Fanzines

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M for Magnificent

Merthyr Tydfil, Dial M for Merthyr

I have a friend who found the perfect man so she married him. He professed to liking opera and classical music, and hating sport. After marriage it became obvious that this had all been a pretence, he still is an ardent Ipswich Town fan. This has very little to do with Merthyr save that this friend laughed out loud at the title of this particular fanzine. The man who thought up the title deserves a medal - anyone who can make Elizabeth see the funny side of football deserves a medal struck in gold. Indeed Dial M for Merthyr is 31 pages of pure gold. It is difficult to review a magazine devoted to a club whose position in the league I had to look up. But since reading it I have had to check the Merthyr result; I might even try to get to a game. Every fan has gripes about the way their club is run, but this lot seem to expect the bad times and in doing so enjoy the good times even more for being unexpected. They deal with the repetetive change of management with a phlegmatic acceptance.

The article on the Merthyr fans’ trip to watch Wales play Denmark in Copenhagen is so evocative that I felt hungover with them, the exhilaration, the drinking, the sheer delight, the drinking, the confusion of whether paying for drinks by Visa does really mean they’re free, more drinking and finally the game itself. It appears that they had more trouble with Cardiff fans after the game than with anything else. The only people who cause trouble between Welsh fans are the Cardiff fans, it does seem likely. The serious part of this issue is an exchange of letters dealing with the arrangements at the game against Forest Heath in April 1998 which put paid to Merthyr’s championship hopes. Whilst I didn’t understand initially, the letters were self-explanatory and told a story of trial and error, but mostly error on the part of Forest Heath officials (when they could be found). Merthyr didn’t deserve to lose out that way.

Dial M for Merthyr says it represents the fourth best club in Wales (and we all know who comes first) but if the fanzine continues to be written like this it may well even challenge Red Passion one day. Thank God Merthyr won’t challenge Wrexham’s position.

Mary Lewis