The 2012–13 season was Cardiff's 86th in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

after joining in 1920. Cardiff were in their ninth consecutive season in the second tier following a third consecutive failure in the play-offs. Cardiff went under a "re-branding" during the close season meaning the home colours would be changed to red from the traditional blue, ending 104 years of the tradition. Cardiff were promoted to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

during the season.

Events

This is a list of the significant events to occur at the club during the 2012–13 season, presented in chronological order. This list does not include completed transfers, which are listed in the transfers section below, or match results, which are in the results section. ;June * 1 June – The

decides to switch back to seven subs for the season, increasing it from five subs used last season. * 4 June –

Malky Mackay Malcolm George Mackay (born 19 February 1972) is a Scottish professional association football, football coach and former player, who is the sporting director at Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian. Mackay, who played as a Defe ...

turns down offer from

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

to become manager. Former Cardiff player Kevin Cooper is appointed as Under-21 coach. * 6 June – Cardiff change their home colours from the traditional Blue, White and Yellow to Red and Black as part of an investment plan made by the Malaysian Owners, also the building of a training ground facility is announced to be built. The badge was also changed to feature a larger dragon, meaning the traditional Bluebird is made smaller as a result the Malaysian Owners have put more investment into Cardiff City. * 29 June – Former chairman

Sam Hammam Samir Georges Nassib Hammam (; born 17 July 1947) is a Lebanese businessman, well known for his high-profile involvement in British football clubs, and who most recently relinquished the life presidency of Cardiff City in March 2022 following a ...

rejects the three offers which Cardiff offer to deal with long-term "Langston Debt". ;July * 10 July – Cardiff enter talks with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n international

Kim Bo-Kyung Kim Bo-kyung (; or ; born 6 October 1989) is a South Korean professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#midfielder, midfielder for Korean club FC Anyang. Club career Cerezo Osaka In 2010, Kim dropped out of Hong ...

's club

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osak ...

over a transfer fee. * 12 July – Under-18 Belgian international keeper Guillaume Hubert joins on trial along with three unnamed French players. * 13 July – Cardiff agree a fee for

of around £3 million, as confirmed by his Kim's agent. * 15 July – The Cardiff City squad travel to Switzerland for pre-season training. Bids from

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

for

Peter Whittingham Peter Michael Whittingham (; 8 September 1984 – 18 March 2020) was an English professional Association football, footballer. His primary position was as a central midfielder, although he also sometimes operated as a wide midfielder on both the ...

are rejected. * 19 July – Cardiff City pull out of bid for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

defender

Richard Keogh Richard John Keogh (born 11 August 1986) is an Irish professional footballer who played as a defender. He is assistant head coach at Barnsley. He formerly represented the Republic of Ireland national team. His main positional role was at centr ...

after refusing to get involved with a wage war with

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. A bid from an unnamed Championship club is rejected for

Anthony Gerrard Anthony Gerrard (born 6 February 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He made over 500 professional appearances in a career spent mainly in the English Football League, notably at Walsall where he won the 2006-0 ...

and

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. The ...

teenager Omarr Lawson joins on trial. ;August * 2 August –

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

striker

Heiðar Helguson Heiðar Helguson (; born 22 August 1977) is an Icelandic former professional footballer who played as a striker. Heiðar started his career in the Icelandic league system, with UMFS Dalvík and Þróttur. Following a one-season spell in Norw ...

takes part in a medical and discusses personal terms over a move to Cardiff. * 3 August – A£200,000 bid is rejected from

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

and

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

for

. * 10 August –

Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium () is a stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City and the Wales national football team, Wales national team. Following expansion of the Ninian S ...

officially re-opens as Cardiff take sole ownership of the ground. * 20 August – A£500,000 bid for defender

Matthew Connolly Matthew Thomas Martin Connolly (born 24 September 1987) is an English professional association football, footballer who last played as a Defender (association football), defender for club Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City. Having started his car ...

is accepted by

. * 21 August – Cardiff's bid for Queens Park Rangers winger Tommy Smith stalls. * 30 August – Cardiff agree a fee with

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

for the transfer of

Nicky Maynard Nicholas David Maynard (born 11 December 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career at Crewe Alexandra, following over a decade in the club's Academy, and scored on his senior debut in Apr ...

. ;September *12 September – Financial Director Doug Lee announces resignation at the end of the month with Simon Lim replacing him. *20 September –

is ruled out for several months with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. ;October *1 October – Alan Whiteley steps down as Chief Executive, Simon Lim replaces Whiteley whilst Richard Thompson steps in as acting financial director. *10 October – Academy Manager

Neal Ardley Neal Christopher Ardley (born 1 September 1972) is an English professional football manager and former footballer who played as a right midfielder. He is currently the manager of Woking. Ardley was capped at Under-21 level by England. He sp ...

leaves to take up a managerial position at

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

. ;November *2 November –

Dick Bate Richard Bate (25 June 1946 – 25 April 2018) was an English football player and coach. As a coach, he was the head of the youth Academy for Cardiff City, before leaving in 2015. Prior to that he was the Elite Coaching Manager of the Football ...

joins as a new academy manager. *16 November – Stephen Owen-Conway is appointed as a new club director. *23 November – Craig Conway puts in a transfer request, which is rejected by manager

. ;January *24 January – Board director Alan Whiteley resigns following being charge for fraud. ;March *1 March – Chairman Datuk Chan Tien Ghee resigns. ;April *16 April – Cardiff City gain promotion to the

after a 0–0 draw against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

. This marks Cardiff's return to the top flight after a 51-year absence. *20 April – Cardiff City become champions of the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

after a 1–1 draw away to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. ;May *24 May – Geraint Twose and Lee Kendall leave Cardiff City Academy to take up as Coach Education Role with the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

and first team goalkeeper coach at

respectively.

Football League Championship

Standings

Results summary

Result by round

Kit

, , , , , , , ,

Squad

Statistics

, - , colspan="14", ''Players currently out on loan:'' , - , colspan="14", ''Players featured for club who have left:''

Captains

Goalscorers

Assists

Disciplinary record

Penalties

Suspensions served

International Call-ups

Contracts

Transfers

In

* Total spending: ~ £10,049,373 ;Notes: ¹Although Cardiff didn't specify a contract length, South Wales Echo reported the contract to be three years ending in 2015.
²Although neither club stated a transfer fee, the South Wales Echo reported the fee to be in the excess of a £2,000,000.
³Although officially undisclosed,

Zlatko Zahovič Zlatko Zahovič (; born 1 February 1971) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. After making a name for himself in Portugal, most notably with Porto and Benfica where he amassed Primeira Liga totals ...

, director of

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

confirmed the fee to be around

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

2 million (£1,573,373), a record in Slovenian football.
⁴Although officially undisclosed South Wales Echo reported the transfer to be a free transfer.
⁵Although officially undisclosed South Wales Echo reported the fee to be £300,000.
⁶Although officially undisclosed South Wales Echo reported the fee to be £25,000.

Loans in

Out

* Total income: ~ £1,263,200 ;Notes: ¹Both sides published the fee as undisclosed, but BBC Sport reported the transfer to be worth £350,000.

Loans out

Fixtures & Results

Pre-season

Championship

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

League Cup

Overall summary

Summary

Score overview

Under-21s

Friendlies

Under 21 Premier League Group 2

Honours

;Team *

champions ;Individual * February Player of the Month – Fraizer Campbell * Championship Team of the Year – Mark Hudson &

* LMA Championship Manager of the Year –

;Club Awards * Player of the Year – Mark Hudson ;Club * Family Club of the Year

Club staff

Backroom staff

Board of directors

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardiff City F.C. Season 2012-13 2012-13 2012–13 Football League Championship by team Welsh football clubs 2012–13 season