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Port v Cemaes - 14/12/02 Warm welcome once again to Y Traeth for our match against Cemaes Bay. Yet again this will be another tough test for us. When I saw the fixtures at the start of the season it was obvious that these three home games would prove important We came through our first one on Saturday with a fine performance and three points. Today we move onto stage two. In my time at Porthmadog we are still to beat Cemaes home or away so I am well aware of the task that faces us today. Today I would like to turn my focus away from the action on the pitch and towards the work and effort off the pitch. The newspapers, both the Wales on Sunday and the Non League newspaper have been full of stories and rumors about the future of the Welsh Premier. Only last Sunday Wales on Sunday were speculating that the League may be reduced to 14 clubs by 2006. It is hard to imagine the clubs agreeing to such a move, something like turkeys voting for Christmas. However it would be nice to have a definitive statement from the League as to what the future holds. One of our players has even been told by a rival club that there will be no promotion from the Cymru Alliance this season. All the confusion does not help matters. What I do know is that the Cymru Alliance League have written to the clubs asking those who are interested and in contention to apply for promotion to the Welsh Premier. Porthmadog have submitted it's application. Since the club was relegated from the League of Wales it has always been its stated aim to return. It has probably taken longer than some envisaged to do so, but that time has given the club an opportunity to reorganize and regroup. The club have also applied for grant aid from the League towards necessary ground improvements. We will know whether these have been successful early in the New Year. Improvements will be carried out whether we win promotion or not. Porthmadog are in the lucky position of already having floodlights neither Ruthin nor Llangefni, our two nearest rivals at the moment, can make that boast Forcing clubs to spend thousands of pounds on all the ground criteria has major implications. Clubs like Conwy, Ebbw Vale and Inter Cardiff have all been engulfed by massive debts by trying to keep up with developments. The League, the FAW and UEFA need to sit down and make changes which can be realistically achieved by clubs who are struggling to keep their heads above water as it is. Well all that are matters for discussion in the future. Let's hope for another good performance today and please do keep up your support. |
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