Shepton Mallet Match Programme

In tomorrow's programme:-

* The game when Dane Williams saved a point for Merthyr.

* Find out Shepton Mallet’s place in brewing history.

* When did Merthyr score after just 6 seconds?

* Record receipts for the old Merthyr Town, but even in those days it appears referees were to blame for a defeat.

* A report on the Bradford defeat. In connection with which, after reading this week’s Merthyr Express, I would just like to put on record this sequence of events:

First there was the report written by me that appeared on the club's website.

Second there appeared in the Merthyr Express practically the same report under what I hadn’t realised must be my pen name of Dominic Jones.

Third there appears in the programme a slightly rewritten version (by me) of the website report.

Thank you.

And of course there are all the usual news, notices, stats - and even some proper pen pics of the visiting team for once.

Be sure and help the club by getting your copy at Taffs Well tomorrow or get John to send you a copy in the post: strand@salisburyclose.fsnet.co.uk

Without spoiling mine and other people's read for tomorrow I think the answer to Q1 may be Gloucester City away.

I thought I recognised some of the paragraphs in the report in the Merthyr Express although I felt the report on this Forum was phrased better so obviously your nom de plume Dominic is not such a good writer as yourself.

I suggest you copyright your Forum reports so that lazy, so called reporters actually attend the event they are reporting on and not surf the net.

© Old Sod

Old Sod wrote:I thought I recognised some of the paragraphs in the report in the Merthyr Express although I felt the report on this Forum was phrased better so obviously your nom de plume Dominic is not such a good writer as yourself.

Apart from the first two paragraphs the report by 'Dominic Jones' was exactly the same as the report by me on the club's website.

I don't want to bore people too much with the 'mechanics' of the situation, but first I do the rough and ready version with personal comments that I put on here. Then I rewrite it to tidy it up and send it to Tony Kiff to put on the website. Last is a third version, further rewritten to varying degrees (sometimes to make it fit the space and/or shorten it) which I put in the programme.

In fairness, I should add that it's not exactly unknown for me to copy and paste stuff to go in the programme!

Not sure how the newspaper business works these days, but i suspect that many newspaper articles about clubs like ours rely on input from various supporters, although an acknowledgement would be preferable.

I would start to worry when we don't get any coverage at all. It all amounts to free publicity for our business.

John Strand wrote:, although an acknowledgement would be preferable.

I would start to worry when we don't get any coverage at all. It all amounts to free publicity for our business.

Or even if it was just anonymous I wouldn't mind so much.

Free publicity, yes, but I always feel that to some extent it works both ways. What I mean is that coverage of the main local football team is - or should be - part of the 'package' that a local paper provides. I'm not suggesting that people only buy the Merthyr Express to read about the Martyrs, but I would think if there was nothing about us they would consider the paper to be lacking in its coverage of local affairs.

I wonder if they sold extra copies on the strength of people wanting to read about the Walsall match a few years back?

Like I said, it's a two-way thing. If they support the club and the team does well then people will want to buy the paper to read about it.

I agree that any publicity is good publicity for us particularly as we are not currently playing in Merthyr. The more space devoted to MTAFC in the Distress the better as it helps those who can't make it to Taffs Well keep in touch. It would be nice if The Imp could be credited with the report that appears in the Express as it is basically his work. He does a very good job and deserves the credit. You never know he could end up as a member of the NUJ!

I would not like to see the Imp poached from his role as programme editor by the local or national press.

The programme is a joy to read this season, thanks to the Imp's
commitment and attention to detail, and the support from contributors Jamie, Anthony Davies, Phil Sweet, CF48 and Jon Caple as well as occasional entries from others.

Must mention Huw Thomas who has pushed up sales this last couple of years with his persusave efforts.

The whole enterprise earns close on £100 per game for the club.

Just another example of a team pulling together to take Merthyr Town forward.

Old Sod wrote: It would be nice if The Imp could be credited with the report that appears in the Express as it is basically his work. He does a very good job and deserves the credit. You never know he could end up as a member of the NUJ!

Thanks. The reports in the Merthyr Express are not always by me (uncredited). Certainly not when it's an away match, when Richard Bennett's work sometimes features. Plus, home and away, they often incorporate material from the Western Mail/S. Wales Echo reports.