PaulHartman71 Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 May A sour note to end the season on as we lose 3-0 at home to Bala, which ultimately meant they finished above us in the table. Not the end of the world by any means, but it would have been nice to have finished as high as possible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Season 17: Port Talbot Town I would've liked to have finished 7th, but I think I more or less made the best of what had been a slightly disappointing season for Port Talbot. Hopefully we can move onwards and upwards next year. Squad Carl Pockett ended the season as top scorer with 13 goals in 26 games. He's a young lad who came through the Academy at Port Talbot and should get better with time. Career History --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club Division Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016/17 Ipswich Wanderers Eastern Counties Premier League 8th Eastern Counties League Cup winners 2017/18 Ipswich Wanderers Eastern Counties Premier League 11th Left in November --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2017/18 Coventry Sphinx Midland Football Premier League 13th N/A 2018/19 Coventry Sphinx Midland Football Premier League 10th Left in December --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Carlton Town United Counties Premier League 8th United Counties League Cup runners-up. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 Basildon United Essex Senior League 3rd Gordan Brasted Memorial Trophy winners 2020/21 Basildon United Essex Senior League 17th Left in November --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Lincoln United Northern Counties East Premier League 11th N/A 2021/22 Lincoln United Northern Counties East Premier League 17th Left in December --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2021/22 Swindon Supermarine Southern League 1st Division S/W 13th N/A 2022/23 Swindon Supermarine Southern League 1st Division S/W 18th Left in January --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022/23 Trafford FC Northern Premier League 1st Division N 7th N/A 2023/24 Trafford FC Northern Premier League 1st Division N 11th Sacked in November --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023/24 Hythe Town Isthmian League 1st Division S 12th Joined in January 2024/25 Hythe Town Isthmian League 1st Division S 3rd Left in March --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024/25 Canvey Island Isthmian League Premier Division 23rd Relegated 2025/26 Canvey Island Isthmian League 1st Division N 23rd Sacked in November --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025/26 Farsley Celtic Northern Premier League 1st Division N 11th Joined in January 2026/27 Farsley Celtic Northern Premier League 1st Division N 5th Left in March --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026/27 Stourbridge Northern League Premier Division 21st Relegated 2027/28 Stourbridge Southern League 1st Division C 5th Promoted via Playoffs 2028/29 Stourbridge Southern League Premier Division 15th Left in November --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2028/29 Lancaster City Northern League Premier Division 21st Relegeted. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029/30 Southport Northern League Premier Division 14th N/A 2030/31 Southport Northern League Premier Division 5th Left in April --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030/31 Port Vale Northern League Premier Division 3rd Lost in Playoff Final 2031/32 Port Vale Northern League Premier Division 2nd Lost in Playoff Final 2032/33 Port Vale Northern League Premier Division 6th Left in January --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032/33 Port Talbot Town Welsh Premier League 8th N/A --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trophy Cabinet Eastern Counties League Cup x1 - 2016/17 (Ipswich Wanderers) Gordan Brasted Memorial Trophy x1 - 2019/20 (Basildon United) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Bad times for Port Vale as despite beating Southport they fall in the Playoff Final for the 3rd season running Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 (edited) Allegri's Arsenal slipped to a Wenger-style 4th place finish this year in the Premier League, in a season which saw Leonardo Jardim leading Manchester City to their first title in 9 years, with Man United and Chelsea making up the top 4. Huddersfield Town finished rock bottom and went straight back down to the Championship, with the new boys picking up one of the Premier League's worst ever points totals of just 16 points. Meanwhile in the Champions League, we saw a United/PSG final for an incredible 3rd year in a row, with Mourinho's men once again besting PSG in the final. United have now won 6 of the last 10 Champions Leagues. At 70 years old, Jose Mourinho is now just 1 Champions League win away from 10 of them, perhaps he will win it again next year and retire after that. Doncaster Rovers nearly made it straight back to the top flight, but they lost in the Playoff Final to Watford, who joined Crystal Palace and Hull in going up. Barnet won League 2 to get promoted to League 1 for the first time, with Yeovil also joining them after a difficult few decades away from the top end of the Football League. Radcliffe Boro continued their impressive rise since the start of the save, they started it in the 8th tier but have just won the Conference to get promoted to the Football League for the first time. They're joined by Shrewsbury Town who beat Charlton in the Playoff Final to see which team would return to league football. It was a season to forget for Chesterfield and Torquay fans, as their teams both dropped out of the Conference. Bury Town won the Conference North to make it to the Conference for the first time, whilst in the Conference South, Erith & Belvedere, who started the game in the County Leagues, came a penalty shoot-out away from making the Conference themselves. Edited February 28, 2017 by PaulHartman71 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 I didn't have a huge amount to work with in the summer, so we made do with what we had. I got in Lewis Banks from Handsworth Paramore, who will be our new starting keeper. We also signed Terry Hamilton (ST) on loan from Scunthorpe and Jimmy Hatfield (MC) on loan from Walsall. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 August We got newly promoted Llandudno in the Nathaniel MG Cup. They really weren't up too much at all, I'm not sure if it was us playing well or them being awful, but we won 4-1 to progress. A decent start to the season with a 0-0 draw at home to Newtown, before a 3-1 win at Bangor City. So far so good as we're sitting pretty in 2nd place Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 September A big win against Haverfordwest in the Nathaniel MG Cup, with Chris Pennock picking up a brace. There's not many teams in this competition, so by winning this game we're already in the Semi Final. We continued our relatively good start to the season with 2 wins, 2 draws and a loss this month. We had a very exciting match with Carmarthen which saw 7 goal scored, thankfully we ended up on the winning side thanks to Joel Foster's 69th minute header. We lost our first game of the season to TNS, which was not a game I really expected to get much from, I think the scoreline flattered us a bit as despite it being 1-0 we were never really in the match aside from a half chance towards the end. We did manage to beat Barry 2-0 after that, although they had a man sent off in the first half which definitely helped us out. Haverfordwest nearly got revenge on us for their cup exit at the start of the month, but in-form Chris Pennock's late equaliser saved us. Pennock already has 7 goals this season which is the same amount of goals he managed all of last season. We're still as high as 3rd which is pretty nice, although I'm not getting too carried away as the table is extremely tight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
R7Now Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Must be fun to get a change of pace after squallowing in the 7th tier for forever. Hopefully this can lead to you getting jobs higher up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 October 2 wins and 2 losses this month. A resounding victory over Llandudno who in all honesty are probably the worst team in the league. We had an off day against Prestatyn, I'm not sure what went wrong but they really pulled one over on us and fully deserved their win. We didn't look fantastic at Bala, but Jonathan Robinson's 79th minute volley was enough to give us the 3 points. I thought we'd managed to get back in the game and a point at Newtown when we equalised, but they found another goal late on to beat us and overtake us in the league in the process. Despite the ropey form we still find ourselves in 2rd place, although we're only ahead of 2 of those on goal difference. There's only 11 games to go before the split though and we're only 2 points ahead of 7th, so we have to make sure we get through the reverse fixtures in one piece now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 For a club that went into Administration last season, the board really don't seem too worried about how we're literally hemorrhaging money. The majority of the expenses this season has been on player and staff wages, but in my defence, I'm only £50p/w over my wage budget and I let my Director of Football hire and fire the staff so the staff wages are his problem not mine Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdanbartlett Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 What is the wage budget at Port T out of interest? I really hope you can enjoy some success here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 My wage budget at Port Talbot is £9,715 p/w. For some perspective, at Port Vale it was closer to £12,000 p/w. On the subject of Port Vale, with 17 games played in the Northern League Premier Division they're actually in the relegation zone. Clearly missing me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 Port Vale failing again. Barnet played one season in the third tier in 1993-4 when it was known as the Second Division. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 November We beat Haverfordwest in yet another cup competition, as we progressed through in the Welsh Cup this month. Our Nathaniel MG Cup run was put to an end by Afan Lido, who beat us 3-0 on the night to make the final at our expense. We started the month with a woeful loss at home to Bangor City. They're a team that are battling relegation but we made them look like world beaters. It was shocking. We almost lost at Connah's Quay too, but late goals from Carl Pockett and Chris Pennock turned the game around and gave us the win. We looked better against Carmarthen and got another 2-1 win in that one, before our 2nd 1-0 loss to TNS of the season. We again defended quite well but didn't offer much going forward. 7 games to go of the pre-split period and we're in 4th place. The table is tight but there's a nice 3 point gap between us and 7th place for now. TNS are running away with the title and pretty much already have it in the bag, but the other places around them are all up for grabs still. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 Good to see things going a bit better this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 I've not followed this thread for a while so I'm shocked to find out you managed Stourbridge! How did you dare leave them for Lancaster City! Heresy! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 1 hour ago, noikeee said: I've not followed this thread for a while so I'm shocked to find out you managed Stourbridge! How did you dare leave them for Lancaster City! Heresy! It would be pretty funny for anyone from Stourbridge to be browsing these forums and find two threads about people managing them at some point Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 December A really poor month as we go into the latter stages of the pre-split. We got an okay draw at Barry but then lost to Haverfordwest, which is disappointing as they're a team we've beaten several times this season. We barely managed to get a win against struggling Llandudno, with Terry Hamilton coming off the bench to save our bacon. Afan Lido beat us in our last game of 2033, which also meant they went past us in the table. We've got 3 games to go and we're in real danger of dropping down and finishing in the relegation league again. We have Afan Lido (H), Prestatyn (A) and Bala (H) to go. They're not the worst set of fixtures, but my worry is that we lose to Afan Lido again and Newtown win their game, which would pile huge pressure onto us going into those last few games. Losing to Prestatyn or Bala would be huge as well because they're not all that far away from us either, especially if they beat us in a 6 pointer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Heath Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 hope you can stay in the top half before the split. And loving following this career BTW, amazed at your patience to repeatedly start again at new clubs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 January (pre-split) We picked up 3 draws out of 3 in our remaining 3 matches, with the Prestatyn game especially being a very lucky escape with another late equaliser coming in that one. The Bala game really could've gone either way and was super open from the start, we were actually 3-1 up but managed to blow the lead late on in the 2nd half. Was it enough to secure passage into the big boy's league? Thankfully it just about was was, with our goal difference bailing us out in the end. It was so close and nervy in the Bala game though, as if they'd scored a late winner we'd have missed out. It must've been absolutely gutting for Barry since 4th-7th all ended on 31 points. Onwards and upwards though with the 10 remaining games. I think for the European places it is 1st who get CL, then 3 others get Europa League, but if the winner of the Welsh Cup isn't in the top 4, then this ends up being 2 places. So we probably need to finish 3rd to secure Europe next season, or just hope TNS romp the Welsh Cup like they are the league. We're 4 points behind 3rd at the minute though and haven't been in very good form lately so I'm not thaaaat optimistic, but Haverfordwest are above us and they're not thaaat good from the matches we've played with them, so there's every chance we could do it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 January (post-split) A nice and easy 2-0 win against the now 2nd tier Goytre United, who of course got relegated last season. We're now in the Quarter Final. A hugely reassuring win against 2nd place Connah's Quay away from home. I was well pleased when we levelled early in the second half, but I certainly didn't expect us to go on and snatch a goal, let alone two. This was a really positive result and could be the catalyst we need to go on a good run of form. Although we have TNS next up, so I'm not getting too excited just yet! Afan Lido and Newtown have games in hand on us, but we remain in 4th place with the win over Connah's Quay now meaning that 2nd place is only 2 points behind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black and Yellow Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 Seems that TNS continue to have a stranglehold on the league, which may take some breaking!? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 10 minutes ago, Black and Yellow said: Seems that TNS continue to have a stranglehold on the league, which may take some breaking!? Tbf Afan Lido did pull off a surprise title win the season before last, but that seems more like a fluke than anything else now. Perhaps it was the kick up the backside TNS needed to get even stronger. They're not unbeatable as Connah's Quay and Newtown have both managed 1-0 wins against them, but they're definitely going to coast comfortably to the title this year barring something insane happening. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 February We got TNS in the Quarter Final of the Welsh Cup and unfortunately we couldn't match them. Fingers crossed they go on to win it though as that will mean nobody else gets a Europa League slot through it. We lost to TNS in the league as well, with that defeat being a bit more embarrassing, although we did have a man sent off in the 60th minute which didn't help. We picked up a big 1-0 away win at Haverfordwest, before slumping to a 2-1 loss at home to Newtown, although again, we had a man sent off in that game, that time it was as early as the 25th minute. I've started fining players for red cards now as they're really costing us points and they're usually always really stupid tackles. We were quite lucky to get a draw with Afan Lido as we didn't create much apart from the penalty and our keeper actually saved a penalty they had too. 5 games to go and we're in 4th place, although Connah's Quay in 2nd are only 2 points behind, though Afan Lido in 5th are only 3 behind. Almost any time you win against one of these teams you can leap frog them in the process. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 March Just two games this month, with 3 points from the available 6. We didn't play all that well against Connah's Quay, but that has quickly been forgotten after the sensational victory against TNS away from home. An absolutely incredible result, made even better by the fact our first choice keeper broke his shoulder in the 6th minute, leaving our 18 year old backup to come on and make his debut. He did really well and kept us in it until Carl Pockett popped up with a glancing header to give us the lead late on, which we managed to hold onto to secure a famous victory. With 3 games to go, Connah's Quay are probably out of reach in 2nd place, but we're currently in 3rd place and hopefully we can hold onto it. We have Afan Lido (A), Haverfordwest (H) and Newtown (A) to go, which isn't an easy run with 2 of them being away, but hopefully we can do it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 TNS are insanely far ahead! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjaferrie Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Hopefully you can qualify for Europe, what a massive step up from England's lower leagues that'd be! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 April 1 win, 1 loss this month. A great performance at Afan Lido saw us pick up a vital away win, although against Haverfordwest, in what was arguably a much simpler game, we bottled it and lost 2-1. 1 game to go. Newtown away which will decide who ends up 3rd. It's all to play for. TNS are out of the FA Cup, with Newtown themselves and Bala in the final. I think if we come 4th but Newtown win the cup, then we might actually still qualify for Europe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Just read the thread from start to finish. Cracking stuff and the kind of save I love reading about. KUTGW. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 2 hours ago, mjaferrie said: Hopefully you can qualify for Europe, what a massive step up from England's lower leagues that'd be! Fully expect to qualify for Europe and then get poached by a Northern Premier League side so I don't get to do it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 A big result at Newtown with a 2-2 draw. It was a shaky game but thankfully we held on after equalising in the 52nd minute. Europa League here come \o/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) Oh ****! So Newtown won the Welsh Cup on penalties and for some ****ed up reason this now means that if we want Europe we have to win a Playoff competition?? Barry Town weren't even in the top half of the table and now they might make the Europa League??? The Welsh League is mental Edited March 4, 2017 by PaulHartman71 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjaferrie Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 9 minutes ago, PaulHartman71 said: Oh ****! So Newtown won the Welsh Cup on penalties and for some ****ed up reason this now means that if we want Europe we have to win a Playoff competition?? Barry Town weren't even in the top half of the table and now they might make the Europa League??? The Welsh League is mental It's the same structure in Northern Ireland for me! Finish 3rd-7th and you make the Euro playoffs. It's a bastard! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 At least in the mean time our financial misery has been sorted... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Barry didn't put up much of a fight and we strolled to the final with a 3-0 win. We will play Haverfordwest in the final. It should be an interesting one as we've beaten them plenty of times this season, but also lost to them a few times. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Oh haha. Turns out it's Afan Lido. The fixture list said Haverfordwest County but it was just the preview thing as the match hadn't taken place yet. Not sure if Afan Lido is a better or worse option. We'll see how it goes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 The board have offered me a new deal before the Afan Lido game. They still seem content to finish mid-table next year even with us finishing 3rd and possibly having Europa League next season. I suppose an unambitious board is good for job security, possibly not for pushing on long term, but long term and this save game doesn't really go hand in hand. I'm a bit surprised I haven't been poached this season as it is mid-May and nobody has come in with my contract expiring, perhaps the English sides feel I've gone off the grid by going to Wales? I'm not complaining, especially if we beat Afan Lido and do get Europe. No wage increase, but I suppose the new Chairman has just helped clear almost £1M worth of debt, so maybe his financial management will be a bit better. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Absolutely unbelievable scenes as we came from behind to win, with Chris Pennock scoring in the 90th minute to break Afan Lido hearts. Europa League here we come (this time for real)! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjaferrie Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 4 minutes ago, PaulHartman71 said: Absolutely unbelievable scenes as we came from behind to win, with Chris Pennock scoring in the 90th minute to break Afan Lido hearts. Europa League here we come (this time for real)! Oh yeah! Looking forward to the job offer from Diddy United. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Season 18: Port Talbot Town A really strong season which saw us finish 3rd and qualify for the Europa League. The squad is fairly good on paper but I think we still over-achieved a little this season to do what we did and I'm delighted we managed it, it's possibly the best season I've had in my career so far in terms of doing better than expected. Squad Chris Pennock was the most important player, with 20 goals in 39 games this season, which is a new club record. Carl Pockett had the odd fitness issue but for the most part was a decent striker partner to Pennock, with 7 goals and 7 assists in 19 starts. Rory Cusack on the right hand side was often a nuisance to the opposition, with Chris Cornell an important player in the middle - Cornell is currently going back and forth about signing a new deal, I'm hoping we can convince him to sign now we have European football. Career History --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Club Division Position Achievements/Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016/17 Ipswich Wanderers Eastern Counties Premier League 8th Eastern Counties League Cup winners 2017/18 Ipswich Wanderers Eastern Counties Premier League 11th Left in November --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2017/18 Coventry Sphinx Midland Football Premier League 13th N/A 2018/19 Coventry Sphinx Midland Football Premier League 10th Left in December --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018/19 Carlton Town United Counties Premier League 8th United Counties League Cup runners-up. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019/20 Basildon United Essex Senior League 3rd Gordan Brasted Memorial Trophy winners 2020/21 Basildon United Essex Senior League 17th Left in November --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020/21 Lincoln United Northern Counties East Premier League 11th N/A 2021/22 Lincoln United Northern Counties East Premier League 17th Left in December --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2021/22 Swindon Supermarine Southern League 1st Division S/W 13th N/A 2022/23 Swindon Supermarine Southern League 1st Division S/W 18th Left in January --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022/23 Trafford FC Northern Premier League 1st Division N 7th N/A 2023/24 Trafford FC Northern Premier League 1st Division N 11th Sacked in November --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023/24 Hythe Town Isthmian League 1st Division S 12th Joined in January 2024/25 Hythe Town Isthmian League 1st Division S 3rd Left in March --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024/25 Canvey Island Isthmian League Premier Division 23rd Relegated 2025/26 Canvey Island Isthmian League 1st Division N 23rd Sacked in November --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025/26 Farsley Celtic Northern Premier League 1st Division N 11th Joined in January 2026/27 Farsley Celtic Northern Premier League 1st Division N 5th Left in March --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026/27 Stourbridge Northern League Premier Division 21st Relegated 2027/28 Stourbridge Southern League 1st Division C 5th Promoted via Playoffs 2028/29 Stourbridge Southern League Premier Division 15th Left in November --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2028/29 Lancaster City Northern League Premier Division 21st Relegeted. Sacked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2029/30 Southport Northern League Premier Division 14th N/A 2030/31 Southport Northern League Premier Division 5th Left in April --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030/31 Port Vale Northern League Premier Division 3rd Lost in Playoff Final 2031/32 Port Vale Northern League Premier Division 2nd Lost in Playoff Final 2032/33 Port Vale Northern League Premier Division 6th Left in January --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2032/33 Port Talbot Town Welsh Premier League 8th N/A 2033/34 Port Talbot Town Welsh Premier League 3rd Qualified for Europa League via Playoff --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trophy Cabinet Eastern Counties League Cup x1 - 2016/17 (Ipswich Wanderers) Gordan Brasted Memorial Trophy x1 - 2019/20 (Basildon United) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Jardim's Manchester City side retained the title this season, with Allegri's Arsenal coming the closest to stopping them. Arsenal did manage to win the Champions League, which is their 4th in 7 years and means 9 of the last 10 winners have been English. England is back baby. No doubt partially due to me only having the UK leagues loaded, but still fairly impressive. Elsewhere in the Premier League, it was a good year for Antonio Candreva's Everton who broke into the top 4, with Martin Steklenburg's Southampton and Cesc Fabregas' Newcastle narrowly missing out, but both finishing above Chelsea. Liverpool dropped to 10th place and West Ham, who have looked good in recent years finishing 4th and 5th, could only manage 9th despite being managed by Spanish legend Xavi. Spurs actually came 2 points away from being relegated as they finished in 17th place. Doncaster Rovers won the Championship and will be back in the Premier League next season, whilst Tranmere Rovers won League 1 to get up to the Championship for the first time in a long while. The other most notable story was Salford City winning the Conference to become a fully fledged football league side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim owen Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 14 years without a trophy now, could do with changing that soon, throw everything at a cup next year? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 52 minutes ago, jim owen said: 14 years without a trophy now, could do with changing that soon, throw everything at a cup next year? The Europa League is coming home But nah would be nice to win one of the Welsh Cup trophies, if Newtown can do it we have to believe we can too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Due to the club's still quite miserable finances we weren't really given a budget to sign a load of new players, but I did have a bit of wage budget free, so I got in 20 year old central midfielder Richard Walker from Westfields. He's a lot better than our other midfielders and is a real upgrade. I'm hoping he will make the difference and do the business this year. I'm looking at getting some loan signings in, but those players will not make the deadline for our Europa League 1st Round match. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 It has come around quite quickly, especially since the Europa League kicks off in the first week of July, which considering we only ended the season in late May, did not give us a huge amount of time to prepare. But the draw has been made... We were unseeded so we couldn't have expected too good a draw whatever happened, but we've ended up with NK Domzale of Slovenia. I'm not sure how big a team or how good a team they are, but they have a 2.5* club reputation and we're priced at 9/1 to win the away tie. We are certainly underdogs but maybe that's a good thing as we have nothing to lose and it's just very exciting to even be involved in the Europa League at this stage in my career. I would have been made up a few years back if you'd told me I'd be playing in the Football League, let alone the Europa League Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Shout out to the 20 fans who are making the trip Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hasdgfas Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 8 hours ago, PaulHartman71 said: Shout out to the 20 fans who are making the trip Well, at least you have some die-hards! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 5, 2017 Author Share Posted March 5, 2017 25 Port Talbot fans turned up and actually got a pretty decent game as we lost 1-0 in Slovenia. We did actually have several chances to get a goal, so whilst I was pleased we weren't thrashed as I had expected, it was also gutting not to get a big away goal to give us a chance of actually progressing. It would take a huge result at home to get through which I don't expect, but we'll see what happens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted March 5, 2017 Author Share Posted March 5, 2017 We gave another decent account of ourselves in the home tie, which was actually played at the Swansea Community Stadium, a 41,200 capacity ground constructed for the 2036 Euros which will be hosted by Scotland and Wales. I'm assuming that our ground doesn't meet UEFA requirements or something. We pulled in 1,602 fans with only 52 of those being away fans, so not bad all things considered. I was really pleased we managed to get a goal as we did deserve one both on the night and over the course of the two legs, as we had numerous chances that were either well saved or not taken that well. Our European adventure is over but it's been a fun ride and we've made 300K or so from it which is huge for a club like us with financial worries. I won't see any of that money as we're still in bad shape in terms of debt, but our balance at the moment is a healthy £541K. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Bloody hell, I didn't expect to see you playing in Europe this soon. And 3rd in a top level division! What an incredible step-up from 7th tier football. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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