13-1 DEFEAT FOR CRISIS-HIT CLUB
MERTHYR Town FC suffered a humiliating 13-1 defeat yesterday in their first match since 80 per cent of their players were released by the crisis-hit club earlier this week.
The fan-owned Valleys side was plunged into turmoil after major financial troubles came to light amid a boardroom walk-out and the mass release of players.
It meant the club’s youth players were thrust into action for yesterday’s league match against Chesham United, with manager Gavin Williams making a full 11 changes.
The youngsters, most of whom were aged 16 and 17, were 4-0 down inside 15 minutes, eventually reaching half-time 9-0 behind.
A public meeting is due to be held tomorrow to try to get to the bottom of what has gone on and find a way forward. The club is understood to be facing deep financial problems.
Vice-chairman Anthony Hughes is one of four directors to quit in the last week. He said: “What can you say? Merthyr as a club are in turmoil and the details which emerged at the end of this week were echoed far and wide by this humiliation.
“Not that any blame can be attached to the 11 players that proudly donned the white shirts of The Martyrs. The 16 and 17 year olds that were sent to Chesham knew they were lambs to the slaughter before they boarded the team coach.
“Meetings over the next 48 hours will decide the future of this proud club and this debacle can indeed be overcome if tackled correctly.
“Those in charge of the club at present who took the decision to send these young lads owe them a huge debt of gratitude.”
In terms of the match, Merthyr were much-improved after the break and the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for the late consolation goal from young Jacob Fowler.
The players were applauded by both sets of fans at the ground and made a point of thanking those who had travelled to support them in such difficult circumstances.
Fears have spread among those supporters during the past week, with some claiming the club is facing debts from off-the-field costs that have in turn seen budgets dramatically slashed.
But discontent about the running of the club has been rising among regulars since the end of last season when former Wales international Gavin Williams took the club to their highest position since the rebirth of the Martyrs seven years ago, missing out on promotion to the Conference South in a play-off.
Some board members are said to have been unaware of the financial situation of the club until only very recently, and there have been calls for transparency about what exactly has gone wrong.
A Merthyr Town statement released on Friday said: “With regret, due to current financial situation at the club the board have had to look at making significant savings both on and off the pitch. This will hopefully allow us to survive in the short term and rebuild going forward.
“Cashflow at the club has become extremely tight due to lack of home games since October. All avenues of expenditure are being re-evaluated to protect club going forward.”
The statement said that members of the board and manager Gavin Williams met with the players earlier this week.
“They informed the players there was no choice but to cut the playing budget significantly. This has understandably resulted in many of them deciding to leave.
“We would like to thank every one of them for their contributions to the success on field over the years and wish them well in the future. Gavin Williams is confident he will be able to field a competitive team going forward and he is in discussion with players willing to stay.
“Saturday’s game at Chesham will consist of the club’s development players. This will give Gavin time to build a team and give current players time to stay. We ask owners and supporters to be patient whilst we continue to re-evaluate all aspects of the operation. We have five home games coming up soon, and ask you to drum up support and attend in numbers.
“If we all pull together we can overcome our difficulties.”