Phil Dwyer
Philip John Dwyer was a Welsh professional footballer. Born in Cardiff, he began his career with his hometown club Cardiff City, joining the side as an apprentice in 1969. He made his professional debut for the club in October 1972, winning his first honours the same season by helping the side win the Welsh Cup. He suffered relegation with Cardiff in 1975 but helped the side win promotion back to the Second Division at the first attempt, scoring 10 goals during the season.
Dwyer remained a mainstay of the side for more than a decade, becoming known by the nickname "Joe" due to his perceived resemblance to Joe Royle. He was nearly released by manager Len Ashurst in 1982 following a serious knee injury. He returned to the first team, winning promotion in the 1982–83 season and was ever present during the 1983–84 campaign.
He set a new club record for Football League appearances the following year, overtaking Tom Farquharson's long standing record. Dwyer left the club in 1985 after falling out with manager Alan Durban. He made 575 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 51 times during a 13-year spell. He made his international debut for Wales in April 1978 and gained ten caps over the following year, scoring twice. He won his last cap in October 1979.
He finished his playing career with a brief loan spell at Fourth Division side Rochdale where he made 15 appearances, scoring once. He retired from playing in 1985 and joined the South Wales Police. He served with the force for 15 years before resigning after an incident of drink-driving. He later became a freelance legal representative.
Early life
Dwyer was born on 28 October 1953 in the house where his family resided on Penarth Road in Grangetown, Cardiff. The area was in the midst of an economic downturn following the end of the Second World War and a falling demand for coal, one of the main industries of the region, which also affected the local docks. Dwyer's family home, which he described as having "tiny living quarters", had no bathroom, meaning the family bathed in front of the fire in a metal bath with water boiled on the stove. The house also had no central heating leading to "very harsh" nights in winter. His parents, Ted and Constance, had met and married in Tonypandy where his father had worked as a miner. In the hope of improving their prospects, the pair moved to Cardiff where his father found work at a foundry in Tremorfa. His mother also took up work in the canteen of an aluminium manufacturing factory.Dwyer was the fifth child born to his parents. He had three older brothers, Brian, Kenny and Peter, and an older sister, Maureen. His siblings were significantly older than Dwyer and his brothers had already moved out of the family home by the time he was born. Of his three brothers, Kenny died at the age of 36 from diabetes, while Peter joined the armed forces. His other brother, Brian, was a keen sportsman and played football at amateur level for local side St Patrick's. He also represented Wales in boxing at the Empire Games.
As a child, Dwyer attended St. Patrick's Primary School in Grangetown where he joined the school band as a drummer. As his family was relatively poor, he and his friends would often steal fruit and vegetables from gardens and, on one occasion, he was caught shoplifting by a policeman. He took up numerous sporting activities in his youth, including cricket, rugby and baseball, but was most keen on football, idolising the Leeds United side featuring Billy Bremner, as well as Manchester United striker George Best. Dwyer grew up supporting Cardiff City and began attending matches at the club's home ground, Ninian Park, from a young age. Often unable to afford the entry fee for matches, he and his friends would often sneak into the ground by climbing disused railway sleepers to scale the fencing around the stands.
Dwyer attended Bishop Mostyn High School in Ely as a teenager, but later admitted to having little interest in pursuing his academic studies, choosing to focus on his sporting activities. He played rugby during midweek and football on Saturdays, sometimes playing two matches in one day, in the morning for his school's team and in the afternoon for North Clive Street Youth Club. In summer months, he also played baseball for Cardiff Catholics. Dwyer met his future wife Ann in his teens at a local nightclub and the pair began dating soon after.
Club career
Youth and first team breakthrough
Dwyer's childhood dream was to become a professional footballer and his career began to progress at the age of 14 when he was picked to represent the Cardiff Schools side for the first time. He gained international recognition soon after when he was selected to represent Wales at under-15 level in the Victory Shield, a youth competition held between the Home Nations. Despite this, he initially struggled to attract interest from clubs until he was invited to train with the youth team at Cardiff City by Harry Parsons, a long serving employee of the club. Dwyer began training with the side every Tuesday but still held little hope of fulfilling his dream. He was due to start a carpentry apprenticeship with a company at Cardiff Docks which had been arranged by his brother-in-law who worked at the site. To Dwyer's surprise, he was offered a contract by Cardiff when he turned 16 in 1969, earning around £5 per week.Dwyer became affectionally known as "Joe" by Cardiff fans and teammates, a nickname that originated during his early years at the club when goalkeeper Fred Davies commented that Dwyer resembled Everton forward Joe Royle. As an apprentice, he was also employed as the club's ground staff where youth players were required to fulfill various tasks, such as cleaning kit and clearing rubbish from the stands at the ground after matches. With no organised age group league to play in, the youth team competed in local amateur divisions against senior teams. During the 1970–71 season, Cardiff's youth team entered the FA Youth Cup and reached the final of the competition, the furthest the side has ever advanced. Having won five ties, Cardiff faced Arsenal in the final. Cardiff held Arsenal to a goalless draw in the first leg before losing the return fixture 2–0 at Ninian Park.
On his 18th birthday, Dwyer was offered his first professional contract with the club by manager Jimmy Scoular, earning £20 per week. With Cardiff struggling in the Second Division during the 1972–73 season, Dwyer became increasingly involved in the first team as Scoular attempted to improve the side's fortunes. On 7 October 1972, Scoular dropped David Carver from the side and handed Dwyer his professional debut against Leyton Orient. Playing as a right-back, he helped the side record a goalless draw, having been reduced to ten men when Alan Foggon had been sent off after 30 minutes. Dwyer remained in the first team for the remainder of the season and was ever present for the side in all competitions following his debut. He made 40 appearances during the season, helping the side narrowly avoid relegation with a 1–1 draw against Sunderland in the final match of the campaign. Despite the team's disappointing league form, Dwyer ended the season by winning his first senior trophy as Cardiff defeated Bangor City 5–0 in the final of the Welsh Cup.
First team regular
The previous season's low finish prompted Scoular to release several of Dwyer's youth teammates who had been promoted to the senior squad. Dwyer, however, was retained and promoted to the first team on a permanent basis. Victory in the Welsh Cup had qualified Cardiff for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and Dwyer made his debut in continental competition on 17 September 1974 in a goalless draw with Portuguese side Sporting CP. Cardiff were eliminated after losing the return leg 2–1. Scoular was sacked in November as the club struggled in the Second Division and was eventually replaced by Frank O'Farrell. Dwyer's performances resulted in his selection for the Wales under-23 side ahead of a match against England at Ashton Gate Stadium in January 1974, helping his side to a 0–0 draw. Cardiff's results gradually stabilised under O'Farrell, with Dwyer scoring his first senior goal for the club in a 2–0 victory over Preston North End on 9 March 1974 after heading in a cross from Leighton Phillips.O'Farrell resigned suddenly in April 1974 and the side again avoided relegation on the final day of the season, drawing 1–1 with Crystal Palace to relegate their opponents in their stead. Dwyer won his second Welsh Cup at the end of the season, as Cardiff defeated Stourbridge under Jimmy Andrews, who had previously been O'Farrell's assistant. In only his second season as a senior professional, Dwyer was ever present in the league for Cardiff playing in all 42 matches during the campaign and missing just one first team match, the first leg of the Welsh Cup final against Stourbridge. He made a total of 52 appearances in the 1973–74 season. Andrews was forced to sell players to balance finances ahead of the 1974–75 season and the sales placed further strain on the club's results as the side were placed in the relegation zone midway through the campaign. In January 1975, Cardiff played Millwall at The Den. With Cardiff trailing 5–1, a frustrated Dwyer deliberately collided with Millwall goalkeeper Ray Goddard causing the opposition player to be stretchered off the field with a concussion. Dwyer's actions had caused fans from both sides to clash and a Millwall supporter ran onto the pitch and aimed a punch at Dwyer. Seeing the punch coming, Dwyer was able to avoid being hit and grabbed the fan in a headlock. Holding on until the fan was apprehended by police. Dwyer later refused to press charges against the fan. Cardiff finished the season in 21st position, suffering relegation to the Third Division, and went on to lose the Welsh Cup final 5–2 to Wrexham over two legs.