A replay of the final of the 1929–30 Welsh Cup was held in October 1930 with Cardiff defeating Rhyl 4–2 following a hat-trick by Len Davies.

[1] The previous season, Cardiff had finished in eighth place in the Second Division, while a drop in attendance figures following relegation had led the club's board to allow the sale of several players to bolster their depleted finances.

[2] One highlight of the season had the first hosting of a South Wales derby since 1920, with Cardiff and Swansea Town meeting three times in during the campaign.

The matches had attracted the biggest crowds of the season for both sides and the success led to plans being proposed for an annual competition between the two, but these ultimately failed to come to fruition.

[3] The club's board also approached captain Fred Keenor about reducing his wages, which were still at the same level as they had been during their First Division seasons.

[8] The defeat proved to be the start of a five-game losing streak that began the campaign; in their following four matches, Cardiff conceded thirteen goals and scored only four in reply.

They claimed their first point of the season in their sixth match on 17 September, securing a 1–1 draw with Everton with Williams scoring his side's goal.

A draw with Bradford City followed three days later before Cardiff secured their first win of the season by beating Plymouth Argyle 4–1 on 22 September.

[9] Davies would appear in two further matches, a defeat against Charlton Athletic on 27 September and a victory over Barnsley a week later before appendicitis ruled him out for more than four months.

[10] Cardiff gained only one further point in October, during a 1–1 draw against Nottingham Forest, but began November positively by winning consecutive matches against Southampton and Reading.

[9] Williams made his first appearance since October on 26 December but his goal proved to be a consolation as Cardiff lost 5–1 in the return fixture against Plymouth.

Leslie Jones scored the only goal of the game as Cardiff defeated their local rivals for the first time in the Football League.

The first match took place on 10 January at the opposition's Griffin Park and ended in a 2–2 draw with Jones and Valentine scoring for Cardiff.

Cardiff proved too strong for their opponents despite fielding several reserve players, winning the match 7–3 with braces from Matt Robinson, Davies and Bill Merry and one from George Emmerson.

Three players, Ralph Blakemore, Alfred Mayo and Tom Wilson, made a single appearance during the season and would never play for the first team again.