Eddie May

Edwin Charles May (19 May 1943 – 14 April 2012) was an English football player and manager. May was born in Epping, and played for Dagenham, Southend United, Wrexham and Swansea City.

The burly, affable May loomed large in the modern history of Welsh football. During his playing prime in the first half of the 1970s he cut an imposing figure at the heart of the Wrexham rearguard, totalling some 400 senior appearances for The Racecourse club scoring 35 goals, all with his head . Later the most successful stint in his long, varied and eventually globetrotting coaching and managerial career came at the helm of Cardiff City, whom he guided to the double of Third Division title and Welsh Cup glory in 1992-93. He also served Swansea City as a player and, fleetingly, Newport County as a coach, thus becoming one of the few men to be associated with all four of Wales' most famous clubs.

Playing career

The Essex-born May's first League employers were Southend United, whom he joined from Dagenham in January 1965, making his debut for the Third Division Shrimpers that spring as a left-back. Soon, though, the muscular six-footer found his natural position as a dominant centre-half, majestic in the air, powerful and unfailingly courageous, but his fine personal form could not prevent the Roots Hall side from sinking to the bottom division in the spring of 1966. 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.

Eddie May (Scottish footballer)

Eddie May (born 30 August 1967) is a Scottish football player and coach.

Playing career

He played as a midfielder and full back for several clubs, including Hibernian, Falkirk and Motherwell during the 1980s and 1990s. When he joined Brentford in July 1989, May's £167,000 transfer fee was a then-club record.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, May became a coach, developing young players for Falkirk. May was appointed as the manager of Falkirk in June 2009, with former player Steven Pressley and Alex Smith assisting him. His first competitive game was a 1–0 victory over FC Vaduz in the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds, although Falkirk eventually lost their first ever European tie 2–1 on aggregate, becoming the first British club to lose a European tie to a club from Liechtenstein. May developed a reputation for being brutally honest during his spell in charge at Falkirk. May resigned as Falkirk manager soon afterwards, however, with the team bottom of the SPL.