ANTHONY HUGHES | A FANTASTIC FOOTBALL MAN

A look at Anthony Hughes' life in the game that he loved with such passion

The Southern League and football in general has lost a good man with the passing of Anthony Hughes.

His sheer passion and enthusiasm for the game was there for all to see. It came from a lifetime of involvement as a supporter, administrator and even bit-part player.

“Football was always there for me, I can’t remember a time that it wasn’t,” he told David Square in a 2021 interview. “At the age of three or four I would be kicking a ball around at the side of the pitch at Merthyr Tydfil with my dad who was ever-present at the club.

“It meant that I became entrenched in the Southern League; from the late 1960s until I was into my late 30s my team was part of it and I would watch them week in, week out without fail.

“The Southern League has been such a massive part of my life. I was one of those anoraks who would be badgering Dennis Strudwick by telephone on a Tuesday evening for that night’s results in those pre internet and mobile phone days.

“Dennis and I went on to become friends and work together, but I must have been a real pain to him in my teenage years!

“I first became involved behind-the-scenes at Merthyr at the age of 12 when I worked on one of the turnstiles. I did this for a few years before taking over the Matchday Programme and then progressing to become Secretary and on the Board.

“Things came full circle because it then meant that I was able to take my dad to games on the team coach and have him in the Boardroom with me. There was never a time when my dad stopped going to games; he was there through it all, right up until he passed away in 2010.

“I can’t imagine a time on a Saturday afternoon when I’m not watching football and that is something that my dad instilled into me.

“During my illness in 2019 and into 2020 and then throughout Lockdown, I had two years without regular football, which was a particularly difficult time.

“I have many memories of Merthyr. Throughout my childhood it was always a stable club run by local businessmen who were all friends. There may have not been much on field success, but it was always well-run.

“Ken Tucker was Secretary when I started working on the turnstiles. He had started at the club as a player then went on to have a professional career with the likes of Aston Villa and Cardiff City before returning to his hometown club and eventually becoming Secretary. He went on to serve on the Football Association of Wales Board for decades as a well-respected football man.

“Into my teenage years and I would travel on the team coach to away games. I can remember one occasion we were playing at Bromsgrove Rovers on a Tuesday evening. When we got there, the manager at the time, Doug Rosser, told me that one of the players was unable to make it and I would have to be substitute, so he took my scarf off me and gave me some kit instead.

“I ended up sitting on the bench as a terrified 16 year-old, particularly as former England International, Bobby Hope, was running the show on the pitch for the home side.

“The same thing happened again at Alvechurch. I was quite excited this time, but on this occasion, I had to come on and play at left-back for the final 25 minutes! The home side had future top-flight star, Alan Smith, leading their forward line and a player called Phil Harper, who told me in no uncertain terms what he would do to me as soon as I came on to mark him!

“It was a great experience and I played once more, at Milton Keynes. It was the day after my 18th Birthday so I was a little worse for wear. I got 20 minutes this time against opponents who secured their first win of the season.

“We then went through six great years in the Conference, finishing as high as fourth one year and regularly getting crowds of 2,500 – 3,500. We also won the Welsh Cup and got into Europe where was faced Italian outfit, Atalanta, over two legs.

“It was fantastic times, we were big news and featured in all of the newspapers and even on the Saint and Greavsie show.

“The upshot of it all, though, was that the club got into financial difficulties, which became an all too regular occurrence in the years that followed.

“I can recall being banned from the ground for an article that appeared in the programme, only for the owner to sell the club 48 hours later so I never actually missed a match before the ban was lifted!

“There was also time when two different managers turned up to manage the team in a game at Bath City due to wranglings behind-the-scenes. I was Secretary on that occasion and a difficult day was topped off at the end of the game when someone crashed into my car and wrote it off!

“I became Secretary in 1999 and it came with its challenges over the years. It was something of a roller-coaster with various owners at the helm, but eventually a Supporters Trust was formed and they were able to gain control of the club and also, luckily, keep hold of the ground as it was discovered that it was on the site of an old Roman Fort.”

Anthony first joined the Southern League Board some 20 years ago.

“I’d always attend the end of season League AGM as a representative of Merthyr,” he added. “In 2003 I was chatting to John Eastment; he had been with Merthyr Tydfil for a brief time and had been Chairman of the Southern League before moving to live abroad.

“When he returned to these shores, he got involved with the League again as well as Taunton Town and told me about an upcoming vacancy on the Board. I applied for it and fortunately was chosen. It was something that I took to straight away.

“The League Chairman at the time was a gentleman called Doug Gillard. He had a big influence on me; he knew how to fight his corner and had so much strength and determination.

“When he suddenly passed away, Ken Turner took over and he was someone that I got to know quite well. Terry Barrett then stood against him for the Chairmanship and won, so the upshot of that was the Vice Chairman position became available and a year or so later I got it.

“In the meantime we had to find an FA Councillor to replace Ken as both Terry and Brian McCarthy [then Vice Chairman] were ruled out because of their age, so I was elected into the position.

“It was certainly a learning curve and was extremely eye-opening with all of the politics involved, but I persevered with it and grew into the role. I even started to enjoy it!”

It was Anthony’s dream to become Southern League Chairman and he was able to achieve his ambition during the summer of 2022, bringing his many qualities to the role and being an extremely popular figurehead.

“It’s all about the clubs,” he said on numerous occasions. “Everything we do and every decision we make is for the benefit of our Member Clubs.

“There are also a massive army of enthusiasts out there that we need to tap into because volunteers are just as crucial to clubs as money and we have to find a way of getting them into our clubs, just as I did all of those years ago because it can be a fantastic journey.”

And now as Anthony prepares to go on his final journey, we thank him for all that he has done, not only for the Southern League, but for football in general throughout his life in which he did so much for the game that he loved with such passion.

We send our sincerest condolences to Debbie, Victoria and Shaun, and all of Anthony’s family and friends at this most difficult time.