Quote Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee View Post
Including this season, we have spent 51% of our league history in the second tier of English football. To say this is where we arguably belong is probably an understatement. Only Barnsley, Hull, Leicester and Fulham have spent a greater ratio of their league campaigns in this division (Barnsley have spent 69% of their existence in the second tier).

43 sides have spent a greater percentage of their seasons in the top flight than us, 41 have spent more seasons in total.

69% of our league seasons have been in the top two divisions. That's a better record than all bar 38 clubs. It may be of some surprise to learn that we've spent more time in the top two flights than Crystal Palace, Bristol City, Watford and Brighton.

Only 8 sides have never played outside the top two divisions. They are
Everton
Liverpool
Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea
Manchester United
Newcastle United
West Ham United

The sides who have spent more time than us in the top 2 divisions is as follows:

Everton
Liverpool
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea
Manchester United
Manchester City
Newcastle United
Sunderland
West Bromwich Albion
West Ham United
Bolton Wanderers
Blackburn Rovers
Sheffield Wednesday
Middlesbrough
Stoke City
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Derby County
Sheffield United
Wimbledon
Leeds United
Birmingham City
Burnley
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Leicester City
Preston North End
Coventry City
Portsmouth
Ipswich Town
Huddersfield Town
Charlton Athletic
Norwich City
Fulham
Notts County
Blackpool
Queens Park Rangers
Crystal Palace
Bury
Wigan Athletic
A hundred years ago, Cardiff was, arguably, at its most powerful and influential as it was still a thriving port on the back of all that exporting of coal and, from this distance, it's surprising that a place of such importance only made it into the Football League just as Cardiff's status was beginning to decline in the run up to the Depression and General Strike,

My guess is that Cardiff City's place in lists like Eric's would be a fair bit higher if we'd, say, joined the Football League at the time Riverside FC came about in 1899.

I would argue that the first fifty years of City's existence in the Football League is more successful in terms of major trophies contested and time spent in the top flight than the second one, despite the city and surrounding areas being in something of a decline between 1920 and 1970. Okay, the partial recovery of the city in particular since 1970 has not restored it to its former glories, but its football and rugby clubs have still under achieved in the past half a century when it comes to matching the prosperity and status of the city they represent.