Is this a new low for FAW League

New Saints ranked 239 in Europe beaten at home by a Gibralta team (Europa FC) ranked 421.

Having looked at the UEFA coefficients almost all of the Welsh teams are right at the bottom totally at odds with the national team.

I know internationally we benefit from our proximity to England but something needs to be done.

The worst decision ever was to not fight FIFA when they wanted the Welsh teams out of the English League System.
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I don't understand why we do not have a reserve team in LOW

Imagine euro trips etc. Would be great.

Why can the English system teams field a team in LOW

Or

Sponsor a team using loan Players from our clubs
To our feeder teams.
It would boost attendances and could improve both
LOW and the English pyramid team squads

Any thoughts???

answer is simple, change the league to summer sport, when all other seasons have ended the welsh league will be on, tv companies will probably pay a bit more money to show them, rather than the pittance they get for being on S4C

I don't understand why we do not have a reserve team in LOW

Imagine euro trips etc. Would be great.

Why can the English system teams field a team in LOW

Or

Sponsor a team using loan Players from our clubs
To our feeder teams.
It would boost attendances and could improve both
LOW and the English pyramid team squads

Any thoughts???

I wish we did have and your right could only help us and the Welsh teams

New Saints ranked 239 in Europe beaten at home by a Gibralta team (Europa FC) ranked 421.

Having looked at the UEFA coefficients almost all of the Welsh teams are right at the bottom totally at odds with the national team.

I know internationally we benefit from our proximity to England but something needs to be done.

The worst decision ever was to not fight FIFA when they wanted the Welsh teams out of the English League System.
.

its the welsh fa that were demanding more teams in UEFA competitions.
we had just the 1..the welsh cup winners.
they sacrificed this for more places .{and the welsh league clubs had a voye on this }...with UEFA quite rightly wanting the welsh league to be more representitive of Wales..
it was the FAW that tried to drag our non league teams kicking and screaming out of the English pyramid system.
it cost Wales any chance of our league teams ever representing Wales through the cup.{ instead we now have a bunch of semi pros out by the end of July every season}. and Welsh referees a direct route into the football league...

I don't understand why we do not have a reserve team in LOW

Imagine euro trips etc. Would be great.

Why can the English system teams field a team in LOW

Or

Sponsor a team using loan Players from our clubs
To our feeder teams.
It would boost attendances and could improve both
LOW and the English pyramid team squads

Any thoughts???

I would assume the issues concerning a club running a team in two different associations would be too great to overcome.

There shoukd be more tie ups between Welsh and 'English' teams. Many owners loan players wbetween their owned clubs.

New Saints ranked 239 in Europe beaten at home by a Gibralta team (Europa FC) ranked 421.

Having looked at the UEFA coefficients almost all of the Welsh teams are right at the bottom totally at odds with the national team.

I know internationally we benefit from our proximity to England but something needs to be done.

The worst decision ever was to not fight FIFA when they wanted the Welsh teams out of the English League System.
.

Who gives a fu@k about fifa fat cats anymore.

Why can't they move the LoW to a summer league - it would make a huge difference in my opinion

If we had a reserve team in the WPL we wouldn't be allowed to compete in Europe. The standard of that league is abysmal.

If we had a reserve team in the WPL we wouldn't be allowed to compete in Europe. The standard of that league is abysmal.

correct on both counts.

We may as well have a Welsh Super League like the MLS in the USA/Canada. Then have every region represented. The Welsh League needs more interest, but sadly it wastes away.

Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Bridgend, Cwmbran, Port Talbot, Bangor, Aberystwyth, etc. It could be a decent idea, but the issue then would be Welsh League clubs (and current Welsh Prem clubs) would be in a system where they cannot get promoted into the top tier. Plus money is an issue, low population, and although rugby is deemed our national sport, they are struggling major also.

Alternatively, Cardiff City could loan players into local clubs (Barry Town United), Swansea City, Newport County, and Wrexham could do the same. Would boost the level. There has been some talent coming out of their in recent years, Tom Bradshaw (now Barnsley was Aberystwyth), Christian Doidge (now Forest Green Rovers, top scorer in National League last season, was with Cwmbran Celtic, etc).

We may as well have a Welsh Super League like the MLS in the USA/Canada. Then have every region represented. The Welsh League needs more interest, but sadly it wastes away.

Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Bridgend, Cwmbran, Port Talbot, Bangor, Aberystwyth, etc. It could be a decent idea, but the issue then would be Welsh League clubs (and current Welsh Prem clubs) would be in a system where they cannot get promoted into the top tier. Plus money is an issue, low population, and although rugby is deemed our national sport, they are struggling major also.

Alternatively, Cardiff City could loan players into local clubs (Barry Town United), Swansea City, Newport County, and Wrexham could do the same. Would boost the level. There has been some talent coming out of their in recent years, Tom Bradshaw (now Barnsley was Aberystwyth), Christian Doidge (now Forest Green Rovers, top scorer in National League last season, was with Cwmbran Celtic, etc).

you seriously think our league clubs should play in the welsh league?
while Scottish clubs would sell their souls to be in the EFL/ prem

We may as well have a Welsh Super League like the MLS in the USA/Canada. Then have every region represented. The Welsh League needs more interest, but sadly it wastes away.

Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Bridgend, Cwmbran, Port Talbot, Bangor, Aberystwyth, etc. It could be a decent idea, but the issue then would be Welsh League clubs (and current Welsh Prem clubs) would be in a system where they cannot get promoted into the top tier. Plus money is an issue, low population, and although rugby is deemed our national sport, they are struggling major also.

Alternatively, Cardiff City could loan players into local clubs (Barry Town United), Swansea City, Newport County, and Wrexham could do the same. Would boost the level. There has been some talent coming out of their in recent years, Tom Bradshaw (now Barnsley was Aberystwyth), Christian Doidge (now Forest Green Rovers, top scorer in National League last season, was with Cwmbran Celtic, etc).

you seriously think our league clubs should play in the welsh league?
while Scottish clubs would sell their souls to be in the EFL/ prem

I didn't say that? Representive clubs from the bigger Welsh Cities/Towns. It would attract more interest seeing a team from Cardiff v Swansea/Newport. But that would mean a whole new remodel of a league system - and to be honest they have tampered with it a lot and all to no avail.

answer is simple, change the league to summer sport, when all other seasons have ended the welsh league will be on, tv companies will probably pay a bit more money to show them, rather than the pittance they get for being on S4C

It would certainly improve attendances and thus bring more money in improving the standard as has happen idn the Irish league hence why Dundalk had success in europe last year. People who watch the WPL as I often do are not shocked TNS lost to this side as the simple fact is the Gibraltan league is better than the WPL which is truly a joke at this point. I agree that the welsh teams in the English league system should be allowed to play their reserve teams in the WPL big population centres such as Llaneli, neath and my hometown of Cwmbran also need teams in the Welsh prem as spots are currently taken by tiny places such as Bala which is fine but it will never be able to be in a posotion to give a decent enough showing in Europe or have a decnt sized crowd. The WPL has got to be one of the few leagues which has regressed in quality over the last 10 years and this is despite it producing some fine players over the seasons but the simple fact is the ckubs don't get high enough attendances or help from the FAW and thus have little money to improve their playing standard.

We may as well have a Welsh Super League like the MLS in the USA/Canada. Then have every region represented. The Welsh League needs more interest, but sadly it wastes away.

Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Bridgend, Cwmbran, Port Talbot, Bangor, Aberystwyth, etc. It could be a decent idea, but the issue then would be Welsh League clubs (and current Welsh Prem clubs) would be in a system where they cannot get promoted into the top tier. Plus money is an issue, low population, and although rugby is deemed our national sport, they are struggling major also.

Alternatively, Cardiff City could loan players into local clubs (Barry Town United), Swansea City, Newport County, and Wrexham could do the same. Would boost the level. There has been some talent coming out of their in recent years, Tom Bradshaw (now Barnsley was Aberystwyth), Christian Doidge (now Forest Green Rovers, top scorer in National League last season, was with Cwmbran Celtic, etc).

you seriously think our league clubs should play in the welsh league?
while Scottish clubs would sell their souls to be in the EFL/ prem

I didn't say that? Representive clubs from the bigger Welsh Cities/Towns. It would attract more interest seeing a team from Cardiff v Swansea/Newport. But that would mean a whole new remodel of a league system - and to be honest they have tampered with it a lot and all to no avail.

sorry i didnt grasp what you were getting at.
all the places you mention do have teams within the welsh league now though..

I can describe what went wrong for semi and non-professional Welsh teams previously playing happily in the vastly superior and competitive English pyramid in two simple words...Alun and Evans

He oversaw the ruination of many teams ambitions to climb through the English Leagues (as they had done for so many years)

He saw the end of the path of Welsh Referees being able to reach the pinnacle of their trade in English professional football, which had been so graced by their Welsh predecessors, such as Clive 'The Book' Thomas, Keith Cooper, Roger Gifford, Howard King, John Lloyd, Jack Flye and others

He oversaw the end of The Welsh Cup as we knew it (ending ANY Welsh club's only realistic route into Europe at that time) and I also recall Welsh-based teams literally being bullied into joining the FAW or (as did Newport County) having to play their 'home' games over the border!

Even Sam Hammam (at one point) suggested our club could eventually join in and play in Europe every season!

UEFA would like nothing more than all the Welsh professional clubs to join the League of Wales; and having a 'Reserve Team' in there would help their cause and not ours!

Currently, longevity and precedent are what are keeping Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Wrexham in the English pyramid and with that in mind, they are all best staying away from the FAW and the League of Wales, if they now what what is best for their long-term English League futures

Even if done with the best of intentions by the 'pro' clubs, someone somewhere at the FAW or at UEFA will use it for their political ends...just as the guy mentioned at the top of this post did a few years ago!

Should bring back the Welsh Cup. Could be a great money spinner if any of the teams drew Cardiff.

Don't think they have a grass pitch in Gibraltar. When I played rugby out there in the 90s we trained on gravel and you had to watch out for the glass on the gravel. We then played our games on a Sunday in Spain. Victoria Stadium then had Astroturf.

Should bring back the Welsh Cup. Could be a great money spinner if any of the teams drew Cardiff.

the Welsh cup hasnt gome anywhere mate..its just we are no longer in it.

answer is simple, change the league to summer sport, when all other seasons have ended the welsh league will be on, tv companies will probably pay a bit more money to show them, rather than the pittance they get for being on S4C

It would certainly improve attendances and thus bring more money in improving the standard as has happen idn the Irish league hence why Dundalk had success in europe last year. People who watch the WPL as I often do are not shocked TNS lost to this side as the simple fact is the Gibraltan league is better than the WPL which is truly a joke at this point. I agree that the welsh teams in the English league system should be allowed to play their reserve teams in the WPL big population centres such as Llaneli, neath and my hometown of Cwmbran also need teams in the Welsh prem as spots are currently taken by tiny places such as Bala which is fine but it will never be able to be in a posotion to give a decent enough showing in Europe or have a decnt sized crowd. The WPL has got to be one of the few leagues which has regressed in quality over the last 10 years and this is despite it producing some fine players over the seasons but the simple fact is the ckubs don't get high enough attendances or help from the FAW and thus have little money to improve their playing standard.

Spot on

I can describe what went wrong for semi and non-professional Welsh teams previously playing happily in the vastly superior and competitive English pyramid in two simple words...Alun and Evans

He oversaw the ruination of many teams ambitions to climb through the English Leagues (as they had done for so many years)

He saw the end of the path of Welsh Referees being able to reach the pinnacle of their trade in English professional football, which had been so graced by their Welsh predecessors, such as Clive 'The Book' Thomas, Keith Cooper, Roger Gifford, Howard King, John Lloyd, Jack Flye and others

He oversaw the end of The Welsh Cup as we knew it (ending ANY Welsh club's only realistic route into Europe at that time) and I also recall Welsh-based teams literally being bullied into joining the FAW or (as did Newport County) having to play their 'home' games over the border!

Even Sam Hammam (at one point) suggested our club could eventually join in and play in Europe every season!

UEFA would like nothing more than all the Welsh professional clubs to join the League of Wales; and having a 'Reserve Team' in there would help their cause and not ours!

Currently, longevity and precedent are what are keeping Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Wrexham in the English pyramid and with that in mind, they are all best staying away from the FAW and the League of Wales, if they now what what is best for their long-term English League futures

Even if done with the best of intentions by the 'pro' clubs, someone somewhere at the FAW or at UEFA will use it for their political ends...just as the guy mentioned at the top of this post did a few years ago!

I agree with just about all of that, but isn't there a possibility for a partnership/feeder agreement between say Barry/Cardiff, Cwmbran/Newport, TNS/Wrexham and Llanelli/Swansea in the same way Manchester United used to have a tie up with Royal Antwerp in Belgium where players were sent out on loan so they could progress?

By proxy Barry vs. Llanelli would become a Cardiff/Swansea game in the WPL and could possibly boost interest.

Alun Evans !!!! now theres a blast from the past, remember a friend of mine running our local club so had to go to meetings with him and the other coffin dodgers, utterly clueless he called them ( but in a more ineloquent way )
Always used to say that it seemed that running the football side of things were secondary to them, as long as the food and drink tabs were covered everything was ok.

..... isn't there a possibility for a partnership/feeder agreement between say Barry/Cardiff, Cwmbran/Newport, TNS/Wrexham and Llanelli/Swansea in the same way Manchester United used to have a tie up with Royal Antwerp in Belgium where players were sent out on loan so they could progress?

By proxy Barry vs. Llanelli would become a Cardiff/Swansea game in the WPL and could possibly boost interest.

To me this is a perfect solution and allows the clubs in the English pyramid to give something back to football IN Wales.

Alun Evans !!!! now theres a blast from the past, remember a friend of mine running our local club so had to go to meetings with him and the other coffin dodgers, utterly clueless he called them ( but in a more ineloquent way )
Always used to say that it seemed that running the football side of things were secondary to them, as long as the food and drink tabs were covered everything was ok.

I remember everything he touched seemed to turn from gold to shit. He did well getting the WPL sponsored in it's first years by Konica but that led to the Welsh league being dubbed the 'comical' League of Wales and for most of it's existence since it has struggled to find a sponsor as a result.

I also remember him getting into a public spat with David Mellor with Mellor coming out on top something Mellor very rarely achieved.

We may as well have a Welsh Super League like the MLS in the USA/Canada. Then have every region represented. The Welsh League needs more interest, but sadly it wastes away.

Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham, Bridgend, Cwmbran, Port Talbot, Bangor, Aberystwyth, etc. It could be a decent idea, but the issue then would be Welsh League clubs (and current Welsh Prem clubs) would be in a system where they cannot get promoted into the top tier. Plus money is an issue, low population, and although rugby is deemed our national sport, they are struggling major also.

Alternatively, Cardiff City could loan players into local clubs (Barry Town United), Swansea City, Newport County, and Wrexham could do the same. Would boost the level. There has been some talent coming out of their in recent years, Tom Bradshaw (now Barnsley was Aberystwyth), Christian Doidge (now Forest Green Rovers, top scorer in National League last season, was with Cwmbran Celtic, etc).

They've tried it before, the clubs in South Wales can't compete with Cardiff or Swansea.

I would go and watch my Welsh league team more often if they played in a summer league . I would not miss a Cardiff game to watch them thou

Totally agree with the majority on here - the two best ways are two either enter reserve teams into the league from Merthyr, Wrexham, Swansea and us or ensure some of talent is being loaned to some of the clubs in the league - I like the idea of a sponsored team link up.

Secondly change the league to summer - the attendances would shoot up, money etc all in all I've watched a few Ton Pentre and When Port Talbot were in the Welsh Premier we went to see a couple of their games and some of the play isn't bad, I'm not saying it's great but when TNS etc got invited to play in Scotland last season they didn't do to badly.

Third and finally you could disband the league sadly- and insert them into English league or even speak with Ireland maybe and have a Gaelic/Celtic league type thing if Rangers and Celtic ever leave Scotland then we could even invite the Scots!! Lmao

Totally agree with the majority on here - the two best ways are two either enter reserve teams into the league from Merthyr, Wrexham, Swansea and us or ensure some of talent is being loaned to some of the clubs in the league - I like the idea of a sponsored team link up.

Secondly change the league to summer - the attendances would shoot up, money etc all in all I've watched a few Ton Pentre and When Port Talbot were in the Welsh Premier we went to see a couple of their games and some of the play isn't bad, I'm not saying it's great but when TNS etc got invited to play in Scotland last season they didn't do to badly.

Third and finally you could disband the league sadly- and insert them into English league or even speak with Ireland maybe and have a Gaelic/Celtic league type thing if Rangers and Celtic ever leave Scotland then we could even invite the Scots!! Lmao

I am sure some team like Barry would double or even treble their crowd with a summer league

They have a decent capacity at Jenner Park too! When Tom Pentre played the Barry game towards the end of the season there was at least 1k there and again could have squeezed abit more problem is the facilities aren't catering for those who come in- I was genuinely surprised tbh at the support, and the Aberwystwyths ground is a nice one too loads at that a few years ago

I can describe what went wrong for semi and non-professional Welsh teams previously playing happily in the vastly superior and competitive English pyramid in two simple words...Alun and Evans

He oversaw the ruination of many teams ambitions to climb through the English Leagues (as they had done for so many years)

He saw the end of the path of Welsh Referees being able to reach the pinnacle of their trade in English professional football, which had been so graced by their Welsh predecessors, such as Clive 'The Book' Thomas, Keith Cooper, Roger Gifford, Howard King, John Lloyd, Jack Flye and others

He oversaw the end of The Welsh Cup as we knew it (ending ANY Welsh club's only realistic route into Europe at that time) and I also recall Welsh-based teams literally being bullied into joining the FAW or (as did Newport County) having to play their 'home' games over the border!

Even Sam Hammam (at one point) suggested our club could eventually join in and play in Europe every season!

UEFA would like nothing more than all the Welsh professional clubs to join the League of Wales; and having a 'Reserve Team' in there would help their cause and not ours!

Currently, longevity and precedent are what are keeping Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Wrexham in the English pyramid and with that in mind, they are all best staying away from the FAW and the League of Wales, if they now what what is best for their long-term English League futures

Even if done with the best of intentions by the 'pro' clubs, someone somewhere at the FAW or at UEFA will use it for their political ends...just as the guy mentioned at the top of this post did a few years ago!

I agree with just about all of that, but isn't there a possibility for a partnership/feeder agreement between say Barry/Cardiff, Cwmbran/Newport, TNS/Wrexham and Llanelli/Swansea in the same way Manchester United used to have a tie up with Royal Antwerp in Belgium where players were sent out on loan so they could progress?

By proxy Barry vs. Llanelli would become a Cardiff/Swansea game in the WPL and could possibly boost interest.

Tony, I'd love to think that would work in a similar fashion (to some extent, isn't that what we do currently with Vincent Tan's other clubs?) but I think that is different to having a City 'team' in the League of Wales

It also raises the question about the possibility of actually playing Tan's other clubs in some sort of arrangement, but sadly I simply don't trust either the FAW or UEFA and wouldn't want to enter anything without cast-iron guarantees written in stone!

It wasn't that long ago we had to sweat on a decision from The FA/UEFA regarding whether we could play 'on behalf of the English League' if we had won the FA Cup/League Cups OR finished runners-up to a team already qualified for Europe through another route, e.g. Champions League via a Top Four Premier League finish