Breaking With Tradition.

The club broke with tradition two weeks ago when we held the end of season Presentation Evening in the Board Room and, having initially had my reservations about it I must say it worked out really well. Visitors to this blog will already be aware that we have recently refurbished the room and, for a number of reasons, the committee felt we should hold a low-key event to celebrate last season’s award winners.

It so happened that the Oval was also hosting the Bob Owen Memorial Shield Final on the same night and therefore it made for an interesting, and busy, evening as it meant we could all watch some football in addition to catching up with the squad. Incidentally, Llanberis Reserves edged Aberffraw in a 4-3 thriller to secure the trophy and, from a personal point of view, I was really pleased for the Darans. I know one or two who are involved with their team and it was good to see them win the trophy.

Anyway, onto the presentations and winners. First up was the Players’ Player of the Year Award and this went to Grahame Austin. The captain has enjoyed another excellent season at the heart of the team’s defence and, just to re-affirm that it’s not just his team-mates that appreciate his qualities, the committee also voted him our Player of the Year. I had voted for Darren Thomas, mainly due to the fact that he is one of those players who always seems to make things happen in a match. A real playmaker with an eye for goal, Darren scored some memorable strikes last season and, of course, the one he blasted past The New Saints’ Paul Harrison in the Welsh Cup in November will forever be amongst the best goals seen at the Oval, or anywhere. That’s not to take anything away from Grahame though and to be fair, I would definitely have voted for him if there was an award for the Most Intimidating Voice in the Team! Seriously….

Lee 'Bigging Up' Kevin Roberts.

The outgoing manager also presented an award for his player of the season and Lee decided the recipient would be Kevin Roberts. This came as no surprise as Kevin had another fine campaign in midfield and, I think it’s fair to say, his all action style and obvious commitment to the cause have made him one of the supporters’ favourite players. I am sure Kevin would have been thrilled with the manager’s recognition but maybe not so thrilled at the way Lee introduced him: “When he came to us three years ago, he could hardly kick the ball straight, but we’ve worked with him, and look at him now!” Hardly ‘bigging’ Kev up, but it was typical Dicko (phot, left).

Jamie receives his Top Scorer Award from Arfon.

Jamie McDaid was presented with the Top Scorer trophy and I was delighted for him. I don’t believe Jamie was given a fair chance at Bangor when he was with them and it’s great that he has made such an impressive return to the Oval.  It goes to show that local players have enough ability to thrive at a high level of the game in Wales when they are given a real opportunity and Bangor’s loss has been  our gain. I hope last season was the first of many for Jamie with us and I truly believe he has all the tools to become a big player in the Welsh

Premier League, which I am convinced he will one day prove with us. And am I the only one who sometimes thinks of how that Welsh Cup match with TNS could have panned out if Jamie had been on the field?

Paul Pritchard. In my opinion, the best
goalkeeper in the league. 

Finally, Paul Pritchard was also given an award in recognition of him setting a new league record of fifteen clean sheets in one season. Paul is, in my opinion, the best goalkeeper in the league, and fully deserved the recognition for such a fantastic achievement.

Although I really enjoyed the evening, it was also a rather bittersweet occasion as it signalled the end of the Lee Dixon era at the Oval. As a supporter of the Cofis I will always be grateful to him for bringing so many good times to the club, and putting us back on the footballing map. Five trophies in three seasons is an impressive record and probably more than we could have hoped for when he was appointed in 2012. I have no idea if Lee will return to manage in the future but I hope he does. He has a huge network of contacts in the game that reach beyond Gwynedd and will undoubtedly succeed wherever he goes. The only thing I hope is that he stays clear of that team in blue that is so well supported by the residents of Anglesey, as if he dies eventually go there, we may be in trouble!

The Oval hosted its final match of the season last Saturday when Menai Bridge faced Llanllyfni in the Meditel Gwynedd Cup Final. I enjoyed the first half but missed the second as I conducted an interview for the Caernarfon Town website with Nathan Craig. I’m not sure Nathan will have enjoyed missing the second half of the match as a result of answering my questions, but do hope that supporters will have enjoyed reading about his first year in charge of the club’s Football in the Community initiative. Here’s the link for those who may have missed it: http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/caernarfontown/News/view/887191

I’ll be posting the second part of his interview on the website soon, with the third part being an

Sky would call Nathan a 'Marquee Signing' for the Cofis,
and they'd be right.

exclusive for the blog, and both will include Nathan’s thoughts on last season.

Talking of Nathan, I’m sure I wasn’t the only supporter to be thrilled that Nathan has signed a new contract to stay at the club. Because of his excellent work with the Football in the Community project, it is sometimes easy to forget that he is also a quality footballer. People may, or may not, have agreed with Lee Dixon playing Nathan as left back last season but one thing that can’t be denied is that he had an excellent campaign and looked comfortable in whichever position he played. In my opinion, he is amongst the top players outside the professional game in Wales and to have secured his services so early in the summer is a huge boost to the Canaries. It also shows how much faith he has in the manager, which is another positive sign.   

Unsung Hero.

The Oval looking impressive after the final match of the 2014/15 season. 

It’s been a peculiar end to the campaign with matches still being played at the ground five weeks after Town’s final home encounter of the season. However, what has become apparent to me is that the Oval seems to have finally recaptured some of the magic of bygone years in that teams have enjoyed and appreciated playing their finals on Caernarfon’s ground.  I remember visiting the ground with my father nearly forty years ago when the team my grandfather was chairman of, Mountain Rangers, faced Llanfairpwll in a Junior Cup final. I was heartbroken when my Taid’s team lost by a solitary goal, but the Oval made a huge impression on me then, and I hope the youngsters who visited during the three recent finals will have been as impressed as I was.

Wyn Owen deserves great credit for his hard work on the pitch.

I have spoken with a few players and staff of teams that played in the finals and every one of them has been complimentary about the pitch, and the ground itself. Some had not been to the Oval for many years and were impressed by what they saw, and I really hope that representatives of the Gwynedd will decide that Caernarfon Town’s ground is THE venue to play their showpiece finals in the future.  

Whilst on the subject of the pitch, the club is lucky to have a groundsman who takes real pride in the quality of the playing surface and it is great credit to Wyn Owen that the pitch was in such excellent condition at the end of the season. I try to get to most away matches with the first team and can safely say that there are many, many clubs in the Cymru Alliance League, and indeed Welsh Premier League, who would love a pitch like ours. Thanks Wyn, an Unsung Hero at the Oval.  

Goal of the Season.

Those on Twitter and Facebook will probably know that Malcolm Allen will be announcing the winner of Sgorio’s Goal of the Season this Sunday on the S4C programme CLWB. It goes without saying that Darren Thomas’ unforgettable netfinder against The New Saints in November is amongst the contenders and wouldn’t it be fantastic of Malcolm announces the Cofi Messi’s goal as the winner? Obviously I‘m biased but, when you consider the opposition, and where Darren was when he took possession of the ball inside the centre circle before starting his run, then he must surely be amongst the favourites?  Here’s the link to the contenders, including Darren’s strike:  http://www.s4c.cymru/sgorio/e_/2015/gol-y-tymor/

Pre-Season Fixtures.

Arfon closes the dressing rooms after the final match. 

We received a list of our pre-season fixtures earlier this week from the manager, Iwan Williams, and was impressed to say the least. There will be three matches against Welsh Premier League opposition, including one against the Champions, The New Saints, a few local derbies and a trip to Barry Town. Iwan will use the trip to South Wales as a team-bonding exercise, and has already booked the squad to train at the FAWales Headquarters, Dragon Park, Newport. The schedule has a  different look to those of recent pre-seasons and it will be interesting to see how it all pans out. Nine matches have been pencilled in, with training sessions also being held in between and so we can be sure that the players will be fit and ready for the opening match of the season in August. Here’s the schedule, and the manager’s thoughts on how he put it together: http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/caernarfontown/News/view/887377

Ground Improvements Continue.

Work continues on the ground, with the new perimeter wall, terracing and disabled area progressing well. 

The Oval looked good last season but will look even better at the start of the next campaign, with lots going on now, and over the summer months. Committee members and supporters will be embarking on a concentrated effort to carry out the work from next Saturday, 23^rd May and therefore if you fancy joining in, please turn up on the day, and on following Saturdays to give us a hand. 

I have been informed that the Chairman may thank everyone by supplying cups of tea and coffee, and may even stretch to letting some of us sit in his new car(left), but we’ll see….

  

      

One Club, Living Within Its Means.

When I wrote my last blog, all of three weeks ago, we had just announced the identity of the new manager and it was still big news in local footballing circles. I am pleased to see that the initial positive response to the appointment has continued and Iwan himself has certainly made a good start to his tenure at the Oval.

Iwan will ensure a 'One Club' Philosophy 
at the Oval.

He very kindly agreed to answer a few questions for me recently in which he shared his thoughts on succeeding Lee Dixon and also his philosophy on the game. It was an odd feeling putting the questions together as I had only ever previously done this for Lee in the past.  I knew how important it was to give Iwan a platform to share his plans and found it quite difficult thinking of how best to do this. There was no need to worry however, as the new manager was more than up to the task of making the most of my limited interviewing skills. I was really pleased that he had decided to answer everything in great detail and in fact he came across in exactly the same way as he had when applying for the post. During his initial interview with the committee Iwan had spoken passionately about building ‘one club’, where the first team, the Academy, Football in the Community and the supporters become equal parts of Caernarfon Town Football Club. He had printed an impressive presentation of his plans to develop the club and how he will be going about doing this. Throughout that initial conversation, the idea of building that ‘one club’ mentality shone through and fit in perfectly with what the committee has always tried to do.

Iwan  (top, third from left)attended
an Academy session recently.

I know that Iwan will do his very best to foster this philosophy and believe he will be successful in achieving his goal. The signs are very encouraging as he has already visited the Football in the Community soccer schools and Academy sessions (photo, left) and I was also pleased to see him at the recent Gwyrfai League junior football tournament at the Oval. Furthermore he will also be taking part in a question and answer session with the Canaries Club on Tuesday, 5^th May at Caernarfon Football Club. The meeting is open to members and non-members alike so if you want to ask the new boss a question, or just want to hear what he has to say, head over to the club for a 7pm kick off.  For those of you who want to know more about the Canaries Club, please visit their website at: http://clwbcanariesclub.wix.com/clwb-canaries-club

It has already been four weeks since the last match of the Canaries’ 2014/15 season and, despite the lack of action on the field in this time, there has been plenty going on at the club. As already mentioned, we held the Gwyrfai League tournament three weeks ago and it was wonderful to see so many youngsters playing football on the Oval for the whole weekend.

The Saturday saw the under 7’s and 9’s age groups play, and there were five small pitches set up on the main pitch, with matches being played all day. I have been to a few similar events in the past and they have always over-run, sometimes by two or three hours! Therefore, it was with trepidation that I agreed to referee some of the matches but to be fair to the organiser, Barry Evans, everything ran  smoothly and ended on time, which must be a first for junior football, not just in this area, but everywhere!

The football was excellent and I enjoyed the refereeing but, as always, there was the obligatory ‘prowler’, who coaches his team by shouting at them whilst walking on the pitch throughout the match, and there was also one coach who wanted to have a running argument with me as he thought I had mistakenly awarded a throw-in to the opposing side (I kid you not!). And here’s me thinking FAW guidelines state that junior football is non-competitive and should be about the development of the players above all else?

Waunfawr Under 11's were thrilled to meet Nathan Craig
at the Gwyrfai Junior tournament..

Anyway, the weekend was a great success and I know that the team I help coach (of sorts!), Waunfawr Under 11’s, had a wonderful time on the Sunday. We may not have won our matches, but the boys really enjoyed themselves, which is all that matters. They were thrilled to have the opportunity to play on the Oval and one of their highlights was meeting Nathan Craig on the day (photo, left).

In fact, they had so enjoyed it that Nathan agreed to pop over to run a training session for them this week. Those who have come across Nathan will know that he is a great guy, very friendly and unassuming, and it will come as no surprise to you that all the youngsters enjoyed his session on Wednesday evening. The work he does for the Football in the Community Project is such an important part of what we as a club are all about and, judging by what I saw this week, we could not wish for a better person to be working with the community on our behalf.

Work will be continuing at the Oval during the summer, with lots going on at the Hendre End. The rebuilding of the perimeter wall that collapsed during the Welsh Cup encounter with The New Saints in November is a priority and seats in the stand will be replaced by new, more colour co-ordinated seats, whilst the terracing between the dugouts and Hendre End will be rebuilt and strengthened. Hopefully, the work will be completed before the start of next season and I can’t wait to see how the ground will look on the day of the big kick off! 

As always at this time of year, the rumour mill is going into overdrive, with all sorts of

names being mentioned as being on their way to the Oval this Summer. Only the manager can confirm whether any of the names being mentioned around town will actually end up playing in the yellow shirt next season but one player I know will not be lining up again for us is Ywain Gwynedd.

I had heard that Ywain was thinking of hanging up his boots at the end of the season but had hoped that it was just another of those aforementioned rumours going around. However, when I read his message on facebook that he was retiring from the game I was, to use footballing parlance ‘gutted’. Yws arrived at the Oval as

one of Steve Smith’s first signings in 2010 and during the past five years he has been a major part of the club’s resurgence on the field. I said many times last season that the team performed better when Ywain was in it and I stand by that. His never say die attitude on the pitch, together with impressive fitness levels, gave the team real energy and he could always be relied upon to score goals on a regular basis. Two such netfinders from last season were amongst my highlights of the year. The first was his late winner at Flint, when he rose at the far post to meet a corner and headed into the roof of the net. The match had seemed destined to end in a draw until Yws entered the fray from the bench and he certainly made the difference on the day. The second memorable goal from last term was the one he scored against Llandudno at the Oval, his extraordinary bicycle kick from just inside the penalty area sailing over the keeper and into an empty net. It was so typical of Ywain, popping up with a goal in an important match, and he is certainly going to be missed next season. Incidentally, Yws has agreed to answer a few questions for the blog and so you can expect a feature on the Cofi Keegan soon!

Ywain Gwynedd scores the winner at Flint
this season.

In regards to non-Caernarfon Town related news, I was surprised that Bangor City had originally been refused a Domestic Licence by the FAW due to an unpaid tax bill of £27,000. Of course they have successfully appealed against this and to be honest I expected nothing less. I am also pretty sure the FAW would have had everything crossed that the problem could be solved too as the Citizens are the biggest draw in the Welsh Premier League and their relegation could have proved disastrous to the league. Exactly how they managed to get into so much financial difficulties puzzles me and I can only think that the purse strings may be tightened somewhat as a result of their near-miss.

Thankfully, there are no such problems at Caernarfon and I hope there never will be. Sustainability is a key word at the Oval and, having been close to folding five years ago, the committee will ensure that the club continues to live within its’ means.  

I’ll be back with another blog in the next few days, when I’ll be taking a look at Caernarfon Town’s end of season presentation night, which was held at the Lynne Jones Room at the Oval on Friday, 1^st May.

I may also be casting an eye over a local reporter’s Cymru Alliance team of the season, and asking why he only picked three Town players in it….