such as Trevor Ford and Mel Charles, in previous seasons but pushed forward to complete the signing of then 32-year old Allchurch. Taking a £20 per week pay cut to join the Bluebirds, Allchurch made his debut on the opening day of the 1962–63 season, captaining the side and scoring in a 4–4 draw with his former club Newcastle United. In the following weeks, local newspapers attributed the club's positive start to the season to Allchurch's leadership with the South Wales Echo claiming that he was "one of the best skippers the club has ever had". But despite this and a prolific forward partnership formed between Allchurch and Peter Hooper, who scored 34 league goals between them, the club eventually faded into a mid-table place, finishing in tenth position. Prior to the start of the 1963–64 season, the club saw the departures of several key players, including Hooper and Alan Durban. The signing of fellow Welsh international John Charles had raised hopes of improvement but the side struggled throughout the season, winning just 14 league matches out of 42. Allchurch finished as the club's top league scorer, scoring 12 times including a hat-trick against Sunderland in September 1963. The club's struggles saw George Swindin dismissed as manager and replaced by Jimmy Scoular, who had captained Newcastle during Allchurch's spell in the North-East. Allchurch found Scoular's loud and vocal form of management difficult and in mid-October 1964, found himself dropped from the side after recovering from a brief thigh injury as Scoular favoured playing Peter King in his place. He did not return to the first team until February, during which time he stated his desire to leave the club, when Scoular was forced to recall him after the Bluebirds had suffered a severe decline during his absence. Scoular had introduced a new youth policy within the squad, handing regular places to players such as King, George Johnston and Don Murray. Murray later commented that he regarded it as a privilege to play alongside Allchurch and Charles and stated "There was a saying among the players, if you are in trouble give it to Ivor". He scored nine times following his return to the first team, including a hat-trick against his former side Swansea which condemned them to relegation into the Third Division, to finish as the club's top goalscorer for the second consecutive season. He also made his debut in