' CARDIFF CITY FANS NEXT SEASON '
The staggering distances Cardiff City fans will have to travel next season as northern teams take over the Championship
Cardiff City,Bristol City,Ipswich,Norwich City,Fulham and Qpr fans will all have some long trips to travel next season.
By Dominic Booth
Wednesday 17th May 2017
They'll just hope for (relatively) short trips to Reading and Millwall instead of long hikes up north.
Cardiff City fans might well be rooting for Millwall in the League One play-off final if they want to keep long away trips to a minimum next season.
The same logic applies to the Championship play-offs, where Bluebirds fans will want Reading to stay in the division.
Millwall face Bradford City in the League One showpiece game on Saturday, with either Huddersfield Town or Sheffield Wednesday meeting Reading with a place in the Premier League at stake.
The relegation of Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Hull City to the Championship means Cardiff fans will have to travel further than any other away supporters over the course of next season.
Sunderland's Stadium of Light is a mammoth 620-mile round trip and Boro's Riverside Stadium isn't much closer, meaning the Bluebirds' travelling contingent could be spending a long time on the road next term.
Manager Neil Warnock has regularly lauded the Cardiff away following during his time in charge, although recent stats from Football League zone revealed Cardiff had the second lowest away following in the league last season, taking an average of less than 800 fans to each away match.
That may have owed to the long distances Bluebirds fans had to travell. They trekked an average 179.74 miles to watch their side play, with only Newcastle (210.22 miles) and Brighton (194.30 miles) going further. With both of those sides promoted to the Premier League, Cardiff may now have the unluckiest away fans, whose bills for petrol and train tickets will balloon next season.
If Bradford claim promotion, another 240-mile round trip awaits, with the distances to Huddersfield and Sheffield among the longer journeys as well.
The promotion of Sheffield United and Bolton Wanderers into the Championship has only made matters worse — though Bluebirds fans probably won't miss going to Blackburn, Wigan or Rotherham. But they might be ruing Swansea's Premier League survival for a few reasons, not least the short trip they would have made for a mouth-watering South Wales derby at the Liberty Stadium.
The figures below show Cardiff fans will travel a total of 4,255 miles if Bradford, Huddersfield and Wednesday are all in the division next season. That's an average trip of 185 miles.
Cardiff could still travel to Millwall (156 miles) and Reading (112 miles) next season if they fail to win their respective play-offs. But if Bradford graduate through the League One final and Reading beat either Huddersfield or Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley, the miles will start to clock up for those ardent Cardiff fans.
How will you follow Cardiff City next season?
I'll go to every game if I can I'll go to the home games I prefer away trips Occasionally Never — I'll follow from afar
Here are the distances from Cardiff City Stadium to the various grounds the Bluebirds may visit next season
The teams depend on who wins the Championship and League One play-offs.
Sunderland - 310 miles
Middlesbrough - 286 miles
Norwich City - 267 miles
Hull City - 246 miles
Ipswich Town - 240 miles
Bradford City? - 232 miles
Leeds United - 228 miles
Huddersfield Town? - 224 miles
Preston North End - 212 miles
Barnsley - 210 miles
Bolton Wanderers - 204 miles
Sheffield Wednesday? - 203 miles
Sheffield United - 194 miles
Nottingham Forest - 161 miles
Derby County - 162 miles
Fulham - 149 miles
Burton Albion - 148 miles
QPR - 148 miles
Brentford - 146 miles
Wolves - 125 miles
Aston Villa - 118 miles
Birmingham City - 110 miles
Bristol City - 44 miles
Loyal Cardiff City fans travelling away (Photo: South Wales Echo)