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….