Cardiff City landed £850k double deal bargain - They are modern day Bluebirds heroes | OneFootball

Cardiff City's strong performances in the Championship between 2008 and 2011 were largely down to the form of two strikers.

Cardiff City signed two strikers between 2006 and 2008 who proved to be excellent acquisitions for the club.

The Bluebirds were preparing for their fourth consecutive season in the second tier of English football during the summer of 2006, having recorded three mid-table finishes since winning promotion via the play-offs in 2003.

That summer, Dave Jones signed Michael Chopra from Newcastle United for a fee of £500,000, and the striker would go on to make himself a hero at the club across two separate spells in South Wales.

Two years after Chopra's first arrival in the Welsh capital, Cardiff signed another striker in Jay Bothroyd, who was brought to the club from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a total fee of £350,000.

Both players contributed towards Cardiff becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Championship between 2008 and 2011, and while they were unable to help them reach the promised land of the Premier League, their goalscoring exploits mean that the club's supporters still look back on their time with fondness.

Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra impressed at Cardiff City

Both Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra impressed during their spells at Cardiff, delivering a combined total of more than 100 goals and playing a part in two Championship play-off campaigns while at the club.

Chopra, who played against Barcelona at the Nou Camp in the Champions League for Newcastle before his move to Cardiff, scored 22 goals in the Championship during the 2006/07 campaign, which earned him a big-money move to Sunderland after just one season in South Wales.

However, he returned a year later in 2008, and linked up with Bothroyd, who arrived at the club that summer from Arsenal.

During the three Championship seasons that followed, Chopra netted 34 league goals and Bothroyd scored 41 as Cardiff finished 7th in 2009 and recorded back-to-back 4th-place finishes in 2010 and 2011.

Bothroyd's ability to create chances for his teammates made him stand out as much as his goalscoring prowess, and his 15 assists were just as important as his 11 goals during the 2009/10 season. Unfortunately, Cardiff were beaten by Blackpool in the play-off final at Wembley, with Chopra's goal not enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat.

The following year, both players again enjoyed successful seasons, with Bothroyd scoring 18 league goals, but the Bluebirds were comfortably beaten by Reading in the play-off semi-final.

While neither Bothroyd nor Chopra experienced promotion to the Premier League with Cardiff, their impact helped the club go from a mid-table second tier side to genuine contenders at the top end of the table, which it could be argued helped lead to the club's eventual promotion as champions in 2013.

Cardiff City would benefit on and off the pitch

Jay Bothroyd signed for Premier League side Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer in 2011, but Michael Chopra made Cardiff a profit overall.

Following his successful debut season in South Wales, Chopra joined Sunderland in the top flight for £5 million in the summer of 2007. He later returned to the Bluebirds on loan before the deal was made permanent for £3 million.

His eventual departure for Ipswich Town in a deal worth £1.5 million meant that Cardiff certainly made a profit on him overall.

That fact, alongside the impact of both Bothroyd and Chopra on the pitch, makes it clear to see why they can be considered Cardiff City heroes.