Cup captain's children send Bluebirds good luck wishes

Apr 17 2008 by Darren Devine, South Wales Echo

THE children of Cardiff City’s FA Cup-winning captain Fred Keenor have sent a message of good luck to the Bluebirds’ players preparing to face Portsmouth in the final next month.

Fred’s only surviving children, Heather Jones, 80, and Brynle Keenor, 82, sent the goodwill message after Dave Jones’ team beat Barnsley in the semi-final to earn a place in the final on May 17.

Keenor led City to glory in the 1927 final with a 1-0 defeat over Arsenal – the only time the Bluebirds have lifted the cup.

But both Brynle and Heather, of Tunbridge Wells, have indicated they are as keen as City fans everywhere to see the current team repeat the 1927 side’s heroics.

Their message to the club reads: “I and my brother Brynle would like to wish the club every success at Wembley on May 17.

“As children, we used to listen to my father telling friends about how he and his team-mates won the cup in 1927 and of the huge welcome the players had in Cardiff on their return.

“He would have been overjoyed to see his old club Cardiff back at Wembley for the final. We’ll be watching on television and look forward to seeing the players repeat the success of 1927.”

Club historian Richard Shepherd said it was a massive boost to everyone associated with the club to receive the goodwill message from Fred’s children.

He said: “It’s fantastic to be in touch with someone whose father actually captained the club to a cup final success.”

City legend Keenor made 436 appearances in a near 20-year career with the Bluebirds and won the cup after returning from World War I with a leg wound.

Speaking yesterday, Mrs Jones said though her father, who also captained Wales, moved to Tunbridge Wells following his retirement from football, he remained an avid City fan throughout his life.

She said: “He never lost touch and was always very interested in how they were doing.

“I wasn’t even born the last time they reached the cup final. I was just a sparkle in my dad’s eye.”

darren.devine@mediawales.co.uk