Kev Lloyd, George Michael and Showing the Red Card.

Kevin Lloyd. 

Having ended the last blog by contemplating whether or not Town manager Iwan Williams would replace Toby Jones, who had recently left for Conwy Borough, we didn’t have to wait long for the answer as the manager moved quickly to sign not just a striker but also a defender and a midfielder!

The first arrival was a name from the past, and although slightly surprised, I was delighted when Iwan said he was bringing Kevin Lloyd back to the club. Kev, of course, played for the Canaries for three seasons, signing for former manager Clive Jones during the summer of 2010, and he was a big hit with the supporters during his time at the Oval. A Caernarfon Town supporter through and through, he has been a regular visitor to the Oval since leaving two years ago and although I haven’t spoken at length with him since his return, I’m pretty sure he’s thrilled to be back. I’m hoping to get hold of Kevin soon for an interview to share on here, but for now I’ll use his words from the Oval Ways book to prove just how much he enjoyed playing for the Canaries during his first stint which will give an indication of what it will mean for him to be back:

“It was fantastic to see so many of the lads I know going to the Oval to support the team. Seeing so many of my friends in the Cofi Army at our matches made me very proud and it meant a lot to me!”

Kevin making his return for the Canaries against Buckley.

Kev has played a prominent part in all three matches since his return and done well, which is something the manager pointed out in his comments after the Buckley and Connahs Quay matches. It’s early days yet but the signs are promising that he could strike up a good partnership with Jamie Breese and I believe and hope he can become an important player for the team going forward. 

James Thomas is another former Canary to have returned recently and, if anything, his arrival came as an even bigger surprise than Kevins’. Also known as ‘Smiler’, James played for us in the Welsh Premier League and although it’s been a few years since he left, I do recall that he was a skilful wide man with an excellent left foot. He came on for the final

James 'Smiler' Thomas.

quarter of an hour at Caersws and looked as skilful, and confident, as ever and he certainly gives Iwan a different option on the flanks. I gather ‘Smiler’ has been living abroad recently, although rumours that he’s been working as a George Michael lookalike are yet to be confirmed.

Iwan’s third new addition is Tom Taylor, and although I know very little of him, the fact that he was Player of the Season at Glantraeth in 2013/14 and was reportedly training with a Welsh Premier League club during the Summer suggests he has lots to offer. Having suffered from injury in recent months, the manager has hinted we may have to wait a while to see the very best of Tom as he recovers from injury so it will be interesting to see how he goes. Not rushing back into action too soon will be important and I’m sure Iwan and his staff will manage this in the correct manner. 

The first two months of the season have seen much more activity than usual at the club, personnel-wise, and it’s been interesting to see so many changes. Iwan’s predecessor, Lee Dixon, brought in a virtually new squad to the Oval in his first summer at the club and I think it’s generally expected that a new manager makes wholesale changes when he arrives. Iwan has done things differently to Lee as he kept most of Dicko’s group and added a few quality signings during the off-season to hopefully strengthen it. 

Ellis Healing (above) and Danny Brookwell (below)
have both arrived after the start of the season.

What’s been especially interesting is the way he has dealt with the spate of injuries we’ve had, reacting quickly whenever the squad has been low in numbers and making tough decisions along the way. Looking at the team’s latest match at Caersws, six of the starting line-up were at the club last season, Jamie Breese and Joe Williams were signed during the Summer and the remaining three players have been brought in since the start of the campaign. In addition to this, the three used substitutes were also signed by Iwan, two of whom arrived after the big kick off at Holywell. Injury may have forced Iwan’s hand a bit, although I certainly wouldn’t know, but I also think the volume of recent signing might also be something to do with the team’s difficulties in breaking defences down, which was definitely a problem at the beginning of the season. Certainly, signing players such as Ellis Healing, Danny Brookwell and Kevin Lloyd to add to Jamie Breese and Jamie McDaid suggests that the manager felt we needed more attacking options and in recent weeks I feel we have looked much better going forward. 

Judging from what we’ve seen thus far at the Oval this season, most teams will look to frustrate Caernarfon and hope to sneak a win on the break. Druids carried out the plan perfectly and Gresford also very nearly did but I think the manager has reacted well and definitely has more options available to deal with the problem now. Talking of Gresford, I don’t think I’ve been more frustrated as a spectator than during their visit to the Oval. I’m not normally one to say anything too negative about other sides (in print, anyhow!) but did tweet after the goalless draw that it was frustrating to see teams parking their bus on the pitch and playing for the draw from the very first minute. To be fair to Gresford they defended really well and have an outstanding goalkeeper in Jonathan Hill-Dunt, who kept them in the match with a string of excellent saves. He is also pretty good at helping run the clock down and I had to smile when he replied to my twitter message, saying I should give his side more credit, calling their tactics ‘game management’ as opposed to ;parking the bus’. I will never give a team any credit for wasting time and not trying to at least play some football and if ‘Game Management’ means ‘Time Wasting’ then I might start using this phrase from now on. 

Jamie Breese (above)and Rob Jones (below)
Support 'Show Racism the Red Card.'

Things have definitely taken an upward turn, entertainment wise, since the Gresford match, and I think that in addition to the new signings it also has a lot to do with the attitudes of our opponents. We all know that Iwan prepares his team to play an attacking style of football and the last three opponents, Buckley, Connah’s Quay and Caersws also like to play football. The recent matches against these teams have been entertaining affairs with no less than nineteen goals and whilst I’m sure we’ll see plenty of buses trying to get on the pitch at the Oval before the end of the season, I also believe that Iwan now has the options to find a way to drive them off the pitch! Time will tell of course, but the signs are good thus far.

Before finishing, here’s my rundown on the team’s last three matches:

I really enjoyed the match with Buckley for a number of reasons. A much needed home victory and the return of Kevin Lloyd were the most prominent amongst them but I also thought the players did very well to cope with the early injuries to Gareth Jones Evans and James Bell. 

Already missing a few regulars for the match, the manager was himself forced into action early on, and Jamie Breese dropped back to form a midfield partnership with the manager. This obviously had an effect on the team’s pattern of play but they still managed to play football and did well to get the victory. For once, Buckley manager Tom Taylor stayed in the technical area on the touchline instead of wandering around the pitch but it obviously impaired his vision as his post-match comments on the club’s website include him saying that his side were the better passing team. Really? I wouldn’t agree but his team definitely had a go, which is more than others have done recently. 

I’m afraid I missed the Word Cup tie at Connahs Quay due to work and I’m still gutted about it. Although the team lost after extra time everyone I have spoken to have praised the team and, from all accounts, the Cofis could have won the tie in ninety minutes. The fact that they more than matched a Welsh Premier League side for the third time this season speaks volumes about the quality in the team and having done so with a threadbare squad is even more impressive. Tom Taylor (our player and not the Buckley manager!) made his debut on the night as a late substitute but was mightily close to starting the match in goal, due to traffic problems on the A55 having delayed our number one, Paul Pritchard. Luckily, the Cat managed to make it with around a minute to spare and, despite the ruse, had another excellent match between the sticks. 

Iwan with Tom Taylor, who nearly made his debut in goal!

Joe Williams during the match at Caersws.

The team travelled to Caersws last Saturday and were excellent in a 6-3 victory. Unusually for the hosts, they find themselves bottom of the league and, in all honesty, I thought Caernarfon were by far the better side. Town started well, and got better as the match progressed. Despite Caersws being down to ten men after twenty five minutes, Town had already looked a stronger outfit and were already looking likely winners. To be fair to the hosts, they kept going for the ninety minutes and were a credit to their manager, Graham Evans for rolling up their sleeves until the final whistle. Despite the long journey I always enjoy my visits to the Recreation Ground and the work they’ve carried out at the ground in recent years is impressive. The Bluebirds always extend a warm welcome to visitors and I really hope they can turn things around on the pitch and manage to keep clear of relegation. I travelled to the match with the Chairman Arfon, vice-chair Dylan and the Chairman of vice, who shall in this instance remain nameless for the sake of the club, and have to say that the trip to and from Powys was every bit as enjoyable as the match itself. I could not possibly divulge any of the tales that were shared amongst us on the day but suffice to say that most, if not all of it, is totally unrepeatable. All harmless fun, of course, and another reason why I love supporting the Canaries. 

Town’s victory and other results last Saturday means the Cofis are now top of the Huws Gray Alliance League and whilst it’s still early days in the title race, I think we have a real

chance of being there after the final match of the season next March.
This Saturday, the Cofis entertain Llandudno Junction in the Welsh Cup and I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that it’s about time we had a good run in this competition. Fingers crossed! 

Finally, it's important to mention that the Show Racism the Red Card initiative's Fortnight of Action is taking place up to 31st October and it was great to see both Caenarfon Town and Caersws taking part last Saturday. We all know what the message is and I think it's important to mention it here, and I'm delighted to publish the above photo of the team spreading the message before saturday's match. For more information please visit the official site by following this link: http://www.srtrc.org/home