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Saturday the 14th April 2012 won’t be remembered by Cardiff City supporters for their hard fought away victory against a resolute Barnsley side but it will always be remembered as the date a true Cardiff City legend passed away.
Former manager Eddie May passed away in his sleep leaving a massive gap in his family and a hole in the heart of Cardiff City’s recent history.
Edwin Charles May was born on the 19th of May 1943 in Epping Essex and started his footballing career as a defender with Dagenham in 1965. He then moved to Southend United where he scored three goals for them before finally making the move over the bridge to Wrexham where he made 334 appearances and scored some 35 goals. In the eight years spell he spent a summer on loan in the National American Soccer league with the Chicago Sting scoring an impressive 7 goals.
Under his captaincy, Wrexham reached an FA cup semi final and the quarter finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. He left in August of 1976 to join arch rivals Swansea City for whom he made 90 appearances, netting 8 goals before retiring from football in 1978.
A spell in coaching followed took him to Saudi Arabia. Kenya, Iceland, Norway and the Midlands! In July 1991 he was appointed manager of Cardiff City; who at the time were languishing in the old division four [which became the third division in 1992 due to the creation on the Premier league while remaining the fourth tier of English football.]
Cardiff supporters were weary of being in the lower leagues and a multiplicity of mangers who just about settled before they were through the door again. May made an immediate impact with City fans, he was a gentleman with a great sense of humour who thanks to spells at Wrexham, Newport County and Swansea City not only understood the Welsh sense of humour but shared it too. He quickly became a favourite and well respected by fans, his players and Cardiff City background staff alike. He was given the nickname “The Ayatollah” – City fans had found their leader and what was even better was that his coaching skills lifted the team into another level winning the Welsh Cup in 1992 and retaining it the following year; 1993 also saw Cardiff City being taken out of Division Three as Champions.
May possessed a silver tongue which enabled him to bring in players of the class of Kevin Ratclife who at the time was a regular in the Everton squad; he also helped to make terrace heroes of unlikely players like Phil Stant.
The crowning moment in the Eddie May term as manager of the Bluebirds came on January 29th 1994 at Ninian Park with the fourth round FA Cup victory over the Premiership’s Manchester City, Cardiff out played their lofty opposition in every department. Gary Thompson and Nathan Blake caused all sorts of problems, Thompson rattling the woodwork twice before Blake scored what’s since been voted the greatest Cardiff City goal ever and its one that should grace any list of greatest ever goals.
Blake received the ball with his back to the goal he turned beating his marker before jinking past two others and chipping goalkeeper Tony Coton high into the corner at the far post. Ninian Park; already at a fever pitch; exploded with the joyous chant of “Bluebirds Bluebirds – Eddie Mays Barmy Army.”
However, a change in ownership brought about May’s sacking in 1995 but his place as a Bluebird legend was secure, it didn’t matter that he had played for arch rivals Swansea City because the man had taken the club and everyone connected to it to his heart and in turn him to theirs. So much so, did May take to the people and way of life that he returned to Cardiff in 2005 to run a bed and breakfast in the town centre.
May remained in Bluebirds hearts and minds, a regular at end of season dinners and The Supporters Trust annual meetings, he became popular even with a generation that had never seen him manage their team.
When Cardiff City relocated to newly built Cardiff City Stadium in 2009 from Ninian Park, May was delighted to take up the invitation to manage one of the teams in the legends game that marked the official opening on Saturday July 4th. May took charge of a Cardiff City side for the last time, the Eddie May all-star 11.
Eddie May was a gentleman of the old school, a giant of a man that on first impression could easily have been perceived as scary. The cockney accent and red face adding to the assumption, but that assumption couldn’t have been further from the truth. May was a man of the people who would take time to purposely go out of his way to talk to City supporters, he would always ask your name, he seemed to have an almost photographic memory because if you bumped into him a few weeks later amazingly, he would know your name and greet you like an old friend. When out socially even during his tentureship of Cardiff he would join groups of fans and buy a round of drinks, he always had a witty quip should anyone dare to heckle him.
Eddie May epitomised the saying Once a Bluebird always a Bluebird and showed It doesn’t matter where you were born it’s a state of mind!
My thoughts and condolences go out to the family of Eddie May at this terrible time…I would like to thank them for sharing him with us all and to Eddie himself I’d like to say thank you for all the great times Goodnight and God bless Eddie…Fly High Bluebird.
Following discussions with his family on Sunday 15th April and in full accordance with family wishes, an official tribute to Eddie will take place on Saturday April 21st for the visit of Leeds United where members of Eddie’s family will attend the fixture as guests. At that time Cardiff City Stadium will hold a minute’s applause as a mark of respect, along with full notices in the match-programme.
Bluebirds!!
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