Jimmy, what's the latest with the power struggle over at Penydarren?

We were gobsmacked at some of the stories we heard when you visited us last month. Especially given the sums of money that the supporters had raised and the efforts that some had put in.

I agree Crusoe, it's best to remain grounded, especially at the level we're at. Look forward to seeing you in the Southern Premier next season anyway.

Situation remains the same Brian. Our owner and his cronies remain idiots. They are promising the usual and it will come to nothing. They are apparently waiting for the Merthyr Village development planning decision, if it gets the go ahead they will invest in the club. I just don't see it happening.

Owen Money declared at our ex-player's day last weekend that we'll be back in the Conference in two seasons. What a joke! Not a funny one either, there's absolutely no chance of that.

How are things for the Mangos now? From the outside all looks to be going well, you've shot up to midtable safety since Gregan's sacking. Looking good for the future there?

Congrats to JHC and BP on your respective survivals. Hitchin still need a point to be sure. With luck it'll be against a deck-chair bound Merthyr this weekend. Needing something at Corby the following Saturday would be far too much excitement. I have to say that the run in since the middle of February has been brilliant, the best the club has played in years. If we can keep this squad together next season should be a blast.

Sadly — because, should we stay in the Southern League, they're our one and only localish derby — I think Bedford are for the drop. They've got injuries and suspensions up the ying-yang, hopelesly divided management and support has dropped at an alarming rate. Doesn't look good for them.

Considering how far Bedford's ground is from, well, anywhere, I'm not surprised that their crowds tail off when they're doing badly.

For sure, plus the relative success of the Rugby club which is closer to the town's centre, doesn't help.

Cheers AdC.

On the outside things do look good JHC. 5 successive victories is a sequence not seen for a few years, and all with the same squad that couldn't win under Gregan.

It was no secret that the previous management weren't popular with the players. One player was substituted during a game for playing "too much football", another openly told the support that Gregan was the worst manager he has played under. One of Gregan's coaches was regularly heard shouting "good ball" every time the thing disappeared into orbit. All of a sudden the ball spends a bit of time on the deck and our non-scoring forwards start banging them in.

With the right choice of manager, and keeping the nucleus of the squad we have now, I don't see why we can't finish comfortably in the top half next year.

The fear is that with real uncertainty over the financing of the club, the better players will be appearing for the likes of yate, clevedon, chippenham, swindon, gloucester or even yourselves next season.

Apparently, the last accounts shown to shareholders was for the year ending July 06, it's widely rumoured locally that we are in real financial woe, and the budget was cut on at least 2 occasions this season. Clubs 2 steps below us were putting in 7 day approaches for players offering them pay rises. Far from letting supporters know exactly what is going on, the chairman backed out of an open forum night at 30 minutes notice, whilst the CEO won't lower himself to talk to supporters on match days. There are the usual terrace rumours of potential investors being unwilling to step forward unless the current chairman departs.

At the moment securing our safety has put a smile on everyone's face, but there is still real worry for the future. Unfortunately, home gates can fluctuate anywhere between 100-250, and regular travellers rarely number more than 25. Attempts at getting independant suporters organisations going have proved futile. Most of the hardcore would like to see the removal of the chairman, the problem is finding someone with the financial clout to be able to do it.

Will you be at Saturday's game Amor de Cosmos? I shall be making up the numbers in the away support, from what I hear we'll be bringing a decent-ish following, around 50-70 maybe. I'm hoping Hitchin stay up, I found the fans friendly at the home game back in January.

Sounds like our clubs have similar problems, except we know the mess we're in, and the amount. Sums of around £400,000 have been banded about. Not great.

I can't see anyone leaving your club to come to Merthyr. 'Out of the frying pan' would spring to mind in that situation.

Our esteemed and beloved leader Wyn Holloway suggested earlier in the year that he would clear our debts in February, that came and went. Then the goalposts shifted to April, and we're waiting with baited breath. Our future under Holloway seems to rest of the Merthyr Village project, which is never going to get off the ground.

We can't survive as it's going right now, crowds of 220-300 isn't bad compared to some in this league maybe but the income per week doesn't come close to clearing the out-goings and the board just don't know how to rectify the problem.

They don't seem to understand that whilst we're playing rubbish and at a standard that isn't great then people will continue to not bother coming, leaving a die-hard fanbase of about 150 max.

I'm sure it's the same for many clubs at this level mind you.

Will you be at Saturday's game Amor de Cosmos?

Sadly no (it's a long commute from Vancouver.) I'll be in the UK a couple of weeks later and will have to make do with QPR's final game of the season against WBA. A much less meaningful fixture (except possibly for West Brom fans.)

Seventy fans is a good number, I think Hitchin manage about thirty-five to most away games of that distance.

Update after last night ... Kings Lynn 5 - 0 Bashley. The Linnets are now top of the BGP South Prem. Two away games left to clinch the title and automatic promotion. This saturday away to in form 6th place Gloucester (who won 4-0 at home last night) and then away to Merthyr (who are safe from any drop) the following week. Lynn's goal difference is +53 against 2nd place Team Bath's +29.

That would be some trek from Vancouver to Hitchin, Amor de Cosmos. An impressive show of dedication would be required to come all that way for what could have been a relegation dog fight no longer than a week ago!

I shall be taking my camcorder to the game, so if you'd like to see the goals let me know. The quality isn't Sky Sports but it's better than nothing. Let me know!

As for Kings Lynn, they have to come to us last game of the season! We'll hopefully make 'em fight for the the top spot and give them a bit of a fright. They came down to our place towards the end of last season too, their fans were giving us the 'We are going up, we are going up!' chanting - and then they messed it up in the play-offs.

Also this time last season Champions Elect Bath City came to Penydarren Park and we turned 'em over 2-0, midfielder Jon Kift played a blinder and scored twice.

It would be nice to get rid of KL out of the league mind you, if only to take away our longest away trek, up to The Walks it's a fair distance for us.

I shall be taking my camcorder to the game, so if you'd like to see the goals let me know. The quality isn't Sky Sports but it's better than nothing. Let me know!

That'd be great JHC, I'd love to see what you get. I'm sure members of the HTFC board would be interested in looking too, if you feel up to posting there.

Here are the videos I promised ADC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCc1AL2ylI0 - Craig Steins gave Hitchin an early warning of what was to come. His goal (which I bloody missed) was similar to this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAldaCVgvhk - Hitchin's equaliser by Pal Barnes. Good finish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQMeZpRBaCw - Shane Dawe's free kick. Top drawer goal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkV-4dgS74A - Steino's second goal of the game, from a quality Mike 'Crouchy' Jones through ball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0WuTuvInE0 - A Hitchin chance to equalise when the score was 2-1, a good save from our former Wales Under 21 squad goalkeeper.

Overall it was a good game (from Merthyr's point of view), we controlled the entire first half and deserved the 2-1 half time lead. Hitchin came back at us in the second half and they opened us up at least 4 times but poor finishing let them down.

With about 15 minutes left it was all dead and buried for Hitchin when Merthyr broke through the middle from an excellent defence splitting pass from bean-pole striker Mike Jones for Craig Steins to break through and finish well.

And that was that, another season of away trips is over and with Kings Lynn at home to come next Saturday, the excitement might not be over yet as we could deny them the Southern League title and a chance at Conference South football.

As for Hitchin, results elsewhere went in their favour, and their fans and players celebrated once news of the Corby-Bedford and Bromsgrove-Team Bath results found their way through to the players.

Bedford suffered their second successive relegation, and I can't say I'll miss them. At our game up there their fans were unnecessarily snobbish and had a "go back to Wales, you working class pigs" type of attitude about them.

Hitchin was completely different I must say, all the fans I spoke to were very nice, friendly and honest in their appraisal of the game. Not something you get everywhere, but something which should bond non-league teams in similar positions.

My only complaint about Hitchin was the fact that it took the whole of half-time and about 12 second half minutes to get a bacon roll, all the time waiting in the pishing down rain getting soaked. Proper non-league facilities, I suppose, but it's better in some grounds than it is in others!

Bromsgrove have also suffered relegation, falling back down to Step 4 of the non-league pyramid.

Kings Lynn game out of the way next week, we can look forward to a summer of being financial crippled and perhaps threats of closure from our idiot chairman.

We have been promised investment for on the field matters and a push for the play-offs next season. I'll bet on that promise being broken by September and the management will be talking about survival. Happy days.

Thanks very much for the vids JHC, I'll link them to the Hitchin site. Your report squares pretty well with what local fans are saying. We had a lot of play but couldn't finish on the day. Also Merthyr were a bigger more physical team and able to exploit that, a vulnerability of ours for a few seasons I'm afraid. Fortunately, if — and it's a big if — the current team can be held together the prospects for next season look pretty good, better certainly than they have in a long time. The club is poor but debt free, and there's a supporters' trust fund which kicks in about £600 a month to be spent on players' salaries only. I think we'd probably have been relegated without it.

Proper non-league facilities, I suppose, but it's better in some grounds than it is in others!

Heh! Top Field, quaint or ramshackle, your choice? Nothing the club can do unfortunately. The Cow Commons Trust, who own the land, won't let any ground development take place. Been that way since at least the 1950s. It's all very medieval.

See you next year I hope, unless we get moved back to the Ryman League.

Farnborough promoted as champions

P 40 - W 26 D 8 L 6 - GF 116 GA 46 - pts 86

That'll do.