Blue Tinted Glasses, Spandau Ballet and Nicky John!

After three barren months and much deliberation I have decided to give the blog another season, although it seems it may have to be a monthly effort from now on unless, that is, someone can create a couple of forty eight hour days every week. 

I began the blog in January 2015 as a way of sharing my views on all things Caernarfon Town and our battle to get back into the Welsh Premier League. It was also a way of filling the void left after I’d published my Oval Ways and Treble Days book. Looking back at that first year of the blog, I somehow managed to write thirty one entries and it’s been no coincidence that the continued success of the team, and increasing pressures of my media work for the club, has seen me publish less blogs year on year, although I would certainly say that my individual writing efforts have become more substantial as time has gone by. 

Of course, the club’s long-held ambition of returning to the top tier of Welsh football became reality after the team secured promotion last April and, as expected, we’ve had to take another massive step forward where professionalism is concerned. I’m referring mainly here to matters off the field and the FAW’s expectations of all clubs playing in their flagship competition. 

I won’t bore you with details of all the extra media boxes I have to tick but, suffice to say, it has all become much more intensive in recent weeks. As a volunteer it can sometimes be hard to keep on top of it all but it’s always worth remembering that this is all part of what everyone involved in the club has worked so hard to achieve over a number of years. 

This has all meant that the blog has taken a back seat in recent months and so, having explained the reasons for my self-imposed three month sabbatical from it, I’ll get back to business and take a look at things from behind, in front and beside, the scenes at the Oval. If you’re still with me, here goes….

The Squad.

One of the first things that crossed my mind after the final match of last season was whether or not we’d be seeing an overhaul of the squad over the summer months. I didn’t think we would need to because the championship winning group of players we had was already very strong and capable of making the step up, although I think it was pretty obvious that we’d need a larger squad to meet the demands of the top tier. As it turned out, it seems that Sean was of the same opinion and he hinted very early on that he was sticking with most of his squad for the challenge ahead, with the possible addition of four or five new players. 

To quote Spandau Ballet and cut a long story short, the manager brought five new faces to the Oval whilst Kevin Lloyd and Sean Cavanagh departed for pastures new. Ross Stephens and Ben Maher were first to join and if I’m honest I knew very little of them, apart from that they had been members of Prestatyn’s squad last season. The next two signings were much more familiar to me, as both Sion Bradley and Cai Jones joined from Porthmadog. Cai, of course, played for us under Lee Dixon and has always done well at Cymru Alliance League level, whilst Sion is someone who has  impressed me in our matches against Port, and also I should add here that a friend of mine, and a well-known Caernarfon supporter, had been telling me for months that he hoped we’d sign him because he was ‘the real deal’. Finally, Sean brought in Nic Gould as the new number two goalkeeper replacing the injured Liam Jones.

Pre-Season Scramble.

When Sean sent me the pre-season fixture list he’d put together it looked a pretty decent one, with interesting-looking matches against Conwy Borough, Morecambe U23, Colwyn Bay, Avro, Portadown and Afan Lido to look forward to. However, things did not quite go to plan and no less than three of our opponents pulled out of their visits to the Oval, which was disappointing to say the least. I know that these things happen from time to time but I cannot remember so many teams pulling out of confirmed friendlies and I cannot believe that we as a team would have let down any clubs we had been scheduled to visit. Luckily, Oswestry, Porthmadog and Holyhead Town helped us out and stepped into the breach but it was a disappointing state of affairs and unfair on Sean having to scramble around for opponents at short notice. 
The Big Kick Off.
The footballing Gods, or Gwyn Derfel and the FAW, were with us when the fixture list was announced for the new season as we were handed a home fixture on the opening weekend and I found it interesting that our opponents at the Oval would be Cefn Druids. Huw Griffiths and his side benefitted from our failure to achieve the Domestic Licence two years ago and gained promotion to the WPL as runners up in the Cymru Alliance League. They’ve taken full advantage since then and achieved a Europa League qualifier spot after beating Cardiff Met in last season’s play-off. Having already played their European qualifiers before the big kick off, I expected Druids to be match fit and full of confidence and they certainly were, on at least one of those counts!

Sean’s decision to bolster his squad over the Summer was certainly justified on the big day, as four of our regular starters from the past three seasons were unavailable to start. This meant debuts for Maher, Stephens and Bradley, with Cai Jones leading the line in an unexpected, and unfamiliar looking line-up. It turned out that all four fitted seamlessly into the side and the Cofis were more than worthy of the 1-0 victory as Cai marked his return with an excellent first half finish. It could have been a bigger margin at the end as the referee turned down a clear penalty after Gareth Edwards was pushed over in the box but we’d have settled for three points at the start so Cai’s goal was enough on this occasion.

It was a special occasion for the club as we made our return to the ‘Big Time’, and an opening day victory in front of the Sgorio cameras, and a large crowd, was just what we needed. When  I replayed the match at home later in the evening, it was nothing like the matches I’ve seen in the top tier in recent years, where crowds and atmosphere have seemed very poor. 

Nicky interviews Dion before the match....

Talking of Sgorio, it was great to see Nicky John and the team there but I do have a bone to pick with Ms John. Fellow Board member, Darren Billinghurst, had arranged for me to interview former Town favourite Dion Donohue before the match but Nicky wanted a side pitch interview with him as well and so, due to a lack of time on the day, I had to sacrifice my scoop for her. To be honest I have absolutely no doubts at all that Dion got the better deal but on a personal note I was absolutely gutted!! 

Job done against Druids.

And now on to one of Sgorio’s resident analysts, Owain Tudur Jones, or the Long Man

as he appears to be calling himself these days. The former Welsh international has been quite forthright in tipping us for relegation in recent weeks and his reasoning seems to be that whilst our players may be able to raise their games for Welsh Cup matches, doing it on a weekly basis will be a different matter. Owain is never slow in voicing his opinions about the Cofis and, as he keeps reminding us, he’s also scored a few times against us for Bangor. However, I do feel that the blue-tinted glasses he sees football through may have clouded his judgement somewhat. The biggest flaw in his argument is saying that our players raise their games for cup matches, indicating his belief that they’re not good enough for the WPL. I would guess he has only ever seen the Cofis play in the Welsh Cup and so am unsure why he thinks they’ve raised their game for the ties? I have watched them every week for years and seen enough in this time to know that the Welsh Cup performances are indicative of what we see every week from the players. Simply put, he is underrating our players and management. The Long Man had a Long Face at the Oval on the opening day and I have a feeling it’s something he’ll need to get used to. 

Fine Margins. 

We made the trip to Newtown five days later for our first appearance there since the famous FAW Trophy victory at Latham Park five years ago. The ground has had some work done to it since then and looks excellent, although it was a shame to see that the grass pitch had been replaced by the artificial stuff. As always, a decent number of Cofi supporters had made the trip down and they were treated to very good performance from the team, who more than matched the hosts. Goalscoring opportunities were not taken and Caernarfon were made to pay as the Robins went ahead before the break. The second half saw us dominate possession and the introduction of Brookwell, Clive and Breese gave the side a familiar look as they searched for an equaliser. It was not to be, however, and the hosts, aided by the impressive Dave Jones in goal and a later netfinder, clinched a 2-0 victory, although I’m still questioning how. Eards spoke of fine margins later on, and it's clear what he meant. Incidentally, we had a decent shout for a penalty when j Ben Maher was bundled to the ground in the box but the referee was having none of it. I’m not suggesting there’s a pattern here, though….

A missed opportunity at Newtown

One of the hardest but most enjoyable aspects of the media work is carrying out post-match interviews, especially after a defeat, and I do sometimes find it difficult asking relevant questions. Thankfully, Eards and Nathan usually help me out and we go with the flow but this season may be a bigger challenge as we’ve decided to work with a rota of players to speak with in addition to the manager and captain. It was Gaz Edwards’ turn after the Newtown defeat and I thought it went pretty well. His disappointment was obvious and I think we all felt the same way about the result and the side’s excellent performance. 

Here’s the link to our chat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC3fqwFMiRw

Last Sunday the team travelled to the capital to play Cardiff Met. The students are one of the teams fancied to do well this season and, having started the campaign with victories in their opening two matches, it promised to be a tough challenge for the Cofis. I would guess that well over a hundred supporters had made the trip down south to back the team and, whilst those without an allegiance to us may have given us no chance, I think most stakeholders will have been quietly confident of a positive result.
Top Class in the Capital.

Eards rang the changes once more with his line-up and was rewarded with a top class performance from his charges. Ryan Williams was given his first Welsh Premier League start and he was outstanding in midfield, where he worked well with Jamie Crowther and Gareth Evans and the elder statesman of the side, Gareth Edwards was again outstanding at centre half. Nathan Craig scored the winner from the spot after a foul on Joe Williams but really, we should have been awarded a spot kick before this when Danny Brookwell was fouled right in front of the referee, who was obviously wearing Owain Tudur Jones’ blue glasses at the time!
It was a superb performance on and off the pitch. The players were excellent, and the Cofi Army matched them every step of the way. I‘m sure the hosts were taken aback by the travelling support and when one considers the long trek down in such difficult weather, it was a pretty impressive effort from everyone to get there. Clive and Gareth were jointly voted the man of the match but, in truth, everyone there, on and off the pitch, made a contribution and made it another special day for Caernarfon Town.
I was quite impressed with the set up at Cyncoed although didn’t expect it to take ten minutes to find the ground within the complex! The facilities there are excellent but I found it all a bit ‘cold’ or clinical, as someone put it to me. I’m sure this won’t be the only time this season where the venue doesn’t ‘feel’ like a football ground and I’m not criticising it, but it’s just a far cry away from the football grounds I’ve been visiting for the past forty odd years.
As a bonus on the day, Bobby and I met up with an old school friend of ours, and we watched our first football match together for probably thirty years! Kevin moved away from the Caernarfon area many years ago but, back in the day, the three of us would go to the Oval or Anfield every weekend and were lucky enough to enjoy regularly seeing John King’s legendary Caernarfon team and the great Liverpool side of the eighties. He now lives in Llanelli but still supports the Cofis and, from what I could see, he was impressed by the present side. I also managed a quick chat with a member of Mr King’s FA Cup side on Sunday, as Robyn Jones is now chairman at Met. Having not met Robyn before I found him to be a really nice guy and it was great to talk about the cup run with him.

Ryan Williams was outstanding in his first appearance of the season at Cardiff Met. 

The team was back in action just forty eight hours later as they took on Rhyl at Belle Vue in the Nathaniel MG Cup. Having rushed into a two goal lead in the opening fifteen minutes, the Cofis looked comfortable but a goal from the hosts ten minutes after half time turned the game in an instant and the Lillywhites deservedly ran out 4-2 winners. There’s not much I can say about the performance really, as Sean and Nathan said it all in their post-match interviews, which you can find here:

Sean:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa7LWHBUCic

Nathan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVRyPX3o1os

On a more positive note, Cai scored a belter to open the scoring and our recent signing, Noah Edwards, impressed on his debut, especially during the first half, when we were on top.
Sean and his players will have the perfect opportunity to bounce back from the Rhyl defeat when The New Saints visit the Oval this Friday. It is sure to be another touch challenge but we’re three matches and two victories into the news league season and this group of players has shown what they’re made of on numerous occasions in recent years. The Welsh Champions are a very good side but, as we’ve heard Nathan Craig say already this season, we’re not in the top tier to make up the numbers. Friday night football under the floodlights could prove to be another special occasion if you’re a Caernarfon Town supporter!
Even the Long Man may then have to succumb to what the Cofi Army already knows….