The FA also stated that the 'Welsh clubs cause them problems' on the basis that they answer to the Welsh FA and compete in the Welsh cup. Clearly the Welsh cup issue is a red herring as top Welsh clubs would at most compete in three rounds. In previous seasons the final has even been changed at short notice to fit in with the English FA. This is less disruption than that caused by the English County cups that take precedence over league fixtures. Whether Welsh International fixtures would cause a problem remains to be seen as clubs such as Arsenal and Fulham already field a number of non-English International players. Bangor have had recent problems over the appointment of referees but clearly this would not have been an insurmountable problem.
Welsh male football is currently a mixture of clubs playing in the English leagues and those in the League of Wales and feeder leagues. Cardiff, Wrexham and Swansea play in the English football league and Colwyn Bay, Merthyr and Newport in the English non-league. Oswestry Town, although geographically an English club, play in the League of Wales! What seems to be at the root of the problem is not which FA the women's clubs are affiliated to but that Barry, Bangor, Cardiff and Newport do not represent the image of women's football the FA wish to promote. The FA's dream appears to be a league of big name teams such as Manchester United, Manchester City along with established clubs such as Arsenal.
Welsh representatives walked out of the meeting in disgust but some English clubs should also be wary of the FA's plans. Of the clubs not affiliated to a top professional men's clubs only Doncaster Belles are likely to survive the FA's plans for a women's professional league. Welsh clubs may well struggle to finance payment of players but they won't be the only ones. If the FA's plans for a professional league are to come to fruition they have several major hurdles to overcome such as no fan base, no ground ownership, limited media interest and clubs surviving on varying levels of financial support from men's clubs. A semi-professional league may be a more realistic aim although the FA has discounted this option.
If Welsh clubs are specifically excluded from a future professional league by the English FA this will lead to several issues being raised including whether a Welsh league (taking advantage of UEFA's plans for a women's European competition) would be a more attractive option for top Welsh clubs than a return to the English regional leagues?
Bangor's home game with Wolves due to be played on 21st January is likely to be postponed as it clashes with a Midlands County Cup fixture.
Bangor played Pentraeth in Bethedsa this weekend beating the Anglesey side 12-0. Pentraeth are in the North West Regional League and look set to do well in their first season of competition. Former Bangor stalwarts Nia Owen and Meirwen Taylor featured for Pentraeth.
Barnsley or
Blackpool Wren Rovers or
Preston North End v Newcastle Town
Tranmere 4 Bangor 2 - the City Girls put up a good display against Rovers. Sam Blackmore and Iona Wyn Williams scored the Bangor goals.
Bangor 0 Arsenal 5 - A crowd of over 100 saw a weakened Arsenal side record a comprehensive victory. Defensive lapses gifted the Gunners some soft goals although the visitors were much the better team.
Training has already resumed and a number of friendly matches are due to be played. Bangor will play Liverpool Ladies on Friday 21st July (venue to be confirmed), and on the 30th July will face visiting American side Arizona state.
Bangor's success was built on defence and the team conceded the fewest goals in the division. Goal scoring was more of a problem although fourteen year old Eleri Earnshaw showed great promise as the season went on and looks an exciting prospect for next season.
Villa for Bangor in FA Cup
The draw for the third round of the Axa FA Women's FA Cup has paired Northern Division rivals Aston Villa against Bangor. The tie will be played on the 10th December in Birmingham. Full draw as follows:
Derby County or
Shrewsbury Town v Rushden & Diamonds
Ilkeston Town v Bradford City or
Leeds City Vixens
Chester Le Street v Sheffield Wednesday
Birmingham City v Oldham Curzon
Aston Villa v Bangor City
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Garswood Saints
Mansfield Town v Parkgate
Leeds United v Huddersfield Town
Coventry City v Chester City or
Wakefield
Manchester City or
Stockport Hatters v Stafford Rangers or
Walsall
Chesham United v Newport County
Bristol City or
Bristol Rovers v Cheltenham Town or
Portsmouth or
Saltash Pilgrims
Ipswich Town v Fulham
West Ham United or
Whitehawk v Wembley Mill Hill
Berkhamsted Town v Reading Royals
Barking v Barnet
Wimbledon v Cardiff City
Corfe Hills United or
Reading v Enfield or
Malling
Langford v Chelsea
Brighton & Hove Albion v Gillingham or
Tottenham Hotspur
Chelmsford or
Stowmarket v Swindon Town
Keeper shock!
Joanne Roberts has announced her temporary retirement from football on medical grounds. The Bangor goalkeeper has been advised not to play again this season due to longstanding health problems. Joanne joined Bangor at 14 years old and from that point onwards was the first choice keeper. The nineteen year old had represented Wales at senior level and seemed set for a bright future in the game. A devastated Jo is hoping to begin playing again next season.
Injury problems mount
Bangor captain Bev Dignam will be out for at least 6 weeks after fracturing her collarbone during the cup-tie against Charlton. Manon Lloyd Williams also suffered a setback when her comeback from injury was cut short after only 30 minutes. 'Jiws' said 'I felt my ankle getting worse as the game went on and the pitch got heavier.' Bangor are yet to hear if they have a fixture this weekend.
OCTOBER
Rearanged fixture
Bangor will now play Birmingham away on the 29th October. The League Cup tie against Charlton will be played in Bangor on the 5th November. After a run of poor results Bangor will hopefully be boosted by the return of long term injury victims Sam Blackmore and Manon Lloyd Williams, and keeper Roberts and striker Earnshaw may also be available for selection.Cup game switch
Bangor's home league cup-tie against Charlton (due to be played on 29th October) has been postponed due to three Charlton players receiving international call-ups. England play in the Ukraine on the 30th October and Charlton clearly felt they couldn't play Bangor without fielding their strongest team. The tie will now be played on the 5th November, which forces the postponement of the vital league game against Leeds United.
SEPTEMBER
Tough draw for Bangor
Bangor's victory against Wembley MH has been rewarded with a home tie against Charlton Ladies. The League Cup second round will be a tough test for Bangor as Charlton (formerly known as Croydon) won both the Premier League National Division and FA Cup last season, and were beaten league cup finalists. The Welsh girls will be hoping for a big home crowd for the visit of one of the biggest names in women's football.AXA FA PREMIER LEAGUE CUP - 2nd Round Draw. Ties to be played October 29th
Millwall v Berkhamsted
Aston Villa/Liverpool v Doncaster
Brighton v Tranmere
Birmingham v Everton
Cardiff v Barnet
Arsenal v Southampton
Oldham/Wimbledon v Leeds
Bangor v Charlton Athletic
Welsh Girls progress
The Wales Under 16 squad came away from Iceland to qualify for the next stage of the UEFA championships. Wales beat Moldova 6-0 but lost to hosts Iceland 2-1 with Bangor's Eleri Earnshaw and Kelly Davies featuring in all the games. Wales now travel to Ireland on 18th November to play the hosts, Turkey and England.
Injury blow for Bangor
Sam Blackmore and Manon Lloyd Williams will be out of action for at least a month after suffering ankle ligament damage. Eleri Earnshaw and Kelly Davies will also miss the Newcastle Town game after being selected for Wales U18 squad. The youngsters will fly out to Iceland to play in a triangular tournament.
AUGUST
Premier league double defeat
Bangor had a hectic last weekend of friendly matches before their first league game at Aston Villa (20th Aug).City Girls tame Shrews
Bangor recorded a 12-2 victory over Midland Combination side Shrewsbury Town. Tranmere Rovers (Friday 11th August) and Arsenal (13th August) will ensure Bangor don't get carried away with this victory.
Arsenal fixture announced
The final pre-season friendly will take place on August 13th 2pm k.o when the mighty Arsenal Ladies visit Bangor. Manager of Wales, Sian Williams, will be part of the Arsenal squad to play at Farrar Road in what will be a tough test for the home team.
Bangor 3 Liverpool 0
Ruthin Town FC played host to this pre-season game in what turned out to be a surprisingly comfortable win for Bangor. An own goal gave Bangor the lead against the run of play, and then Sam Blackmore added the second after a fine move. Before half time new recruit Ceryl Jones made it three with a speculative shot that deceived the keeper.
JULY
'Giggsy' comes home to Bangor - new signing!!
Ceryl 'Giggsy' Jones has left Everton Ladies to rejoin Bangor City. The Welsh International left Bangor two seasons ago to play in the National Premier league. Ceryl said, "I enjoyed my time at Everton but I'm glad to be rejoining Bangor. The travelling will be much easier and it will be great to link up with my mates again." Manager Keith Fearns commented "it is great to have a young player of the calibre of Ceryl Jones back at the club."
JULY
Liverpool v Bangor - other friendlies
Bangor will play Liverpool Ladies in a friendly fixture at Ruthin Town on the 2nd August kick-off 7.15pm. Shrewsbury Town will be the next opponents in Bangor on the 6th August kick-off 2pm, followed by Tranmere on Aug 11th at Rhydymwyn kick-off 7.30pm.
JULY
Villa first opponents for City
Bangor will play Aston Villa on the 20th August when the new season kicks-off. Villa were relegated from the top division last season. The League Cup first round on the 24th September will see Bangor travel south to play Wembley Mill Hill.JUNE
Grounds for concern as developers move in
Bangor City Council are considering selling Farrar Road Stadium, possibly to Bangor based developers Watkin Jones. The City Council have struggled to maintain Farrar Road and may welcome the opportunity to cut their losses. Several out of town sites are being investigated for a new ground to be funded by the sale of Farrar Road.
Bangor City Girls have played at the ground for over 10 years and would hope to be consulted on any relocation proposals.
MAY
Fearns delighted with prize winning finish
Manager Keith Fearns was thrilled by Bangor's excellent first season the Axa Fa Premier League. The City Girls finished second to worthy winners BS Kestrels and will claim prize money from the league sponsors.
Fearns said "If you had offered me second spot at the start of the season I would have snatched your hand off! It is a great achievement to step up a level and do so well and gives us something to build on for next season." Wales on the rise
Welsh women's football has enjoyed a remarkable season in the domestic leagues. Barry Town will be the first Welsh club to play in the elite National Division after winning the Southern division title. Inspirational captain Trudy Williams also won the Axa Southern division players' player award as well as the top goalscorer award. Cardiff, promoted to the Southern division last season, will have been pleased to finish above the relegation places and must hope to improve their placing next season. They will be joined in the division by rising stars Newport Strikers (soon to be County) who stormed to the South-West combination league title. With Bangor finishing second in the Northern division Welsh club football has never been in a better state with four clubs competing in the National leagues next season.
Austrian test for Welsh squad
Wales Ladies take on Austria at Latham Park, Newtown this Sunday (13th May) in the European championship qualifying round. Four Bangor players are named in the Welsh squad; Manon Lloyd Williams, Tania Jones, Cheryl Foster and Joanne Roberts.
Only one to go!
Bangor will play Garswood on the 7th May in their final fixture of the season. After an exhausting three matches in four days Bangor now have a few days rest before their last game which they need to take a point from to claim second spot in the league.