Eddie May
Encyclopedia
Edwin Charles May is an English
former footballer
and football manager.
May was born in Epping
.
from Dagenham
in January 1965, making his league debut later that season. He went on to make 100 league appearances, scoring 3 times for the Shrimpers, before moving to Wrexham
in June 1968 for a fee of £5,000. He became captain of the Wrexham side leading them to an FA Cup quarter final only to lose out by the odd goal against Burnley and May also skippered the side when they reached the Quarter Final of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1976 before going out to Anderlecht 2-1 on aggregate.
May made 334 appearances for The Racecourse club scoring 35 goals all with his head before leaving on a free transfer in August 1976 when he joined Welsh
rivals Swansea City
, having spent the 1975 summer with NASL
side Chicago Sting
. He scored 8 times in 90 games for the Swans before retiring from league football.
In recent years, May has been inducted into The Wrexham FC Hall of Fame.
as a coach in 1978, and was assistant manager as Jock Wallace
's side won the Second Division title in the 1981–82 season. In 1983 he moved to Charlton Athletic
as assistant manager to Lennie Lawrence
, leaving in 1986 to coach Saudi Arabia
n side Al Hahda. He then coached in Kenya
before joining Iceland
ic side KS as manager in May 1988.
In July 1988 May was appointed manager of Newport County
after their relegation to the Conference. With County in financial turmoil, May left the following month and subsequently became assistant manager of Lincoln City
. In 1989 he took over as coach of Norwegian
side Tornado FK.
masterminded the Division Three title and Welsh Cup
double in 1993 and humbled Manchester City
in the FA Cup
the following year. May is still a legend among Cardiff fans and was affectionately nicknamed The Ayatollah. Such was May's impact at Cardiff, he was invited to manage one of the sides that officially opened the new Cardiff City Stadium on 4 July 2009 in a Legends match. Ironically the opposing manager was the man that May was assistant to at Charlton Athletic, Lennie Lawrence
, who also managed Cardiff during his career.
on 17 November 1995 after the sacking of Don O'Riordan
, just when it looked like the experienced Mick Buxton
would take the job. Torquay finished bottom of the league at the end of the season, only remaining in the Football League because Conference
champions Stevenage Borough
's ground had not met the Football League criteria on time. He left Plainmoor
in July 1996.
for the last ten matches of the 1996–97 season, and on 23 May 1997 signed a one year contract as manager. However, he left Dundalk on 12 August 1997 to take up the manager's post at Brentford
on 12 August 1997, working under Chief Executive David Webb
. His spell at Brentford was not a success and he was sacked on 5 November 1997.
, but instead joined Finnish
side FinnPa
as manager. On returning from Finland, he became Director of Football at Haverfordwest, but left to manage Merthyr Tydfil
early in December 1998, returning after only 24 hours on realising that the club's new owners didn't yet own the club.
national side, having also previously coached in Norway
and Saudi Arabia
. However, later that month he was appointed as manager of Drogheda United, one of his players being Jamie Impey, son of former Torquay manager John Impey
.
n side Bush Bucks
. He had previously coached the Zimbabwe
an side Jets and a side in Kenya
. He quit the Bucks on 14 November, the reason cited being problems with his work permit, although it followed a confrontation with his assistant Mlungisi Ngubane
which led to Ngubane resigning.
He later became manager of Uganda
n side Express, but was sacked on 14 May 2001 after a poor start to the league season. In July 2001 he was appointed manager of Zimbabwean side Highlanders. He won two league titles with Highlanders.
After leaving Highlanders, May returned to Cardiff, where he ran a bed & breakfast. There was speculation early in September 2007 that he would be named as manager of Zimbabwean side CAPS United
and assist in team rebuilding caused by the loss of star player Blessing “Yogo-Yogo” Makunike
(accidental death), but Alban Mafemba was named as coach instead.
He also had a spell with Telecom Wanderers of Malawi
.
, a side playing in the McWhirter Welsh Football League Division Two. He left the club in January 2010.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
and football manager.
May was born in Epping
Epping
Epping is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located north-east of Loughton, south of Harlow and north-west of Brentwood....
.
Playing career
Eddie May joined Southend UnitedSouthend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
from Dagenham
Dagenham F.C.
Dagenham F.C. was an English football club based in Dagenham. Established in 1949, the club played at Victoria Road from 1955 until its merger with Redbridge Forest in 1992 to form Dagenham & Redbridge.-History:...
in January 1965, making his league debut later that season. He went on to make 100 league appearances, scoring 3 times for the Shrimpers, before moving to Wrexham
Wrexham A.F.C.
Wrexham Football Club are a professional football team based in Wrexham, north-east Wales, who play in the English football pyramid.Founded in 1872, they are one of the oldest surviving football clubs in Britain and the oldest professional club in Wales...
in June 1968 for a fee of £5,000. He became captain of the Wrexham side leading them to an FA Cup quarter final only to lose out by the odd goal against Burnley and May also skippered the side when they reached the Quarter Final of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1976 before going out to Anderlecht 2-1 on aggregate.
May made 334 appearances for The Racecourse club scoring 35 goals all with his head before leaving on a free transfer in August 1976 when he joined Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
rivals Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
, having spent the 1975 summer with NASL
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
side Chicago Sting
Chicago Sting
The Chicago Sting was an American professional soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from in the 1982-83 season and again from 1984 to 1988...
. He scored 8 times in 90 games for the Swans before retiring from league football.
In recent years, May has been inducted into The Wrexham FC Hall of Fame.
Early coaching career
May joined Leicester CityLeicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
as a coach in 1978, and was assistant manager as Jock Wallace
Jock Wallace
John "Jock" Martin Bokas Wallace was a professional Scottish football player and manager. His father, Jock Wallace, Sr., was a goalkeeper for Raith Rovers, Blackpool and Derby County....
's side won the Second Division title in the 1981–82 season. In 1983 he moved to Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
as assistant manager to Lennie Lawrence
Lennie Lawrence
Robin Michael Lawrence, commonly known as Lennie Lawrence, is a British football manager who is assistant manager of Crystal Palace. He has managed a number of English clubs and one Welsh club in a coaching career spanning over 30 years...
, leaving in 1986 to coach Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
n side Al Hahda. He then coached in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
before joining Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic side KS as manager in May 1988.
In July 1988 May was appointed manager of Newport County
Newport County A.F.C.
Newport County Association Football Club are a professional football club based in the city of Newport, south Wales, who currently play in the Conference National, the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
after their relegation to the Conference. With County in financial turmoil, May left the following month and subsequently became assistant manager of Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
. In 1989 he took over as coach of Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
side Tornado FK.
Cardiff City
In July 1991 he was appointed manager of Cardiff City, and during his three years at Ninian ParkNinian Park
Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
masterminded the Division Three title and Welsh Cup
Welsh Cup
The Welsh Cup is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams from Wales.The Football Association of Wales is the organising body of this competition, which has been run every year since its inception in 1877-78...
double in 1993 and humbled Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
the following year. May is still a legend among Cardiff fans and was affectionately nicknamed The Ayatollah. Such was May's impact at Cardiff, he was invited to manage one of the sides that officially opened the new Cardiff City Stadium on 4 July 2009 in a Legends match. Ironically the opposing manager was the man that May was assistant to at Charlton Athletic, Lennie Lawrence
Lennie Lawrence
Robin Michael Lawrence, commonly known as Lennie Lawrence, is a British football manager who is assistant manager of Crystal Palace. He has managed a number of English clubs and one Welsh club in a coaching career spanning over 30 years...
, who also managed Cardiff during his career.
Torquay United
May was later appointed manager of Torquay UnitedTorquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
on 17 November 1995 after the sacking of Don O'Riordan
Don O'Riordan
Donald Joseph O'Riordan is an Irish former professional footballer and football manager currently in charge of American side FC New York. O'Riordan notably played for Grimsby Town amongst others and has previously been on the coaching staff at Sheffield United, in the role of technical...
, just when it looked like the experienced Mick Buxton
Mick Buxton
Michael James "Mick" Buxton is a former footballer and football manager in England. He has managed Huddersfield Town, Scunthorpe United and Sunderland.-Playing career:...
would take the job. Torquay finished bottom of the league at the end of the season, only remaining in the Football League because Conference
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
champions Stevenage Borough
Stevenage Borough F.C.
Stevenage Football Club is an English football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The club currently participate in League One, the third tier of English football, having won promotion from League Two in the 2010–11 season...
's ground had not met the Football League criteria on time. He left Plainmoor
Plainmoor
Plainmoor is a suburb of Torquay, Devon, but is best known as the name of the stadium in which Torquay United Football Club currently play.-History:...
in July 1996.
Dundalk
He took over as caretaker manager of Irish side DundalkDundalk F.C.
Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...
for the last ten matches of the 1996–97 season, and on 23 May 1997 signed a one year contract as manager. However, he left Dundalk on 12 August 1997 to take up the manager's post at Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
on 12 August 1997, working under Chief Executive David Webb
David Webb (footballer)
David James Webb is an English former professional footballer who made 555 appearances in the Football League playing for Leyton Orient, Southampton, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City, Derby County, A.F.C. Bournemouth and Torquay United. He became a manager, taking charge of A.F.C...
. His spell at Brentford was not a success and he was sacked on 5 November 1997.
Haverfordwest County
In the 1998 close-season he agreed to become manager of Welsh side Haverfordwest CountyHaverfordwest County F.C.
Haverfordwest County A.F.C. is a football team, playing in the Welsh Football League Division One.The club was founded in 1899 and was variously known as Haverfordwest FC, Haverfordwest Town, and Haverfordwest Athletic before adopting the current name, and plays at the Bridge Meadow Stadium,...
, but instead joined Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
side FinnPa
FinnPa
Finnairin Palloilijat, or FinnPa as the club is more commonly known as, was a Finnish association football club established in 1965. The club was based in Helsinki and it operated from 1965 to 1998....
as manager. On returning from Finland, he became Director of Football at Haverfordwest, but left to manage Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil F.C.
Merthyr Tydfil Football Club was a Welsh football club based at the Penydarren Park ground in Merthyr Tydfil. In 2010 the club was liquidated and reformed under the name Merthyr Town, which was accepted into Division One of the Western League.-History:...
early in December 1998, returning after only 24 hours on realising that the club's new owners didn't yet own the club.
Drogheda United
In December 1999 the Torquay-based ‘’Herald Express’’ reported that May had just been appointed as coach to the PakistanPakistan national football team
The Pakistan national football team is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation and is a member of the Asian Football Confederation . The team has not yet qualified for either the FIFA World Cup or Asian Cup championships. Twice they have finished third in the South Asian Football Federation...
national side, having also previously coached in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. However, later that month he was appointed as manager of Drogheda United, one of his players being Jamie Impey, son of former Torquay manager John Impey
John Impey
John E. Impey is an English former professional football player and manager. As player, he made 461 appearances in the Football League representing Cardiff City, A.F.C. Bournemouth, Torquay United and Exeter City, and spent a season in the North American Soccer League with the Seattle Sounders...
.
African football
On 2 October 2000 he was appointed as coach to the South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n side Bush Bucks
Bush Bucks
Bush Bucks is a former South African football . The club was founded in 1957 and based in Umtata in the Eastern Cape. It is nicknamed Imbabala ....
. He had previously coached the Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an side Jets and a side in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. He quit the Bucks on 14 November, the reason cited being problems with his work permit, although it followed a confrontation with his assistant Mlungisi Ngubane
Mlungisi Ngubane
Mlungisi Raphael "Professor" Ngubane is a former South African football player and coach currently managing National First Division club Thanda Royal Zulu. He previously coached Durban Bush Bucks, Maritzburg United, Bush Bucks, Black Leopards and Namibia among others.-References:...
which led to Ngubane resigning.
He later became manager of Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
n side Express, but was sacked on 14 May 2001 after a poor start to the league season. In July 2001 he was appointed manager of Zimbabwean side Highlanders. He won two league titles with Highlanders.
After leaving Highlanders, May returned to Cardiff, where he ran a bed & breakfast. There was speculation early in September 2007 that he would be named as manager of Zimbabwean side CAPS United
CAPS United
CAPS United F.C. is a Zimbabwean soccer club based in Harare.Formed in 1973, the team rose to prominence in the late 1970s and early eighties when it was home to some of the finest ever Zimbabwean players. These include the feted striker Shacky "Mr...
and assist in team rebuilding caused by the loss of star player Blessing “Yogo-Yogo” Makunike
Blessing Makunike
Blessing "Yogo-Yogo" Makunike was a Zimbabwean international football player.-Club career:Blessing Makunike started his career in 1997 playing for Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League club CAPS United F.C., where he played until the end of the 2002 season...
(accidental death), but Alban Mafemba was named as coach instead.
He also had a spell with Telecom Wanderers of Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
.
Porthcawl Town
May returned to Wales and in October 2009 he took up the position of manager of Porthcawl TownPorthcawl Town F.C.
Porthcawl Town Athletic F.C. is a Welsh football club. They currently play in the Welsh Football League Division Three.In 2010, Portcawl Town merged with Porthcawl Athletic, both of whom shared Locks Lane, and as of 2010-11 they will be known as Porthcawl Town Athletic.-External links:*...
, a side playing in the McWhirter Welsh Football League Division Two. He left the club in January 2010.