Welsh Premier League Football - Clubs meet in Wilcox memorial

TWO of the most successful clubs in the history of the Welsh Premier League were Cwmbran Town and Barry Town, both of whom were managed by the late, great Tony Willcox, writes Terry Daley.
It’s fitting then on Monday night (August 3, kick-off 7.30pm) that the pair meet at Cwmbran Stadium in a memorial match for Tony, who died so tragically young at just 46 years young on 11 April 2003.
Initially as a staff member of this newspaper and then a freelance football writer, I covered Cwmbran both domestically and in Europe for all of their 15-season stint in the top-flight WPL– including virtually every one of their matches home and away during the final five.
The highlights were the 1-0 win at Llanelli’s Stebonheath Park in May, 1993, when Wayne Goodridge’s 88th-minute goal gave the Crows the inaugural WPL title, the subsequent 3-2 home European Cup victory over Cork City the following September – Welsh football’s first game and win in the competition – and watching Cwmbran play the world-famous Glasgow Celtic in a UEFA Cup front of over 48,000 at Parkhead in 1999.
There were many more stand-out moments and, obviously, I got to know Tony very well and I’m previously on record as describing as the “best man I’ve ever met in football.”
So when I was first approached to write a tribute to Tony, my immediate thought was to tell you what a great guy he was, how you wouldn’t find a better man in football, how everyone liked him and how he was rightly known as ‘Mr Cwmbran Town.’
Then I began to realise what a waste of time that was. Why? Well the answer to that question is very easy – you already know all that!
So let me tell you about something you won’t know – and that is he and I didn’t always see eye to eye on football matters – especially if I’d criticised his side’s performance!
I’m revealing it because how else would you know that despite this, Tony never once failed to return my phone calls, never once refused my interview requests and never once forgot to ask how my family was – even though he’d never met a single member of it.
I can count the fingers of one hand and have a couple remaining if I care to recall just how many managers who did the same.
On another personal note, I was very much looking forward to meeting and greeting many of the 1992-93 League of Wales title-winning side again – some of whom I’ve not met since they left the club over the next few seasons.
However I’m currently testing the food at the Royal Gwent Hospital following a minor operation, although my thoughts will naturally turn to tonight’s events.
I’m not a former Cwmbran Town player and none of them are football writers – yet we all share one thing in common.
And that is we all agree that the late, great Tony Willcox was unique and that we are all blessed that he spent time with us.

Macwhirter Welsh League Menu

Welsh League