Some Sad News

Evening all

Social Media has informed me that former Chairman John Reddy, passed away today.

I only ever met John on the one occasion, when he invited me into his home to film his interview for (The Martyrs Of 87). He was an incredibly impressive person to chat to and I was fully engrossed by everything that he had to say. He told me that he thoroughly enjoyed his time being a part of the Club and that incredible era. I'm very grateful that John was happy to share his memories with me and it was an afternoon I won't forget.

I send my condolences to John's family and friends.

Deepest sympathy to Mrs Reddy and all John's family.

Yes I would like to echo your sentiments Roy,my condolences to all the family. He certainly brought a lot to our club.R.I.P.John.

It's a sad reflection on the way the Forum is these days, that at the time of writing, there have been three posts on Shaggy the Sheep and only one on the passing of John Reddy since Matt Martyr posted the news last night. Unfortunately the Forum seems to be used more as an outlet for never ending "humorous" posts these days than football related topics...........but back to JR.

I wasn't watching us at the time he first took over at the Club, but returned for the Welsh Cup tie against Caernarfon Town, which we won 3-1 if I recollect correctly. The ground then was pretty much as it had been for decades, and whilst I'd seen some great matches and Merthyr players there over many years, no-one had previously had the vision or financial resources to take us into what was going to be the first "Golden Era" since the Martyrs side of the 50's.

It's doubtful that any owner other than he could have attracted quality players like David Tong, Bob Latchford, Nigel Stevenson, Terry Boyle, Tommy Hutchinson and many others over the years. With Lyn Jones' ability to bring gems like David Webley, Ceri Williams and Gary Wager to us, the seeds had been sown for a period which would remain in the minds of supporters for ever.

The transformation off the field in the redevelopment of the facilities reflected his ambition for the Club, and everything he did for the majority of his time as Chairman oozed quality and class. Yes he may have cut corners at times - how else would Penydarren Park have been ready for the Atalanta game - but without that drive the Club would not be moving forward in its current format.

However, the ultimately successful challenge to the Welsh FA's plans to establish the League of Wales in the early 90's, and remove the Martyrs from the English Pyramid, preserved our Club in its rightful place for future generations, and this is his greatest legacy in my opinion. We were the only Welsh non league side to remain in the Pyramid and play their games in Wales, and I think it's fair to say that it was his strength, ambition for the Club and sheer determination to fight the WFA all the way that gave us the opportunities the Club has today. Looking back on old recordings there was only going to be one winner really, the eloquence and assurity which JR displayed when dealing with the media, and the well constructed legal challenges, against the dinosaur that was the WFA at the time, led by the late Alun Evans, and supported by many FA Councillors, who, to put it nicely, were well past their sell by date.

Whilst his later days as Chairman were more challenging, and some would probably use stronger words than that, his contribution to the Club and raising the profile of the town through football, was immense. With the new developments currently taking place, it may be an appropriate time for the Board to consider some permanent recognition of his time as Chairman and owner, as I doubt we'll see his like again.

A good post, fistral.

If we are talking of recognition of past chairmen then I would put maldwyn Davies at the top of my list even above John Reddy unfortunately

Both done a lot of good work for the club,but the post is not who done the most for the club or who was the best chairman.Very good post by Fistral.

I agree with you Scamp, without Maldwyn there probably wouldn't have been a Club for JR to get involved in. I think he was there when players like Nick Deacy and Derek Bryant were at the Cub around 73/74, that was another great side and Bryant was absolute class.

On a visit to Merthyr RFC today I noticed photographs of players past and present and of course unsung back room staff.

Perhaps we can take the time to 'borrow' such idea and have a similar approach for both of the above Gentlemen and of course others who have made Merthyr Football Club what it is today to honour their memory in a similar vein..... so that children can point at a face and say Gramps who is that and why is he up there?....Boz

The post by fistral was about recognition in the last paragraph by the board. To  recognize one past chairman above previous ones can be a bit unfair in my opinion when both or all had done a tremendous service to the club

Great post Mark. I did try and submit a reply earlier - seem to be having some connectivity problems.

Fully endorse everything you say. Funnily enough, I was chatting to a number of Trust Members at Stratford on Tuesday about the same.

Condolences to the family.