New chairman gives his very frank views
How promotion form up to January can turn into relegation form since the beginning of the year is hard to explain but having given the matter a great deal of thought, these are my views:
The form of several experienced players has dipped considerably and that has been very noticeable. Having a small squad doesn’t help when this happens. The league is a very physical one and youth team players have to be introduced gently.
There has been a certain amount of pressure on the players and the Club when everyone in Welsh Football is hoping and expecting our return to the Welsh Premier League. Being the only club with the license and facilities in South Wales that could achieve promotion produces added pressure and it would appear that, on the field of play, we have certainly wilted under that pressure - of that there is no doubt.
Until the last few weeks the defence has maintained its form and has probably been as good as any in the league but even they have come under pressure lately.
During our poor run of form the team has continued to create lots of chances but our finishing has been woefully poor and has undoubtedly cost us promotion. In our recent games against Tata Steel and even Taffs Well we created well over a dozen chances in each game but all but two were squandered.
This time we cannot blame the number of away fixtures that we inevitably have at the end of the season because our home form has been poor for months and abysmal of late. It is a fact that clubs coming to The Conygar Bridge Meadow do so determined to play with added gusto when playing on the best surface in the league and against the promotion favourites. This has been happening for years and we should be able, by now, to counter this mind set. Our ground should be to our advantage and opposition should find us difficult to beat there. Our home form has been disappointing in league matches for the past couple of seasons and , of course, this affects support and revenue through the turnstiles.
Wayne Jones has worked tirelessly throughout the year and I’m sure that he feels let down by many players that he has brought into the club. There is no doubt that he will have to recruit wisely over the next few months and the development of our own Academy players has to be one of his strong options.
Having said that, there is also a need for a handful of experienced players in any side that hopes to challenge for the Welsh League title and hence promotion.
Within a couple of months we will be at it again and trying our hardest to make it fourth time lucky!