How would you describe Bangor 1876 to someone who's not familiar with the club?
I’d describe Bangor 1876 as the best thing to happen to football in North West Wales in a long time, a fan-owned club that is part sporting endeavour and part social enterprise. It's a club that is playing well below it’s natural level and loving every minute.

I’d say that being a member is almost a political statement, an expression of cooperativism and solidarity. We, the people who pay to watch football in Bangor, are no longer beholden to the whims of a mysterious owner - we will do it ourselves. Football and the community come first. Everyone is welcome, and we’ve only just begun.

What have been your highlights of the season so far?

Apart from the unexpected glory of winning the half time raffle once at Treborth, I enjoyed that final trip out to Llysfaen immensely. There were a couple of decent 1876 goals scored that day too, and the atmosphere was fantastic, and you could tell that the volunteers who keep clubs like Llysfaen going were made up that we had brought so many with us.

You also follow Sunderland and have blogged about fan engagement on Wearside. Even though Bangor 1876 and Sunderland play at very different levels of football, do you think the two clubs can learn anything from each other?

I think Sunderland fans can learn a lot from the fan-owned football club model as it operates across different leagues and levels of football across Europe. It is clear that if Bayern Muenchen, Athletic Bilbao and Bangor 1876 all operate as democratic members clubs, it’s not just a way of running a club that only works in the lower leagues or for the global brands.

Sunderland fans have become very used to complaining about the way the club is run, but the cycle of unsuitable ownership - either neglectful or under resourced - continues. Once the current lot are gone, we’ll be at the mercy of another rich (or not so rich) man or combination of rich men. To break that cycle involves taking control of the club’s future, not demanding “engagement” from the board of a private limited company or a sole individual. We might get lucky and find a benevolent dictator who will shower the club with money for decades to come. Experience tells me that this is a massive risk. Perhaps the tumult of the coronavirus lockdown will prompt fans to reexamine the need to create a subscription based Supporters’ Trust that could legally take over.

I think Bangor 1876 could learn from Sunderland the importance of myth building. Our iconic players and managers from the past are venerated; each generation is duty bound to learn the names of Raich Carter, Bobby Gurney, Charlie Hurley, Jimmy Montgomery, Marco Gabbiadini, Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips. Football in Bangor has a long, rich and occasionally glorious history which is being carried forward by 1876 against all the odds. Having figures like Les Davies involved is a great start to building the myths that will keep that history alive and fuel a deep love for the club in future generations.

As a Sunderland fan, what do you think of the second series of Sunderland 'Til I Die that was recently launched on Netflix?
I watched the second series when it was released and it was a painful experience, especially as it meant reliving my son’s first season as a fan that included travelling to London for two defeats at Wembley. The focus on the new owners, Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven, was understandable but actually quite disappointing because it took the focus away from Jack Ross’ achievements in putting together a competitive squad in a matter of weeks and because it has reignited the argument between different parts of the fanbase regarding their relative merits as a ownership team. It did show our supporters in a really good light and highlighted the record tier 3 crowd of 46,000 on Boxing Day 2018, which was an amazing achievement for our fans.

As a TV programme, it was a couple of episodes too short (6 rather than the 8 shows in season 1) so that it all felt a bit rushed. A different director took it in a different direction. I just hope it has opened a few Sunderland fans’ eyes to just how horrid a character Charlie Methven really is and made them think about how we might break this cycle of bad owners.

Which Sunderland player would you most like to see playing for Bangor 1876 and why?
I’d love to see Sunderland fans’ favourite Luke O’Nien, star of Sunderland Til I Die S2, ending his playing days in 10 or 12 years time on the shores of the Menai Straights. He’s a bundle of energy with an infectious level of drive and commitment. He’s always one to show the supporters his appreciation and always has time for the kids. I once saw him giving a couple of youngsters his shirt out of his kit bag after our visit to Accrington Stanley last autumn. He’s an absolutely lovely bloke, the best thing to happen to Sunderland in the last two years, and I could see him fitting in well in Bangor.

How have you been coping with the lack of football in recent weeks?
I’m holding up. My general anxiousness has been transferred from the plight of my two clubs’ seasons to the plight of modern civilisation. I’ve been recording a podcast series for the Roker Rapport looking back through the 1989-90 promotion season. We’ve got up to October 1989 in 5 hour-long episodes so far, so we have a long way to go but we have many months to fill. I’ve also been listening to the TwoHundredPercent podcast series “An Echo of Glory”, which looks back at the history of the game over 14 parts.

My work - organising training for social care and NHS staff on behalf of the trade union UNISON - has been challenging and rewarding as our members are those front line workers are facing such an unbelievable situation with the sense of service and duty that will come to define this period.

And there’s been a lot of back garden football played too.