Frank Moss left the club and never returned to professional football while Tommy Hampson was also allowed to join Notts County. Second Division August–December Cardiff started the season against Charlton Athletic on 31 August 1929, but early optimism of a quick return to the First Division was dented as they suffered a 4–1 defeat. The Times noted that the result indicated that the gap in quality between the divisions was smaller than expected. With Ferguson gone and Len Davies dropped from the side, Cardiff began the season with new signing Valentine and highly-rated teenager Walter Robbins leading their attack. The latter started the campaign well, scoring his side's goal in the opening day defeat to Charlton before adding a brace in a 2–0 win over Preston North End two days later at Ninian Park. Valentine played only one further game for the club, a 1–0 defeat to Hull City on 7 September, before being replaced by Davies. The club's fans, already disenchanted by their side's relegation, grew increasingly frustrated with Cardiff's poor form. The team's captain, Fred Keenor, was a target of their ire after the defeat to Hull and was so badly affected by the barracking that he contemplated retirement. Cardiff's finances were also being badly affected by the relegation, with crowd numbers falling drastically. The Football Express wrote that there was "a remarkable drop in gate receipts" and that the club had taken around £500 less from the opening home matches than the corresponding two games in the First Division the previous year. Their form proved to be erratic in the early stages of the campaign following this. Draws with Stoke and Wolverhampton Wanderers and a 3–1 victory over Notts County were followed by a defeat to the latter in the reverse fixture on 25 September. Three days later, the side ended the month by defeating Bradford City by a single goal, Fred Warren's fourth of the season. The opening match of October was a meeting with local rivals Swansea Town. As the first South Wales derby to be played in the Football League, and the first league meeting between the sides since 1920, the match attracted significant interest and a season high crowd at Ninian Park of 29,093 attended the fixture which ended in a goalless draw. Despite the lack of goalscoring, the crowd gave both sets of supporters a standing ovation as they left the field