the side that suffered a 3–2 defeat to West Ham United on Christmas Day, a third straight loss. In the reverse fixture against West Ham on Boxing Day, Cardiff secured a 2–1 victory in what became the team's final match before the New Year after their fixture against Burnley, originally scheduled for 28 December, was postponed due to
caption: Jimmy Gill was one of three players to score ten or more goals during the season.
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