Watching my team Cardiff City you expect to be up and down in a matter of weeks,like a bi-polar bear one moment surfeiting on salmon, the next walking on thin ice ready to crack.
So it has been recently, with a welcome victory over Aston Villa (who've spent a lot of money on their team) : our crowd spurred into responding by 3000 Brummies, the return of Sol Bamba excelling as a defensive midfielder and big Ken Zohore causing all kinds of problems for their defenders.
Welsh international James Chester , captain of Villa, did one over-the-top tackle and I joked ' You Welsh bastard!', to which my friend added ' Same ol' Welsh.....always cheating!'
It seemed like a crucial turning-point in our season : Joe Ralls back to his best and we played with more pace without Whittingham ( though he's still a key player after a decade of loyal service).
Typically, it was all dashed less than a week after with an FA Cup defeat v. Fulham and a mere 5000 attendance and only Ralls and Bamba emerging with any credit.
It was sad to see the Cup treated with such disrespect by most of the players and , to a certain extent, our otherwise passionate manager Neil Warnock, who had issued a warning that he'd be selecting almost a reserve side which , together with live tv coverage, ensured that only Wembley dreamers like myself and my daughter would turn up.
Then, away to Brizzle City in the Severnside derby we produced a great result, twice coming from behind to win 3-2.
Warnock may well have got both team selection and formation wrong from the start but, unlike the Cup game he made bold changes which altered everything.
Who knows what will happen next when we play lowly Burton. Everyone's expecting a win, so knowing us.........
Despite all this, I sometimes envy my local club Merthyr Tydfil FC.
When Cardiff were playing in red under the decree of megalomaniac owner Vincent Tan a few years back, I was on the verge of swapping allegiances completely.
If Tan hadn't given in to fan power (because that's what occurred despite his claims to the contrary) , I would've done so.
Now he's too preoccupied collecting football clubs on a global Monopoly board , places where he's greeted with the idolatry he thinks he deserves.
He doesn't come to see us at all, though if we drew a Premier club in a Cup match......
In many ways Merthyr are the opposite of Cardiff, as they're owned and run by the fans themselves.
I know a number of these highly dedicated and loyal fans : ones like John Strand, whose financial acumen has proved invaluable ; Mark Evans who has a wealth of footballing experience and has run the fanzine 'Dial M For Merthyr' for years (long before Rachel Tresize used it for a book title!) ; Phil Howells who still writes match reports for the 'Merthyr Times' free newspaper and Benji, who drinks a fair share of their ale.
These fans are special, as is my friend Roger Lane, once Head of English and an Adviser, now retired and such a fanatical Martyr that he travels to almost every away game.
He seems to know everyone at the club, from fans to ex-manager's dad, to parents of younger players.
He's also an ex-Bluebird, who I used to bump into on the way to Wembley, when it became a yearly pilgrimage.
He became disillusioned with everything about CCFC and now even sponsors a squad player at Merthyr.
With a new clubhouse, 3G pitch and young , local manager in Gavin Williams, it seems like the glory days could return.
I really like the idea of a fan-owned club, even is it's the 51% which most Bundesliga teams ( including the incredibly successful Borussia Dortmund) stipulate. It brings a degree of involvement which a distant owner cannot and takes away the crazy system of huge loans which has pushed Cardiff City to the brink in the past, especially with Sam Hammam.
Swansea, with their new American owners, are finding it very hard to reconnect with supporters who feel they have been let down.
At long last, the Bluebirds have a manager to match the fans undeniable commitment and , I believe, a future one in Craig Bellamy, who has been given responsibility to develop young players.
While I love chatting with friends at Penydarren Park, I would always miss the atmosphere which a game like the Villa one can generate.....one which live television cannot imitate.
My poem tells of the present mascot of Merthyr, Martha the Martyr, who replaced Shaggy the Sheep,whose name was deemed to be a bad influence on younger fans.
MARTHA THE MARTYR
Let me tell yew
Martha the Martyr's in honour
of no ordinree zebra.
It int the crossin
down by Caedraw flats,
or any other f' that matter.
It's coz of an excaped one
back when-a Martyrs begun
before even I woz born.
Coz yew're my gran'son
I'm tellin yew this, see,
it's all part of ower istree.
Got out of a circus,
wen' on the run,
ended up in Pen'darren.
Somebuddy seen it grazin
on a football field :
thought they wuz allucinatin!
So if yew think it's weird
tha Merthyr got a zebra f'r a mascot,
instead of a squirrel or pijin,
jest remember tha first one
the original Martha,
not a striped donkey, but genuine.
So it has been recently, with a welcome victory over Aston Villa (who've spent a lot of money on their team) : our crowd spurred into responding by 3000 Brummies, the return of Sol Bamba excelling as a defensive midfielder and big Ken Zohore causing all kinds of problems for their defenders.
Welsh international James Chester , captain of Villa, did one over-the-top tackle and I joked ' You Welsh bastard!', to which my friend added ' Same ol' Welsh.....always cheating!'
It seemed like a crucial turning-point in our season : Joe Ralls back to his best and we played with more pace without Whittingham ( though he's still a key player after a decade of loyal service).
Typically, it was all dashed less than a week after with an FA Cup defeat v. Fulham and a mere 5000 attendance and only Ralls and Bamba emerging with any credit.
It was sad to see the Cup treated with such disrespect by most of the players and , to a certain extent, our otherwise passionate manager Neil Warnock, who had issued a warning that he'd be selecting almost a reserve side which , together with live tv coverage, ensured that only Wembley dreamers like myself and my daughter would turn up.
Then, away to Brizzle City in the Severnside derby we produced a great result, twice coming from behind to win 3-2.
Warnock may well have got both team selection and formation wrong from the start but, unlike the Cup game he made bold changes which altered everything.
Who knows what will happen next when we play lowly Burton. Everyone's expecting a win, so knowing us.........
Despite all this, I sometimes envy my local club Merthyr Tydfil FC.
When Cardiff were playing in red under the decree of megalomaniac owner Vincent Tan a few years back, I was on the verge of swapping allegiances completely.
If Tan hadn't given in to fan power (because that's what occurred despite his claims to the contrary) , I would've done so.
Now he's too preoccupied collecting football clubs on a global Monopoly board , places where he's greeted with the idolatry he thinks he deserves.
He doesn't come to see us at all, though if we drew a Premier club in a Cup match......
In many ways Merthyr are the opposite of Cardiff, as they're owned and run by the fans themselves.
I know a number of these highly dedicated and loyal fans : ones like John Strand, whose financial acumen has proved invaluable ; Mark Evans who has a wealth of footballing experience and has run the fanzine 'Dial M For Merthyr' for years (long before Rachel Tresize used it for a book title!) ; Phil Howells who still writes match reports for the 'Merthyr Times' free newspaper and Benji, who drinks a fair share of their ale.
These fans are special, as is my friend Roger Lane, once Head of English and an Adviser, now retired and such a fanatical Martyr that he travels to almost every away game.
He seems to know everyone at the club, from fans to ex-manager's dad, to parents of younger players.
He's also an ex-Bluebird, who I used to bump into on the way to Wembley, when it became a yearly pilgrimage.
He became disillusioned with everything about CCFC and now even sponsors a squad player at Merthyr.
With a new clubhouse, 3G pitch and young , local manager in Gavin Williams, it seems like the glory days could return.
I really like the idea of a fan-owned club, even is it's the 51% which most Bundesliga teams ( including the incredibly successful Borussia Dortmund) stipulate. It brings a degree of involvement which a distant owner cannot and takes away the crazy system of huge loans which has pushed Cardiff City to the brink in the past, especially with Sam Hammam.
Swansea, with their new American owners, are finding it very hard to reconnect with supporters who feel they have been let down.
At long last, the Bluebirds have a manager to match the fans undeniable commitment and , I believe, a future one in Craig Bellamy, who has been given responsibility to develop young players.
While I love chatting with friends at Penydarren Park, I would always miss the atmosphere which a game like the Villa one can generate.....one which live television cannot imitate.
My poem tells of the present mascot of Merthyr, Martha the Martyr, who replaced Shaggy the Sheep,whose name was deemed to be a bad influence on younger fans.
MARTHA THE MARTYR
Let me tell yew
Martha the Martyr's in honour
of no ordinree zebra.
It int the crossin
down by Caedraw flats,
or any other f' that matter.
It's coz of an excaped one
back when-a Martyrs begun
before even I woz born.
Coz yew're my gran'son
I'm tellin yew this, see,
it's all part of ower istree.
Got out of a circus,
wen' on the run,
ended up in Pen'darren.
Somebuddy seen it grazin
on a football field :
thought they wuz allucinatin!
So if yew think it's weird
tha Merthyr got a zebra f'r a mascot,
instead of a squirrel or pijin,
jest remember tha first one
the original Martha,
not a striped donkey, but genuine.
RSS Feed
