Here - Newport County AFC

Countyconnect
Issue 3 Summer 2014
The Official Club Magazine of Newport County AFC
HELLO
MR.
TOM
JUSTIN
REFLECTS ON A
SUCCESSFUL
SEASON
LIFELINE TO
COUNTY’S
SUCCESS
NEWS / VIEWS / COMMENTS / EVENTS
ACADEMY
DEVELOPING
AT PACE
CONTENTS
5 CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
Les Scadding looks at our first season in the Football League
6 FIXTURES & PRICES 2014-15
SkyBet League 2 & friendly fixtures along with admission & season ticket prices
10 JUSTIN EDINBURGH
Justin reflects on a happy return to the Football League
13 NEWPORT COUNTY ‘100 CLUB’
Details of a new and exclusive way of supporting the County
16 COUNTY IN THE COMMUNITY
Pictorial memories of the first season of our highly successful community scheme
18 NO LIFELINE, NO COUNTY
A look at the history of Lifeline and how it evolved into the successful County Lottery
23 COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES
James Watts discusses the commercial opportunities at Newport County AFC
24 HARD WORK & OPPORTUNITY
Kevin Waterhouse looks at the rapid strides being made by Newport County Academy
27 COUNTY CHOIR
A pictorial look at our fabulous supporters
29 ANDY LEGG GUEST ARTICLE
Former Welsh international & BBC Radio Wales summariser eulogises about our 2014-15 chances
30 OFFICIAL PARTNERS
Details of our official partners for 2014-15 season
NEWPORT COUNTY AFC
Rodney Parade, Newport, South Wales, NP19 0UU
www.newport-county.co.uk
Main Office Email Ticket Office Club Store 01633 670690
[email protected]
01633 674990
01633 674959
General Office Hours
Monday - Friday 09.00 - 17.00
Match Days
Midweek
09.00 - 19.45
Weekend
11.00 - 15.00
Chairman Les Scadding
Directors Les Scadding, Howard Greenhaf, Jackie Tutton
Non-Executive Directors Tony Pring,
Dave Roberts
Financial Director Jackie Tutton
Chief Executive Dave Boddy
Football Secretary / Press Officer Lewis Richards
Commercial Manager James Watts
Honorary President David Hando
Manager Justin Edinburgh
Assistant Manager Jimmy Dack
Coach Wayne Hatswell
Development Coach Michael Flynn
Physiotherapist Adam Roche
Community Development Officer
Norman Parselle
Community Coach
Declan Flanagan
Cover Wembley goalscoring heroes Christian Jolley & Aaron O’Connor model our new shirt at
the launch of our new sponsors, Mr Tom (credit: Ian Cook / CameraSport)
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
Chairman’s
Message
Les Scadding
I
t was with great pleasure that I
attended the annual Football League
Conference in Portugal recently as
a representative of a member club
of the League. The pleasure was derived
from achieving what we had set out to
12 months ago by ensuring our Football
League status.
I honestly believe that this was only
achieved due to the team-work witnessed
on and off the pitch. Justin and his
coaching staff, along with the players
should be extremely proud of their efforts
on the pitch in securing League 2 status,
and there is no doubt that each one gave
everything to the cause. However, the
support provided by the County fans along
with the volunteers and staff at the club
should not be underestimated.
Everybody played their part in what I see
as a great achievement and, as Chairman
of this very special football club, my
thanks extend to every single one of you
who contributed to what I believe was a
successful first season back in the Football
League for a quarter of a century.
It is due to this work ethic and sense of
togetherness that we can look forward
in developing on and off the pitch. The
experiences of last season will stand us in
good stead for the coming seasons and I
feel that we have nothing to fear as we view
the opposition in front of us when it all
kicks off again on August 9th 2014.
As we welcomed officials from other
Football League clubs to Newport and
subsequently met them at their respective
grounds throughout last season a common
theme emerged. The over-riding comments
centred around us seeming like a ‘family’
and it was so heartening to hear as this is
what we strive for at Newport County AFC;
to make every member feel welcome and to
act as a family.
On signing Kevin Feely recently his words
to me re-affirmed the club’s commitment
to family values. The talented Republic
of Ireland U21 international spoke about
how much he enjoyed his loan spell at the
club and he was enjoying his football again
which says a lot about our Manager and
Kevin’s new playing colleagues and the
atmosphere around the club.
Now is the time to build on the foundations
we have put in place and continue our
progression. Already, we can see the
changes put in place at Newport County
AFC since our Football Conference
Play-Off victory in May 2013. We now
have a thriving Community scheme, links
are improving with local educational
establishments including the tremendous
work being undertaken at Llanwern High
www.newport-county.co.uk
School with our Academy, a defined
family section in the Bisley Stand and a
designated ticketing office as you enter the
ground will be in place prior to the start
of the 2014/15 season to emphasise our
presence at Rodney Parade.
The move to a new ground is always
challenging but perseverance pays off
and this ground share will benefit all. The
stewards and volunteers that often work
match-days for all events at Rodney Parade
often comment on the vibrant atmosphere
when County are playing, particularly
when the opposition bring a large support
themselves.
In the last season alone over 10,000
(10,767) away supporters have visited
Newport to watch their team play the
County but the most amazing statistic for
me is the continued increase in support we
are receiving. Over 85,000 (85,446) fans
witnessed our home games last season and
our league average of 3,453 was the highest
for 31 years; when we finished fourth in
the old Division 3 and averaged 4,710 at
Somerton Park.
The people of Newport will support a
Football League club. It is sustainable and
I believe that a successful elite sporting
organisation inspires a community. The
last golden period of the club in the late
70’s and early 80’s showed the level of
support that is out there. Even in the old
Division 4 in the 77/78 (av. 4,061) and
78/79 (av. 3,731) season we were rewarded
with regular crowds of 4,000. By the
time we secured promotion in the
famous 79/80 season the average
home crowd was 5,137 and that
was bettered a year later as we
finished 12th in Division 3 with
a home average attendance
of 5,658.
incredible average of 3,453 in our first
season back in the Football League for
25 years. In addition to this, our average
League attendances for home fans only at
Rodney Parade last season was over 3,000
(3,019).
What these figures mean to the club and to
potential supporters; both in the business
community and in the community of
South Wales as a whole; is that we want
you all to be a part of this rising. A feelgood factor is growing in Newport and the
football club wants to build on it and make
people feel proud of their community.
Our ‘Soccer Schools’ run by County in the
Community are selling out, our Season
Tickets holders are increasing year on year
and our attendances are increasing. Justin
is likely to be able to work with a full squad
in pre-season without the succession of
long-term injuries that affected last season.
To lose Byron Anthony, Aaron O’Connor,
Andy Sandell, Christian Jolley and Chris
Zebroski for lengthy spells would have
tested the resolve of established Football
League squads. Add to that the well
documented issues with the pitch and you
begin to understand the ‘never say die’
attitude of the club.
Indeed, between the 2 matches against
Oxford United (26th November away and
18th February home) we
only managed 2
home league
games in
just under
a 3 month
period due to
postponements as a result of the inclement
winter weather. What this showed, aside
from resilience, was the sustainability of
the club to carry on trading despite the
lack of regular income that is generated
from gate receipts. The stability of the club
is paramount as Newport wants and needs
at Football League club.
This is an exciting time to get involved
with the number one football club in
Gwent and the exposure from the Football
League is on a national and international
basis. Recent Capital One Cup matches
against Brighton & Hove Albion and
West Bromwich Albion not only showed
the potential of the players on the pitch
but showed the potential off the pitch as
we took a combined total of over 2,000
supporters to these midweek games and
received extremely positive feedback from
our Championship and Premier League
opposition.
We no longer fly the flag for Wales alone
in the Football League as our neighbours
Cardiff City return to the Championship
and will join us in the Capital One Cup
draw. Despite the rivalry, we have a good
relationship with our fellow Welsh clubs
and this was enhanced with a recent
successful loan spell by ‘Deji’ Oshilaja who
also expressed his enjoyment at his time at
the County.
All in all, I believe that the future is looking
bright for Newport County AFC and I
for one cannot wait to dissect the fixtures
and League Cup and FA Cup draws for
what promises to be an exciting season
at Rodney Parade. I look forward to you
joining us and supporting the Amber
Army as we continue our journey.
Up the County!
The momentum is growing at
the club and the recent average
attendances back that up. When
we finished 10th in the Football
Conference South in 2008/09
our average was 852 at Spytty
Park. This rose to 1,842 in our
title winning season the following
year. In the Conference National
Division we hit the 2,000 mark
(2,090) as we came a respectable 9th in
the 2010/11 season before the average
attendance dropped in our last season at
Spytty (1,349) as we ended the season in
19th place and concentrated on a first ever
trip to Wembley for the FA Trophy Final.
A move to Rodney Parade coincided with
promotion from the Football Conference
via another trip to Wembley, and a healthy
rise in average attendance to 2,547. This
brings us to the present day with an
Summer 2014
Countyconnect
5
PRE-SEASON
FIXTURES
2014/15
FRIENDLIES
Tuesday 8th July
AUGUST 2014
Sat 9th Tue 12th Sat 16th Tue 19th Sat 23rd Wed 27th
Sat 30th H Wycombe Wanderers
A Reading CAPITAL ONE CUP ROUND 1
A Morecambe
A Mansfield Town
H Burton Albion
CAPITAL ONE CUP ROUND 2
A Portsmouth
SEPTEMBER 2014
Wed 3rd
Mon 8th Sat 13th Tue 16th Sat 20th Wed 24th
Sat 27th JOHNSTONE’S PAINT TROPHY ROUND 1
H Cambridge United
H Northampton Town
A Tranmere Rovers
A Shrewsbury Town
CAPITAL ONE CUP ROUND 3
H AFC Wimbledon
OCTOBER 2014
Sat 4th Wed 8th
Sat 11th Sat 18th Tue 21st Sat 25th A Oxford United
JOHNSTONE’S PAINT TROPHY ROUND 2
H York City
A Dagenham & Redbridge
H Southend United
H Accrington Stanley
NOVEMBER 2014
Sat 1st
Sat 8th
Wed 12th
Sun 16th Sat 22nd Sat 29th A Hartlepool United
FA CUP ROUND 1
JOHNSTONE’S PAINT TROPHY Q/FINAL
H Exeter City
A Bury
A Carlisle United
DECEMBER 2014
Sat 6th
Wed 10th
Sat 13th Sat 20th Fri 26th Sun 28th FA CUP ROUND 2
JOHNSTONE’S PAINT TROPHY S/FINAL
H Stevenage
A Luton Town
H Plymouth Argyle (15.00)
A Cheltenham Town
JANUARY 2015
Sat 3rd H Carlisle United
or FA CUP ROUND 3
Sat 10th H Portsmouth
Wed 14th JOHNSTONE’S PAINT TROPHY AREA FINAL 1
Sat 17th A Cambridge United
Sat 24th A Northampton Town
Sat 31th H Shrewsbury Town
FEBRUARY 2015
Wed 4th
Sat 7th JOHNSTONE’S PAINT TROPHY AREA FINAL 2
A AFC Wimbledon
www.newport-county.co.uk Tue 10th Sat 14th Sat 21st Sat 28th H
A
H
A
Evesham
Tranmere Rovers
Wycombe Wanderers
Morecambe
Burton Albion
Saturday 12th July
MARCH 2015
Tue 3rd Sat 7th Fri 13th Tue 17th Sat 21st Sun 22nd
Sat 28th H
A
H
A
H
A
H
Oxford United
U12
U6
£20.00
£16.00
£16.00
£11.00
£8.00
FREE
£22.00
£18.00
£18.00
£11.00
£8.00
FREE
BISLEY STAND / HAZELL STAND
KO 7.30pm
Saturday 2nd August KO 3.00pm
West Ham United (Away)
Development Squad
Port Talbot Town (Away)
SEASON
TICKETS
Senior
Citizen
Student
*
£300
£230
£230
Under
16 **
Under
12 **
£12.00
£12.00
£6.00
£6.00
FREE
£14.00
£14.00
£6.00
£6.00
FREE
£15.00
£11.00
£11.00
£5.00
£5.00
FREE
£17.00
£13.00
£13.00
£5.00
£5.00
FREE
* Available to anyone in full time education ** Under 16, 12 or 6 on Saturday 9th August 2014
£9.00
£6.00
FREE
£20.00
£16.00
£16.00
£9.00
£6.00
FREE
Ticket Office Number 01633670690
Under
6 **
Free with adult
£500 (2 Adults, 2 under 16’s)
£380
£295
£295
£125
£105
£355
£270
£270
£100
£80
£315
£235
£235
£70
£50
Family Discount
2 Children - £30 Discount
3 Children - £45 Discount
Children under 6 do not count for family discount
Must be immediate family (Children or Grand Children) and not applicable to Bisley Block A
Family offer
Pre-Order
Matchday
Joint
Ticket ***
Adult
£15
£17
£25
Senior
Citizens
£11
£13
£20
Students *
£11
£13
£20
Under 16 **
£6
£6
n/a
Under 12 **
FREE
FREE
n/a
Pre-Order
Matchday
Joint
Ticket ***
Adult
£13
£15
£20
Senior
Citizens
£9
£11
£15
Students *
£9
£11
£15
Under 16 **
£5
£5
n/a
Under 12 **
FREE
FREE
n/a
* Available to anyone in full time education
** Under 16 or 12 on Saturday 9th August 2014
*** Must be purchased in advance, admits 1 person to both games
Tuesday 5th August KO 7.30pm
Adult
Hazell / Bisley Stand
Hazell / Bisley Terrace
Coventry City (Home)
£16.00
£14.00
* BISLEY STAND Block D-E Rows J-F / HAZELL STAND Block B Rows A-H
th
£18.00
£14.00
NORTH TERRACE
Advance
Purchase
Matchday
Tuesday 29 July
KO 7.30pm
Super Mare (Away)
New Family Enclosure
Bisley Stand Block A
Bisley Stand Block A
Family Season Ticket
Premium Amber Seats
Bisley Block D & E, Rows J-F
Bisley Stand /
Hazell Stand
All other seats
Hazell Terrace /
North Terrace
£18.00
HAZELL TERRACE / SYTNER SEATS (AWAY SECTION)
Advance
Purchase
Matchday
Tuesday 15th July
Saturday 19th July KO 3.00pm
Gloucester City (at Cinderford Town)
Hartlepool United (15.00)
Exeter City
Bury
Southend United
Dagenham & Redbridge
York City
KO 7.30pm
Town (Away)
Saturday 26th July KO 2.00pm
Carl Zeiss Jena (Home)
Croesyeiliog AFC (Away)
Senior
Adult
Citizen Student U16
PREMIUM AMBER SEATS*
Advance
Purchase
Matchday
KO 3.00pm
Wednesday 16th JulyKO 7.00pm
LEAGUE 2
ADMISSION PRICES
Advance
Purchase
Matchday
Basingstoke
Development Squad
MAY 2015
Sat 2nd Tuesday 22nd July
Cirencester Town (Away)
Weston
H Mansfield Town
A Stevenage
H Cheltenham Town
H Luton Town
A Plymouth Argyle
JOHNSTONE’S PAINT TROPHY FINAL
A Accrington Stanley
APRIL 2015
Fri 3rd Mon 6th Sat 11th Tue 14th Sat 18th Sat 25th KO 7.45pm
United (Away)
PRE-SEASON PRICES
FREE
OF
CHARGE
RESULTS
2013/14
AUGUST 2013
Sat 3rd Accrington Stanley (H) W 4-1, Att: 4,631
Tue 6th Brighton & HA (A) Capital One Cup Round 1 W 3-1 (AET), Att: 8,409
Sat 10th Northampton Town (A) L 1-3, Att: 4,319
Sat 17th Bristol Rovers (H) W 1-0, Att: 5,387
Sat 24th Dag & Red (A) D 1-1, Att: 1,564
Tue 27th West Brom (A) Capital One Cup Round 2 L 0-3, Att: 8,955
Sat 31st Scunthorpe United (A) D 1-1, Att: 3,157
SEPTEMBER 2013
Sat 7th Mansfield Town (H) D 1-1, Att: 3,709
Sat 14th Morecambe (H) L 2-3, Att: 3,165
Sat 21st Exeter City (A) W 2-0, Att: 4,614
Sat 28th Torquay United (H) W 2-1, Att: 3,557
OCTOBER 2013
Sat 5th Bury (A) D 0-0, Att: 3,093
Tue 8th Crawley Town (A) Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Southern
Section Round 2 W 3-2, Att: 1,350
Sat 12th Rochdale (A) L 0-3, Att: 2,530
Sat 19th York City (H) W 3-0, Att: 3,475
Tue 22nd Plymouth Argyle (A) D 0-0, Att: 5,689
Sat 26th Southend United (H) W 3-1, Att: 3,652
NOVEMBER 2013
Sat 2nd Fleetwood Town (A) L 1-4, Att: 2,354
Sat 9th Braintree Town (A) FA Cup with Budweiser Round 1 D 1-1, Att: 1,004
Tue 12th Portsmouth (H) Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Southern Section Quarter
Final W 3-0, Att: 2,849
Fri 15th Hartlepool United (H) W 2-0, Att: 3,094
Tue 19th Braintree Town (H) FA Cup with Budweiser Round 1 Replay
W 1-0, Att: 1,406
Sat 23rd Cheltenham Town (A) D 0-0, Att: 3,501
Tue 26th Oxford United (A) D 0-0, Att: 5,042
DECEMBER 2013
Sun 1st Chesterfield (H) W 3-2, Att: 3,378
Sat 7th Kidderminster Harriers (A) L 2-4, Att: 2,636
Sat 14th Portsmouth (A) W 2-0, Att: 15,295
Thu 26th Wycombe W (A) W 1-0, Att: 3,513
Sun 29th Burton Albion (A) L 0-1, Att: 2,692
JANUARY 2014
Sat 4th Northampton Town (H) L 1-2, Att: 3,864
Sat 11th Accrington Stanley (A) D 3-3, Att: 1,318
Sat 25th Bristol Rovers (A) L 1-3, Att: 7,288
Fri 31st Southend United (A) D 0-0, Att: 5,993
FEBRUARY 2014
Sat 15th Hartlepool United (A) L 0-3, Att: 3,470
Tue 18th Oxford United (H) W 3-2, Att: 3,757
Sat 22nd Cheltenham Town (H) L 0-1, Att: 3,130
Tue 25th AFC Wimbledon (H) L 1-2, Att: 2,666
www.newport-county.co.uk DAVE BODDY
DAVE
BODDY
MARCH 2014
Sat 1st Scunthorpe United (H) D 2-2, Att: 2,782
Tue 4th Fleetwood Town (H) D 0-0, Att: 3,728
Sat 8th Mansfield Town (A) L 0-1, Att: 2,756
Tue 11th Morecambe (A) L 1-4, Att: 1,300
Sun 16th Exeter City (H) D 1-1, Att: 3,159
Wed 19th Dagenham & Redbridge (H) L 1-2, Att: 2,360
Sat 22nd Torquay United (A) W 1-0, Att: 2,874
Tue 25th Bury (H) D 0-0, Att: 2,160
Sat 29th Portsmouth (H) L 1-2, Att: 4,621
W
elcome to the 3rd edition
of County Connect, a
magazine that is aimed at
keeping the community
and business leaders in South East
Wales in touch with what is happening
at Newport County AFC, as well as the
supporters.
APRIL 2014
Sat 5th Chesterfield (A) D 1-1, Att: 5,659
Tue 8th Plymouth Argyle (H) L 1-2, Att: 3,381
Sat 12th Wycombe Wanderers (H) W 2-0, Att: 2,838
Fri 18th AFC Wimbledon (A) D 2-2, Att: 4,398
Mon 21st Burton Albion (H) D 1-1, Att: 2,630
Sat 26th York City (A) D 0-1, Att: 4,531
MAY 2014
Sat 3rd Rochdale (H) W 2-1, Att: 4,662
LEAGUE TABLE
1 Chesterfield
2 Scunthorpe United
3 Rochdale
Pld W
46 23
46 20
46 24
D
15
21
9
L
F A
8 71 40
5 68 44
13 69 48
4
5
6
7
Fleetwood Town
Southend United
Burton Albion
York City
46 22
46 19
46 19
46 18
10
15
15
17
14
12
12
11
Oxford United
Dagenham & Redbridge
Plymouth Argyle
Mansfield Town
Bury
Portsmouth
Newport County AFC
Accrington Stanley
Exeter City
Cheltenham Town
Morecambe
Hartlepool United
AFC Wimbledon
Northampton Town
Wycombe Wanderers
46
46
46
46
46
46
46
46
46
46
46
46
46
46
46
16 14 16
15 15 16
16 12 18
15 15 16
13 20 13
14 17 15
14 16 16
14 15 17
14 13 19
13 16 17
13 15 18
14 11 21
14 14 18
13 14 19
12 14 20
46
46
12
12
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23 Bristol Rovers
24 Torquay United
Ticket Office Number
GD Pts
+31 84
+24 81
+21 81
66 52 +14 76
56 39 +17 72
47 42 +5 72
52 41 +11 71
53
53
51
49
59
56
56
54
54
53
52
50
49
42
46
50
59
58
58
51
66
59
56
57
63
64
56
57
57
54
+3
-6
-7
-9
+8
-10
-3
-2
-3
-10
-12
-6
-8
-15
-8
62
60
60
60
59
59
58
57
55
55
54
53
53
53
50
14 20 43 54 -11 50
9 25 42 66 -24 45
01633674990 or 01633670690
Like most of the other contributors in
this magazine, I would like to reflect
on a job “well done” last season, our
first season in the Football League,
League Two. If this time last year, you
could have guaranteed supporters a
comfortable 14th place finish, with
League status assured with weeks and
games to spare, that we would have sat
in the play-off positions for most of
pre-Christmas including sitting 3rd on
Boxing Day 3 points off the top of the
table, an away win at Championship
Brighton & Hove Albion in the
Capital One Cup followed by a trip to
Premiership West Bromwich Albion
in the next round, they would have
snapped your hand off for it!
The season however, might have
been even better. I have absolutely no
doubt that our season was derailed
after Christmas with the problems
we had with the pitch. The team lost
momentum and then when we did
manage to start playing home games,
the pitch was a very difficult surface to
play our game on. That period proved
to be a very difficult time for everybody
involved with the Club. We had 6
consecutive home games postponed
and then when we did manage to get
games on we had 5 home games in 15
days. It’s fair to say that this was one of
the most stressful and difficult periods
of my career. The spirit within the Club,
which epitomises Newport County
AFC, helped to carry us through. We
did however lose well over £100,000 of
income that was budgeted for with the
Christmas games (and backed up with
advanced sales) and the reduced gates
that we suffered by playing those 5 home
games in such a short space of time. On
top of this we incurred well over £20,000
of unbudgeted cost associated with the
www.newport-county.co.uk
postponements and our efforts to get
games played. Several club’s asked us the
question during the period, how we had
coped financially and stated that they
wouldn’t have? The answer is, for this we
have to thank the Chairman.
The problems with the pitch
should be behind us now with all
the drainage works and more that
were originally planned for last
summer, now completed. We took
independent specialist advice, from
independent agronomists, STRI,
who are recommended by of the
Football League, UEFA & FIFA. They
vindicated the works that Phil Day
Sports completed last summer and have
overseen this year’s works and have
confirmed that all the works have been
completed satisfactorily.
In April we announced our first
“signing” of the summer when we
unveiled Mr Tom as our new main
sponsor, hence the headline on the
front page of this issue. The sponsorship
was launched at the same time as the
new shirts, also on the front cover ably
modelled by Wembley Goalscoring
hero’s Christian Jolley & Aaron
O’Connor. We are delighted with the
deal which easily surpasses last years
record sponsorship deal and is amongst
the best shirt sponsorship deals in
League Two. On behalf of the Club,
I would like to extend our thanks to
Richard Williams, the UK Sales Manger
of Hosta Meltis Ltd., of which Mr Tom
is a product/brand, (and also County
supporter) for making the deal possible.
We look forward to a long relationship
with them.
We have lost two high quality members
of our staff since the last edition of
County Connect. In March, our long
standing Director of Football, Tim
Harris, left to take on the challenge of
returning to Manage his hometown
Club, Gloucester City, who at the time
looked doomed to relegation from the
Conference North. A miraculous run
of wins (winning more games when he
took over than they had won all season
in the League), saw him mastermind the
“great escape”. Tim played a major part
in our rise from the Blue Square South
to the Football League.
The other Tim we have lost is Football
Secretary, Tim Lane. Tim only joined
us in September 2013 from the Football
Association of Wales (FAW) but made
a massive impression in terms of his
professionalism, quality and ability. His
personality and work ethic also fitted
into our off the field team. Tim decided
to relocate to the North West and he has
already found himself a new position of
Assistant Secretary of Wigan Athletic
F.C. He has a big future in the game and
I believe that he can go to the very top
of his field, i.e. become a Premiership
Secretary.
To both Tim’s we say a massive thank
you for your contributions to our
success and development as a Club, we
wish you the best of luck in your new
positions and you know you are always
welcome back to Rodney Parade.
The Club has not replaced the Director
of Football role and decided to share
the responsibilities amongst the existing
senior staff. We have however, replaced
Tim Lane. Lewis Richards has taken
over the role in the middle of June.
Lewis has also joined us from the FAW
where he had worked for nearly 4
years, ironically taking over Tim Lane’s
role when he moved to RP. Lewis has
settled in very well and quickly, he has
similar qualities to Tim and will be an
important acquisition to the Club.
Looking forward we have lots of exciting
things happening off the field, as we
continue to develop the infrastructure
of the Club and the business to the
requirements of the Football League.
The most significant development is
the return of the first team squad to
Newport for training. Having trained for
the last few years at Cardiff University’s
Llanrumney site, we have formalised a
partnership with Llanwern High School
to use their excellent new facilities for
the team to train. The Academy and
scholars already train there and will be
of great benefit for everybody to train on
the same site. The Club and the School
already enjoyed an excellent relationship
and this has been formalised with them
becoming our Education and Training
partner.
To further enhance the teams return
to the City for training the Club has
taken over the use of Bar Amber at
Spytty, which has become redundant
since our move to Rodney Parade.
The facility is being turned into our
training headquarters. The building
which is being refurbished by Director
Howard Greenhaf, to whom the Club is
extremely grateful, will house changing
rooms, a rehabilitation centre and
gym, manager and staff offices, a match
analysis room and media room, and
players canteen and kitchen. This will
further enable the development of the
Club and gives us a base of our own in
Newport.
As has also been planned for a large
part of the winter, we will be taking over
our own ticketing and having our own
Club Shop for the 2014/15 season. The
Club will be moving our administration
offices to the old Newport Rugby
Club offices and running the new
Club Shop and Ticket Office from the
Rugby Club’s old Ticket Office and old
Shop, just inside the main gates off
Grafton Road. This should be up and
running for the start of the League
season, but friendly tickets will still be
sold from the Dragons Ticket Office.
Whilst the previous arrangements were
comfortable, this will allow us to control
our own cash flow and custom relations,
which was not previously the case.
These are just a few of the many exciting
developments that we have got planned
for the coming season.
Here’s to an exciting and successful
2014-15 season.
Summer 2014
Countyconnect
9
JUSTIN EDINBURGH
JUSTIN EDINBURGH
T
here is no doubt the
season was an extremely
testing one for everyone
connected to the club
in many different ways, but
I’m really happy with our first
season back in the Football
League.
On the pitch there were some
memorable performances, no
better than the two Capital One
Cup matches against Brighton &
Hove Albion and West Bromwich
Albion. I have to say that I have
never before heard our traveling
away support so vocal. That night
in the Midlands was amazing;
even though we lost the game, it
was a fantastic experience for the
players to test themselves against
Premier League opposition.
As well as things went on the
pitch, the treatment room
numbers were growing Aaron
O’Connor was yet to kick a
ball and Max Porter was still
struggling with his groin, as was
Christian Jolly. Byron Anthony
had picked up that nasty leg
break against Brighton and Andy
Sandell required surgery on
his foot. Having this many key
players missing at one time tells
you how well we coped and some
of the players excelled during
this period, none more than
Robbie Willmott who went onto
have a very good season. It was a
frustrating time as the advice and
treatment these players received
was inconclusive at times. This
made it even more frustrating for
the players and staff.
10
JUSTIN
EDINBURGH
Countyconnect
Summer 2014
www.newport-county.co.uk
Things continued to go very
well on the pitch with a 1-0 win
over Bristol Rovers in front of
our biggest crowd of the season,
Andy Sandell dispatching a
penalty to give us the victory.
As we all know penalties cost us
dearly at times this season, too
many for our liking and this is
something we are looking to put
right this year. All the players that
missed had very good records
www.newport-county.co.uk
where penalties are concerned
and were successful on their
previous attempts.
As we started to gain momentum
on the pitch, young Connor
Washington was putting in some
eye catching performances which
had scouts flocking to Rodney
Parade. He was becoming
unplayable at times with his
pace causing problems for the
oppositions defence. Connor’s
performances along with Chris
Zebroski’s goals meant we were
climbing the league.
Away from the pitch we lost
Wayne Jones who left the club
to be with his family in Kent. I
understood Wayne’s situation
and we parted company. We
then brought in Adam Roach as
Wayne’s replacement from MK
Dons. Adam had a massive job on
his hands with so many players
injured, but what a brilliant job
he did, getting them all back
playing before the end of the
season. A big positive for me this
season is that we aren’t carrying
any injuries, apart from Jamie
Stephens, into pre-season unlike
last year.
Our first adventure in the
Johnstone’s Paint Trophy saw us
record a couple of impressive
victories against Crawley Town
and Portsmouth, which set up
an area semi-final against the
eventual winners Peterborough.
This wasn’t the last I would hear
off Peterborough.
With December fast approaching
our performances and results
were continuing to improve. Ryan
Jackson was keeping David Pipe
out of the team with some really
impressive performances and
confidence among the group was
very high.
disruption in our season having
to play 8 of our next 11 games
away from home. This really
cost us momentum and with
another long term injury, this
time to our leading goal scorer,
Chris Zebroski, left me thinking
could it get any worse? The
answer was yes, the penalty
miss against Northampton saw
us lose at home to a struggling
Northampton side.
The weather was really causing
us big problems. When I thought
things couldn’t get any worse, we
then lost our two goal keepers,
Lenny Pidgeley and Jamie
Stephens, in the same week to
injury. This was becoming my
toughest test since I had taken
over. But I have a real belief in
this group of players and the
staff at the club. With the injuries
improving, under the guidance
of Adam, we started to get our
big players back on the pitch
and after a tough spell we slowly
recovered and with the return of
Aaron O’Connor, Max Porter and
Lenny Pidgeley, we had a good
end to the season finishing 14th
place in the Sky Bet League 2,
alongside beating Championship
and League 1 sides in the cup
competitions. Our attendances
are improving yet again, it was
for me a very good season.
“”
That night in the
Midlands was
amazing; even
though we lost
the game, it
was a fantastic
experience for
the players to
test themselves
against Premier
League
opposition.
Now that we’re into the
summer break, I am looking
forward to getting back to
work with this group
of players, they only
have one aim
and that is to
continue to
improve
everyday
they
come into
work.
With the weather worsening,
we lost our first home game
of the season to the weather,
which would become a major
Summer 2014
Countyconnect
11
100 CLUB
THE NEWPORT COUNTY
100 CLUB
W
henever a new
signing is asked
what attracted
them to Newport
County, it’s a fairly safe bet that
one of the first reasons they’ll give
is our fans. Of course, it’s a wellknown fact that the Amber Army
are a force to be reckoned with
on a match day– anyone who has
sampled the electric atmosphere
at Rodney Parade or travelled on
the road with the vocal Amber
masses can attest to this– but
the loyal supporters of our club
are just as respected for their
commitment when they leave the
terraces.
It’s been well-documented that
County owes its continued
existence to the dedication of a
determined band of supporters who
helped reform the club as Newport
AFC when the old Ironsides folded.
Over the last 25 years –which have
contained their fair share of ups
and downs – the club has always
been able to rely on the generosity
of supporters’ groups who have
dipped into their own pockets to
sustain the County cause, even
in tough economic times. From
the long-running County Lottery
to financial support given by the
Supporters Trust, the Amber Army
have a proud history of giving this
club valued financial backing. The
latest addition to this legacy of
generosity is the County 100 Club.
The 100 Club, which was launched
at an event in Rodney Parade on
May 1st, is a new scheme that aims
to raise £100,000 for the club by
offering members the chance to
enjoy an unbeatable luxury matchday experience at the County.
www.newport-county.co.uk
Some of the numerous benefits of
membership include:
• Prime seating viewing
• An opportunity to pick your seat
of choice (you can even have your
name on it, in case you forget!)
• A window view of the pitch
• Access to a Private Bar
• Hot Refreshments at Half Time
• Access to priority tickets for all
cup matches
• Exclusive away travel
• A certificate of membership
• A regular newsletter
• 100 Club player kit sponsorship
• Pre/Post-match entertainment
• Regular chances to meet current
and ex-County players; and an
opportunity to catch up with the
gaffer after the game
One of the driving forces behind
the 100 Club is Steve Rose (father of
County legend Danny). Steve gave
County Connect some background
on the origins of the 100 Club: “The
roots of the 100 Club stemmed
from the club wanting to get the
different factions of supporters’
groups – whether it be the Smile
Council, the Supporters’ Trust, or
the County Business club – to work
together. A few of us sat down with
the board and asked what we might
be able to do to get the ball rolling.
“At this meeting with the board we
discovered that the Dai Watkins
Suite had the potential to be
used on match days, which really
interested us. Ten of us had bought
a box together last season and had a
great time, so we wanted to explore
whether we could expand this in
the Dai Watkins Suite and invite
more people into a large box where
they could enjoy their football in
luxury surroundings. At the same
time, we wanted to raise money
for the club, and this seemed like a
great way of doing it”
“At the launch of the 100 Club we
had some really good feedback
from supporters on this, as well
as other benefits of joining the
club, such as the opportunity to
meet current and former players,
club officials and the Manager.
One gentleman at the launch told
us how he had supported County
for 45 years, but had never had an
opportunity to meet a director or
player at the club before, so was
really excited by the idea.
Steve went on to explain some of
the 100 Club’s targets: “Our main
objective is to raise £100,000 for the
club by June 2015. If we manage to
fill all of the 100 Club’s seats, it’ll
raise £72,000 for the club, but we
also plan to organize raffles, music
events, guest speakers, dances and
other functions (including a Golf
Day on July 20th) to help us hit our
target.”
Steve is also hopeful that the 100
Club can go from strength to
strength: “The early indicators are
really positive – the Board is 100%
behind us and appreciate what we’re
trying to achieve, and I’m confident
that the 100 Club will develop
season-on-season. We’re already
formulating ideas that we’ll bring
in as time goes on; for example,
inviting celebrity supporters of
visiting clubs to the suite as guests.
We cheekily invited Jeff Stelling and
Chris Coleman into our box last
year and to our surprise they said
yes, so the sky’s the limit with the
100 Club!”
As the name suggests, there are 100
spots in the 100 Club, and there
has already been a good take-up.
However, supporters can still snap
up a place in the 100 Club for an
initial £120 fee and £50 a month
via standing order, or can upgrade
their season ticket for £31.67 a
month. In total, an individual
membership will raise £720 for the
club over 12 months. Supporters
who want to sample the benefits
of 100 Club membership can also
enjoy a match-day experience for a
one-off trial fee of £30.
A further incentive to members
joining the 100 Club is that they
will receive free admission to the
pre-season friendly to use the 100
Club facilities for the first time.
For more information on the 100
Club, please contact any member of
the organising team: Kevin Morris
(07980 114368), Steve Rose (07882
299183), Paul Ivermee (07935
447772), or Steve Moore (07812
212232). The 100 Club also plan
to have an information desk and
promotional stall at the Carl Zeiss
Jena friendly, so if you’re at the
game make sure to say hello!
Summer 2014
Countyconnect
13
COUNTY IN THE COMMUNITY
Community Officer
NORMAN PARSELLE
Gateway
Primary School
Programme
This season we have worked in
partnership with the Newport
Gwent Dragons in delivering
fortnightly football sessions
in 27 local Primary Schools.
The schools are also offered
an education day which takes
place at Rodney Parade. The
football homework incentive
was really successful; the county
coaches set regular homework
to the children culminating in
the 16 chosen winners from 10
different schools attending the
Burton Albion and Rochdale
home games as guests of
honour.
Our St David’s Day
Competition (Wales or
Newport County AFC being
the theme) had some real
high quality entries from the
School children with St Julian’s,
Pillgwenlly and Clytha schools
really excelling and benefitting
from the prizes. We hope to
continue working with the
Dragons Community team
next season and also add to the
list of schools. County in the
Community team would like to
COUNTY
IN THE COMMUNITY
thank the Dragons community
team (Mike, Janice & Phil) for
their support this season.
Match Day Visit
This scheme was a massive
success last season with over
3,000 visitors from 30 different
schools and clubs from local
team Cromwell to the Scottish
Boys Club team. The visit gives
the children a chance to be ball
boys or guard of honour at a
match and get autographs from
County players. We already
have Junior Football Clubs
booking visits for next season
so please get in touch if your
School/Club would like to visit
on Match day.
Soccer Camps
These camps are proving to be
a great success with both the
youngsters and their parents,
offering great value for money.
The standard of coaching from
our community coaches has
been highlighted by lots of the
parents. Declan has done a
smashing job in planning the
soccer camps which have been
delivered at Llanwern High
School so far. The aim of the
community team is to take the
Soccer Camps on the road and
they will be visiting Cwmbran,
Pontypool, Monmouth,
Abergevanny, Caldicot and
Chepstow in the summer
holidays with Risca, Newbridge,
Abertillery and Ebbw Vale to
follow in October.
Futsal
In September 2014 County in
the Community will be joining
the Football League Trust
Education & Futsal Programme.
It was hoped that we could
run both a boys and girls
programme but sadly the lack
of interest from girls stopped
this from happening. We will
try our best to recruit girls
onto the scheme in the future.
The Boys aged 16 – 18 yrs will
be enrolled on a 2 year BTEC
Level 3 Extended Diploma in
Sport at Llanwern High School.
The students will play regular
matches representing Newport
County AFC in the National
Futsal league. They will also
have opportunities to gain work
experience within the football
club.
Target for
2014/15 Females
– Disability –
Inclusion - Over
50’s
The community team will
aim to build on the success of
the above projects, but also
look to work more closely
with Newport County AFC
Ladies team as requested by
supporters. We will aim to set
up some sessions for people
with disabilities after having
met with some experts in this
field. The community team
will continue to try and reach
people from all backgrounds of
society and last but not least,
attempt to work with our older
community and fans to provide
worthwhile and meaningful
projects.
For more information regarding
any of the above please visit the
Newport County AFC website
www.newport-county.co.uk or
contact Norman or Declan at
community@newport-county.
co.uk. The club look forward to
working with you.
FUNDING PARTNERS
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
www.newport-county.co.uk
Summer 2014
Countyconnect
15
COUNTY IN THE COMMUNITY
IN PICTURES
COED EVA
The County in the Community scheme saw over 2,600
matchday visitors from local clubs and schools during the 201314 season. Here is a selection of some of those who attended.
NEWPORT CORRIE
S
RIVERSIDE ROVERS
CHEPSTOW TOWN
SEBASTOPOL
NEW INN
CROMWELL
UNDY ATHLETIC
GRAIG
PILL AFC JUNIORS
FLEUR-DE-LYS
LLANWERN HIGH SCHOOL
LLISWERRY HIGH SCHOOL
RACE AFC
COUNTY LOTTERY
NO LIFELINE
NO COUNTY
The story of the County Lottery, by Andrew Lingard
T
he title says it all. There
would be no football
club in Newport if the
Lifeline Society had not
been in existence at the time
when the old club went into
administration.
directors, Nat Lofthouse,
came to Newport
to speak about his
fundraising scheme at a
well publicised meeting
in the newly opened
Newport Leisure Centre.
More about that later.
The directors present
informed the meeting
that in their opinion this
scheme was the only
way to save Newport
County from going out
of business.
The Lifeline Society was founded
in early 1986 by the then
directors of Newport County.
The directors were looking for
ways to raise funds, and had
become aware of a scheme set
up by the great Nat Lofthouse,
(below), for his old club Bolton
Wanderers. It was called
Burnden Lifeline Society.
He came up with the idea of
a lottery scheme that would
provide a weekly draw for its
members and at the same time be
a source of revenue for the club.
Half of the money raised would
be given in prizes in a weekly
draw, the other half be given to
the club.
At the request of the club
As a result, it was agreed
to set up a Lifeline
scheme for the benefit
of Newport County.
People were invited to
join the Lifeline Society by either
signing a direct debit agreement,
paying the yearly fee up front, or
by paying weekly
Many people joined on the night,
and within six weeks the Society
proudly boasted a membership of
1,000 members.
The running of the Society was
shared between the directors
of the club and some invited
supporters, which included David
Hando.
One of the first purchases the
Society made was an electronic
random number selector to
ensure all prizes were fairly
drawn. It was a good purchase
18
Countyconnect
Summer 2014
COUNTY LOTTERY
were still paying their fees. There
were substantial monies still in
the bank account, and at the
Lifeline Society’s AGM held on
3rd March 1989 it was decided to
continue to operate until at least
the end of March.
However these were fast
moving times, and although the
committee had delayed calling
for an all members meeting in the
hope that more would be known
about the position of the old club,
they could delay no more. They
called a special general meeting
of all members on 14 April.
If the future of Newport County
is secure by 14 April, the
special General Meeting will
be a gathering of members for
the weekly draw and a general
discussion.
At that meeting in Lysaght’s the
Lifeline Committee proposed that
as the future of Newport County
appears to be hopeless, the
following be put to members:
That County Lifeline remain
in existence but suspends the
collection of subscriptions and
the drawing of prizes after Friday
28 April
because that same machine is still
being used today.
In the first season the Lifeline
Society raised £40,000 for the
club, which in 1986 was a lot of
money.
Gradually club directors took less
of an active role and over time the
committee was being run wholly
by supporters.
In the early years a car was
offered in a quarterly draw,
resulting in 1998 a Renault, Fiesta
and a Volvo were presented to
lucky members
In 1989 £53,200 was given in
prizes to members
In total £100,000 was raised for
the old club. In the Lifeline’s
Secretary’s report of 1989, it was
stated that since its inception,
“Lifeline had given the County
£100,000 and without it the club
would probably have died long
since”.
Unfortunately as we all know too
well, Newport County failed to
complete their fixtures in their
first season in the Conference
and finally went out of business
on 27 February 1989 with debts
of £330,000.
Although the football club that
the Lifeline Society was set up
to support was no longer in
existence, hundreds of members
www.newport-county.co.uk
That, after the meeting of
commitments, approximately half
of the surplus funds be drawn
in extra prizes on 28 April, as a
proportion of the promised end
of year prize.
That the remaining half of
the surplus funds be invested
against the future revival of the
Club, with that decision being
reviewed in no more than twelve
months time, at a Special General
Meeting open to all members
paid up to 28 April 1989
It was whilst these points were
being discussed that someone
proposed another use of the
funds; to form a new club, with
the aim of eventually returning
League football to Newport.
Without this meeting being
called, there would have been
www.newport-county.co.uk
no opportunity for such a
proposition to be raised and
debated.
With a new club to support, the
Lifeline Society renewed vigour
and announced that the weekly
prize draws would continue as
before.
After a successful first season in
Moreton-In-Marsh, Newport
AFC were granted access to
Somerton Park, and the Lifeline
Society was the proud match
sponsor of the very first game
Newport AFC played there
against Moreton Town, (see
picture).
Lifeline was again an important
source of funding for the club as a
second period of exile beckoned,
this time at Gloucester City’s
ground Meadow Park stadium for
1992–93 and 1993–94.
After a successful legal challenge,
County return to Newport to a
permanent home in Newport at
the then newly built Newport
Stadium.
the first draw in December there
are five prizes each of £1000.
In total the Lifeline/Lottery has
paid out a massive £1 million in
prizes to its members and nearly
£1 million to support football in
Newport. That is a wonderful
achievement and with your help
even more money can be given to
the club.
Club Chief Executive, Dave
Boddy said “ What has been
achieved by Lifeline and County
Lottery members and supporters
since 1986 is a phenomenal
effort. Going forward the
County Lottery can still play an
important role in supporting
and developing Newport
County AFC. Over the coming
season we will be hoping to
grow the membership in various
different ways to support both
the football club and local
clubs. As part of our growing
presence and commitment within
the community of South East
Wales we are offering Club’s,
Association’s and group’s the
opportunity to be part of our
established Lottery and enjoy
the benefits of a ready made
fundraising mechanism with a
large guaranteed weekly prize
fund”
The more members the Lottery
can attract, the more prizes can
be issued, and more money raised
for the Club, so if you would like
to become a member or would
like further details about your
Club joining to raise funds , then
please call into the Club Offices
at Rodney Parade to pick up an
application form or call 01633
670690, (option 4) for an entry
form.
In early 1900’s the club started
another fundraising idea called
Letterbox. The idea came from
Tamworth FC, which ran for
many years until, like the County
Cash Club merged with Lifeline
Society, so all fundraising was
centered on a single draw.
Lifeline then became known as
the County Lottery in 2007, a
name it has kept ever since.
As with the Lifeline, the Lottery
has been run by volunteers, of
which there have been too many
to mention in person. They are
all owed a debt of gratitude from
all members as they have ensured
that prizes have continued to be
awarded, and fundraising for the
football clubs have continued.
Last season the structure of the
draw was changed to bring in a
monthly £1000 draw on the last
draw of the month, with the other
three weeks being the usual 1 x
£500, 1 x £100 and 2 x £50. On
Summer 2014
Countyconnect
19
2013-14 IN PICTURE
S
BACK WHERE WE BEL
ONG HARRY
WORLEY CELEBRATES
COUNTY’S FIRST
FOOTBALL LEAGUE GO
AL IN 25 YEARS
NNY CROW’S
S CELEBRATE DA
COUNTY PLAYER
N AT BRIGHTON
RS
WI
LLE
P
KI
CU
T
E
AN
ON
GI
AL
NG THE 3-1 CAPIT
RI
DU
ER
LIS
UA
EQ
ON THE MOVE AFTER IMPRESSING IN THE
EARLY
MONTHS OF THE SEASON, CONOR WASHINGTO
N
JOINS PETERBOROUGH UNITED AND COUNT
Y
RECEIVE A RECORD TRANSFER FEE IN JANUA
RY
CELEBRATES
PLAY UP POMPEY MICHAEL FLYNN
FRONT
HIS SECOND GOAL IN THE 2-0 WIN IN
OF OVER 15,000 AT FRATTON PARK
STAR TURN WALES CAP DARCY BLAKE MADE
A
BRIEF APPEARANCES AS A COUNTY PLAYE
R IN THE
FINAL WEEKS OF THE SEASON
WITH THE BIG BOYS COUNTY TRAVEL TO PREMIER LEAGUE WEST BROM
IN THE CAPITAL ONE CUP, A GOOD DISPLAY CAN’T PREVENT THE QUALITY
OF SAIDO BERAHINO’S HAT TRICK INFLICTING A 3-0 DEFEAT ON COUNTY
SITE
D CELEBRATES A GOAL, A FAMILIAR
HERE WE GO AGAIN THE BISLEY STAN
THE DIVISION
IN
RDS
RECO
E
HOM
BEST
THE
OF
AS COUNTY DEVELOP ONE
AWAY DAY JOY PL
AYERS CELEBRATE
HARRY WORLEY
WINNING GOAL AT
’S
EXETER IN SEPTEM
BER, THE 2-0 WIN
COUNTY’S FIRST
AWAY FROM RODN
EY PARADE IN TH
E LEAGUE
LOCAL DERBY RYAN JAC
KSON AND DAVID PIPE
CHALLENGE BRISTOL
ROVERS’ KAID MOHAM
ED DURING A 3-1 DEFEAT
IN JANUARY
FESTIVE CHEER MICHAEL FLYNN SCORES THE
WINNING GOAL AGAINST WYCOMBE ON BOXING DAY
IN AT
NER IN A 1-0 W
ORES THE WIN
LF
E BOTTOM HA
S ZEBROSKI SC
TH
RI
IN
CH
OM
OM
RO
RO
ING
BREATHING
UNTY BREATH
CO
S
VE
GI
CH
TORQUAY WHI
S A LATE OPPORTUNITY
PENALTY MISS ROBBIE WILLMOTT MISSE
HEND UNITED
SOUT
AT
DRAW
0-0
A
IN
GAME
THE
TO WIN
SIGNAL OF INTENT ADAM CHAPMAN SCORES A PENALTY DURING
THE 3-2 WIN OVER EVENTUAL CHAMPIONS CHESTERFIELD, LEAVING
COUNTY JUST 3 POINTS OFF THE TOP IN EARLY DECEMBER
PHOTOS ASHLEY CROWDEN & KEVIN BARNES
HAVE THAT COUNTY FANS CELEBRATE THE 2-1 LAST DAY WIN OVER PROMOTED ROCHDALE
COMMERCIAL
OPPORTUNITIES
James Watts
A
fter a rollercoaster first
season back in the Football
League following a 25 year
absence, we can look back at
the past year and say it was a job well
done, both on and off the field as we
established ourselves in Sky Bet League
Two. As I enter my third season here
as Commercial Manager at Newport
County AFC, I believe we can be very
proud of what we have done so far
and what we are looking to do in the
future. As a commercial product we
now not only appeal to a local market
and a select group of businesses, but we
appeal to the whole South Wales market
and a lot of national organisations. It
has been great inviting clients from all
over the UK to our games for either
hospitality, or to advertise their business
with ourselves.
Newport County AFC now has very
strong links and ties with a number of
businesses locally and nationally and I am
a firm believer in working together to get
the desired results. Simple little things
such as social media interaction and offers
in our season ticket voucher booklet give
added value to our supporters. Before
taking the role as Commercial Manager
at Newport County AFC I had been a fan
of the club for over 30 years and I also
had over a decade of experience in local
nightlife in the city, promoting events and
making sure they were profitable. For
me I believe that my knowledge of the
football club and expenditure patterns
in the city is the main driver for me to
push the club on commercially during the
upcoming season.
The Bisley Suite has become a thriving
match day environment over the past
two seasons. On the back of this the
supporters groups have been able to
implement the Newport County AFC
Business Club and 100 Club, which give
corporate clients a different option for
their match day enjoyment. This season
we will also be looking to add more pre
www.newport-county.co.uk
match entertainment with ex-players
being interviewed. We are always willing
to listen to feedback from our supporters
to make the day more enjoyable.
We have been able to sell out our Golf
Day at Llanwern Golf Club on the back of
a thriving commercial product, along with
our Kevin Keegan dinner at The Parkway
Hotel. We will be looking to do more
functions in the future. We also now
have our annual Newport County AFC
Family Fun Day which attracts over 3,000
people. Our next day will be tied in to
our home friendly with FC Carl Zeiss Jena
on Saturday 26th July starting at 12pm and
ending at 11pm.
As we start the 2014-2015 campaign we
have a number of high profile sponsors
around the stadium and we are in
constant negotiation with companies who
will come and work with us throughout
the season. The main thing for us as a
club is to continue moving forward and
assessing the local and national business
market. This is something I have always
been very interested in and something
that was identified as key during my MBA
course at Newport University.
Once again we are already very busy with
Corporate Boxes taken for the season and
on a match by match basis. We expect
these to go very quickly, they have become
very popular for businesses, birthdays,
stag do’s or just a different option for a
group of fans for one game per season.
The key for Newport County AFC is to
cater for the clients needs and this is why
feedback is always crucial. Feedback can
be given to any of our staff on a match day
or through myself on the day of the game
or alternatively during the week at the
Newport County AFC office.
Match Sponsorship Packages this
season will cost £1500 plus VAT. This
will include a Hospitality Box for up to
twenty people, a two course meal for up
to twenty people, a table in the Bisley
Suite and twenty complimentary match
programmes. As Match Sponsor you will
get a write up in the match programme
and have numerous announcements
over the tannoy system on Match Day.
As Match Sponsor you also have the
opportunity to select the Man of the
Match and present that player with the
award after the game in the Bisley Suite.
Match Ball Sponsorships for games this
season at Rodney Parade start from £250
plus VAT. This includes a two course meal
with complimentary match programmes
and programme advert, along with the
tannoy announcement for four people.
This includes receiving a signed football
from all of our players at full time in
the Bisley Suite. There are a number of
different packages for this sponsorship
depending on numbers and requirements.
Corporate Boxes will be available from
£475 plus VAT per game, based on 10
people. This includes a table in the
Bisley Suite, a two course meal and your
own box with complimentary match
programmes.
Our hospitality in the Bisley Suite,
including a Two Course Meal will be
£37.50 plus VAT per game per person.
This includes a table in the Bisley Suite,
complimentary match programmes and
VIP seating in the Bisley Stand.
“”
As we start
the 2014-2015
campaign we
have a number
of high profile
sponsors around
the stadium
and we are
in constant
negotiation with
companies who
will come and
work with us
throughout the
season.
A mascot package is £100 for the day and
includes two adult tickets, a childs home
shirt, a signed match programme and the
opportunity to meet all of the players and
lead the team out. This has already been a
very popular package with parents and we
anticipate this to grow again this season.
If there is anything of interest to you,
please contact myself on 01633 670690 or
email me at [email protected]
for further information.
Summer 2014
Countyconnect
23
ACADEMY
ACADEMY
HARD WORK &
OPPORTUNITY
L
ast season was another
tremendously successful year
for the Academy, on and off
the field.
The hard graft is already bearing fruit
with a number of teams winning
their respective league and cup
competitions and Academy players
and Llanwern High school trio, Jesse
Victory, Lewis Jones and Tre Marrett
all representing Wales in the u18s
schools squad.
The Newport County
Academy is making
rapid strides and just
like the first team is
adjusting to life in the
football league.
Kevin Waterhouse,
Head of Operations
and Recruitment for
the Academy tells us
more.
But the overriding objective of the
Academy is to give young players the
best possible opportunity to become a
professional footballer with Newport
County. Andrew Hughes and Lee
Evans have been the most notable
recent graduates who have followed
this path.
A second objective is to develop all
players to play at the highest possible
standard they can achieve and give
them the aspiration to aim for the
ranks of a professional footballer.
This is being achieved by bringing
together the best young players
in South Wales and giving them a
combination of top quality coaching,
matches and education.
The Academy also provides players
with specialist advice on fitness,
conditioning and nutrition and I
believe we now offer young players
all the facilities needed for their
development both on and off the
pitch.
As part of the on-going development
of the Academy, the coaching
structure is being revamped for next
season as the club moves forward
towards achieving EPPP Category
four status and in many areas the
Academy is already operating at level
three.
2013-14 Academy Partners
24
Countyconnect
One major change has seen Academy
Director, Glyn Jones leaving the
club. These will be big shoes to fill
and there are many players currently
making a living from the game who
will always be grateful to Glyn for
helping them achieve their potential
under his watchful eye.
Summer 2014
The vastly experienced Newport
County first team player, Michael
Flynn has joined the Academy
team of coaches and will juggle
a ‘Development’ coaching role
alongside a new playing contract.
The development team will play in
the newly formed Football League
Development League and is aimed
primarily for players under 21.
The Academy now has a structured
pyramid system with the emphasis
throughout on player development.
A Development Centre (DC) runs for
7-11 year olds, the Junior Academy
for 12-16 year olds and a full
Academy programme for 17 and 18
year olds.
At the top of the pyramid, players
aged 16-18 are now testing
themselves week-in, week-out against
professional League Clubs in the
Football League Youth Alliance
and beyond that they will have
opportunities in the development
squad with 1st team reserves.
From u12 to u15, Academy teams
play weekly fixtures in the FA
affiliated, Junior Premier League
(JPL) which is credited as the most
exciting youth league in England with
a mixture of professional and semiprofessional clubs from Bournemouth
to Burton Albion. On top of this,
regular high quality friendlies are
slotted into the fixture list against
Football League opposition.
The DC which caters for our youngest
recruits from 7-11 continues to go
from strength to strength. Over the
forthcoming season the DC will
expand its reach further with satellite
centres in Ebbw Vale, Caldicot and
Llanrumney and trials for u10s and
u11s.
There is now a genuine pathway
that players and importantly their
parents can follow from mini football,
through to the offer of a scholarship
and possible exposure to the first
team squad and manager.
Each season eight players are given
full football scholarships and are
signed to the club. Players train 4
days a week with games in the FLYA.
Players follow the BTEC course in
Sports Coaching and Performance
at Llanwern High School and are
paid employees of the club. The
apprenticeship is sponsored by the
football league.
Up to 14 players are then offered
places on the Development Program.
This is held at Llanwern High School
or Caerleon Comprehensive or Nash
College. Players train 3-4 days a
week depending on their ‘A’ level or
BTEC choices and play in the FLYA
or South West Counties u19 League.
We are also now offering 16 futsal
scholarships with BTEC studies at
Llanwern. They are not paid but they
do get student benefits!
At 18, players then have a number
of opportunities such as entry to
university (including a new University
of South Wales Football Degree),
several players gained scholarships to
play soccer and study in US colleges
while others have moved to local
semi-professional clubs or ultimately
sign a pro contract!
Preparations for next season are
already well underway with some
exciting developments in the pipeline
to bring the Academy and first team
closer together.
The u16s and u18’s returned for
pre-season training and rigorous
fitness tests early in July with the
first FLYA fixture scheduled for early
in August and pre-season games
against Swansea, Southampton and
Cheltenham. We are also still hopeful
for a prestigious pre-season fixture
against Manchester City or Crystal
Palace.
All other age groups returned in
the middle of July for seven weeks
intensive training and pre-season
fixtures in preparation for the start of
the new JPL season in September.
This season the Academy will also
bring all Newport Schools football
under the Academy umbrella
which will give the opportunity for
extra matches and for any player
not in Academy squad to impress
the coaches. This will confirm the
Academy’s position as the prime
www.newport-county.co.uk
centre for elite football in the area.
The Junior Academy costs around
£4,000 every month. The Academy is
self-financing and relies on sponsors,
monthly subs and fund raising. The
improved finances have enabled the
drop of monthly subs to just £35 a
month for all players in the JPL. With
support from the football club, the
fees for the u16s have been reduced
to just £10 a month which aims to
put them on an equal footing with
neighbouring professional academies
and encourage the very best players
from the region to choose Newport
County.
As an extra benefit, all Academy
players receive ID cards which give
a 10% reduction off all items in the
club shop and free entry to all home
games. Last season the Smile Council, who
are a group of committed Newport
County fans, made donations of
several thousand pounds towards the
Academy and DC with a commitment
to increase their contribution next
season. Their funding has already
provided extra training hours, buses
for away matches and new training
equipment. Without their financial
support and ongoing commitment,
the Academy could not have reduced
fees and made as much progress as
it has.
Thankfully, the Smile Council share
our belief that the Academy is vital to
the future success of Newport County
www.newport-county.co.uk
football club and want to help make
the experience of Academy players
and their families a positive one.
On a final financial note, although
‘Mr Tom’ is the club’s main sponsor
on shirts for the first team and all
Academy teams, there is still an
opportunity for a local business to
put their name on the back of the
new playing kits, training kits and
club tracksuits. For this the club is
seeking a further co-sponsor for the
whole Academy. We would like to
take this opportunity to thank last
season’s Academy partner Henry
Howard Finance plc for their valuable
financial support and also for the fact
that for the 2014-15 season they will
be sponsoring a scholarship, amongst
other things, which will enable us to
have an in take on 9 scholars this year.
For Academy news and developments
join the Newport County Junior
Academy Facebook group, follow
us on twitter @youth_county or
visit www.clubwebsite.co.uk/
newportcountyjunioracademy
For all player enquiries or to discuss
supporting the Academy, please email
me at [email protected].
ACADEMY
LEAGUE TABLES
2013-14
U12 CENTRAL V EAST
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
North Somerset
Reading (OX)
Stroud
South Glos.
Gloucester City
Clevedon Town
Newport County
Forest Green Rovers
Arsenal (OX)
Yate Town
Pld Pts
9 27
10 22
10 22
10 19
9
15
10
9
9
8
9
7
8
6
10
1
U13 CENTRAL
1
2
3
4
5
6
Newport County
Forest Green Rovers
Cirencester Town
BIC ADC
Gloucester City
Stroud
Pld Pts
18 37
17 33
17 32
17
12
18
12
17
11
Forest Green Rovers
Oxford City
Stroud
Newport County
Arsenal (OX)
Cirencester Town
North Somerset
Albion SWDC
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Wimborne Town
AFD Bath
North Somerset
Newport County
BIC ADC
Yate Town
Salisbury City
Weston-super-Mare
AFC Bournemouth
Clevedon Town
FC Wiltshire
Pld Pts
20 47
20 46
19 42
20 40
17 32
20 28
18 26
19 19
20 19
19
7
20
6
U16 SOUTH
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Newport County
Cirencester Town
Clevedon Town
Yate Town
Forest Green Rovers
BIC ADC
Albion SWDC
Weston-super-Mare
Salisbury City
AFD Bath
Pld Pts
20 54
19 40
18 35
19 35
19 34
19 32
19 26
18 20
19 16
19
12
U18 SW COUNTIES
U14 CENTRAL
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
U15 SOUTH
Pld Pts
16 39
16 37
16 37
16 30
16 24
16
17
16
17
16
12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Forest Green Rovers
Poole Town
Andover Town
Bath City
Cirencester Acad.
Newport County
Bristol Academy
New College Acad.
Dorchester Town
Summer 2014
Pld Pts
16 34
16 32
16
31
16
31
16 24
16 23
16
17
16
17
16
9
Countyconnect
25
COUNTY
CHOIR
ANDY
LEGG
Former Newport County AFC player and
BBC Wales summariser
I
over. He made sure his team were
not relegated in his first season at
the helm.
But I really think Newport County
fans have a reason to be cheerful
about the 2014-15 campaign.
I was not at all disappointed with
last season. I actually believe
Justin Edinburgh and his team had
a good season.
And having rewritten the history
books by returning to the Football
League – he consolidated the
excellent progress the club has
made.
t’s great to be a supporter
at this time of year.
Everyone has the right to be
optimistic about the season
ahead – because a ball hasn’t
been kicked in anger!
Some people seemed to get carried
away by a brilliant start to the
season on the club’s return to the
Football League.
But Justin was not helped by
injuries – notably to Byron
Anthony and Aaron O’Connor.
Undoubtedly the problems with
the pitch did not help, either. All
the postponements meant County
lost much of the momentum they
built up with their fine start.
And the fact County stayed up
relatively comfortably with a poor
second half to the campaign is a
tribute to the start the team made.
Midway through the season there
was much talk of a possible backto-back promotion season. That
did not happen.
But make no mistake, when you
think of where County have
come from in their amazing rise
from the ashes 25 years ago –
last season’s campaign was very
satisfying.
All credit has to go to Justin and
the job he has done since he took
www.newport-county.co.uk
He then masterminded promotion
with a memorable Wembley win in
the next season.
In managerial terms that is no
mean feat and goes to explain why
Justin is the only manager from
Wales’ top four clubs who began
and ended in charge last season.
Contrast that with Swansea City,
Cardiff City and Wrexham, who
all parted company with managers
last season.
Now I know Justin will be looking
forward to another campaign of
improvement in League Two.
The basis is there for plenty of
optimism. Management and
players have had a season under
their belts, so will know what it is
all about.
Everyone will be hoping the pitch
improvements this summer will
give County a good chance to
make Rodney Parade a fortress –
avoiding the postponements which
so affected them last season.
And Justin – like all managers –
will be hoping for some fortune
with injuries. All teams get them,
its an inevitable part of the game.
But County were hit really badly.
With their strikers fit and firing I
honestly believe goals will not be a
problem. One of the reasons why I
fancied County to beat Wrexham
in the Conference play off final
was because of their strike power.
They have scorers and I always
say – a goal scorer is a goal scorer
at any level.
Because of their front runners,
County have a team who can win
games by playing well for 20 or
30 minutes in a match. That’s an
attribute for any team.
I am also pleased Mike Flynn will
still be a part of the set up and
it will be interesting to see how
he combines his playing duties
with his new job at the County
Academy.
“”
When you think
of where County
have come
from in their
amazing rise
from the ashes
25 years ago
- last season’s
campaign was
very satisfying
I thought Mike responded really
well last season to the prospect
of being released. He made the
manager change his mind thanks
to his performances. Any manager
wants a player to respond like that.
Mike showed what a good pro he
continues to be.
So I think County fans can look
forward to a good campaign and
they will know they can play their
part, too.
At the start of last season, I was at
Rodney Parade for some games
where the support was magnificent
and the noise was fantastic.
It’s an old cliché but it rings true –
the fans were a 12th man.
If it can all come together next
season Newport County’s
management, players and fans will
again be a formidable team.
Summer 2014
Countyconnect
29
PARTNERS
NEW RECRUITS
MAIN SPONSOR
OFFICIAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTNER
TECHNICAL SPORTSWEAR PARTNER
OFFICIAL FINANCIAL SERVICES PARTNER
L TO R: DARREN JONES, YAN KLUKOWSKI, KEVIN FEELY
NEW RECRUITS
Lewis Richards looks at the new signings at Rodney Parade so far this summer
OFFICIAL MEDIA PARTNER
OFFICIAL RADIO PARTNER
OFFICIAL HOTEL PARTNER
Justin Edinburgh has already
begun the task of adding to his
squad ahead of the opening
day fixture with Wycombe
Wanderers. Newport County
are delighted to welcome three
new permanent faces to Rodney
Parade this season, with two of
the three already familiar to many
County fans. For those that may
not be familiar, we’ll take an indepth look at our new signings
in Kevin Feely, Darren Jones and
Yan Klukowski.
OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Official Community Partner
OFFICIAL TRAINING AND
EDUCATION PARTNER
30
Countyconnect
Summer 2014
OFFICIAL ACADEMY PARTNER
A
s the 2014/15 season
fast approaches, it is
the time of season that
clubs up and down the
country are recruiting players
to add to their squads. Clubs
will be searching high and low
for the next star striker, creative
midfielder or rock in the centre
of defence.
OFFICIAL IT PARTNER
www.newport-county.co.uk
Firstly we’ll take a look at a
player who is well known to
County fans new and old, 21
year old Irishman Kevin Feely.
A 6’2 defender who started his
professional career with Dublin
based club Bohemians. Kevin
joined Bohemians in 2010 and
featured for the club’s “A” and
under-20 sides before making
his breakthrough into the club’s
www.newport-county.co.uk
first team at the start of the 2011
campaign. Impressive consistent
performances for Bohemians
attracted the attention of several
English clubs, one of which
included Charlton Athletic.
Having impressed Charlton
during a trial period he signed
for the club in November 2012,
where during a two year period
he enjoyed several loan spells at
Carlisle United, AFC Wimbledon
and of course Newport County.
It was his 10 appearances and
one goal for Newport during the
2013/14 season that was enough
for the club to sign the Ireland
U21 International permanently
on a two year deal.
For those fans that may already
know a lot about Kevin Feely
from recent games, you will have
to cast your mind back 10 years
for our next signing. Darren
Jones is an experienced defender
who originally played for the
club in the 2004/5 season. Born
in Newport, he returns to his
hometown club for the 2014/15
season.
Darren started his career as a
youth player with Bristol City
going on to later make his
Football League debut with the
Robins. Before joining Newport
for his first spell with the club,
Darren enjoyed loan spells
with Forest Green Rovers and
Cheltenham Town, making 15
appearances for Forest Green and
14 appearances for Cheltenham
respectively.
Following his spell with Newport
he returned to Forest Green
making an additional 118
appearances and scoring 7 goals.
Darren then enjoyed a spell at
Conference side Hereford United
before moving on to play for
Football League sides Aldershot
Town, Shrewsbury Town and
most recently AFC Wimbledon.
Darren joins the Club on a one
year contract and will add plenty
of experience to the current
playing squad for the 2014/15.
Another new addition to the
playing squad for the 2014/15
season is Yan Klukowski, a 27
year old midfielder who joins
Newport County from nonleague Forest Green Rovers. It
all began for Yan at Bath City
FC when he joined the club in
2003, at the age of 18 Yan broke
into the Bath City first team
making a total of 14 appearances
for the club. Yan then moved
onto Chippenham Town before
beginning his adventure away
from England.
Following a scholarship in
America, Yan went on to play
for Canadian side Ottawa Fury
making 16 appearances and
scoring one goal during his
time with the Club. During
2008 Yan spent time back in the
United States playing for Cape
Cod Crusaders before turning
professional with Western Mass
Pioneers in the United Soccer
Leagues Second Division.
Following his spell in America
Yan had spells with Chippenham
Town and Larkhall Athletic
before joining his most recent
club Forest Green Rovers. Over
a two year period Yan made 160
appearances for Forest Green
scoring 49 goals for the club
along the way. He joins Newport
County on a two year deal that
will see him through to June
2016.
With Kevin Feely, Darren Jones
and Yan Klukowski joining the
squad for pre-season training
ahead of the 2014/15 season, we
wish them a big welcome to the
club and wish them every success.
Summer 2014
Countyconnect
31