Wembley mania sees surge of interest in history of Bluebirds

Mar 13 2008 by Gareth Rogers, South Wales Echo

WEMBLEY mania among Cardiff City fans has resulted in a surge of interest in Bluebirds memorabilia.

An auction featuring a range of items from the Cardiff City’s last visit to the home of football in 1927 is being held in the capital – and auctioneers say interest from around the UK has been phenomenal.

Mike Ashton, of auctioneer Anthemion, based in Norwich Road, Cardiff said: “We have a lot of Cardiff City items from the 1920s and earlier that people are getting very interested in.

“We have a team photograph from the 1911 to 1912 season, postcards from the 1920s and a portrait of City’s captain Fred Keenor.

“We have a ceramic replica of the FA Cup on its way – but what we haven’t got is either of Cardiff City’s FA Cup final programmes.”

One fan who already owns a piece of Bluebirds history is football mad Ryan Hood.

Ryan contacted the Echo to say he has inherited his grandfather’s autograph book, containing signatures from the 1927 Wembley winning squad and manager.

The Manchester United fan, from Belfast, said: “My grandfather Gordon Evans was a massive Cardiff City fan and when he died I picked up his autograph book from the 1927 game.

“I will definitely be rooting for them for my grandfather’s sake. I am also planning to put the book into the Anthemion auction next month.”

Internet auction site eBay has a range of special edition Cardiff at Wembley items for sale, including T-shirts, scarves, car stickers and even a trophy with a picture of Wembley on and a City badge on it.

The trophy seller Paul Sovereign, from Rhyl based Billystrophies, said: “We are massive football fans.

“We saw the design for some Wembley trophies and thought it would be great to put some Cardiff badges on them and engrave their cup results to date.

“They have been really popular and I’m sure we will sell a lot more before the semi-final.”

Meanwhile, fans looking to travel to the Wembley semi-final on the weekend of April 5 and 6 are being offered the chance to do so in style.

An adopted City fan is offering his beloved FA Cup motor to a group of fans for the day.

Liverpool fan Carl Elsby, of Northampton, bought his blue and white Mini Cooper before his own team played in Cardiff for the FA Cup final two years ago.

To go with it, he bought the number plate F4 CUP, after his team triumphed against West Ham and painted an FA Cup logo on the roof.

The businessman said: “It has been so great watching teams like Cardiff and Barnsley in the FA Cup this year.

“As my car is in Cardiff colours, I want to auction it off to a group of City fans for the day. All the money raised will go to charity.”

gareth.rogers@mediawales.co.uk