A Time for Reflection by Chairman Mao
All good things come to an end. That seems to be a widely held belief.
Earlier this season I wrote that I was stopping my usual pilgrimage to Penydarren Park but then came the great crash of November 2017. Once again it was time to man the barricades and save the club we love. The age-old tale of ousting carpet-baggers and steadying the good ship Merthyr Town.
I think that Merthyr Town supporters distrust peace and prefer conflict so when the call came to defend the club everyone rallied around.
It felt different though this time. A much-maligned group of fans holding a public meeting, staging events and raising funds whilst others watched on and came to meetings to criticise the group’s leisure choices.
The current subject of debate on social media is whether the fans’ groups are too involved, too invested in the fabric of the club, maybe we expect too much of our fellow fans, possibly we over react when another event fails due to lack of support. Perhaps we should calm down and accept our lot.
Maybe a few years ago I may have raged against the apathy but now I sympathise with the fans who post on Facebook that they don’t feel comfortable at the ground anymore as they can’t (or won’t) help raise funds and awareness for our club.
Maybe it’s time for those amongst us who make the most noise to hold back on events and fundraising as we could be putting off other groups who may need space to act.
This could be a time not to resign from watching the Martyrs but to embrace our fellow fans and allow them the opportunity to engage more with the Board.
This is more about retirement. A time to move on from flags, songs and away day events to just watching the team with a cup of Bovril on the terraces every other week.
An opportunity to see the club progress organically with a new Board at the helm, no need for events to be set up by fan groups as Board Members take on the responsibility.
After all none of us are getting any younger.
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