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Post by rico on Aug 21, 2020 10:23:35 GMT
I'm clueless about the WPL but im going to comment anyway (as is the internet forum way;),seems like a quite poor standard coupled with months of not playing means the teams are on a hiding to nothing before they started these matches,of course the virus is a massive factor but Welsh teams have been poor for years in europe haven't they so how can that change?.Out of interest what is the make up of most of the teams.Are the WPL clubs just youngsters hoping to make their way in football or is there maybe to many older players dropping down at the end of their careers just hoping to eek out their career for a few more seasons,do english league clubs loan to WPL clubs to see how their youngsters fair? how many WPL players go on to have careers higher up the chain? It's a real mix o f all of the things mentioned. Observations as an Aberystwyth fan:Alex Samuel (Wycombe), Tom Bradshaw (Millwall), Gwion Edwards (Ipswich) all playing in Championship started at Aber.
But people starting out at youth sides in Cymru Premier and ending up successful are few and far between really.
You don't see too many players loaned from English clubs, James Rowland played on loan with Aber from Shrewsbury last season. David Cotterill winding down his career with Barry at the moment. Henry Jones moved from Fylde to Bala a couple of seasons back and there's a couple of Swansea & Cardiff youth products who have signed for Aber this season coming.
Challenges are the money... teams don't have very much to pay players, hard for the remote teams to attract quality players because of the travel. So the appeal for players is potential European football (although short lived based on recent performances), televised games and if you're Welsh there's also the opportunity to play for Wales C. I think a summer league would help, both for fitness going into Europe but would potentially generate bigger crowds with English season on break? |
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Post by 1gwaunview on Aug 21, 2020 11:13:35 GMT
The answer must be a summer/autumn league, say March to October. As has been mentioned above:
(1) Less competition for spectators/media/tv exposure.
(2) In sync with the start of European competitions (countries in Scandinavia and elsewhere play during the summer months). If the be all and end all is European football then it's a no brainer.
(3) Perhaps loan deals for better quality players would be easier during summer months.
(4) Was going to mention pitches, but they are all going plastic.
Besides the very occasional shock, the Cymru Prem has been a disappointment with regards to Europe. I enjoy watching Sgorio on S4C, but something needs to be done or the league's knockers will continue to have a field day.
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Post by derynglas on Aug 21, 2020 11:16:55 GMT
Ben Cabango had a season on loan at TNS and found it an usefull
experience in his development.
Likewise Cardiff u 23 goalkeeper George Ratcliffe had a loan spell
at Barry last season.
At Haverfordwest we have just signed back striker Danny Williams on an initial
6 months loan from Cardiff City.It was his performances with us that earned him
a 3 year deal with Cardiff u23 squad a couple of years ago.
We have a bit of financial backing at the club now which gives us a better chance of
surviving in the WPL longer than our last season at this level 2015-16.
Its about money at the end of the day,and support from the local community.
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Post by foxmulder on Aug 21, 2020 12:06:37 GMT
As a Barry fan, when it comes to last nights performance I have to hold my hands up and admit it was pretty dreadful.
It was one of the worst Barry performances I've seen and it just so happens to have THAT GAME! Hand on my heart and I can honestly say we are 10 times better than that.
Did anyone here see the game? Personally I've never seen fog like that on a football pitch - you literally couldn't see anything. Apparently Runavik are used to that. I think if this was a game with bigger teams, it wouldn've been called off. It was a joke!
But I will admit that is still an excuse. A contributing excuse maybe, but still an excuse.
Summer football has to happen. This was Barry's first competitive game since March whilst Runavik are deep into their season. This happens season after season. You could argue that Connahs Quay have done well in that Scottish cup because they were deep in their own season.
There wouldn't be any competition from the English leagues (including the Six Nations), the weather would be better, crowds would be bigger without a doubt which also means more revenue.
This is an argument that has been going on for seasons. Just try it out FFS.
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Post by gogdownsouth on Aug 21, 2020 12:17:53 GMT
For me a 16 team league either in the current calendar or a switch to the March-October would help improve the standard. If you look at Ireland who operate on a March-October calendar have had pretty good results in recent years, from the top of my head think Shamrock and Dundalk have both got to the group stages of the Europa League. As for last night we all have to admit it was an extremely disappointing result but I'm still optimistic for Bala and I think Connah's Quay will be seeded for their 2nd round game so should back them to go through. As a side note we are in great danger of losing our 4th European spot which for me would be a further nail in the 12 team league.
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Post by derynglas on Aug 21, 2020 12:46:00 GMT
We seemed all set for a 14 club league for the coming season.
A majority of the clubs wanted to try it for a couple of seasons
because of the league being uncomleted and thought relegation was unfair
in the circumstances.
It seemed the FAW management comitee agreed and seemed to be going ahead.
But for some reason they changed their mind at tha last minute and kept it at 12.
A missed opportunity IMO, could have had more games,more competitive,more derbies/revenue,and given a better chance to some of the smaller clubs to stay there.
I dont understand this obsession with a 12 club league,when the 2 feeder leagues,effectively
division 2 of the WPL,have 16 clubs each.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2020 13:07:20 GMT
I'm clueless about the WPL but im going to comment anyway (as is the internet forum way;),seems like a quite poor standard coupled with months of not playing means the teams are on a hiding to nothing before they started these matches,of course the virus is a massive factor but Welsh teams have been poor for years in europe haven't they so how can that change?.Out of interest what is the make up of most of the teams.Are the WPL clubs just youngsters hoping to make their way in football or is there maybe to many older players dropping down at the end of their careers just hoping to eek out their career for a few more seasons,do english league clubs loan to WPL clubs to see how their youngsters fair? how many WPL players go on to have careers higher up the chain? It's a real mix o f all of the things mentioned. Observations as an Aberystwyth fan:Alex Samuel (Wycombe), Tom Bradshaw (Millwall), Gwion Edwards (Ipswich) all playing in Championship started at Aber.
But people starting out at youth sides in Cymru Premier and ending up successful are few and far between really.
You don't see too many players loaned from English clubs, James Rowland played on loan with Aber from Shrewsbury last season. David Cotterill winding down his career with Barry at the moment. Henry Jones moved from Fylde to Bala a couple of seasons back and there's a couple of Swansea & Cardiff youth products who have signed for Aber this season coming. Owain Jones was a good player for Swans u21s/23s, remember him coming on in a game at the Liberty for Modou Barrow and being by far the more effective of the pair. Started his coaching badges and has his UEFA C licence already. You wonder with some of that crop just prior to the Rodon/James/McBurnie class how many might have broken through and made careers for themselves had we been in the Championship not the PL. Owain, Henry Jones, Josh Sheehan... Tom Dyson was only given a year in u23s despite looking really classy at u18s level. There is talent in the WPL youth setups. The u19s cup final a year or so ago (where Cabango played against the TNS youth side despite having half a season for their seniors) TNS midfield looked the better of the two sides on the ball, and the left back as well iirc was decent. Close game, not much to choose between the two groups. |
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Post by conwy10 on Aug 21, 2020 15:22:19 GMT
So people remember results from 25 years ago but have somehow forgotten that TNS won their tie last year and that Connahs Quay won 2-0 at Kilmarnock turning round a first leg defecit. Clearly that was an embarassing result last night but people cant wait to give the WPL agood kicking when things go wrong but arent forthcoming with praise when good results are achieved. Theres 3 games left so at least wait to see how it all pans out to give an overall appraisal of this season in Europe. I was proud of TNS and Connahs Quay successes but there’s only so long you can accept failure as one of those things. Sure we’ve had the odd isolated successful result but we had a team get smashed in Faroe Islands, we’ve lost to a San Marino team. We’ve got our act together as a national team, at what point will the domestic clubs follow? It’s an embarrassment. |
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Post by robin1864 on Aug 22, 2020 18:43:54 GMT
The answer must be a summer/autumn league, say March to October. As has been mentioned above: (1) Less competition for spectators/media/tv exposure. (2) In sync with the start of European competitions (countries in Scandinavia and elsewhere play during the summer months). If the be all and end all is European football then it's a no brainer. (3) Perhaps loan deals for better quality players would be easier during summer months. (4) Was going to mention pitches, but they are all going plastic. Besides the very occasional shock, the Cymru Prem has been a disappointment with regards to Europe. I enjoy watching Sgorio on S4C, but something needs to be done or the league's knockers will continue to have a field day. It'd help encourage better crowds too, I'd have thought. Not many people would fancy watching football from a leaky tin shed in the middle of November, a dry sunny evening in May is far more inviting. I think everyone needs to think more with a business mindset rather than a football mindset though; clubs like Aber, Carmarthen & Newtown could seize upon a massive opportunity if they addressed community needs - offering leisure facilities like gyms, kids play areas etc. Clubs could increase their income further by showing international tournaments in the evenings after their games, perhaps even set themselves up as their local Wales fanzones with FAW backing if we qualify - In this regard, TNS have the right facilities but they're in the wrong location; the middle of nowhere in England. As it stands, most clubs are only making money from matchday related income, and that's a precarious place to be. |
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Post by aberbeeg on Aug 23, 2020 8:10:19 GMT
Unfortunately most clubs are run with short term goals and not much thought about where the clubs will be in the next 5 years.
Pretty much the same with the whole WPL set up. Almost 30 years and counting and it’s still an utter embarrassing spectacle to watch!!!!
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Post by robin1864 on Aug 23, 2020 22:49:25 GMT
Unfortunately most clubs are run with short term goals and not much thought about where the clubs will be in the next 5 years. Pretty much the same with the whole WPL set up. Almost 30 years and counting and it’s still an utter embarrassing spectacle to watch!!!! Yeah, it's the "live for the weekend" attitude which will ensure they're always behind TNS, a club that has several non-football related streams of income which allows them to spend more money on better players. The FAW should really be pushing/encouraging clubs to diversify their incomes & meet the needs of their communities, rather than relying on the tired "support local" trope to ever take off the ground. Once they're offering something to the community that they want/enjoy, clubs should be making enough money to support proper youth academies, and you can then tempt locals to watch matches. Simply existing & playing "premier" football gives WPL clubs no right to increased attendances/better quality football, they have to be more proactive about their place in the community and what they can offer to it. |
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Post by derynglas on Aug 24, 2020 7:08:52 GMT
All clubs have to have proper youth academies to play in the Prem.
Its part of the licence.Clubs get funding for it,about £32K in the top
division and for one season as a parachute payment after relegation.
You wouldnt beleive the work that goes in to acheiving the domestic licence to get
into the WPL ,perhaps too difficult in a way.
Club licencing has been brought into the feeder leagues now as well.,Clubs have to have
floodlights and 250 seats which may have gone up to 500 seats now in step 2 which
certainly wasnt the case before particularly in the south,the old Welsh league division 1,
where facilities were shockingly poor upt till recently,with very poor crowds.
Take a club like Ammanford who were getting crowds of around 30-40 up till a few years
ago having bropught their ground up to scratch last season had a few 4 figure crowds
and large away support.
Up north Colwyn Bay swa their crowds more than double after they returned to the Welsh pyramid.
I havent got a clue what Aberbeeg is talking about when he says that clubs dont plan
ahead or that the football is embarassing.Perhaps he should tune in to Sgorio now again
or even,horror of horrors,attend a game or two!
In all seriousness,lets hope we can get crowds back in tha grounds before too long anyway,
and get back to watching some football.
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Post by aberbeeg on Aug 24, 2020 8:00:54 GMT
All clubs have to have proper youth academies to play in the Prem. Its part of the licence.Clubs get funding for it,about £32K in the top division and for one season as a parachute payment after relegation. You wouldnt beleive the work that goes in to acheiving the domestic licence to get into the WPL ,perhaps too difficult in a way. Club licencing has been brought into the feeder leagues now as well.,Clubs have to have floodlights and 250 seats which may have gone up to 500 seats now in step 2 which certainly wasnt the case before particularly in the south,the old Welsh league division 1, where facilities were shockingly poor upt till recently,with very poor crowds. Take a club like Ammanford who were getting crowds of around 30-40 up till a few years ago having bropught their ground up to scratch last season had a few 4 figure crowds and large away support. Up north Colwyn Bay swa their crowds more than double after they returned to the Welsh pyramid. I havent got a clue what Aberbeeg is talking about when he says that clubs dont plan ahead or that the football is embarassing.Perhaps he should tune in to Sgorio now again or even,horror of horrors,attend a game or two! In all seriousness,lets hope we can get crowds back in tha grounds before too long anyway, and get back to watching some football. I have watched Sgorio many times over,sadly it’s just as bad today as when it began. if you think adding a couple of seats to a shitty ground is going to improve the standard of actual football then your sadly mistaken. In my opinion the standard has barely improved in 30 odd years ( which is shocking in itself). Yes some grounds have improved which is great ( but crowds really havent improved) I don’t have the answers ( maybe summer football?) but it feels like the old “hamster on the wheel” where everyone thinks it will improve but sadly when Europe comes around it’s sadly the same old same old where our Clubs are Once again beaten by Faroe Island/SAN Marino Clubs etc etc. |
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Post by gogdownsouth on Aug 24, 2020 10:37:00 GMT
Unfortunately most clubs are run with short term goals and not much thought about where the clubs will be in the next 5 years. Pretty much the same with the whole WPL set up. Almost 30 years and counting and it’s still an utter embarrassing spectacle to watch!!!! I would have to disagree with you here, with the introduction of 3G pitches to a lot of teams in the Cymru Premier I would say that clubs are diversifying their income and attempting to try and put themselves at the heart of the community. I think we can all agree the 12 team league has failed both in terms of entertainment and results in Europe. For me a 16 team league where teams only play each other twice a season would improve attendances and the standard. Personally not sure how I feel about summer football, if there was an option to start the league a few weeks earlier in to July then have a few weeks break in January that would be my preference. |
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Post by rhys on Aug 24, 2020 12:31:52 GMT
What is Caernarfon doing right compared to other clubs? They always seem to have a large crowd made up mostly of youngsters. I’ve also noticed they seem to have the least amount of non-Welsh players.
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Post by conwy10 on Aug 25, 2020 2:59:31 GMT
What is Caernarfon doing right compared to other clubs? They always seem to have a large crowd made up mostly of youngsters. I’ve also noticed they seem to have the least amount of non-Welsh players. Cofi’s are a credit to Wales to be honest, I used to date a girl from there. They seem to have a huge loyalty to where they live and won’t have a word said against it, football or not. I think having Bangor on the doorstep helps as they’re always comparing and defending the town. With that loyalty to the town, majority Welsh speaking, amazing youth set up, a long football history in the town I guess they’ll always have potential. If there’s one team I’d love to see win the Cymru Premier it’s them. |
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Post by conwy10 on Aug 25, 2020 3:25:39 GMT
I think I’m one of the few who don’t mind the smaller 12 team league. I would like to see it increased but I feel we need to be sure the quality is there and not increase it for increasing it sake. I’m not against a summer league as long as it goes all the way down the pyramid.
As a country our coaching set up is at Elite status in UEFA so hopefully success is on its way, but will the temptation to bring in football league cast offs stop progression of younger players?
I think a huge thing holding Welsh football back is the licences. Prestatyn and Swansea Uni, both champions who made huge attempts to be approved for promotion rejected, runners up taking their place in the Prem. The league is already weaker based on that. I appreciate standards have to be put in place but why are clubs continuously struggling to achieve them? Maybe make the standards for Cymru North/South the same as the Premier so the champions take their rightful place and we know going in the standards are already there. Any clubs who don’t meet criteria getting double relegation to regional leagues and a long journey back.
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Post by allezlesrouges on Aug 25, 2020 10:04:43 GMT
What is Caernarfon doing right compared to other clubs? They always seem to have a large crowd made up mostly of youngsters. I’ve also noticed they seem to have the least amount of non-Welsh players. Cofi’s are a credit to Wales to be honest, I used to date a girl from there. They seem to have a huge loyalty to where they live and won’t have a word said against it, football or not. I think having Bangor on the doorstep helps as they’re always comparing and defending the town. With that loyalty to the town, majority Welsh speaking, amazing youth set up, a long football history in the town I guess they’ll always have potential. If there’s one team I’d love to see win the Cymru Premier it’s them. I'm from Caerdydd, but I really love the Cofi's too. Gwynedd is a special county & I hope they win a title too. If they ever played in Europe I'd love to go & watch live |
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Post by jbt95 on Aug 25, 2020 11:29:21 GMT
Could the Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Wrexham academy sides not play in the Cymru Prem?
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Post by welwyn on Aug 27, 2020 19:23:48 GMT
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Post by rhys on Aug 27, 2020 19:55:52 GMT
What a result for TNS if they hold on. Slovakia are 17 places ahead of us on the coefficient.
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Post by CrackityJones on Aug 27, 2020 20:01:08 GMT
Get in Bala Town!
Well done TNS!
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Post by derynglas on Aug 27, 2020 20:13:42 GMT
Historic night for Bala.
Managed to watch the last 20 mins and extra time of the TNS game.Great stuff.
Well done all.
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Post by erasedcitizen on Aug 27, 2020 20:27:05 GMT
Brilliant stuff!
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Post by allezlesrouges on Aug 27, 2020 20:35:58 GMT
What a result for TNS if they hold on. Slovakia are 17 places ahead of us on the coefficient. Does that mean we get a bigger boost because one of our teams beat a team from a league much higher? |
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Post by manulike on Aug 27, 2020 20:40:11 GMT
Well done!
I totally missed this ...
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Post by conwy10 on Aug 27, 2020 21:39:24 GMT
Amazing night for the Welsh Prem. Didn’t expect TNS to pull that off and fair play to Bala as well. Would love to see Connah’s Quay and TNS get kind draws. Think Bala will get an impossible match though.
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Post by rhys on Aug 27, 2020 21:48:15 GMT
What a result for TNS if they hold on. Slovakia are 17 places ahead of us on the coefficient. Does that mean we get a bigger boost because one of our teams beat a team from a league much higher? No sadly, just using it to highlight the result. Hopefully the draw is kind next week. |
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Post by allezlesrouges on Aug 27, 2020 22:06:43 GMT
The draw is on Tuesday 1st September for those interested
After tonight's fantastic results it means we now have 3 teams through to the 2nd qualifying round, all 2 wins away from the Europa League group stages
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Post by welwyn on Aug 28, 2020 8:30:28 GMT
The draw is on Tuesday 1st September for those interested After tonight's fantastic results it means we now have 3 teams through to the 2nd qualifying round, all 2 wins away from the Europa League group stages 3 wins: Sounds stupid but it goes Prelim, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Play-off, Group Stages. Fingers crossed that the Nomads might get one of the three unseeded teams that they could get and that TNS might get a decent draw. I hope Bala get Spurs, Rangers, Aberdeen or Motherwell frankly as I can't see a seeded team they could beat. |
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