Welsh football crisis: Is a complete overhaul needed?

A lot of talk this week about how Welsh football - at international level at least - continues to struggle.

I've put together an article looking at some of the points mentioned: http://viewfromthestands9.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/welsh-football-crisis-is-a-complete-overhaul-needed/


What is needed to turn it around?

in the short term somebody could put a call through to claus von stauffenburg

seriously, i do not see any change taking place until there is change within the faw

davewebber65 wrote:in the short term somebody could put a call through to claus von stauffenburg

seriously, i do not see any change taking place until there is change within the faw

I agree with that.
I've been involved in Welsh football administration and there are a large number of FAW Councillors who aren't very bright and are more concerned with the prestige of their position and the freebies and foreign trips that come with it rather than the success of the national team.
Much is made of the fact that many of them are quite elderly which is a valid criticism taken as a whole. However, the main problem is that they've been elected to a position of authority simply because they've been attached to their local club for years rather than what they have to offer Welsh football.

Good incisive article Gloves.......... 

Cyncoedslumdog wrote:

davewebber65 wrote:in the short term somebody could put a call through to claus von stauffenburg

seriously, i do not see any change taking place until there is change within the faw

I agree with that.
I've been involved in Welsh football administration and there are a large number of FAW Councillors who aren't very bright and are more concerned with the prestige of their position and the freebies and foreign trips that come with it rather than the success of the national team.
Much is made of the fact that many of them are quite elderly which is a valid criticism taken as a whole. However, the main problem is that they've been elected to a position of authority simply because they've been attached to their local club for years rather than what they have to offer Welsh football.

Too true, gentlemen, and that has been the case for many years. Unless there is a complete clear out of the old fogies nothing will ever be done to change The Welsh F A. and sadly football will continue to be run in the same old amateurish way as it has been for years. Years ago the WRU were warned by some prominent players that Welsh Rugby policies and administration needed to change drastically to keep abreast of 'Southern Hemisphere Countries' and given proposals on how to make the changes. They failed to take notice and some years later ended up employing Graham Henry, a New Zealander, and paying him £x millions to make the changes suggested by those players and which could have been implemented for a fraction of the cost. Oh for a Crystal Ball!  

It doesn’t help that the FAW Premier is North Wales centric, with the larger urban areas of Cardiff/Newport/Pontypridd/Merthyr/Bridgend unrepresented. The population of Wales should be able to support a league with a much higher European ranking.

The travel costs are prohibitive to many clubs being able to progress so I would split the league into North/South conferences and hold end of season play-offs to decide the title.
Also, it will never happen, but the FAW should start from scratch with a franchise system based on the larger towns, with each having an affiliation to all the smaller pyramid clubs so the best local talent has a focal point.

The current list of FAW Premier clubs highlights the issue….

Airbus UK Broughton
Carmarthen Town
The New Saints
Aberystwyth Town
Prestatyn Town
Gap Connah's Quay
Bangor City
Port Talbot Town
Rhyl FC
Bala Town
Newtown AFC
Afan Lido

The nearest club to Cardiff is about 40 miles away.

G-ster wrote:It doesn’t help that the FAW Premier is North Wales centric, with the larger urban areas of Cardiff/Newport/Pontypridd/Merthyr/Bridgend unrepresented. The population of Wales should be able to support a league with a much higher European ranking.

The travel costs are prohibitive to many clubs being able to progress so I would split the league into North/South conferences and hold end of season play-offs to decide the title.
Also, it will never happen, but the FAW should start from scratch with a franchise system based on the larger towns, with each having an affiliation to all the smaller pyramid clubs so the best local talent has a focal point.

The current list of FAW Premier clubs highlights the issue….

Airbus UK Broughton
Carmarthen Town
The New Saints
Aberystwyth Town
Prestatyn Town
Gap Connah's Quay
Bangor City
Port Talbot Town
Rhyl FC
Bala Town
Newtown AFC
Afan Lido

The nearest club to Cardiff is about 40 miles away.

I like that point you made about the larger towns. I would love to see the Welsh league season played over the summer - the only time I'll watch my local side (Barry Town) is when Cardiff are not playing which is usually just a couple of weekends a season!

The problem is that South Wales is dominated by our football league clubs. I was involved with a very succesful Inter Cardiff team which finished runners up on four occasions and won the Welsh Cup but the only way the Club could sustain itself was through large sponsorship and decent crowds (5-600) were only achieved by giving free tickets to schools. There are a lot of clubs from South Wales that have failed at Welsh Premier level and gone out of existence in some cases because the interest just isn't there. They are:-
Abergavenny Thursdays
Barry Town
Briton Ferry
Grange Quins
Cwmbran Town
Ebbw Vale
Haverfordwest
Llanelli
Maesteg Park
Neath
Inter Cardiff/UWIC
Ton Pentre

What's a normal ticket price for a welsh premier league game if I showed up at the gate on match day?

Decided to stop being lazy and do my own research. A match ticket at The New Saints, apparently the most successful welsh premier league club, costs 8 quid. Therefore the cost doesn't seem like it is the problem in my opinion, making it any cheaper would just lose money.

Cyncoedslumdog wrote:The problem is that South Wales is dominated by our football league clubs. I was involved with a very succesful Inter Cardiff team which finished runners up on four occasions and won the Welsh Cup but the only way the Club could sustain itself was through large sponsorship and decent crowds (5-600) were only achieved by giving free tickets to schools. There are a lot of clubs from South Wales that have failed at Welsh Premier level and gone out of existence in some cases because the interest just isn't there. They are:-
Abergavenny Thursdays
Barry Town
Briton Ferry
Grange Quins
Cwmbran Town
Ebbw Vale
Haverfordwest
Llanelli
Maesteg Park
Neath
Inter Cardiff/UWIC
Ton Pentre

I think another reason that has to be recognised for the lack of success in South Wales is the fact that, particulalry at grass roots level, rugby is the game.

Our league clubs are doing well despite that, but that success has very little to do with the development of local talent. Welsh League clubs do rely on that, but, historically, rugby has been better organised and more appealing.

Having two Premier League clubs may alter that balance, but it is unlikely to happen overnight.

A mate of mine played for Inter Cardiff (or may have been called Inter Cable-Tel then) against Celtic in the UEFA Cup.

His case highlights the need for a focal point for players not quite good enough for the Football League (unsuccesful trials at Luton, Bristol Rovers, Oxford) who are then cast adrift.
He wasted several years with us no-hopers in the SW Amateur League until joining Inter in his mid-20s.

G-ster wrote:A mate of mine played for Inter Cardiff (or may have been called Inter Cable-Tel then) against Celtic in the UEFA Cup.

His case highlights the need for a focal point for players not quite good enough for the Football League (unsuccesful trials at Luton, Bristol Rovers, Oxford) who are then cast adrift.
He wasted several years with us no-hopers in the SW Amateur League until joining Inter in his mid-20s.

I was a Director of Inter at that time (it was Inter CableTel then) so I would know him. The League of Wales at that time provided a decent part time wage for players not quite good enough for the Football League.