Where's Our Rock? 02.10.2011 [2 Oct @ 3:42pm]

02.10.2011.       Where’s our Rock?  

Cefn Druids 6 – 1 Caernarfon Town

When the draw for the Welsh Cup was made and it was announced we’d have to travel to Cefn Druids and get a result to progress, I think it’s fair to say that we knew it would be a tough match for us.

With recent performances not having been as impressive as we would have hoped, which of course culminated in the disappointing second half capitulation at Pwllheli last week, a trip to Druids’ new ground, called The Rock, had suddenly seemed rather ominous.

Twenty seven minutes after kick off, it looked less like a rock and more like a mountain to climb as we found ourselves three goals down. Kevin Lloyd pulled a goal back when he put away a penalty following a push on a Town player in the penalty area and, as the players walked off for some half-time refreshments, we still had some hope that the boys could find a way back into the tie.

Unfortunately, that hope was replaced with realism just two minutes after the restart when Tony Cann scored his second goal, and the Ancients’ fourth by sliding the ball past Ian Aickman.

From this moment on, the result was never in doubt and, despite enjoying a good chunk of possession, the Canaries could not capitalise on any of their many opportunities to score, whilst Druids scored another two to secure their place in the next round with a 6-1 victory.   

Admittedly, the score flattered the home side, and we undoubtedly played some good football, but there is sometimes a world of difference between playing football that is pleasing on the eye, and playing winning football. Yesterday, that difference was obvious, as we stroked the ball around well but couldn’t put away our opportunities. Druids, on the other hand, played a more direct style of football, but ultimately it proved much more effective.

It is always easy to point the blame at individuals, but one could argue that at least three goals were due to individual mistakes by Town players and this undoubtedly influenced the match.

However, we cannot fault the team for their attitude on the pitch yesterday. Each player gave it their all, and left everything out on the pitch. I, for one, was extremely proud of the effort they all put in during what was a very difficult match against good opposition in very hot conditions. 

One thing that again seemed obvious is that the team is missing a commanding centre half, who could stabilise the back four. Most, if not all, teams we face have a big, strong centre half in their team, someone usually described as a ‘stopper’. We haven’t got this type of defender in our ranks and it is becoming increasingly obvious that we need one. This season, it seems that we have been asking midfielders to plug the gaps in the centre of defence and, whilst it is possible to do this on the odd occasion, it is not something we will be able to get away with on a permanent basis. It would be nice to think that the management team is looking at bringing a ‘stopper’ to the club in the near future.

So, not the best experience of a visit to The Rock but, if any good has come out of the match, it may have proved to the management team that we urgently need to find our own ‘Rock’ *** for the heart of the defence!!

My definition of a Rock at the heart of a teams’ defence: Dave Watson (Everton, pictured).

Good Caernarfon Town example: Huw Williams.

Bad Caernarfon Town example: Lawrence Iro. 

Rumours. 09.10.2011. [8 Oct @ 11:51pm]

Entry 2.

09.10.2011. Yet more unfounded rumours.

As news of last weeks’ Welsh Cup defeat at Cefn Druids hit the town, the usual doom and gloom merchants were probably rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of telling everyone who cared to listen that things were going pear shaped at the club. Therefore, it came as no surprise when the latest rumour doing the rounds over the past week included one that the manager had left. All I can say is that Steve Smith was certainly at the match in Nefyn and seemed very much in charge, so that’s another piece of ‘misinformed news’ to toss firmly into the bin.

The performance against the Penwaig was certainly a marked improvement over the previous two matches, the defeats at Pwllheli and Cefn Druids. However, once again, the lads could not make the most of their superiority by scoring, thus ending a match they should have won comfortably with just one point. In fact, that sounds suspiciously like another opportunity for a new round of rumours this week.

Despite the result, there were positives to come out of the match. Dylan Owen and Neil Perkins were back in the line-up after injury and we managed to keep a clean sheet, which is a pretty rare occurrence these days. Also, seeing Nathan Craig line up for the Canaries was worth the trip alone!

Whilst I accept that Nefyn are no pushovers at home, I had arrived at the ground quietly confident of a victory, although it never fills me with much confidence when the home side call the referee by his first name which, incidentally, was Robin.

Having said that, my confidence soared again when I noticed that the Penwaig’s player-manager, ‘John Nefyn’, seemed to have swallowed a fridge before arriving at the ground!
Alas, it was not to be today, but the signs are encouraging that we’ll be back on track soon!

Interestingly enough, after all the new arrivals at the club over the summer months, nine members of the team that took to the field today were also regulars last season. With just two recent additions on show, Nathan Craig and Jamie Whitmore, it seems a case of the manager deciding to place his faith in the players who served him so well last season. It will be interesting to see how the team lines up next week. 

Onto international football, and it’s good to see that Wales seem to be heading in the right direction under Gary Speed, with a fine victory over Switzerland on Friday night following the recent victory over Montenegro. (Anyone else surprised that Switzerland are ranked 18 in the FIFA World rankings?)
Just as entertaining was seeing the English Messi (ahem) being sent off for England on Friday night.

Before finishing, a quick mention for the egg-chasers, who have reached the semi-finals of the rugby World Cup. It’s a brilliant achievement for Wales to get to the last four with a good opportunity to make it into the final. As a proud Welshman, I think I’ll give Warren Gatland a call to tell him I’ve found someone who could fit seamlessly into the Welsh side should they suffer any injuries this week. He’s called John, lives in Nefyn, and must be tough as nails. After all, how many other men do you know can swallow a fridge?

Rumoured Sackings, Unofficial Press Officers, El-Cofico and the Best Player in Welsh non - League. [30 Dec @ 7:22pm]

Blog Entry 3. December 30th, 2011.

Rumoured Sackings, Unofficial Press Officers, El-Cofico and the Best Player in Welsh non - League.

Well, this is the first blog for a while, and what a busy time it’s been for Caernarfon Town since I posted the last one on October 9^th. Back then, I mentioned the rumours doing the rounds that the Cofis had sacked Steve Smith following a somewhat lacklustre start to the season.

For the record, up to that point, we had played twelve matches, winning seven, drawing one and losing four which, on the face of it, was not the worst start we could have had, and was certainly much better than the one we had last season.

The problem, of course, was that most, if not all, of the clubs’ supporters seemed to expect the team to win the majority of their matches. And quite rightly so, in my opinion, as Caernarfon Town is a big club that has the resources, and facilities, in place to challenge on all fronts this season.

A big concern was that the management team had signed many players over the summer season and it seemed that bedding them all in was proving problematic to say the least. The squad was so big that it seemed Steve and Colin could not decide on their best line-up or, indeed, their best match day squad. Hardly surprising really, given the many new faces, and all the resulting changes in the line-up meant a fair number of disjointed performances. And on this subject, I don’t think I’m stating anything other than the obvious when I say the majority of those new players, for whichever reasons, failed to make their mark on the team during their stay at the Oval. The jury is still out on another summer signing, John O’Donovan, who has been out through injury since the Cefn Druids game, but there were encouraging signs that he could make an impact on the side.  

The patchy results of the first two months resulted in Steve and Colin reverting mainly to the same team as the one that had performed so well for the club last season, with the notable addition of Nathan Craig, Jack Jones and Cai Jones. I think it’s safe to say that all three have strengthened the team and we have also seen the introduction of latest signing, Ian Pleming, who has looked good on his much anticipated return to the club. Let us not forget that, if noises coming from the other side of the Menai Straits were true, Holyhead Hotspur were very keen on signing ‘Chops’ and therefore it is an encouraging sign that he decided to ‘return home’ to Caernarfon rather than join the league’s early season pace setters. I wonder if this is further proof that local players believe the club is now heading in the right direction and are willing to join the Canaries where in previous years they may not have fancied it? Whatever the reasons, I for one, am pleased to see him in the yellow and green.

Of course, special mention should be made of Nathan Craig. We all know about Nathan’s story thus far, and how he has joined his home-town club, having been released by Everton last Summer. I have followed Caernarfon for over a quarter of a century and in that time can remember only one signing that came close to providing such a buzz in the town as when Nathan signed for us. It was when Tommy Smith became our manager all those years ago and, despite how it all worked out for Smith,  it was an exciting time when the news was announced that the Anfield Iron was coming to the Oval. That’s how I felt when Nathan signed for the club, and I have not been disappointed! Apart from being the best player in the league, and most probably in Welsh non-league football, Nathan is also a really nice man. Whenever Nathan is mentioned, the words ‘genuine’ and supremely talented are never far off, which just about sums him up. Of course, we all hope he returns to the professional game, where he deserves to be, as soon as possible but, in the meantime, we should make the most of seeing him play in our famous shirt!          

Whilst on the subject of local lads playing for Town, there has been lots of talk about the club forgetting about its’ promise to give local talent an opportunity, and this baffles me. As far as I’m concerned, local players could be from anywhere within roughly a twenty five mile radius. I don’t know exactly where all the players are from, or now live, but I’m pretty sure most of them live within this radius, or near enough. Looking at the squad for the ‘El-Cofico’ derby suggests to me that the Caernarfon Town of today is very much giving local talent an opportunity to shine: Neil Perkins, Darren Phillips, Geraint Mitchell, Llion Jones, Dylan Owen, Nathan Craig, Cory Williams, Ian Pleming are all from Caernarfon, whilst James Whitmore, Ywain Gwynedd, and Alex Jones are all from nearby villages. That makes eleven of Saturdays’ squad living within fives miles from the Oval which proves that the stated local policy is very much alive!  

It was excellent to see such a good turn-out for the match at the Oval against the Wanderers. We were never going to see a gate approaching last seasons’ 1900 plus, but a total of 850 has been reported on the WAL website, which is pretty impressive, especially when considering the fact that there were so many other matches being held locally. There was also the not too insignificant matter that the whole of the Welsh Media had given blanket advertisement to Farrar Roads’ last match.
Bangor’s Unofficial Press Officer, Dave Jones, has clearly been in his element over the past month, being given the perfect opportunity to wax lyrical about the Super Blues, their manager Neville Powell (previously Sinbad from Brookside), Les Davies (otherwise known, by Dave, as the ‘Other’ Lionel Messi), Marc Lloyd-Williams (otherwise known, by Dave, as Europe’s most lethal marksman) and their famous old ground. Oddly enough no mention was made by anyone about the safety concerns at the old ground. 
Seriously though, good luck to them!  
 
Now, back to the Cofis!   

Since those thankfully unfounded sacking rumours in October, the team has done well, winning nine of its’ next twelve matches, which included a run of seven straight victories. Unfortunately, two of the three defeats we’ve had have been in the league, including one to Holyhead, and so, as things stand, it does seem rather unlikely that Caernarfon will win the league this season. With just one promotion place up for grabs, this would mean at least another season in the Welsh Alliance league.
I can’t go along with the school of thought that it may be a good thing for us not to go up this season, so as to consolidate and build for next season. We are the biggest club in the league, have biggest following, and should be aspiring to win the league. Wanting, or expecting, anything less should be deemed disappointing and I’m sure that’s how the majority of supporters feel.

The season is only half-way through, so I believe there’s still hope we can win the league but in order to do so we need Holywell and Holyhead to suffer dips in form. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility, so I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed!

And, let’s not forget, we have Nathan Craig in our team, and he's playing in an advanced role, at last!!

I wonder what 2012 has in store for Nathan, and Caernarfon Town?

A Happy and Healthy New Year to you!