Saw an old photo of a Merthyr Tydfil crowd and it was huge - stacked up on an open bank somewhere. I don't actually like football but it surprised me how popular it must have been in the valleys at the time.
Ebbw Vale played in the first season of the League of Wales in 1992-93. The club then finished 11th before finishing 3rd in two successive seasons to 1997-98. During the years when they finished 3rd the Giles brothers, Paul and David were key members of the team. The manager at the time was John Lewis. They competed in the 1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup where they played Bastia, GAK, Hrvatski Dragovoljac, and Silkeborg. However, they were expelled from the League of Wales before the 1998-99 season began, and promptly went out of business.[1][2] They played their last game against Kongsvinger in the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup. A phoenix club[3] Ebbw Vale Town F.C. was formed in 2007,[4] and played in the North Gwent League until May 2018 when they folded. Southern Football League Champions (1): 1922-23 Welsh Section Champions (2): 1921-22, 1922-23 Welsh Football League Champions (2): 1952-53, 1987-88 Welsh Cup Winners (1): 1925-26 Welsh League Cup Runner-up (1): 1996 Welsh Football League Cup Winners (3): 1927, 1956, 1957 Runner-up (1): 1929 Full name Ebbw Vale Football Club Nickname(s) The Cowboys Founded 1888, re-formed 1907 Dissolved 1998 Ground Eugene Cross Park Ebbw Vale Capacity 8,000
Ebbw Vale AFC would be a good candidate for this video. Won the Welsh Cup back in the 20s, played in the Welsh League. Went out of business in the 90s due to debt they had after playing in Europe.
THIS was brilliant a real insight into grass roots football ⚽ what really winds me up is that poor old Rhyl couldn't pay 175,000 quid then you see donkeys like Casemiro getting 300,000 per week for being crap There should be a fund to help out clubs in trouble No excuses or crap reasons why not The money is there it just goes to the wrong places Bloody hell the amount of money that was dished out during COVID was FEKIN criminal my landlord GOT over 100,000 quid in handouts alone It's criminal these clubs going bust Sorry but it just pisses me off when it shouldn't happen ⚽🥅🏐♥️🎶🤟🎸🌊
Totally agree. I can never understand why people can't see TNS for what they are. A bankrolled non-entity, the polar opposite of the community centered clubs elsewhere in the Cymru League set-up. I've got absolutely no problem with teams playing across borders. I've been watching football long enough to remember Bangor, Caernarfon and others in the NPL, and with how TNS have ruined the Cymru Premier as a contest I feel a certain nostalgia for those times. I do think though that if Oswestry are to have a team in Welsh football it should be as Oswestry. At least Llansantffraid have a team to call their own again.
