Dial M for Merthyr

Samuel Wightman (1887-1912) The pen-pics for the fledgling Merthyr Town team before the 1909/10 season. The team includes Sam Wightman who is described as a left-back. Sam was born near Whitehaven in Cumbria at the end of 1887. Little is known of Sam’s early career and within twelve months he was at Luton Town playing in derby matches against Watford over Christmas 1910. Sam seems to have settled in Bedfordshire as he is still at Luton the following season. Tragedy strikes though in April 1912 at Brighton & Hove Albion as a late challenge by Fred Goodwin for the home side catches Sam Wightman in the stomach. Sam died from peritonitis and shock following a rupture to his small intestine. At the inquest Goodwin was exonerated from all blame as the Coroner stated “that the kick was done purely accidentally”.

The terraces remain empty. Look around you, the barren wastes of Penydarren Park lie before you. Where has everyone gone? Is the new Cyfarthfa Retail Park that exciting? We’ve tried everything; free tickets, happy hours, even winning a few games and getting a promotion or two but to no avail. It’s time for action! The Dial M For Merthyr Central Committee has discussed the matter at length, mainly over an illegal steamed pie in a down-town café, and we’ve come to the conclusion that the answer lies with SEX! Quite simply, if we want more fans then we’re going to have to make them. Volunteers are required to step forward and take the challenge of shagging for the Martyrs, when the final game is played at Penydarren Park and our crowds are too small to support a team in the Hellenic League what will you tell the grand-kids when they say “what did you do Grand-dad to save the Martyrs?” We urge all supporters, men and women, to lie back and think of Merthyr. Now is not ...

Blind Faith or just pessimistic about the Pre-Season? Don't be so silly! Everyone views the start of a new season in entirely different ways. Mutterings at Carmarthen of 'We're rubbish' after just twenty minutes by individual's who should know better, give way to serious pessimism about our chances of staying up. Well are we about to struggle against relegation or will you be dismissed as a deluding lunatic for thinking aloud "this could be our year". Why not? That well known social commentator Mr Anthony Hughes, wrote in the final programme of last season "should we avoid relegation, as I'm sure we will, then the beauty of it is we will all start on a level playing field once more come August. Finishing 2nd this time around or even 18th, will mean nothing and it's up to us to take advantage of that." So, it's prediction time again, and lets make sure that we prove Mr Hughes right. Top ten or another fight against relegation? FA Cup...

The new wrongly named Millennium was barely upon us and already games were being played throughout the British lsles. For the Mighty Martyrs it was a short trip across the border to Clevedon, for the fans it was a chance to show Welsh dominance over the English. This for me was a game that Jimmy Mullen's boys needed to win to boost morale after being on the wrong end of a seven goal thriller, seven days earlier, against those plastic Welsh bastards Newport County. For myself and the rest of the DMFM entourage it was our last piss-up of the Christmas festivities. The rendezvous point was to be the Park View for a quick beverage before departure. The Ginger Giant was the first on the scene, although I don't know why because the old man can't drink much these days. He was accompanied by his boy who in two years time will be able to drink more than his old man. By the time Wingnut and l arrived, Wolvsey and Nathan had been joined by Typey, who may I add was a little worse for...

It's my favourite trip of the season, the one you look for when the fixtures start in August. And that's the best way to describe going to Bath usually, a good trip. For the Dial M for Merthyr boys, Bath means the train taking the strain. So the omens weren't good this season when the numbers going began to drop almost as quickly as the Martyrs down the table. It was Wingnut's birthday but the thought of Twerpton Park wasn't exactly adding to the party spirit. Let's be honest Bath has never been a great hunting ground for the Martyrs, I can only recall winning once there in the last decade or so (perhaps 1'm wrong but it feels like that). Although the 0-6 defeat there against Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup must go down as the most enjoyable hammering ever. Peter Jones whacking their goalscorer up the arse as their player was wheeling away to celebrate is surely the best way to get sent off in the history of football. Chris Williams's penalty save sparked...

Time can be many things. We’re told that it can heal almost anything but mostly a broken heart. It can also humble you with comparisons and shadows of the past. Recently I was privileged to visit Flanders as part of the Welsh Government’s commemoration  of the century of the start of the Third Battle of Ypres, more commonly known as the Battle of Passchendaele, during the First World War. The Welsh memorial at  Langemark   on the outskirts of Ypres is magnificent and a  worthy memorial for every Welsh soldier who served on the Western Front during one of the most brutal battles in history. The  memorial was unveiled in 2014.  The cromlech area has now been completed and supplemented with further stones from Pontypridd to represent the Welsh Regiments who  fought across the trenches during the long months of the battle. The conditions for the battle were horrendous with the unusual summer combined with the massive artillery fire ensuring that the b...

We’ve been in this dark place many times before, but this is the first time that it  ha s been with a fan elected Board!  Are we experiencing a ‘ G round  H og  D ay’ existence once again? This isn’t what a supporter run club should aspire to. However, there are reassuring indications that it appears the current financial situation is manageable if handled carefully with no further debt being incurred. Perhaps we all need a First Class honours degree in ‘ H indsight’ to fully comprehend why we  face  this predicament once again.  It is a c redit to the Board for holding their hands up ,  admitting their  mistake  and taking positive action to  deal with  the situation .  The business case for the immediate future , identifying operational costs, with targets and objectives clearly specified, must be published soon (1 st  September was promised!) in the new  emerging  Business Plan. This will all...

It’s strange how it happens. One day you find yourself sweating over injury news about Ryan Prosser or scouring the fixture list for the prime games and then you discover that you just don’t care anymore.  I don’t care about the Martyrs anymore, it’s quite liberating to write those words. After 43 years of following the ups and downs of the team I seem to have hit a wall of  apathy and to be honest dismay  with the club at the top of Park Terrace. I’ve struggled health wise for a while now and watching Saturday’s heroes was once an oasis from the stresses and strains of modern life but after a while I realised that the governance of Merthyr Town FC and the lack of accountability at the t op of the club was adding to my frustrations. The same  people  who propped up the previous regime now seem to be back in the board room, how do they do that? I wish I had that level of confidence to just walk out the door, take on the new club’s philosophy and then return ...