History of Cardiff City F.C. (1962–present)

One high point at this time was the emergence of a 16-year-old striker named John Toshack who would go on to become an important part of the team for several years, along with his strike partner Brian Clark, before a high-profile switch to Liverpool.

The first leg of the tie was held at Ninian Park where 47,000 fans watched one of the most famous victories in the club's history when Brian Clark headed in to give Cardiff a 1–0 win.

They finished Division Three runners-up the following season and have made impressive progress since then, helped by the investment of Lebanese businessman Sam Hammam.

Having sold his interests in Wimbledon, Sam Hammam purchased control of Cardiff City in August 2000, for a sum believed to be in the region of £11.5 million.

This new design incorporated the Cardiff City mascot Bartley the Bluebird, in front of the Flag of Saint David; and featured the Club's nickname superimposed at the top of the crest.

Queens Park Rangers drew with Oldham Athletic away from home 1–1 on 10 May 2003, before claiming the advantage at Loftus Road on 14 May 2003; going through to the playoff final with a 2–1 aggregate victory.

However, after a nerve-wracking final, substitute Andy Campbell came off the bench to guide Cardiff past Queens Park Rangers with a spectacular lob after 114 minutes of play.

The former Middlesbrough striker, who had replaced Robert Earnshaw in the second half, shrugged off Danny Shittu and then calmly lobbed Chris Day, the Queens Park Rangers Goalkeeper to ensure Cardiff returned to Division One after an 18-year absence.

Jones improved the side by signing Darren Purse for £1m from West Bromwich Albion and naming him captain and bringing Welsh international Jason Koumas and Glenn Loovens on loan but due to the then continuing financial problems, they had to sell some big names such as Danny Gabbidon and James Collins to West Ham United for a combined fee of £3.5m and former captain, Graham Kavanagh to Wigan Athletic.

UEFA president, Michel Platini later pledged his support to the club if the FA denies them entry into the competition, saying "If England don't do anything, we will.

During the January transfer window they kept hold of star players, such as £2M rated Joe Ledley and added Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Chris Burke and Michael Chopra to the side.

However, £120,000 summer signing Ross McCormack proved that Cardiff had established a healthy tradition of discovering cut-price hidden goal-scoring gems, after selling Cameron Jerome to Birmingham City for £3m in 2006 and Michael Chopra sold to Sunderland for £5m in 2007.

Cardiff City had many fine players at their disposal at the start of the 21st century, including Robert Earnshaw, Jason Koumas, John Robinson, Graham Kavanagh, Danny Gabbidon, Michael Chopra and youth academy products Chris Gunter and Aaron Ramsey.

[13] However, on 27 January 2010, Ridsdale admitted he was eating humble pie, and that in addition to the "Golden Ticket" money not being spent on players, club assets would be sold to fulfil a £2.7M tax bill, and avert another winding up order.

[14] Cardiff City drew the most successful graphic at Championship in 2009–10 season and qualified for the Play-Offs after beating Queens Park Rangers 1–0.

[19] On 17 August, Cardiff signed Wales captain Craig Bellamy on a season long loan from Manchester City, with the financial side being backed by the new owners.

Cardiff then lost to Reading in the semi-finals, meaning a second failed play-off campaign, this result lead to Dave Jones being sacked on 30 May 2011.

[26] In his first season, Mackay lead the team to a successful League Cup run in which the club reached its first ever final in the competition, where they lost to Liverpool on penalties.

[27][28] After a business meeting on 5 June, Cardiff announced the following day, that they would be playing in red at home and blue away, and have a new club crest with a dragon replacing the prominent Bluebird, which became smaller in size.

As a result of this investment was to placed by the Malaysian and the long historical debt of Langston was to be paid off, along with a new training facility and stadium expansion to go with it.

[30] Cardiff had their best ever start to a league campaign in history during the 2012–13 season, Malky Mackay's men also set a new club record by winning their 10th consecutive home match against former manager, Dave Jones', Sheffield Wednesday side.

[39] Despite the change in management, Solskjær failed to save the club from relegation meaning an instant return to the Championship 12 months after winning promotion, following a 3–0 defeat to Newcastle.

The two teams that were promoted alongside Cardiff, Hull City and Crystal Palace, who finished 2nd and 5th respectively, both managed to preserve their top flight status.

Despite possessing an abundance of talent and being one of the favourites for promotion back into England's top division, Cardiff's performances during the season were disappointing.

[42] Despite his early victory and decent home form, Slade's team selection's and style of football upset fans due to the high expectations of an immediate return to the Premier League.

Vincent Tan's rebrand remained the focal point on match days, with many organised protests and chants directly aimed at the owner.

On 6 April 2015, Slade suffered his worst home defeat as Cardiff manager following a 3–0 loss against fellow Championship strugglers Bolton Wanderers, thus increasing the pressure on his position.

[56] As Cardiff struggled to score goals during the season, the club broke their transfer record previously set in 2013, with the signing of Emiliano Sala for a reported fee of £15 million from FC Nantes on 19 January.

[57] However, two days later the Piper PA-46 Malibu light aircraft transporting Sala crashed off Alderney, in the channel islands whilst traveling from Nantes to Cardiff.