The Bluebirds fans had much to worry about around the middle of the season as they saw their team fight in the mid-table for most of the time in what seemed a fragile side struggling for consistency under the management of Neil Harris.
Having won only three of the opening 13 games of the season, the Wales outfit lost confidence in Neil Harris after showing promise of the Premier League just in the previous campaign when his side finished 5th on the table, fighting for the play-offs. Eventually after his departure, the club saw a steady rise to the top-half of the table under the leadership of experienced coach, Mick McCarthy, who managed to secure the Bluebirds 6 wins in a row.
The team was off to a shaky start following a 0-2 loss to Sheffield Wednesday at the opening matchday, failing to gain any real traction in the games that followed as they kept bumping up and down the league table.
There was a sign of promise from Neil Harris's side as they went on a winning run of 4 games in a row. Only to follow it with a disappointing 6 back-to-back losses, with a 0-1 defeat against QPR around the end of January which nailed the final coffin of his tenure at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Experienced manager Mick McCarthy was shortly recruited by Cardiff as the next manager for the club with a contract lasting until the end of the season. And the fans saw the team skyrocket through the table right after a draw against Barnsley FC in his first match as the head coach of the club. His first win as the Cardiff manager came in the following game against Bristol City in a 2-0 victory which paved the way for another five wins after that to get them to the 6th place in the table, with a promise for another potential play-offs chance.
His good run of form saw him sign a new two-year deal at the club on 4th March 2021.
The 20-21 season saw Cardiff bring the best out from a number of players this season, while also facing the other side of the coin with a few disappointing personnel.
Having 40 starts in the season and 20 goals in his pocket, there is no doubt about the quality Cardiff forward Kieffer Moore had shown over the season. Starting the season with a dry patch under Neil Harris, the Physical Striker slowly gained his pace in the middle of the season, scoring consistently from both open plays and penalties. Moore scored 13 goals under the management of coach Mick McCarthy, leaving very little chance for Robert Glatzel to solidify his position as the first-choice center forward. Moore's 20 strikes see him in the 4th position of the top goal scorer of the league.
Another name Cardiff fans were happy to see added to their squad list was Harry Wilson, who surprisingly failed to break into the Liverpool first team for yet another season, despite having enormous talent. Harry was loaned by Cardiff around mid-October to strengthen the link between attack and midfield as well as being a real threat on set-pieces. The welsh attacking midfielder managed to score 7 goals in his 37 total appearances, adding some flashy goals for the fans to celebrate. He also added 12 assists for the Bluebirds in total. 10 of which came in the league and ranks him joint 4th in the top assist list besides Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbuemo.
The surprise of the season came from the new signing of the season, Dillion Harper, who was bought around October primarily as a backup keeper for Smithies, who was chosen as the first-team goalkeeper. But a poor run of performance saw the Cardiff number one dropped on the bench and losing Mick McCarthy's trust. Instead, it was Dillon Phillips who was handed the gloves, and he didn't disappoint. Playing almost all the games of the second half of the season, the former Charlton shot-stopper managed to claim 8 clean sheets while only conceding 13 goals.
What's not surprising though, is yet another solid season from the skipper, Sean Morrison. The veteran defender played around 3382 minutes on the pitch and was constantly an attacking threat on the opposition box during set-pieces. Sean Morrison has a total of 5 goals and 3 assists in the EFL championship 20-21 season to brag about. The center back didn't feature in 7 matches of the last 8 matches at the end of the season. Although his lack of pace has sometimes made the side face defensive problems against pacy attackers, his overall defensive work was another important factor in Cardiff's defense this season.
The one place that Cardiff City suffered this season has to be their edgeless midfield. Some scattered performances now and then didn't end up being much at the end of the season as the Blues were looking to struggle to break through the midfield and also hold a solid defense on the other end. Their failure to carry the team has left questions about whether the fans are going to see some movement in the next transfer window
Yet another disappointing season for Josh Murphy as the Cardiff winger failed to establish himself as a first-team regular and made few good use of the chances he was handed. The once deemed talented player with huge expectations failed to capitalize on the chances he was given due to his inconsistency throughout the last three years at the club, making him somewhat a peripheral character on the field and to the fans. As it stands, he will be out there with the group of players that Mick McCarthy has to decide whether to cash in for the next season.
Overall, this has been a decent season for Cardiff as they got to reach their predicted finish of the table thanks to a good run of wins in the middle of the season. This season's transfer has been a mixed bag for the club as the signing of Kieffer Moore, Dillon Philips, and loan of Harry Wilson proved to be vital for the team, whereas the less significant and disappointing transfer has to be the loan move of Philip Benkovic who only featured in a single league match for the season.
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