This article appeared on the excellent Ffwtbol blog.

Since it’s foundation in 1994, the detractors of the League of Wales have always made fun of its heavier players. If you’ve got a pot-bellied 38 year old playing full-back, then the League can be no good, they reasoned with some justification. And in recent years things have changed. You now need to be much fitter to play football in Wales’ Premier League, and it isn’t as easy for the old pro to get away with an extra stone around his girth.

There are still some big lads around though, and they regularly take abuse from the watching supporters. They are such an easy target you see. Their affliction is visible, and you can scream abuse without being acused of racism, sexism, or any other-ism. When you take the piss out of a fat bloke, it’s called banter.

The man on the left of this photograph is Andy Mumford. You may have heard of him. He played 62 games for Swansea City until he was released in 2004. I first saw him play for Swansea Reserves in 1999, and he was man of the match aged just 18. He was officially the Welsh Premier League’s heaviest player last season, and is now playing for Afan Lido in the Welsh League (confusingly, a South Walian Division which sits just below the WPL). Aged just 29, his semi-pro career is all but over.

It was easy to take the piss out of Andy Mumford. To opposition supporters he was a lard-arse, a tubber, a fat bastard. But un-beknown to them, he was also a diabetes sufferer. He had overcome the disease as a youngster, and still managed to become a professional footballer. Imagine winning a battle against a disease, and then being abused for the visible symptoms it brings with it.

The man on the right of the picture is Craig Garside, a Bangor City player who showed much promise as a youth player. He joined Everton at the same time as Wayne Rooney, and is another player who has struggled with his weight throughout his career.

The mention of Rooney is instructive. Both players are of similar build. But whereas Rooney’s unique talents have seen him nurtured and cared for by a series of professional health and physiological sporting experts, Craig Garside has been left to his own devices. He is another talented player who realised that in the Welsh Premier League, you actually can have your cake and eat it. Maybe you can get away with that extra stone. If Rooney hadn’t made it with Everton, I guess he would be a similar size to his former team-mate.

Since the arrival of Neville Powell, the bigger Bangor City players have noticably shrunk. Craig Garside has had his best season since shedding the pounds, and most noticable is the newly trim Les Davies, Bangor’s cult centre-forward.

Les Davies, is a local lad who likes his scram and a pint. He’s only young, and his massive girth undoubtedly helps him sometimes on the heavy pitches across the country. A few years ago former Manchester United player Clayton Blackmore spent time as a player and then manager at Bangor, and at the same time he was involved with the national set-up.

In order to help Les’s development, Blackmore took him along with the Under 21 squad, and he was able to train alongside the young professional players from top clubs. He played a game for the Under 21′s and went back to Bangor in the knowledge that his lifestyle would have to change if he was serious about a professional career.

I don’t know Les personally, but I know that if I was presented with the choice of living like a monk in order to play for Yeovil, or pick up (at a guess) £300 a week at Bangor City, and still be allowed to go out with my mates for a shedful before picking up a takeaway, I might also need to consider my options.

I do know Les’s physio personally, and he told me that after a year out with injury, that Davies was committed to improving his fitness this season. I know that he’s been taking extra fitness sessions at the local Athletics track, and I believe it has improved his game immensely. He’s not always guaranteed to be subbed after 75 minutes now.

I saw Jonathon Dunt play in goal for Prestatyn last night, and the abuse didn’t stop. “Too many mince pies, pizza on the way home, you should go to the gym”. All I could think about was how bored Jon Dunt must be to hear all that. What’s he supposed to do? Laugh? Get upset? He did what he always does, he ignored it.

Jonathon Dunt is recognised as one of the LoW’s best goalkeepers. He was in fine form last night, and he’s surprisingly agile for a sixteen stone man. He came to the sport from hockey, where he was a netminder, a position where you’d think it would be easier to be large and successful.

I spoke to Dunt recently via Twitter, and he was quite open in arguing that he wouldn’t improve a lot of he did manage to lose a couple of stone. He feels that apart from a bit of extra speed across the pitch, his weight is largely irrelevent to his game. It’s an interesting point, but I don’t agree with him. I’m sure he’d be more agile, athletic and that he would be a better all round player if he were 14 stone.

The question you have to ask is “is it worth it?” These players are in the game for fun, and they are good enough that they can earn a bit of extra cash. You know they’d still be playing even if there was no money involved.

Lots of us will be trying to lose weight in a few days, and we all know how difficult it is. While we look at these players on the pitch and wonder why they don’t work harder and get fitter and better, the truth is that they don’t need to at this level. There may also be medical factors that we don’t know about, as in the case of Andy Mumford, and maybe these players who succeed against the odds deserve our admiration rather than our abuse.

Photos (top): Les Davies looks for half-time refreshments; (middle) Andrew Mumford and Craig Garside; (bottom) Jon Dunt.