Cardiff City fan letter exchange with manager found after 41 years

Peter Edwards wrote to the Bluebirds' manager about the side's "abysmal performance" in 1980

An exchange of letters between a disgruntled Cardiff City fan and the club's manager has been rediscovered after 41 years.

Peter Edwards wrote to the then-Bluebirds boss Richie Morgan in 1980, bemoaning the club's performance in a Welsh Cup tie.

Mr Morgan wrote back, saying he agreed with him about the side's "disgraceful display" against Newport County.

The letters were found by Mr Edwards' sons after he passed away last month.

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Mr Edwards' letter, dated 25 January 1980, suggested some supporters could abandon the Bluebirds in favour of rivals Swansea City, after the 2-0 defeat by Newport County.

'Pathetic display'

Peter Edwards' two sons said the 1980 letter was "just unapologetically him"

It began: "I am writing this as a result of Cardiff City's abysmal performance against Newport County last night.

"In all my years of watching Cardiff City, I have never before seen such a pathetic display from a side 'supposed' to be 'the best in Wales'.

"I think it is about time that Cardiff City thought of the vast amount of loyal supporters... who are being dragged away to see Swansea City."

Cardiff City fan Peter Edwards wrote the letter in 1980 when he was 19 years old

He added it was "no wonder that the crowds are slowly going away from Ninian Park" when the side were "totally out-played, out-challenged and out-thought" by Newport County.

Mr Edwards, a former financial advisor, who also worked in printing, sent the letter along with a stamped envelope, in the hope that Mr Morgan - a former Cardiff City player himself - would reply.

'Disgraceful display'

Much to his surprise, Mr Morgan did, and accepted his take on his players' performance.

"I fully agree with your comments regarding the disgraceful display against Newport," Mr Morgan wrote.

"It was without doubt the worst Cardiff City display I have had to witness since we took over."

He also wrote in his reply that he appreciated "the fans' frustrations" because "year after year you turn up in your thousands".

Richie Morgan wrote back: "It was without doubt the worst Cardiff City display I have had to witness since we took over"

Mr Edwards filed the letter and the response away amongst other football memorabilia in his house in Caerphilly, which were never revealed until the 60-year-old passed away on 2 January this year, after a long period of ill health.

'Like what Twitter is to fans today'

Peter Edwards' sons found the letters in the family home 41 years after they were written

Going through the memorabilia, his sons Greg and Nick Edwards found the papers - and were amazed to find they had discovered it on the exact date their father had written the original, 41 years earlier.

Greg said: "We had no idea that he had written this specific letter - we knew he had written letters before, but he had never once mentioned this one.

"He would have been 19-years-old in 1980, when he wrote it, a really proud Cardiff City fan."

Nick added that finding the letter had helped them both through the grieving process.

"It is just unapologetically him - writing a letter to the manager, I mean, that would have been like what Twitter is to fans today, a way to vent!

"He would never have expected Richie Morgan to write back to him, and to write it out by hand too was just a really lovely touch," he added.

Cardiff City historian Richard Shepherd said Mr Morgan, who spent 15 years at the club as a player and manager, was "really well regarded by fans".

"He did pretty well as a manager, but just hit a bit of a bad patch, so he was moved upstairs," he said.

Former Bluebirds manager Richie Morgan was manager for the side for four years from the late 1970s

Meanwhile, former manager Mr Morgan said he looked back on his time at the club with "nothing but fondness", despite challenges on and off the field.

"I had four years there as manager, and we always managed to survive in a division where we didn't really have the resources to compete with other teams," he said.

Not forgetting his 11 years on the books at Ninian Park, Mr Morgan was a part of the team that faced Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1971, which he described as an "incredible night".

What were his memories of the fan mail?

Mr Morgan said: "While I don't remember the specific letter to Peter, I did try to keep in touch with fans as much as I could - the fans' voice was important at the end of the day.

"People like Peter, fans like him, they were the lifeblood of the club. They still are, in many respects.

"The fans, they paid your wages in those days, so it was important to have a relationship with them."

He reflected that you could "probably never get a letter to a manger nowadays".

Though the letter itself was somewhat critical of Mr Morgan's management, he said he understood Mr Edwards' point.

"If you lost a game, it would hurt me as much as it hurt him, or any other fan," he said.

The Edwards family plan to keep the letters and memorabilia as a tribute to Peter Edwards

After speaking to the Edwards brothers over Zoom, Mr Morgan emailed them with a tribute to their dad, ahead of his funeral this week.

"I'm sure your dad is up there somewhere looking down and taking great pleasure in all that's going on," he said.

The brothers now plan keep the letter, the reply and other pieces of the extensive memorabilia as a lasting tribute to Mr Edwards, and have converted their garage to house the items.

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