How far can MTFC get??

Iv been a cardiff fan for years but only over the past year have i became intrested in Merthyr i was just wondering can Merthyr get into the football league ??

Well it's possible when you look at some of the teams that have done so in recent years, but apart from anything else it would take 5 promotions and a LOT of building up of the club and its support. Even then, there's the question of whether Penydarren Park and its location would be acceptable as a league ground - but that's a whole other subject for debate.

Maybe more realistic than that would be a place in the Blue Square Premier - but that's a very tall order as well, to say the least.

I think at the moment most people would agree that the most we can hope for is getting back to the Southern League Premier Division.

You're right Malcolm - SL Premier would do for me and maybe a few years after a bit of consolidation and moneymaking we could push on but it'll be a hell of a job.

what is the highest league Merthyr have been in their history?

Merthyr Town in their present guise were only formed last season.
Merthyr Tydfil, their predecessors, had six seasons in the then Vauxhall Conference (now the Blue Square Premier).
The club were originally known as Merthyr Town and were in the Third Division of the Football League in the 1930s. They failed to be re-elected and the club folded.
Merthyr Tydfil was formed in 1945 after World War 11.
The club's present ground grading would not allow them to play any higher than the Southern League Premier Division where they were two seasons ago until the club was liquidated with an estimated £600,000 debt.
With criteria becoming stricter, I don't think there is any chance of Penydarren Park becoming a Football League ground.
If the club get back to the SL Premier Division, I think that would be as far as they are likely to go at present and becoming a force there would not be easy bearing in mind the present situatiion.

It very simply depends on either of two things:

Either a club has a rich benefactor and everything is wonderful for a while (Fleetwood, Crawley) until the sugar daddy gets bored or walks away or dies (Darlington, Kettering, Gretna). If a big enough fan base can be built up during the good times, a club might permanently reach a higher level, but often it won't. We know all about that scenario.

Or it's just about the fan base. The basic answer is that MTFC will progress as far as the fans in and around Merthyr and adjacent valleys want it to. If we can achieve a steady rise in attendances, cash will flow in, things will become easier on the sponsorship and commercial side and success will follow.

My hope is that we can get to the Southern Premier and then take stock; my dream is that we'd get back to the Conference, by which time the numbers and enthusiasm of fans would indicate whether a new ground and a push for even greater things would be viable. But we also need loyal fans rather than success junkies - as Newport are discovering, struggling at a higher level brings in fewer fans than success in a lower division

I'm glad the Trust are in charge and everything is based on a prudent and realistic approach geared to genuinely available resources. I welcome the appointment of a Community Development Officer, because if the people are not yet coming to the club, then the club must be taken to the people.

I am in total agreement with all you say Hirwaunman spot on.

A very good posting, Hirwaunman. I might paraphrase some of what you've written in some notes in a future edition of the match programme if that's OK.

You're welcome, Merthyr Imp.

Hiwaunman your bang on there pal great post?

At the end of the day our destiny is in our own hands and whatever we achieve in the months and years ahead will be born out of hard work and the safe knowledge that progress will not jepodise the stability and viability of this club.

Whilst I agree not everybody will agree with statements or opinions I make, I firmly beleive the destiny of this club depends on its ability to raise funds, its profile & stature & structure in non matchday situations, the club needs to continue to generate and expand way beyond one Saturday a fortnight if its to prosper.

For example, support of the soccalot, social facities, Academy, Strikers club, Candac Suite, just to name a few.

We cannot sit and rely on matchday income to see us through because it is simply not enough (nowhere near in fact) so its down to our incredible loyal and didicated supporters to raise non match day funds through sponsorship, events etc to keep the club mobile and progressing, just think of it if we could double this band or hardy soles it would be like us having 1000/1500 through the gate everygame which would make a massive difference to our future and the way in which we are to progress as a club and a community....

Good times are here to stay, lets make sure of it, UP THE TOWN

Hi everyone, my first post. at first glance, i'd say the fan base is there for conference south at least but that obviously will take some time. i imagine a lot of you will be happy with getting back into the southern league in the immediate future.

you've got something special there, cardiff and swansea are now expensive days out. i've been to 3 games this season and thoroughly enjoyed it. 2 of us and refreshments at half time, change out of £20, happy days. the rest of the valley towns are rugby towns, i wish them well, but i and a lot of other valleys people are football first. you've got a fair sized catchment area to tap into for people who want to watch football at affordable cost. you have no close competition for the excellent product you are offering, there's a fair amount of growth if i feel at the club to be tapped into, and i'll enjoy being there and thereabouts over the next few years to watch it

My dream would be a return to the Conference one day. But that is a tall order and a long ways away, if they ever "return".

But really, I'm happy that we've got a fan-owned club and if I've been content watching us, when I can, in the Western Divisions then I think I'd be happy at whatever level we find ourselves at. As high as we can achieve and compete at without risk of having the club dabble with oblivion is fine by me and all I ask.

Nice to see a fellow NP23'er on board the board!

greetings to you A465 martyr, from the lower altitude, warmer! climes of .....

old rassau

like u said, u've got your club back and its being run properly, thats the main. with good patient management and a strong fanbase with room for growth then its reasonable enough to hope for sustainable success over the next few years.

I couldn't agree more about what's been said in this thread. We are a well run and managed club and personally I'm enjoying watching us play more than ever since we became Merthyr Town again. We own the club between as all and everyone who attends PP should join the Trust to have a full say in how we progress in the future.

Im gonna pop along to the next couple of games iv ten that the martyrs atendances are quite impressive iv also heard merthyr have got good vocal support so i need to go and experience it

NP23 jack/martyr wrote:
i've been to 3 games this season and thoroughly enjoyed it. 2 of us and refreshments at half time, change out of £20, happy days.

Don't forget to buy a programme - well worth £1.50.

Maybe we need to get it across to potential fans that, though Western League etc skill levels are obviously not as high as at the very top of the game, they are by no means as far below as the gap in wages would suggest.

I'd go further than that, and say that what our players lack in highly refined skills, they more than make up for in enthusiasm and commitment. It also occurs to me that, where there are fewer errors, there is less unpredictability and therefore not so much interest. I rarely watch Premiership football, and when I do, I'm struck by how static and boring the games can be for long periods - like watching a monotonous pinball game on the computer. Games at PP, though sometimes frustrating for fans as some are bound to be, are on the whole absorbing and highly enjoyable experiences, as well as being excellent value. It's also good that there is so much less of the protesting and posturing by players that you get at higher levels.

To me, what 's on offer at PP is what I call real football, or football as it used to be, before the sugar daddies and overpaid prima donnas with inflated egos took over.

hirwaunman wrote:Maybe we need to get it across to potential fans that, though Western League etc skill levels are obviously not as high as at the very top of the game, they are by no means as far below as the gap in wages would suggest.

I'd go further than that, and say that what our players lack in highly refined skills, they more than make up for in enthusiasm and commitment. It also occurs to me that, where there are fewer errors, there is less unpredictability and therefore not so much interest. I rarely watch Premiership football, and when I do, I'm struck by how static and boring the games can be for long periods - like watching a monotonous pinball game on the computer. Games at PP, though sometimes frustrating for fans as some are bound to be, are on the whole absorbing and highly enjoyable experiences, as well as being excellent value. It's also good that there is so much less of the protesting and posturing by players that you get at higher levels.

To me, what 's on offer at PP is what I call real football, or football as it used to be, before the sugar daddies and overpaid prima donnas with inflated egos took over.

Quite agree. I love watching football at this level for exactly the reasons you have stated above.
Well worth the petrol money and bridge toll for me to come and watch...,

Is it me? I am flabbergasted at the total lack of ambition in these posts. Personally, I think all the Board should remortgage their homes & properties and we immediately embark on a (as Def Leppard put it) “its better to burn out than fade away” strategy. In fact, I was recently talking to some bloke called something like “Bin” from near Banbury whos showing an interested in backing this by investing a reasonable sum in the club. He’s also a keen newt-spotter, and is interested in purchasing some of the scrap land around Rhydycar....

Sorry, having a bit of a Crawley moment!

Solihull Martyr wrote:
Sorry, having a bit of a Crawley moment!

Creepy.

I thought it was Neil Young who sang:"It's better to burn out than to fade away" on Hey, Hey, My My!

or my, my, hey, hey, even - "rock'n'roll is here to stay, its better to fade out than burn away, my, my, hey, hey." he did do one called hey, hey, my, my, as well mind. this is all very confusing, i've had to check my wording about 3 times

it seems def leppard used the lyric as an intro to one of their songs.

Bring back Ruby Murray and Ronnie Hilton, I say - oh, and brass band music on the PA.

I once saw Ruby Murray live - she was second on the bill to The Shadows. Also Ronnie Hilton, for that matter, in a pantomime.

It's nice to be able to contribute to a musical discussion on here - unlike the gibberish on that other thread.

I can also remember the days at Sincil Bank when you had a marching band on the pitch, never mind over the PA. Getting a bit more up to date, there was a craze at some football clubs in the early 1960s to have a pop group (as we called them then) playing live at the side of the pitch to provide entertainment before the match and at half time. I remember Johnny Vee & The Vampires at Sincil Bank - no doubt he was Bobby Vee's brother..

Time to get back to football matters instead of all this discussion about music unless we talk about my passion for Victorian/Edwardian light opera and musicals.