Martyrs History

In 1909, Merthyr Town joined the second division of the Southern League, which despite being primarily an English league, contained several other Welsh clubs, notably Cardiff City, Newport County and Swansea Town. After finishing third in 1911–12 the club were promoted to the first division, though they were relegated back to the second division in 1913–14. The Southern League did not operate during the First World War, and when it resumed for the 1919–20 season Merthyr were placed back in the top division.

In the summer of 1920 the Football League expanded with the creation of a new Third Division, which was made up entirely of the First Division of the Southern League from the previous season. Despite having finished second bottom in season before, usually a relegation place, Merthyr became a new member of the Football League.

In their first season in the Football League, the club had a much better season and finished 8th. This, however, proved to be their most successful league season, and it was followed by a gradual decline: 11th in 1921–2 and 17th in 1922–3. The 1923–4 season saw a slight improvement in league form as they finished 13th, but the major news was their appearance in the final of the Welsh Cup, though they lost 1-0 to Wrexham in a replay after a 2-2 draw.

From then on the club declined further, and finished bottom of the Third Division in 1924–5. Although they finished 14th in 1925–6, in the following seasons the club finished 17th, 21st, 20th and then bottom again, and were eventually voted out of the Football League in 1930.[1] They were replaced by the ill-fated Thames. During their penultimate season in the Football League the club had their best season in the FA Cup, getting past the first round for the only time, before losing to Watford in the second round.
The club dropped back into the Southern League, but lasted only four seasons, before ceasing to play in 1934.

The New Club

In 2010, Merthyr Tydfil F.C. of the Southern Football League Premier Division were liquidated despite finishing the 2009-10 season 17th of 22 clubs. The club was reformed under the name of Merthyr Town and consequently were required to drop three divisions to begin the 2010–11 season in the Western Football League Division One.

MERTHYR TYDFIL A.F.C. – A History

By Phil Sweet

Merthyr Tydfil A.F.C. was formed in 1945 following a series of public meetings in the town. After spending the 1945-46 season in the Welsh League, the Club was elected to the Southern League in the summer of 1946. The team, that was largely composed of local born players, then embarked on a spell of success that is unlikely ever to be bettered in non-league football as over the next eight seasons the Club went on to capture 5 Southern League Championships, 2 Southern League Cups, 2 Welsh Cups, 3 South Wales and Mon Cups, 3 Welsh League Championships and 3 Welsh League Cups.

At this time the Club also hosted prestige fixtures against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Carpathians and Venlo VV from Poland and Holland respectively. During this period the Board audaciously tried to sign England forward Wilf Mannion by offering the player the then colossal sum of £40 a week. If Mannion had signed for Merthyr, the directors intended to maximise their asset by proposing to only play him in home Southern League and Welsh League fixtures.

At this time Merthyr Tydfil A.F.C. were widely regarded as being the best team in non-league football and they made numerous applications for election to the Football League. However, their efforts were thwarted by the fact that Penydarren Park was also used for greyhound racing at this time.

By the mid 1950’s a combination of an ageing playing staff and dwindling crowds meant that the good times rapidly came to an end and the 1957-58 season ended with the Club at the foot of the Southern League table. The following year the Club could only finish twelfth in the newly created Northern Section of the Southern League. Consequently when the Southern League was reorganised again in the summer of 1959, the Martyrs found themselves in the newly created Southern League First Division as opposed to the Southern League Premier Division.

After two seasons in this division the Club secured promotion back to the Premier Division. However, they failed to impress in their new surroundings and after an undistinguished three seasons in the top flight, they were relegated to the First Division at the end of the 1963-64 season where they would remain for the next seven seasons.

The 1960’s were a turbulent time for the Club off the field with regular crisis fund raising meetings being held in the Borough in order to keep the Club afloat. Things became even more precarious in December 1966 when the old wooden stand and dressing rooms were destroyed by fire. In spite of these difficulties the Club managed to attract a number of quality players to Penydarren Park at this time, the most notable being former Welsh Internationals Reg Davies and Graham Vernacombe.

As the new decade dawned better times were around the corner. In early 1970 local businessman Maldwyn Davies joined the Board and shortly afterwards took over as manager. The following season, with a team mainly comprised of free transfer signings, the Club finished in the runners-up spot and secured promotion back to the Southern League Premier Division. However, the players found the new division a much tougher proposition and by January 1972 the team had won just four matches. Faced with plummeting gates and with losses of around £600 a month, Maldwyn Davies, the main financial backer, took the bold step of appointing Welsh soccer legend John Charles as manager on a salary of £40 a week. However, the arrival of Charles had little impact on performances and a 21st place finish at the end of the season saw the Martyrs relegated to the newly formed Southern League Division 1 (North).

The summer of 1972 saw Charles assemble an almost completely new squad. The new arrivals brought about a marked improvement in performances on the field. For much of the season promotion was a real possibility. However, a series of defeats in the spring resulted in the Club eventually ending the 1972-73 season in sixth place. For the 1973-74 season John Charles persuaded Maldwyn Davies, who by now had taken over as Chairman, to adopt a garish lilac and yellow playing kit, a decision that fortunately proved to be short-lived. In the same season the Martyrs missed out on a lucrative F.A. Cup trip to Newcastle United when they were defeated by three goals to nil by Hendon at Penydarren Park.

Following the departure of John Charles in the summer of 1974, the Club spent the next few seasons drifting along in mid-table before embarking on another mini-revival towards the end of the decade. In 1978, the team, now managed by Emrys Evans reached the last eight of the F.A. Trophy before going down to Runcorn after a replay. The following year the Martyrs finished in the runners-up spot. However, there would be no promotion that year due to the Southern League being reorganised. A feature of the team during this period was their free scoring style. Consequently it came as no surprise when forwards Gordon Davies and his successor Ray Pratt were sold to Fulham and Exeter City respectively.

The first half of the 1980’s were dark days at Penydarren Park as the team drifted along in the Southern League Midland Division. However, the appointment of Lyn Jones as manager in 1985 would prove to be the catalyst for another golden era in the history of Merthyr Tydfil Football Club. The new manager assembled a squad of predominantly young local players and the 1985-86 season ended with the team narrowly missing out on promotion when they finished in third place. The end of the season also witnessed the Club’s first overseas tour when Lyn Jones and his squad, accompanied by former manager John Charles, were invited to Italy to compete in an Anglo-Italian tournament.

In the summer of 1986 a new syndicate headed by local businessman John Reddy took control at Penydarren Park. The new board immediately announced their ambition by securing the services of former England International Bob Latchford. Once again the team finished in third place in the Midland Division after being defeated by eventual champions V.S. Rugby in a ‘winner takes all’ final match of the season at Penydarren Park. The same season saw the Martyrs win the Welsh Cup when they defeated Newport County by a goal to nil in a replay after the two teams had drawn 2-2 a few days previously.

Winning the Welsh Cup had earned the Club the right to compete in the European Cup Winners Cup. The draw paired the Martyrs with Italian side Atlalanta. On 20th September 1987 Merthyr shocked the football world when goals by Kevin Rogers and Ceri Williams saw the Italians humbled at Penydarren Park by two goals to one. Although the adventure ended a fortnight later with a narrow 2-0 defeat in Italy, the name Merthyr Tydfil was well and truly on the football map.

The 1987-88 season ended with the Club being crowned champions of the Southern League Midland Division. This was capped a year later when the Martyrs ran out winners of the Premier Division. One of the key factors in this swift rise up the non-league pyramid was the prolific goal-scoring exploits of centre-forward David Webley. These two seasons were heady days at the Club as during this time the team managed to beat the Maltese National side 2-1 at Penydarren Park and trumped this performance by running out winners in the return match in Malta by a goal to nil.

Merthyr ended the 1989-90 season, their first in the Conference, in a credible ninth place. In March 1991 Lyn Jones resigned and was succeeded by his assistant Wynford Hopkins. After once again finishing the 1990-91 season in ninth place, the team ended the following campaign in a very credible fourth place.. During this time the standing of the Club was such that CSKA Moscow, Red Star Belgrade and Glasgow Celtic all visited Penydarren Park for friendly fixtures.

The fourth place finish at the end of the 1991-92 signaled the end of the golden era at Penydarren Park. Two years later the Club only escaped relegation on a technicality. However, not even the return of Lyn Jones could prevent the Martyrs from being relegated at the end of the 1994-95 campaign.

The following season saw Chairman John Reddy sever his connections with Penydarren Park. He was succeeded as Chairman by long-time supporter Ken Gunter. However, ill-health forced Gunter to retire in 1997, his place being taken by Charles Stanley. After two relatively undistinguished seasons in the Southern League, the team who by now were managed by ex Athletico Madrid manager, Colin Addison, narrowly missed a return to the Conference when they were narrowly piped to the league title by Forest Green Rovers. However, it subsequently emerged that even if the Southern League Championship shield had gone to Penydarren Park that season the Martyrs were ineligible for promotion as the new company Merthyr Tydfil A.F.C. (1997) Ltd. had been trading for less than twelve months.

After a season of uncertainty off the field, in the summer of 1999, Wyn Holloway secured control of the Club. The new owner had ambitious plans for the Martyrs which included building a new 10,000 capacity stadium. However, despite Holloway lavishing a large amount of money on the team, a succession of managers failed to bring success on the field and the Club found itself relegated to the Southern League Western Division at the send of the 2001-02 season.

In the summer of 2002 popular ex-player Andy Beattie was appointed manager. Despite an inauspicious start to the 2002-03 season Beattie’s squad comprising of a mixture of old heads and younger players ended the campaign as champions and so secured a swift return to the Southern League Premier Division..

With the non-league pyramid being reconstructed at the end of the 2003-04 season it was vital for the Martyrs, now managed by Beattie’s assistant John Relish, to secure a top half finish. By April 2004 this appeared to be a certainty. However, a dramatic late slump in form resulted in the Martyrs having to face Western Division Champions, Redditch for the right to compete in the newly created Conference South. Worse was to come as Merthyr gave one of their most inept performances in recent years as the Midlands side ran out winners by three goals to nil.

Whilst all supporters were naturally frustrated with events, that summer the decision was taken to set up a supporters’ trust – ‘Martyrs to the Cause’. As well as trying to support the Club financially the Trust decided to foster young football talent in the Borough by setting up a Merthyr Tydfil A.F.C. youth team.

After seeing the Martyrs lose a play-off penalty shoot-out at Penydarren Park against Hednesford United at the end of the 2004-05 season, John Relish tendered his resignation. He was replaced a few weeks later by former Gloucester City manager, Tim Harris. The following season the Club, for once, enjoyed a successful run in the F.A. Cup. In the First Round Proper of the competition they were awarded a home tie with Walsall, who at the time were managed by former Arsenal star Paul Merson. However, any hopes the Martyrs had of securing a famous giant-killing were extinguished as Walsall ran out winners by two goals to one in a game that was televised live on Sky Sports.

In early 2006 Tim Harris decided to return to Gloucester City. He was initially replaced in the hot-seat by Paul Evans and Jeff Eckhardt before Merthyr Vice-Chairman Paul Sugrue took over as manager towards the end of the season. By now the financial situation at the Club was becoming more and more serious and Sugrue was increasingly forced to include youth team players in the senior eleven. Sugrue left Penydarren Park in the summer of 2007 and was succeeded in the hot-seat by Gary Shephard. Faced with a reduced playing budget, Shephard and his assistant Danny Carter assembled a squad comprising of youth and locally based players, many of whom would be playing at Southern League level for the first time. The new players rose to the task and the Martyrs ended the 2007-08 season in a creditable sixteenth place.

Last season was probably the most difficult in the Club’s chequered history. With owner Wyn Holloway declaring he would no longer continue to put money into the Club, there was a real danger that the Martyrs would fail to complete the campaign. However, a massive effort by Merthyr supporters ensured that this would not be the case. This backs-to-the-wall spirit was replicated by the players who, despite going without wages for weeks at a time, ended the season in eighth place.

In June 2009 the Club went into Administration. In early July the Supporters’ Trust received the go ahead to operate the Club under license until Christmas. Everyone connected with the Martyrs hopes that the proud name of Merthyr Tydfil A.F.C. will be able to continue in the English non-league pyramid for many years to come.