I was actually there when he came up with the name. It was Walsall v's Sunderland in '88 and we were talking with the Editor of the new Sunderland Fanzine, Wise Men Say.. 'So, what's your called then?' Asked the Mackem... 'Dial M for Merthyr' replied Wolvesy. The guy laughed. I laughed. He turned to me and said, 'I just made that up'. 'It's good mate. Not sure how many people on the Wank Bank will be aware of Hitchcock's brilliant suspense masterpiece but it's better than my idea for the name'. (I was all for 'You sexy Merthyr F*ckers' as Prince was big with the song at the time). And so that was it, 'Dial M for Merthyr' was born. The rest, as they say, is a mystery... The one thing about Mark Evans is that he's a born leader. It's true. He may get 'all shucks' about it but his legacy is astonishing. I'd never be doing what I'm doing now if it wasn't for
“Badges, we don’t need no stinking badges!” is one of the best lines in the classic Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles but we all need badges, don’t we? Something personal that shows both who or what we support and what our values are to the outside world. I wore this Merthyr Tydfil AFC badge on the lapel of my Vaynor & Penderyn school blazer every day I was in that fine establishment of learning. I probably wore it firstly because the chance of getting any MTFC merchandise in that era was virtually nil. The club shop operated out of the tea hut at the end of the grandstand and it was never open in the seventies and when those wooden boards were ever open then every kid in the ground would flock there to buy anything available but it was always the same stuff – key-rings, rosettes and badges. So even a badge was a rarity and such a rare item could never be allowed to rest somewhere in a drawer to be lost in some clear out years later. It had to be shown off, it was a family heirloom
I’m probably being a bit harsh with the title, as at the beginning of the 2022/23 I would have taken a mid table spot. Unfortunately, due to this new manager in charge, a certain Mr Paul Michael, he has definitely changed supporters expectations, and not making the play offs seemed strangely disappointing. Something I don’t think any of us were thinking about in August 2022. I’ll let you into a little secret, after the year when the club mothballed due to the pandemic, I was thinking of jacking it in. The message came from nowhere, and as an owner, at the time I was really narked that no one had given me the chance to have a say, what is the point of being an owner? Looking back, it was obviously the right decision, at the time being stuck in, no pubs open and Pingus zoom quizzes had an adverse impact on my mental health, and looking forward to watching a bit of football was a light at the end of the tunnel. So, no football for a few months, well albeit there are some international gam
Comments