NATHAN BLAKE : "EDDIE MAY WAS THE BEST MANAGER I PLAYED FOR"

IT was so sad to hear that Eddie May had died. He was a brilliant man and the best manager I ever had the pleasure to play for.

I can honestly say that if it hadn’t been for Eddie I would not have had the career I went on to have.

Sure, I was given my first break at the club under Len Ashurst, but I was playing in midfield a bit, at centre-half and at left-back and I wasn’t really sure I could even play at full-back.

I was struggling and my confidence was not great.

I wasn’t sure what the future held for me as a player, to be honest.

Then Eddie was appointed manager.

On his first day he called me into his office told me to take seat and just said: “Right then son, where do you want to play?”

You can imagine the buzz that gives you when you are a young man, to have the manager show that kind of faith in you.

I may have played under managers with better tactical skills and all the rest, but never under a boss who could just make you feel like you could achieve anything.

Eddie was like that with everyone. The players loved him. We’d have run through brick walls for the guy.

And what a team he assembled at Cardiff then, myself, Chris Pike, Cohen Griffiths, Carl Dale, Paul ‘Windy’ Millar.

It was Eddie who brought Phil Stant to the club and Eddie Newton.

Nowadays Cardiff getting in a young talent on loan from Chelsea might not mean much, but back then it was incredible.

Eddie wanted the game played properly, he was what I call a total football man and you caught his enthusiasm for the game off him. You couldn’t help it.

In training he was always like “Get it down on the floor, get it down. Get it out wide. Get it to Blakey or Cohen.”

He was always urging you to beat your man, he said he expected us to beat our man nine times out of 10 and it’s amazing how many times we did with Eddie’s words ringing in our ears.

We had some good times with Eddie alright. Welsh Cups and, of course, promotion.

One thing about the man around that time sticks in my mind.

It was the day before our first game after coming up to Division Two and I’d been practising free-kicks and they were awful.

It was like I was a rugby kicker, they were going miles over.

Eddie came up to me, put an arm around me and said: “You know what son, I got a feeling you’re going to be alright tomorrow.”

He was right, I put one in the top corner I ran over to him to celebrate saying: “How did you know? How did you know?” Eddie just laughed.

Of course one thing people will always remember is the FA Cup run in 1994 and particularly that win over Manchester City and a certain someone scoring the winner.

I’ll be honest, I thought we played better in the round before when we won at Middlesbrough. We really took the game to them and gave them a real shock.

But no one is going to forget that Manchester City game at Ninian Park, are they? Not the people who talk to me all the time about it anyway.

It was a great day, what an atmosphere. I’ll never forget it.

After I came off Eddie came up to me, gave me a hug, and said: “Nice, son, nice. A lovely goal. Have you seen it? No? Get yourself upstairs and watch it on the telly. Nice.”

Of course he used a few other words in there, but this is a family newspaper after all.

I have to laugh remembering it. For days after when I passed him at the club Eddie would just look at me and say: “Nice.”

Of course if we players loved him, the Bluebirds’ supporters loved him just as much.

The ‘Ayatollah’ was born during Eddie’s time and the ‘Eddie May’s barmy army’ chant.”

I think in a way the supporters knew it meant as much to him, if not more, as it did to every one of them on the terraces.

I always remember, if we were playing poorly which we sometimes did you know, the crowd would be calling: “Sort ‘em out Eddie.”

Half-time Eddie would come into the dressing room growling. He’d be lobbing insults out and I’d get my fair share. He wanted the best for Cardiff City and I think all the supporters picked up on that.

The guy was larger than life, a character, just someone with a massive personality and people love to have men like that in the game.

He’s a cult-hero at Cardiff and rightly so. I think everyone has their own special memories of him at the club.

For me, the guy was a diamond, he was the man who made me believe in myself, who made me feel I could actually go on and do something as a footballer. I would not have achieved in the game what I did if it hadn’t been for Eddie May. Thank you gaffer.

My thoughts are now with Eddie’s family at this sad, sad time. I’m sure everyone who cares about Cardiff City will be passing on their deepest sympathies to them, myself included.


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Real touching words from Nathan there, gave me a lump in my throat...

Now he deserves a statue more than the |Keenor lad

Now he deserves a statue more than the |Keenor lad

How about re-naming either the Ninian stand or the Grange End after Eddie May, be a very fitting tribute, for someone who was very pivotal in the club history.

Now he deserves a statue more than the |Keenor lad

Agreed.