A Chameleon Car and State of the Art Lawnmower.

By the time I head to the Oval on Friday night (18/12) four weeks will have passed since I’ve seen the Canaries play, and I’m suffering withdrawal symptoms. Oh, how I’ve missed the touchline coldness, the ice cube feet, the banter and, most of all, the beautiful game played by the team. Yes, I’ve been watching a few matches on the box but no amount of prima donna football on Sky TV, where every team boasts its own Greg Louganis, and nearly every manager is whingeing about yet another ‘World’s Worst Ever’ refereeing decision, can really compensate for the absence of grass roots football.  

The pitch at  Llanfair Utd. 

When I last saw the side, Mold had been put to the sword and we were flying. Playing well, scoring freely and top of the league, the next match could not come quickly enough. Then the weather, and Storm Desmond hit, and it’s been Christmas Shopping time for me!

Well, that’s not strictly true, as I was well on my way to the league match at Llanfair two weeks ago before receiving the dreaded call to say that it had been called off. I usually enjoy hearing from John Watkins, but this was one call I did not want from the Club President.

With the Chairman and Chairman of Vice as company, the general feeling as we set off for the match was of surprise the pitch had passed its early morning inspection. It had been raining incessantly for two days and if truth be known we had expected it to be called off. Nathan Craig posted photos from the ground on facebook and we feared the worst but, hoping against hope, we continued through the driving rain and were just twenty minutes from our destination when John phoned.  

I have had the pleasure of travelling to matches with the Chairman of Vice on a number of occasions in recent years but he had failed to mention his car was some sort of chameleon prototype as it definitely turned from silver to blue for a few minutes after we heard the news! The chairman was his usual calm self of course, and he even magically produced a flask full of steaming hot Oxo which seemed to cool the hitherto equally steaming Chairman of Vice, and his chameleon car!

On a serious note, having looked at a number of photos of the pitch and discussing it with those who arrived at the ground, the playing surface was in a really bad way and I’m surprised the match was not called off much sooner. Of course none of us can control the weather but the pitch must have been near to unplayable earlier in the morning and, considering the horrendous weather forecast and amount of travelling Cofi players and supporters had to do, I would have to question the match official for not using a tad more common sense. I am not sure the home side would have had any influence on the initial pitch inspection, made at 8:45am, and so in my opinion the official who made the decision certainly got it wrong.

We were supposed to play Goytre in the Welsh Cup the following Saturday but this time common sense prevailed and the match was called off twenty four hours before the tie. This was no surprise after Desmond had been doing his worst for a few days but it was good that, unlike the previous week, Aa timely decision was made and we were all saved from a wasted journey on the crystal maze that is the A470.

The match was put back a week and, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to make such a long trip last Saturday, I had selfishly been hoping all week for another postponement as this would have resulted in the tie being switched to the Oval this week. However, the weather, and Goytre pitch, had improved sufficiently for the match to be played and, as you will all now know, it wasn’t a happy day for the Canaries.

I can’t comment on the match itself but have been told that Caernarfon started well and were the best side in the opening half, although the second period was a very different affair. Getting knocked out of the Welsh Cup is always disappointing and the manager, Iwan Williams, summed it up perfectly in his post-match thoughts:'Going out of the Welsh Cup is a bitter pill to swallow. The Welsh Cup is a very special competition with a lot of history and tradition so I'm bitterly disappointed to have gone out in the way we did.”

Of course there will be some saying that getting knocked out of a cup competition will help the team’s title push but I don’t agree with that, and never have. Promotion to the Welsh Premier League has always been the priority for Caernarfon Town this season but it was still good to hear the manager say how disappointed he was at the Cup exit, and that he didn’t revert to the oft quoted line about how ‘the team can now concentrate on the league’. I can’t recall Bob Paisley ever saying such nonsense when Liverpool were winning everything in the seventies and eighties, likewise Ferguson with United and Mourinho with Chelsea, when he was still ‘The Special One’! So, credit to the manager for this, and also for making it clear how important this weeks’ training session is for the players, with places up for grabs in the team this week.

On a personal note, I had to rely on texts from John Watkin for updates on the score and I have to admit I’ve had better experiences! The photo of Jamie Breese to the left perfectly encapsulates how I felt each time I read his messages!  

Wyn the Groundsman.

The weather has been much better this week and therefore there’s a good chance that the Oval pitch will be ready for the visit of Denbigh on Friday night. There are many unsung heroes behind the scenes at every football club, and at Caernarfon Town, our groundsman, Wyn Owen, is someone who deserves to be put in that category. Everyone who has been to the club in recent years will have seen for themselves how

The Groundsman.

good the Oval pitch looks and, from having spoken with players on a regular basis, visiting teams included, the surface is amongst the best in North Wales and on a par with teams in the top tier of the Welsh Pyramid. This is through the hard work of the groundsman, and whatever help he can get when requested. So, a big shout out to Wyn for his excellent work on the pitch.  

Level Playing field?

This brings me nicely on to a recent headline in a local newspaper which announced that the Football Association of Wales has provided Bangor City F.C. with three pitch covers and a state of the art lawnmower. A very nice gesture by the governing body to help out one of the Welsh Premier League clubs in this way, and I can only assume that it is just the first step towards providing similar assistance to all the clubs in Wales. After all, it hardly seems fair that they should provide such help to a club that attracts large home crowds, and therefore gate receipts, and yet they leave smaller clubs with little or no income revenues to fend for themselves. Good on the Citizens for getting some help but I imagine that the cost of the FAW’s recent assistance would go a long way to helping a lot of clubs survive. I know that Caernarfon Town could do with a new ‘state of the art’ lawnmower so maybe we’ll be receiving a call soon?

Before signing off I just had to mention this photo of Caernarfon's Chairman and President showing real interest in committee member Terry Roberts. The shot mysteriously appeared on my laptop just as I was posting this and I have asked both Arfon and John about the subject of their fascination. Both are adamant that they were trying to help Terry with his coat zip and I suppose we'll all just have to take their word for it....

So, onto Friday and a big test for Iwan and the team as they try and bounce back from last week’s defeat. I know that the manager and his staff will be pulling out all the stops to ensure a continuation of the league form that saw the Cofis hit the top of the league in November. Denbigh are a good side but have hit a poor run of form, losing their last three fixtures, which have included two 1-6 defeats. However, I don’t think we should read too much into this, as they have had a number of impressive victories this season against highly rated teams, including a cup win over WPL side GAP Connahs Quay.

Being the first match for over a month at the Oval, I’m sure there will be a decent crowd under the floodlights and I can’t wait to see the team in action again. Hopefully, the weather will be good with us in the days leading up to the match and if it does start raining heavily again, maybe Wyn could ask the FAW for a fast-track on those pitch covers?

Come on the Town!