Forty Five Degrees and a Roman Nose!

There can be only be one place to start and it is of course with the very sad news that one of the club’s keenest supporters, Ron Hughes (photo right), passed away suddenly last week. I assume that most, if not all of those who read this blog are Caernarfon Town supporters and a large majority frequent the Oval regularly. This being the case, there will be no need for me to explain who Ron was as he has been a part of the club for many years and certainly for much longer than the three decades I have followed the team. Although the term ‘part of the furniture’ seems to be overused these days, in Ron’s case it is certainly appropriate. For as long as I remember he has always been at Caernarfon’s matches, both home and away, and could always be found behind the goal the team was attacking. He was jovial and always ready for some friendly banter and my overriding memory of him will be his jocular exchanges with his friend Paul Wills. On some days, their banter would be worth the price of admission alone!

Proof of Ron’s popularity amongst the players, supporters, committee and management team at the Oval and beyond can be seen on the club’s facebook page, where the club’s message of condolences to his family has been viewed by over eleven thousand people. A just tribute to a true supporter and kindly soul who will be sadly missed by everyone involved with Caernarfon Town. 

Forty five degrees in Caersws.

I made the long journey to Caersws with my youngest son, Iwan. He rarely travels to away matches but wanted to see the team ‘on the road’, so, armed with ipad, PSVita, and a picnic box for the young man, and travel sickness pills for me (not really), we made our way down the rollercoaster like A487 and A470. The road was relatively quiet but of course hampered every few miles or so by ‘yet another’ Ifor Williams truck. Someone should start printing stickers with that logo on to sell to the farmers who can sometimes cause queues of Fields of Dreams proportions!

When we arrived at the Recreation Ground, it became obvious early on that conditions were not the best. The pitch being understandably heavy after recent rainfall, and there was an exceptionally strong wind. The corner flag in a particularly exposed area of the ground stood at forty five degrees (photo, left) rather than the usual ninety although I was reliably  informed by our chairman that there was nothing out of the ordinary about it, as this is a stance he regularly uses on Saturday nights.

Gareth Edwards has been an excellent addition to the team.

The afternoon did not start too well as there had been a mix up with the kick-off time and I don’t think Lee was too happy that the team was forced to rush it’s warm-up as a result. Thankfully, he, Mike Innes and Matthew Bishop managed to get the players adequately warmed up for the match, and they responded in style, winning 2-0 after one of their best performances of the season. As had been the case in Holyhead days earlier, we had just eleven fit players available for selection and again they proved more than up to the job, dominating possession and fully deserving of the victory. Jamie McDaid and Steve Lewis grabbed the headlines with their goals but it was Gareth Edwards who was voted the supporters’ man of the match after an excellent display at the heart of defence. A few supporters questioned Gareth’s arrival at the beginning of the season but he has been an absolute giant in defence, and not just in height! He captained Cefn Druids to the Cymru Alliance League title in 2013/14 and was someone I expected great things of. Gareth has more than lived up to his fine reputation and has been an excellent addition to the team.

Lee nominates one of the referees' assistants for an award.

This was not the first time I’ve been to Caersws and I have to say they’re a very welcoming club, although there were a few vocal locals who gave the referee a torrid time. For ninety minutes! To be fair to the man in the middle, a Mr Tom Roberts according to the match day programme, he did not have the best of matches but then it’s an impossible job isn’t it? Every decision is greeted with howls of derision and venom by 50% of the spectators, whilst the other 50% clap and applaud his decision-making. Until the next one goes against their team and then it’s a matter of roles reversed! I hesitate to criticise match officials but if ever there was an award for ‘Dodgiest Decision of the Season’ one of the referees’ assistants at this match would have been in with a shout for flagging Steve Lewis offside whilst standing in his own half! There’s no need for me to elaborate is there? 

Anyway, apart from the big noises in the stand, and someone who kept shouting the words ‘Every Time Ref’ from the vicinity of the home dugout whenever a Town player went near an opponent, it was the perfect away day supporting the Cofis. And Iwan enjoyed himself too, so it was a good day all round! 

Oh, and a quick shout out to whoever put the match day programme together, it was an excellent read, and the best I’ve seen this season. Well done!

An Eventful Week.

When considering that the Cymru Alliance League title was out of the Canaries’ reach after Llandudno’s victory over Penycae on the same day that we beat Caersws, the final week of the campaign proved to be a very eventful one for Caernarfon Town Football Club.

Thursday saw the opening of the newly refurbished Board Room at the Oval and no less a figure than Sir David Brailsford was present to carry out the honours. I’m sure that no-one will need reminding of who David is but suffice to say that he is one of the World’s most respected cycling coaches, and has been responsible for spearheading the track cycling revolution in Britain, being performance director at British Cycling before becoming general manager at Team Sky. To have someone of his ilk at the Oval on the day was a great honour for the club and I hope it is an indication of how far the club has developed in recent years. In addition to this, he has also indicated that he would like to help Caernarfon Town Football Club develop even further, and who knows what can happen in the future with his guidance? It’s such an exciting prospect that I’m trying not to think too hard about it, in case things don’t go as planned, but I am nevertheless quietly confident it will all work out!

There was even more good news for the
club on Thursday when Arfon announced he would be staying on as chairman. Having stated earlier in the season that he would be stepping down at the end of the campaign, I think it’s fair to say that every supporter had been upset at the prospect of seeing him step down and therefore I am equally sure that everyone will be as pleased as I am at his decision to continue the wonderful work he has already done at the club. Having had the good fortune of sitting on the committee throughout the past five years I can say without doubt that he has been the driving force behind the club’s renaissance and I know he is as driven as ever to ensure that the Cofis get back into the Welsh Premier League and that the club can finally become the true community club we are all striving to achieve. These are no small targets for us but I am 100% sure we can achieve both with Arfon leading the way. We already know that he is probably the most photographed man in Caernarfon and so I don’t really want to increase his ego, but if ever a chairman deserves success, Arfon does. Incidentally, although I’m no Richard Birch (Gwynedd’s Best photographer, and friend of Caernarfon Town) I do enjoy taking photographs during matches and as the club’s Press Officer I like taking shots whenever anything newsworthy happens. Thursday offered plenty of this and, whilst I did not want to appear pushy by asking Sir David Brailsford for a few exclusive photos for the club, I knew Arfon would have no qualms about posing for a few photos! Most people feel awkward in front of the camera, but our chairman certainly doesn’t and he was not too shy in front of my lens and told me “I don’t care if my nose looks big, Paul, as it’s Roman!” You can judge for yourself from the photograph below!  

It was also nice to see Lee Dixon at Thursday’s opening, and our now former manager (how odd does that sound?) was responsible in applying for the lottery funding to complete the refurbishment. I had a quick chat with Lee and, although I was unsuccessful in trying to get him to follow Arfon’s lead and carry on as manager, I was really pleased to hear him say that he intends to help us in applying for grants to help develop the ground. He also told me that the club will continue to be a part of him and, coming from someone with links to Bangor, that means a lot! Dicko may be from the wrong side of the Felinheli by-pass but he is most certainly a Cofi now!

'The Bill The Coal Stand'.

No Flashing Lights. 

Another long trip awaited the team on the last day of the season, as they travelled to Rhayader for the final time under Lee Dixon’s leadership. With my son having already made plans of his own I have to say I didn’t much fancy making the trip on my own, and was lucky enough to be given a lift with by fellow committee member Elwyn Jones. Being a former policeman I had hoped he may still have one of those portable flashing lights to put on his roof so that we could overtake every Ifor Williams truck we saw, but alas, he had forgotten it, so we had to suffer the same as everyone else!   

Apart from passing through the town on numerous occasions I had very little knowledge of Rhayader and none whatsoever of their ground. The Weirglodd was pretty quiet when we arrived, with just a few Caernarfon supporters and a dozen locals standing around as the players started warming up on the pitch. There were two stands there, a quite impressive one on one side of the pitch, and a rather weather-beaten looking effort behind one of the goals, which was named the ‘Bill The Coal Stand’. It’s fair to say that both had seen better days but still did the job of offering sheltered seating to spectators and I rather liked the setting, with tall trees surrounding three sides of the pitch. Having said this, it also made me thankful for the excellent stands we have at the Oval! Watching one of the home players marking the pitch just half an hour before kick-off also made me thankful for our excellent groundsman, Wyn Owen!

The match was not a classic, but Town were worthy winners, and they showed plenty of quality, especially in the second half. Whilst walking around the pitch, trying to get a few snaps of all the players, I passed a handful of home supporters who were partaking in some banter with Caernarfon players. There was one in particular who was quick to pass judgement on any stray pass by a Town player, and James Bell was his target as I walked passed. Grahame Austin gave the heckler a quick riposte that seemed to rattle him somewhat and, to be honest, who could blame him? A goal from man of the match Matty Hurdman (left) less than a minute later finished him off, and I didn’t hear a word from him for the remainder of the match. Odd that, isn’t it?

It was a satisfying win that was made sweeter in that the team had given Lee a victory in his final game in charge. To be honest it was nothing less than I expected as most Saturdays over the last three years have more often than not resulted in victories for the Canaries! As Ywain Gwynedd led the players off the field, I wondered how many of the players will still be with us next season? I'd like them all to be there, but only the new manager will know.

And so, what of the future?

In his announcement last week Arfon hinted that the club may be in a position to name a new manager in the next few days. Time will tell if this happens but one thing you can be sure of is that the committee has given very serious thought as to who will be given the opportunity of taking Caernarfon Town back into the Welsh Premier League.

Following Lee Dixon is a massive job but the bar has been raised and the Cofis will be going for it next season!         

I'm sure to be back with another blog soon....